Lots of info in the thread in Life in General.

 

In regards to jacks to change tire on a duel axle trailer, you don’t need one.
I took a pice of 2x6 treated wood. I cut a 12” section, a 24” section and a 36” section.
I screwed them together so they were flush on one end and stair step on the other. If I have a flat I just back the good tire on to the stepped 2x6 which lifts the bad tire off the ground. Takes 30 seconds and is safer then a Jack.
Just toss it in the truck when you tow the boat.

 

I use ramps made like this for a dispersed camping spot that I frequent.
I have found that with a 3" offset, the truck walks up like it's on a straight ramp.

 

Not always mileage on the tire. Tires are date coded and rubber breaks down over time. Could be you have old tires with low mileage so they can still go south.

 

Or could have been the crappy roads broke down the tire.

 

For the sake of honesty, I have previously owned three tire stores. That does NOT qualify me as an expert but I do have some experience. Wear (tread depth) is certainly an indicator for replacement. Age is also an indicator for replacement. In older times material construction was more of an indicator. HOWEVER, how and where you store your boat (trailer) can have significant effect on longevity. Old man Sol causes aging. If stored in the sun, cover the tire, not perfect but better. ALWAYS watch inflation, as pressure goes down heat, a killer, goes up, not good on tires. Yes age dating on tires exists, I am skeptical of Gov specs and controls that might be influenced by salesmen or store owners to induce early repurchases.

Kirk, I know you love the Admiral and want to keep her safe. However if she should ever be towing alone you would want her as safe as possible. Just my 2 cents.

 

End of August I bought new trailer tires for my utility trailer from Les Schwab. Proceeded to haul an ATV on dirt roads. A week later I had a flat, in fact 2 holes. These were rough roads but I was not impressed. I was lucky that I noticed the flat when I was across the street from a Les Schwab. There's no telling what actually caused the flat but I'm probably going to look elsewhere for my next trailer tires.

 

Les in West Salem was my go-to for a long time but think they sold or something. The atmosphere there changed. Anyway, I was ready for a new set of trailer tires and went in to get a price. There was a gal at the counter and she said I can give you these or a better set for this. Never even attempted to tell why a more expensive tire was any improvement over the lesser priced one. I went down the street and only went back to Les once to ask about a donation of some inner tubes for the Saltwater Sportfishing Show. They said they'd check with management and give me a call. Still waiting, it's only been a year. A few days after that I asked the guys at Capital Tire, they said pick them up tomorrow, we have to get them from the warehouse.

Trailer tires get beat to death. They may look new but how many curbs have dented the sidewall? How many pot holes in our fine highways? Should get 5 years out of a set, maybe up to 8, but then it's just time to pull out the wallet.

 

Always on the back of my mind, some good info above to reflect on. Consider replacing with goodyear endurance tires, they are the best for a reason. Not claiming you'll get 5yrs+ which is pretty darn good from your original set. There is so many variables in tire usage and maintenance like stated above.

 

run em till they pop and keep a spare or two on ya.

 

Have you seen what they do to a travel trailer when they shred? New tires every three years is my choice.

 

Thanks for the input… I think I’ll probably just get another set put on there. Dealing with flat tires at age 70 is much different than age 50 or less. If I was in town I’d have probably just called AAA. But…. You always need to be prepared to do the deed yourself when necessary. I was fortunate to have help that had the tools I was missing….oh… I learned another lesson too. Never use an air powered impact wrench on the bolt holding your spare tire bolts…. We had to cut the bolt to get the spare off the trailer. It wouldn’t budge.

Damn…. I hadn’t thought about using the camper leveling ramps. I keep those in my rig all the time. Duh…

 

I guess it also goes without saying to keep your spare inflated. 😒 I'm guilty of all the above. My boat and trailer are 11 years old and I've never replaced the tires. Of course, it is a light weight 16' open boat (maybe 1200 lbs) so the tires don't really get stressed. I need to check my spare pressure the next time I take the boat out of storage.

 

And keep a cover on your spare for further protection. Pretty cheap on Amazon.

