Trailer Tires Only- Brand Opinions

[James6000]

Time for new ones. Had super trails (made in china) stock on my charmac also
green dots tow master (made in new zealand). No blow outs. Of course i maintain ie air pressure, store trailer frame on timbers for the off season and cover the tires from the sun, average 65 MPH towing speed. It seems
everything is made in china even the controversial goodyear marathons.
So whatcha got and how are they? Thanks,

PS- ST205/75/R14, steel belted, load range C

 

[Rotax-Guy]

I run Carlise on my inclosed, have had no problems.

 

[autolodge]

tires

I sell most brands of tires, and I can tell you that they are all junk and they all go flat! Lol. With tires, you pay for what you get. Find a good name brand and shop til you find a deal. Had good luck with most brands, just not good luck with owner checking pressure before they pull. IMO 70% of trailer tire blowouts could have been avoided by proper bearing maintenance and air pressure checks. All tires leak air over time and even I am guilty of pulling the trailer out of the weeds and down the highway only to have a rotten valve stem blow. To get the most mileage out of your trailer tires, buy a name brand radial and make sure they are computer balanced. It is a wives tale that trailer tires don't need balancing, you just don't feel it in the truck, but your trailer does. Enough preaching? sorry, tires are kind of my thing. Craig

 

[Griff]

autolodge- what's your recommended bearing maintenance program? thanks.

 

[autolodge]

bearings....

I disassemble, clean and grease mine once a year. (twice a year for boat trailers). I am a fan of spring loaded bearing buddies and grease before and after each long trip. Be careful no to over grease the bearing buddies as they will jack the rear dust seal out. Once you get used to throwing two pumps into the bearings and checking the tires, your pretrip will be cut down to minutes.

 

[donbrown]

I run Carlise on my inclosed, have had no problems.

I never had a Carlise tire blow out on me

BUT I have had Goodyear Marathons blow out and those Chinese Heng Sen tires disentigrate.

New a Carlise cost $70-$100 mounted for 225/75-15.

Always , Always look at the date stamp of the tire. More than a year old ... don't buy it. More than 5 years old don't buy it used. A used mounted tire should go for $30.00

Since you are in SOCAL call around especially near FONTANA where they make lots of trailers.

If you need a used part or any part for that matter

Walt's RV Surplus
16616 Valley Blvd.
Fontana, CA 92335
(909) 823-0563, FAX (909) 823-8515
New/Surplus RV parts. Specializing in Fleetwood, as well as National and Cobra RVs. , CA (909) 823-0563

I think they recently moved but the old place was an acre or two of trailer parts with rows and rows and rows of parts reaching for the sky. Kind of like an open Home depot or stacked junkyard.

Walt's RV Surplus sell used / near new tire with chrome rim for $60 and just the tire is $25 unmounted.

 

[autolodge]

I never had a Carlise tire blow out on me

BUT I have had Goodyear Marathons blow out and those Chinese Heng Sen tires disentigrate.

Did the tires blow from being run low on air? Thousands of trailer tires blew in the past few years due to CHINESE valve stems not having any UV protection them and dry rotting only to blow going down the highway causing the tire to "come apart"...It got so bad that some trailer manufacturers even sent out recall notices to get the valve stems changed ASAP. Tires don't "blow out" for no reason. Either they hit something on the road and broke the belts (or cords in the biased plys) or they were overinflated/under inflated or run flat. Believe it or not, the hand full of Goodyear Marathons I had come in wrecked last year had nothing to do with the tire construction and everything to do with tire maintenance. AND I DON"T EVEN SELL GOODYEAR I will say it again, all tires go flat only 1 in a thousand is actually the tires fault.

 

[donbrown]

Did the tires blow from being run low on air? Thousands of trailer tires blew in the past few years due to CHINESE valve stems not having any UV protection them and dry rotting only to blow going down the highway causing the tire to "come apart"...It got so bad that some trailer manufacturers even sent out recall notices to get the valve stems changed ASAP. Tires don't "blow out" for no reason. Either they hit something on the road and broke the belts (or cords in the biased plys) or they were overinflated/under inflated or run flat. Believe it or not, the hand full of Goodyear Marathons I had come in wrecked last year had nothing to do with the tire construction and everything to do with tire maintenance. AND I DON"T EVEN SELL GOODYEAR I will say it again, all tires go flat only 1 in a thousand is actually the tires fault.

I check all tires prior to going on a trip and give a visual when stopped out and about.

Last long haul to Mammoth I had a Goodyear Marathon shred after 150 miles on the road. The tread separated from the tire right above the belt taking the wires for the electric brakes with it.

This is typical with heat caused by age, under over inflation or a combination. Probably caught a nail caused a leak and it blew. Oddly enough it was my last tire.

 

[Trashy]

I know some will object, but I run Goodyear Ultragrip studded tires on my 2place enclosed and have for a few years. Way more $$$ than conventional trailer tires, but I only use it in the winter, the tires are well within the load rating and on a trailer with brakes it is worth every penny.... Check first that studs are legal where you drive tho.

 

[autolodge]

Nothing wrong with running passenger tires in on a trailer if the load rating is high enough. IMO passenger radials last longer than trailer radials due to better construction. I used to run P175/70R13 and 155R12's on my boat trailers and the new owners are still running them. Most times the Pmetric radial is the cheaper option.

 

[Beels]

Nothing wrong with running passenger tires in on a trailer if the load rating is high enough. IMO passenger radials last longer than trailer radials due to better construction. I used to run P175/70R13 and 155R12's on my boat trailers and the new owners are still running them. Most times the Pmetric radial is the cheaper option.

My old man started doing that on his boat trailer when trailer tires wouldn't stand up to the abuse of the gravel on the way to his cabin. Passenger radials have been holding up just fine.

 

[golfsnownut]

From my past experiences of working with tires for a chain retail store with auto center for 11 years before changing the line of work, lots of times, the people doesnt understand the load ratings of tires and wants the cheap routes by buying wrong rated tires for the specific purposes. I have seen some people putting load C tires on campers like 5th wheel units even on their towing trucks. Towing trucks need to have either load D or E tires for safety reasons so do trailers depends on their weights whether large or small. My 2 place enclosed trailer originally came with load C tires from factory which were biggest mistake on their part because the trailer with 2 sleds were way overloaded for those tires by 2000 lbs and did not last long until I replaced tires with load E tires. They may be priced little higher than lesser load rated tires but they outlast other tires so you really save alot of money in long runs. Always make sure the air pressures are properly inflated per tire manfacturer's recommondation stamped on tires. My trailer load E tires call for 90 psi and I go by it, wear better, less rolling resistance and last forever... It is 20x8.5x10 if you are curious about size! My father in law put load C tires on his 97 F250 Powerstroke because he doesnt like the rough ride with Load E but yet despite my lecturing, he pulls the 5th wheel camper, his price? replace tires often due to either blowouts or wear way too fast than normal.

 

[golfsnownut]

Nothing wrong with running passenger tires in on a trailer if the load rating is high enough. IMO passenger radials last longer than trailer radials due to better construction. I used to run P175/70R13 and 155R12's on my boat trailers and the new owners are still running them. Most times the Pmetric radial is the cheaper option.

I totally agree with this as long as load rating exceeds the weight of trailer.