boat tires
 

are there any brands of trailer tires that last longer than others ? any issues or advice . thanks

check out K -Tire They have a vg warranty

Buy a good quality radial trailer tire. My last set came from OK Tire. Have held up very well.

Just make sure u check on the ware on the tires. Many tire problems r due to alignment and camber issues. I tore through a set of tires in one summer. Problem solved when I took it to Stadens for an alignment/ camber check.

X2 have the trailer alignment checked first then Kal tire or OK will set you up with the proper trailer tires.

I've always had much better luck using LT tires rather than trailer tires. It seems as though just about every trailer tire you find now is offshore, usually Chinese.
LT tires must pass a much more rigorous testing standard as they carry passengers and not just a load.
Find yourself a set of good LT's in the correct size and load rating and you will be happier in my opinion.

If you have the budget for it get away from the small ply trailer tires as fast as you can and move to the radial, and the bigger the better. If youve been getting bad wear on your tires faster than normal then you may be overloading the axel rating on the trailer and then wearing the tires out faster..... which is what was happening to me. They normally try and get away with an axel so close to the boat weight that often the axels are so close to the max load, or over.

Upgraded axel, and tires to 16” - wwaaayyy better. But pricey. Around a $1300 touch

But if you dont want to go that far like i said move to a radial and put on as big as you can get away with but then you may need new fenders etc.

The typical ply small trailer tires were getting eaten up on my trailer, and my boat isnt that big. Theyre not really meant for apeeds over 90km/h or long trips....

Good luck

If going to 16s, does a guy have to replace the axle? 14' bass boat

If you only have a 14’ then 16s are overkill i think. They are better for sure but it depends on what kind of trips you take, and depends on the weight of your boat.

Heres where i would start;

- check the weight of your axle on the trailer plate. Then compare to the weight of your trailer, boat/motor, and any gear/fuel you have. If youre over your axle weight max load then that may be part of the problem. Ps there will be 2 numbers, axle max and trailer max. Check the axle max.

- find out what kind of tire you have right now which will give you the bolt spacing/pattern for your tire. Then you can talk to a tire place and see what type of a max size radial you can currently get on it. (Assuming your axle is good for how you travel weight with your boat)

Im no mechanical expert but i personally was over my weight, and only by about 300 pounds or so with my old set up. But i was also taking a round trip of 1800 km per year to one spot we go to. Plus all the small trips. Close to 4000-5000km per year. And even when using the better plys like the A - C class ply(dont remember which was better, but i was using the most expensive) i think it was, they were getting eaten(almost a pair a year). Like i said maybe i would have been ok if i was under my weight limits and drove at 90km/h, but it was wearing unevenly inside to outside. As well as i think the speed i was towing - around 110km/h or so.

If this is a long term trailer i would find a way to get 13-14” radials and make sure i was within my axle weight. If you dont make a lot of kms per year, or are thinking about new trailer within next 5 years then maybe not worth it. When i bought 3 16” tires, 2500 pound axle, and needed new fenders it was about 1500 bucks. I went to city spring in edmonton.

Hope my essay helped. Haha, good luck my friend.

A bit of a rant first .... Almost every boat trailer out there, from what I've seen, isn't rated for real life conditions based the boat that will eventually sit on top of that trailer.

Put gear, a motor, a full tank of fuel and most loads will exceed the rating on the tire AND the trailer itself.

Sounds Crazy????? ....Go look at your boat trailer placard, note your tire speed/weight rating and then take it to a scale ..... see for yourself.

This legislation somehow allows this dangerous and annoying practice to continue.

The bottom line is get a tire that's rated high enough, with a little more capacity ideally, that will fit on your trailer.

Monitor tire pressures and wear, keep hub greased and buy a radial - the price difference is small.

You are 100 percent correct. It isnt very ethical behavior, but its obvious why they do it - better profit margin. They push the rating right to the limit, or over if you really start to add everything up. When i did the calculation on mine i was pretty suprised....

If i ever get another boat/trailer it will be a part of my negotiations in buying.

On my last boat I had problems with the original bias ply. First set blew out and dealer replaced no questions asked. Blew one of those in the next year. The weight was just under the axle rated specs, and the tire specs matched that. But anything on the highway, 100 km speed, they would be hot to the touch. (yes pressures were always checked).
Then switched to a good radial and never had a problem again.

Probably 1500 lbs loaded, think 14"s radials will work just fine, and bigger and Ill have to re-do the fenders. Go every weekend--hour each way.

I think all ST trailer tires are made in China now. What made a big difference for me was making sure that the tire pressure was right at max suggested by the manufacturer. I found that even a lower 5 PSI difference made the tires wear uneven.

x 100

For literally like $15-20 more per tire a radial is the only way to go.

Goodyear marathon. Without question these are the best trailer tires.
Worth the small premium over the crap brands out there.

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