trailer tires need a good set

[matrass]

looking for a good set of trailer tires for my bassboat trailer. I have a tandem axle trailer so 4 tires are needed. Goodyear marathon used to be one of the best trailer tires out there but they moved their operation overseas and reports of bad tires were becoming more common. Goodyear came out and said there were quality issues, has that been fixed ? recent reviews online have not been very good for the Marathon.looking for real world experience if possible. have heard maxxis makes a solid tire , anybody use their brand ? looked at the Michelin XPS ribs but they only come in a 16 inch size from what I saw. tire size is 215/75 /r14.

 

[CapriRacer]

Here is my best estmiate of what is going on in the trailer tire business.

1) Trailer manufacturers have undersized the tires for years and years - and considering the fact that trailers are typically operated close to fully loaded all the time (as opposed to cars), this is doubly bad. So I recommend you up size, if you can.

2) It is hard to sort out, but there isn't any evidence that anyone is off the hook concerning "quality issues" - and I put that in quotes because I think the problem is in the design, that is the materials and their placement within the tire, and not inconsistency or poor manufacturing. What I really think is that these tires haven't kept up with technology. If I factor out what the trailer manufacturers are contributing, it's hard to tell if any particular brand is better than any other.

Recommendations? Upsize and go with either Goodyear, Maxxis, or Carlisle.

Oh and it would be really helpful if you weighed the trailer - fully loaded (worst possible case) and each wheel position if you can.

 

[matrass]

Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Here is my best estmiate of what is going on in the trailer tire business.

1) Trailer manufacturers have undersized the tires for years and years - and considering the fact that trailers are typically operated close to fully loaded all the time (as opposed to cars), this is doubly bad. So I recommend you up size, if you can.

2) It is hard to sort out, but there isn't any evidence that anyone is off the hook concerning "quality issues" - and I put that in quotes because I think the problem is in the design, that is the materials and their placement within the tire, and not inconsistency or poor manufacturing. What I really think is that these tires haven't kept up with technology. If I factor out what the trailer manufacturers are contributing, it's hard to tell if any particular brand is better than any other.

Recommendations? Upsize and go with either Goodyear, Maxxis, or Carlisle.

Oh and it would be really helpful if you weighed the trailer - fully loaded (worst possible case) and each wheel position if you can.



Thanks for your take on the trailer tires. the standard suggested size for the trailer is 215/70 /R14 but I have been looking at the 215/75/ R14 as they are a more common size.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: matrass
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Here is my best estmiate of what is going on in the trailer tire business.

1) Trailer manufacturers have undersized the tires for years and years - and considering the fact that trailers are typically operated close to fully loaded all the time (as opposed to cars), this is doubly bad. So I recommend you up size, if you can.

2) It is hard to sort out, but there isn't any evidence that anyone is off the hook concerning "quality issues" - and I put that in quotes because I think the problem is in the design, that is the materials and their placement within the tire, and not inconsistency or poor manufacturing. What I really think is that these tires haven't kept up with technology. If I factor out what the trailer manufacturers are contributing, it's hard to tell if any particular brand is better than any other.

Recommendations? Upsize and go with either Goodyear, Maxxis, or Carlisle.

Oh and it would be really helpful if you weighed the trailer - fully loaded (worst possible case) and each wheel position if you can.



Thanks for your take on the trailer tires. the standard suggested size for the trailer is 215/70 /R14 but I have been looking at the 215/75/ R14 as they are a more common size.


I think he meant to up the load rating size, what is yours a D?

I found a local shop who had E rated tires for the same as D and I went with E for my 24' sport cruiser.

I think a lot of people get cracks from dry rot before the tire actually wears out (tread).

 

[spasm3]

Donald is correct, most trailer tires age out. But there have been many failures of new tires across the camping forums. The only tires i don't hear about are the Maxxis tires. I will be going with those i a month or so. My travel trailer has 185 80 13 tires on it. I don't have room to upsize unless i move the body higher off the axles. I'm not sure how i can do this. If i had a trailer that i could use 15 inch wheels on, I'd go with LT truck tires and forgo trailer tires.

 

[bullwinkle]

Weirdly enough, even though some people bash them, I've had good luck with Carlisle, especially if I run them 5 PSI above maximum PSI, and check pressures religiously. They seem tougher, the bias ones even tougher in the sidewall area than the radials.

