Mr Gadgets

Looks like my Carlisles are starting to grow steel hair on the edges and bulges. They are 225/75R15. load range D. I did a search on the net and found some problems with all radial trailer tires. Mine are about 4yrs old and not many miles on them. To Loto once, and short trips all other times.
Is any one having any luck with trailer tires? What brand shall I go for??

Thanks
Dick

stecz20

no matter what you put on trailer tires wear funny. just the nature of the beast. to be honest four yrs is plenty for a tire. its silly to cut corners with tires when you have so much invested in the boat that you are trailering. in my eyes good tires are a must, and checking your tire preasure before each trip will save you a lot of wear problems and give you better life. i go with mich and good year. thats just me.... stecz

mopower

Been using Goodyear Marathons for years(and many miles) on both car and boat trailers and never a problem .

Worst part of trailer tires is trailer axle alignment...none to speak of
I also followed a friend down the road and watched his axle flex when he hit bumps. His would always wear the edges , both inside and outside.

Mr Gadgets

I always run the max psi.. check them all the time. just havent run that far on them and one decides to break a belt. I was hoping for longer life.. If they have to be changed every two years no matter how many miles.. well.
I have to decide, do I buy 4 or just replace the one.??

Pantera1

Goodyear Marathons here .. But my trailer goes 2 miles a year

tanned fat looks better

I blew a Carlisle last week going to LOTO and called the company to see what they would do about it, I gave the lady all the info on the tire and she said I would have to call Goodyear because they made those tires for them. I have also foung out that Carlise has now been making Goodyear Marathons for about a year and a half. I'm going to go with Heritage I think.

Tonto

Gadgets,
I use GoodYear Workhorse in a 9.50X16.5 and have many miles back and forth from Ga. to Fl. (700 miles one way). Like mopower said, the worst tire killer is alignment, ever watch how the tires twist when making a sharp turn? I don't know how the tires stay on the wheel when I make a sharp turn with a triple axle trailer. I guess the only advice that I have to keep good trailer specific tires on the trailer and keep a close look on the pressures. Just another one of the maintanance projects on the boat.
Robert

bryanspeedracer

Believe it or not but ultra-violet rays (Dry rot) also deteriorate trailer tires. When you wash your boat, wash the trailer too.

Oh yeah, trailers that sit for a long period will cause axle berings to "flat side" so move that trailer a foot or two now and then.

Mr Gadgets

All good advice, thanks. I found an RV site that talked about the Carlisle's and Goodyear Marathons. The main contention was that both will peel the tread off early in life. One guy posted entries from a gov study or some place where people sent in their complaints. Lots of problems with trailer tires from these two companies. Now if both are made by the same company.. well. I can see what is going on. They have a problem and wont admit it.

I have very little wear on these tires, because I dont have that many miles on them. I always watch tire psi with a dial type gauge and all that. I have seen the flex in the axels and try not to make sharp turns to avoid peeling the tires off the rims, but.
This boat/trailer combination is a dual axle, 28' Checkmate. I would guess with full tank on the trailer I am at about 8500 lbs. The tires are rated at 9800. So that leaves room for plenty of beer and ice. But I make sure I pick that up on the way, to avoid any overloading for long hauls. Its a good 35 miles to where I launch. With all that in mind. I woke up this morning thinking of my old boat.
25' Check, combination could have weighted around 6000. I bought the boat two years old and it had car tires on it!!! Radials!! I was told they would let go at any moment. Well not being a wealthy man.. I didnt change them out until I was ready to order my new boat and sell the old one. The tread was worn pretty good and cracking and all, I figured it was time. I figure the tires were at least 10 yrs old. Talk about living on the edge in today's trailer tire standards. I replaced them with a bias belted tire because I knew the new boat was on it's way. My son had the boat for a few years and sold it.
My point is.. why, with the lastest technology, cant tire manufactures build something that lasts any more. I could see it if I ran a lot of miles, didnt check psi, wasn't careful turning, was close to or over the rated load, etc. My Carlisle tire and the ones on that RV forum failed due to belts letting go and then the tread peels off. And of course the company cant stand behind it because their bottom line would go down and the stock holders would complain and they would have to hire a new CEO for millions, etc..

Sorry got carried away.
I will look into the Heritage brand and any other to find out who has had the best luck in most situations. I know the Tire Rack has opinon polls on what they sell and epinions has some too. Looks like I am done for the season, more cam problems, so I have time to research. Maybe i should wait until the begining of next season so I can get a few more months out of the new ones.

Thanks.. keep the info coming.

Dick

Dock Holiday

Hey Dick,

My Myco came with "Goodyear Marathons". I think that says a lot, we know what kind of trailer they build.

Personally I have had great luck with Goodyear on everything I drive over the years and they are my brand of choice.

My trailer has been on the road three seasons now and the only problem I have had was a leaking valve stem when it was first delivered.

We have approximately 28,000 miles on the trailer and the tires look GREAT. We have not had one problem at all out of them.

I plan to change them out next season just to be on the safe side.

ALWAYS keep the proper tire pressure in the at all times. I run 80 PSI and check them with a gauge before any long trip. I also check the tire temperature at every rest area with a laser thermometer. If you have a tire on the same side that is 10 degrees or more hotter than the others on the same side "you better pull it off", it's going to blow!

Good Luck