 

It seems the general recommendations for trailer tires is 3 to 5 years; depending on conditions like load, sun exposure, and tread wear, etc. Interesting because the recommendations for car/truck tires is 6 to 10 years.
Things that help prolong the tire life are proper inflation, rotation, take weight off in long term storage, protect from the sun, watch for uneven wear. It would probably help to upgrade the load capacity for longer tire life.....the tire would flex less and generate less damaging heat.
Under good conditions I would not be concerned about keeping my tires 10 years. After that i'm on borrowed time.

 

It seems the general recommendations for trailer tires is 3 to 5 years; depending on conditions like load, sun exposure, and tread wear, etc. Interesting because the recommendations for car/truck tires is 6 to 10 years.
Things that help prolong the tire life are proper inflation, rotation, take weight off in long term storage, protect from the sun, watch for uneven wear. It would probably help to upgrade the load capacity for longer tire life.....the tire would flex less and generate less damaging heat.
Under good conditions I would not be concerned about keeping my tires 10 years. After that i'm on borrowed time.

Well that’s exactly what I did. I spent the extra money yesterday going up from a 6 ply side wall to an 8 ply with a higher load rating this time. I definitely agree with Don about trailer tires getting beat up more than the vehicle tires. Especially in the curb jumping dept. it’s tough maneuvering a long wheel base truck with a long trailer at many of these boat ramps without rubbing the curbs here and there. But my old tires were not in bad shape at all after 5 years really, and probably could have just replaced the spare. But I’d rather be safe than sorry.
The thing that surprised me after having the new tires mounted, was the pressure level the guy set the tires. The max pressure was 65# on the tires, but he only put 55# in saying that the sidewalls needed a bit of flex, and would be less prone to a blow out…. That doesn’t make sense to me.. I’ve always been a believer running a little higher pressure while running down the freeways is always best. What’s your thoughts on that guys?

 

I've always heard the 'general' recommendation is to get new tires every 5 years....re-packing the hubs once a year.

 

Mine are rated for 80psi cold. That's what they get. They will heat up while driving but I think the manufacturer knows that when they set the max cold pressure limit.

 

Mine call for 60# and that is what I use. My 10 ply truck tires call for 80# and I do that also.

 

For trailers, I prefer no more than 5-6 years for trailers or vehicles. Blowouts can do a lot of damage and are mostly a pain to change on the side of the road. That being said, low tire pressure or uneven loading (on dual axles) can cause overloading. There isn't a lot of good reason to run lower pressure, but you should look at load tables if you do to make sure you have "enough" air.

Not to insult tire guys, but most aren't really experts any more than most careers. Their experience is based on what they've seen at the shop which isn't exactly what many of us do. They pick a PSI out of their head, and if you ask why, most of the time they don't have anything factual to back it up.

YMMV.

 

I agree completely with your post. I was really surprised he only put 55# in those D range tires when they called out for 65# cold. They were closing and I’d already waited 2 hours so I didn’t bother to have him put more air in them. I’m going to bump em up to 65# . These are only 13” wheels, and the wear on the old tires were pretty even considering that trailer frame was rotted out badly. But the axles were in excellent shape, and I found a new home for those. I kept the wheels and tires off the old trailer and put them on the one I just rebuilt just recently. I’ve gone through the bearings and repacked everything. That’s looking good. But I’ll have to watch the wear on the new tires with this new trailer now to make sure they are adequately aligned. I still need to swap out the fenders and get some breaks put on one axle before I’m completely done. I Plan on doing that when I’m done boating for the year. Typically late October or November I’m done fishing and crabbing until spring.
How often should I be rotating these tires on the trailer? I only rotated the old ones once on the old ones at about 3 years old.

Kirk

 

Bought a boat in Nevada weighted over the scale inc trailer 4400. Tires looked great. Made the mistake of taking Hwy out of Susanville up the grade instead of going Alturas. The road from HELL. All tires were C rated. Went across a cattle guard at 50mph and felt a shutter but didnt stop. Fueled up about 80miles latter. Walked the rig and right tire gone just the rim tire ahead down to the belt. Les Swap just around the block thank god in that town. All new tires rated at E range. I now stop every 45min or less for a quick check.
Will buy one of these

 

 

If we are only going to get 6 years out a trailer tire I suggest paying close attention to the date of manufacture on the sidewall. They might sit in a warehouse for 2 of the 6 years before you get them.