 

[matrass]

thanks for the suggestions so far everybody. if I can go up in rating rather than size I sure will. trying to get more weight capability. I always check the pressure in my current tires and keep them at the the max rating. I also make sure not to curb or run the sidewalls into anything.

 

[matrass]

will have to check out the current rating on the tire but I am pretty sure they are C rated. the Maxxis is rated at 1870 per tire. the GVW for my trailer is 4,400 but I am sure I do not reach that weight. trailer weighs 1,000 plus the motor is 440 and the boat is 1,500lbs for a total of 2,940 lbs. I f I add my gear and batteries it should be not more than 3,300 lbs when towing.

 

[MNgopher]

I've been happy with the Kenda trailer tires I've been using through the years. My boat trailer combo is a single axle, 3000lb setup, so I'm not sure how they perform in a dual axle setup. I use the bias ply loadstar tires, and rotate through all 3 (spare included) so the oldest tire is 6 years old at any one time. I buy mine over at etrailer.

 

[Mr_Joe]

I wanted to get some Maxxis tires for our trailer. My size was out of stock everywhere I was looking last Summer. The guy was pushing the Marathons & I ended up with them. It's been O.K. so far, but I wanted the Maxxis tires.

 

[Black_Thunder]

interesting topic as i just replaced 2 tires on my deckover 3.5 ton trailer, i had one tire for sure that has significant side wall cracking so i replaced both tires on that axle with Hi-Run Bias plys.

i've had the trailer for almost 5 years so i guess the cracking may seem normal.

the original tires that came on it were Texstar's which have the same tread pattern as a kenda loadstar i'm guessing its just a cheaper knockoff that they put for oem on trailers.

after i replaced 2 of them i noticed one other one was cracking so i may just replace the other 2 as well.

i guess i should have just bought a complete set of radials, i guess i'll think about doing that next time.


the hi-runs were fairly cheap i ordered them through walmart ship to store 59 a piece and free shipping.

they are 205/75d15's

this trailer hauls anything from lumber to firewood, my compact tractor, atv's etc. so its seen its fair share of work.

the hi-runs seem to be the same quality as the tex-stars that i took off so hopefully they last just as long. we'll see.

 

[user52165]

Get into this forum:

RV.NET

Go to the trailer section - that will keep you busy.

Maxxis are always the most highly preferred. Goodyear blew it on the Marathon.

Go to the 15" if you can.

 

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted By: matrass
Thanks for your take on the trailer tires. the standard suggested size for the trailer is 215/70 /R14 but I have been looking at the 215/75/ R14 as they are a more common size.


???? ST tires don't come in 215/70R14. Is it possible your trailer is supposed to take regular passenger car tires?

Check to see if you have a tire placard on the trailer. It might be on draw bar, or on the frame somewhere.

Originally Posted By: matrass
will have to check out the current rating on the tire but I am pretty sure they are C rated. the Maxxis is rated at 1870 per tire. the GVW for my trailer is 4,400 but I am sure I do not reach that weight. trailer weighs 1,000 plus the motor is 440 and the boat is 1,500lbs for a total of 2,940 lbs. I f I add my gear and batteries it should be not more than 3,300 lbs when towing.


Based on that, I'd say that 215/70R14 is NOT the proper size. You couldn't get to 4400 GVW using a passenger car tire.

Originally Posted By: Donald
I think he meant to up the load rating .......


Actually, I meant going up in load carrying capacity - which you can do by either going larger or going up in Load Range (with the appropriate pressure increase)

But looking at things, if there isn't room to go to a 15", then matrass is stuck - he can't go larger in load carrying capacity.

Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
Weirdly enough, even though some people bash them, I've had good luck with Carlisle, especially if I run them 5 PSI above maximum PSI, and check pressures religiously. They seem tougher, the bias ones even tougher in the sidewall area than the radials.


One of the fascinating things about this whole subject is the reaction people have. In order to explain why I am fascinated, I have to explain the statistics involved.

Tire structural failures are pretty rare events - and note I am leaving out structural failure caused by road hazards. I think even trailer tires are less than 1%.

That means that the odds of a single person having a failure is less than 1 in 50 (for a single axle trailer - less than 1 in 25 for a 2 axle trailer) So it should be expected that MOST people won't have issues.

Then look at people who have had multiple failures. 2 failures would be 1 in 625 (assuming a 2 axle trailer), and 3 failures 1 in over 15,000. So those guys with multiple failures ought to be looking at what they are doing wrong. Those odds are really quite high and would point to some factor other than just tires.

