trailer tire lifespan?

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The motor guy

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How long do your tires last on your trailers? Mine are almost worn out. It's a tandem axle landscap etrailer. My guess is it's all the turning around I do that causes the tires to drag around on the pavement. All four tires wear evenly, so I don't think it's an alignment issue. The front driver side and rear passenger side tires have more wear, but I think those two do the most skidding when turning around in cul de sacs and such.
 
Actually, it's not just trailer tires. Pretty much every tire on pretty much every vehicle wears very little in a straight line and quite a bit when cornering.

The more scrubbing (turning) they do, the faster they wear. Also, and again this is the same on cars, trucks, even bikes, as well as trailers, tires wear more when turning in one direction than the other. Exactly which direction depends on which side of the road you drive on ... in North America the higher wear is in a left turn. That will result in highest wear, in your case with a tandem axle, where the tire tracks on the largest circle (driver's front, proportionally the most miles in a turn) and smallest circle (passenger's rear, proportionally the most scrubbing).

Although it might seem silly at first, you could even out the wear by rotating the tires.

Use tread depth as your guide and replace accordingly.
 
Consider yourself lucky if you actually wear a tire out. I just replaced the tires on my trailer that had plenty of tread, but were badly dry rotted. Last Saturday it was pretty hot here and I was going to pick up my friend bike, and those tires would have never made the trip.,,,
 
My friend has a 20' dual axle trailer he uses for a food truck. After about 6K miles his tires are looking pretty bad. I would say if they go 10k miles it will be a lot.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
America's tire says your lucky to get 12k out of them on their site


Looking at my friend's tires that would be about right, maybe a little optimistic.
 
My travel trailer tires get replaced after 5 years, they could have up to 25k miles on them and they still look fine. I've found they are not reliable after that. They do get a lot of highway miles which translates into low wear. The ones that came new on my trailer were fairly worn after just 4500 miles however but those were cheap junk bias ply tires. The current Maxxis tires have about 10k miles on them and look barely worn.
 
I tow a trailer that when loaded is about 6K pounds. It's a dual axle. I rotate the tires when I think about it and keep them out of sunlight except when actually towing. I use a bit larger truck style tire with off road style tread because dirt roads is where most of the towing is done and I want resistance to sidewall cuts and bruising. Tires last about 10-15K miles, a bit longer because they are not those little donuts I see on so many trailers. I don't know if I'd ever want to tow a trailer with such small tires. When you're driving down the road and lose your trailer because of a flat and it starts swerving and bouncing until the safety chain breaks, you just know that people that run into it are going to be really cranky and hard to deal with.
 
Originally Posted By: Johnny2Bad
Actually, it's not just trailer tires. Pretty much every tire on pretty much every vehicle wears very little in a straight line and quite a bit when cornering.

The more scrubbing (turning) they do, the faster they wear. Also, and again this is the same on cars, trucks, even bikes, as well as trailers, tires wear more when turning in one direction than the other. Exactly which direction depends on which side of the road you drive on ... in North America the higher wear is in a left turn. That will result in highest wear, in your case with a tandem axle, where the tire tracks on the largest circle (driver's front, proportionally the most miles in a turn) and smallest circle (passenger's rear, proportionally the most scrubbing).

Although it might seem silly at first, you could even out the wear by rotating the tires.

Use tread depth as your guide and replace accordingly.


Yeah that's what I was going to do. The passenger side rear tire is the worst, like you said because it scrubs around the most.
 
What pressure do you keep them at? Trailer tires are supposed to be at the max psi on the sidewall.
 
I think I have them at 35psi. The max is like 50psi, but I don't have much weight on the trailer and they already have a little less tread in the middle than the outer edge or the tire. They don't look close to being low at all, but at 50psi I didn't want everything bouncing around like crazy.
 
Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
I think I have them at 35psi. The max is like 50psi, but I don't have much weight on the trailer and they already have a little less tread in the middle than the outer edge or the tire. They don't look close to being low at all, but at 50psi I didn't want everything bouncing around like crazy.
You really should pump them up. Maybe do 45 psi, see how the next set of tires wears.
 
Rule of thumb:

Tires shouldn't experience more than a 10% pressure buildup. If you get more than 10% buildup, you need to either add air or get a bigger tire (larger load capacity!). If you get more than 15% buildup, you need to do something immediately - like slow down.

I suggest that the next time you take a trip, adjust the pressure just before starting out, then after an hour measure it. It normally takes about an hour and a half for the pressure to stabilze, but that first reading will give you an idea of where it is headed.
 
Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
I think I have them at 35psi. The max is like 50psi, but I don't have much weight on the trailer and they already have a little less tread in the middle than the outer edge or the tire. They don't look close to being low at all, but at 50psi I didn't want everything bouncing around like crazy.


Ideally on a trailer you should have two pressure numbers you stick to. When empty they won't heat nearly as much as when loaded, plus you don't need the pressure in the first place. I have carried an air tank for about 30 years and can't even begin to tell you how many times I've used it, but they are inexpensive and can be found at places like Harbor Freight, Fleet Farm, Northern Tool, or here in Canada, Princess Auto

I've replaced the pressure gauge twice on mine, plus almost as soon as I bought it I replaced the pressure hose. Just about every town has a place that caters to Hydraulic Hose users, they will build you whatever you want with quality hose and proper fittings (no hose clamps or other cheezy fitments). Don't be afraid to make it long enough for your use, the one that comes with your tank won't be much to brag about. It's not expensive, I think I paid like $9 for mine ( 10 foot hose + air chuck).

In any case they hold perhaps 10 gallons at 100~125 PSI, which is enough to fill a tire from empty, top up 4 tires, or even run an air tool briefly, which might be enough on the road to get you moving again. A $5 tire plug kit and that tank and chances are you won't get stranded anywhere, for any reason.

Anyway, back on topic, carrying that tank will allow you to tailor the pressure to an empty or loaded trailer, with corresponding lower tire wear under all the conditions you will run the trailer under. Of course reducing pressure is not an issue, so you are set either way.
 
my 40" triple axle had tires that lasted 7 years..Of course they were not imported junk tires
they were made in usa 10 ply truck tires...want a good tire for your trailer,dont use a trailer tire
 
Generally, not an option. For most trailers, only ST tires are made in the required size and load rating.
 
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Generally, not an option. For most trailers, only ST tires are made in the required size and load rating.


I thought you weren't supposed to use car/truck tires on trailers due to the sidewall twisting and such from turning. They aren't designed for this.
 
Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Generally, not an option. For most trailers, only ST tires are made in the required size and load rating.


I thought you weren't supposed to use car/truck tires on trailers due to the sidewall twisting and such from turning. They aren't designed for this.


Not exactly. It's being reported the ST tires are supposed to be better in this area than either Passenger Car tires or LT tires, but I not only have some skepticism that this is a huge problem, but also whether or not ST tires are actually designed around this.
 
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