 

[MNgopher]

Actually the OP could get to the GVW of 4400 using passenger tires - remember his trailer is a dual axle setup, so he has 4 tires to work with. Thus the 215/70/14 could get him there. (I am not advocating for the use of those tires unless that is what the trailer manufacturer recommends though).

 

[matrass]

thanks for the ideas so far. I did check my trailer vin plate and they suggested size tire is a 205/70/ R14. I was looking at the maxxis that was seen on their webiste ST215/75R14 65 1270 1410 1520(B) 1660 1790 1870(C)

here is the link for the info that I saw .


http://www.maxxis.com/trailer/trailer-tire-loadinflation-chart


Going to actually double check the 4 trailer tires I have on it now and confirm the size that was installed last.

 

[Black_Thunder]

I dont' know where you are looking at getting maxxis tires or how much they are.

but take a look at discounttiredirect.com i know they carry the maxxis trailer tires and they have free shipping.

 

[IndyIan]

What about the XL rated car tires? I saw a bunch of these while looking online for snow tires.
Also I suspect you can get them in 14" as the old VW Vanagon's spec'd XL rated tires, and I always thought they were more expensive, but they didn't seem that way from what I saw online.
Old ford rangers had 14" tires too.

 

[bullwinkle]

Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Originally Posted By: matrass
Thanks for your take on the trailer tires. the standard suggested size for the trailer is 215/70 /R14 but I have been looking at the 215/75/ R14 as they are a more common size.


???? ST tires don't come in 215/70R14. Is it possible your trailer is supposed to take regular passenger car tires?

Check to see if you have a tire placard on the trailer. It might be on draw bar, or on the frame somewhere.

Originally Posted By: matrass
will have to check out the current rating on the tire but I am pretty sure they are C rated. the Maxxis is rated at 1870 per tire. the GVW for my trailer is 4,400 but I am sure I do not reach that weight. trailer weighs 1,000 plus the motor is 440 and the boat is 1,500lbs for a total of 2,940 lbs. I f I add my gear and batteries it should be not more than 3,300 lbs when towing.


Based on that, I'd say that 215/70R14 is NOT the proper size. You couldn't get to 4400 GVW using a passenger car tire.

Originally Posted By: Donald
I think he meant to up the load rating .......


Actually, I meant going up in load carrying capacity - which you can do by either going larger or going up in Load Range (with the appropriate pressure increase)

But looking at things, if there isn't room to go to a 15", then matrass is stuck - he can't go larger in load carrying capacity.

Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
Weirdly enough, even though some people bash them, I've had good luck with Carlisle, especially if I run them 5 PSI above maximum PSI, and check pressures religiously. They seem tougher, the bias ones even tougher in the sidewall area than the radials.


One of the fascinating things about this whole subject is the reaction people have. In order to explain why I am fascinated, I have to explain the statistics involved.

Tire structural failures are pretty rare events - and note I am leaving out structural failure caused by road hazards. I think even trailer tires are less than 1%.

That means that the odds of a single person having a failure is less than 1 in 50 (for a single axle trailer - less than 1 in 25 for a 2 axle trailer) So it should be expected that MOST people won't have issues.

Then look at people who have had multiple failures. 2 failures would be 1 in 625 (assuming a 2 axle trailer), and 3 failures 1 in over 15,000. So those guys with multiple failures ought to be looking at what they are doing wrong. Those odds are really quite high and would point to some factor other than just tires.
When I've had trailer tire problems, it's been because somebody curbed a tire, got a puncture, or never checked pressure. That said, I have had a few Chinese made ST radials (Freestar, Power King, & and Milestar) get multiple punctures, sometimes more than one at a time, because the tread area was just too thin. Seems like they're often in an "unrepairable" area too. Knock on wood, haven't lost a Carlisle yet (though they are made in China too). The OP should look for C rated LT 14" radials-they exist, I've used them on S-10s before-they would be tougher than your average ST trailer tire.

 

[bullwinkle]

I see Yokohama still makes the Y356 in LT195/75R14C-if you have to stay 14" that might be your best option.

 

[TC33]

I replaced my Marathons with Duro S2100's on my tandem axle boat trailer a couple years ago after losing two Marathons in one season. I liked them so much that last summer I put a set of four on my 20ft utility trailer.

205-75-14 on the boat trailer
225-75-15 on the utility trailer

So far I have no complaints with them and they are priced much better than the Marathons that I swore by for many years.

www.durotire.com/tires/tabid/186/categoryid/17/default.aspx