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Best Trailer Tires
Having some bad luck with trailer tires What is the consensus on what ones hold up for the long haul the best???
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Re: Best Trailer Tires
Stay away from Carlisle. Mostly everyone here has had bad luck with them. Goodyear Marathons did fine by me, but my current trailer came with LT truck tires, which I have gone through a bunch.
Cooper Tires also makes a trailer tire. I really liked my Cooper Truck tires and would try their trailer tires if time comes. |
Re: Best Trailer Tires
Doa search and you willfind a ton of posts on trailer tires. It seems most people hate carlisle and like goodyear marathons. I just bought a marathons and am very happy with them .
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Re: Best Trailer Tires
I only use Carlisles. People give them to me all the time. ;)
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Re: Best Trailer Tires
I trailer all the time and have Goodyears on both my boat trailer and 28' enclosed trailer. Great running durable tires.
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Re: Best Trailer Tires
Goodyear workhorse they are great tires.
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Re: Best Trailer Tires
Goodyear Marathons.
Got them on my enclosed car carrier and boat trailer and never a problem. One small bit of advice...cover the tires during the off season. UV rays play hell on ANY rubber ;) |
Re: Best Trailer Tires
I don't know about your end of the country but I've seen so many Goodyear Marathons come apart in Arizona heat, 110+ degrees that I'll never put those piles of crap on my trailer again. I remember on one Havasu trip my partner lost two with over half the tread left just on the way up there. I've changed so many of those tires it's sick.... I've been buying those Trailmaster tires from Big-O and haven't blown one since. (knock on wood). Last trip to Havasu one of my buddies lost a Goodyear, it separated, tore his fender up and to make matters worse his studs were spinning in the hub (completely rusted out), we had to strap the axle up and limp into a truck stop so they could change the tire on the trailer. Of course he needed my spare because he had changed one of his out before the trip and didn't have one. More Goodyear junk......... What ever you do, if you run where it's hot don't buy Goodyears, not only that the Big-O Trailmasters are about 70 bucks mounted and balanced, Goodyears are over a hundred. I replace four every year and put the best ones on the back axle because they wear out from turning. (three axle trailer)
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Re: Best Trailer Tires
Don't know much about the GoodYear Marathons, but I've had great success with the GoodYear WorkHorse (9.50 X 16.5) towing in the heat of Ga. and Fl. I know it's nothing like Az. but it does get purdy warm here in the summer.
Robert |
Re: Best Trailer Tires
Michelin R.i.b. 10 Ply All Steel, Excelent Tire. Not Cheap. Great Load Rating As Well. My 2 Cents
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Re: Best Trailer Tires
goodyear workhorse...
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Re: Best Trailer Tires
I'd recommend Goodyears- I've heard nothing but good things about them and recently bought a set myself.
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Re: Best Trailer Tires
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I think we are comparing apples to oranges as far as these tires go. I have a 2000 eagle trailer with tandem tires and a 272 baja sitting on it. My trailer has 3500lb axles with little 14 inch 215 tires on it. It doesen't matter what i buy,they don't seem to last. They are at the verge of being overloaded anyways between the weight of boat,gas and the trailer(just about 7000lbs w/fuel). I just went on a 2000 mile trip to lk winnini,i took 3 spares with me and i inspect tires at every gas stop. I only had one tire go bad on the trip,it was a 2 year old carlisle,the other 3 on the trailer were goddyear st's and they are fine. I caught it before it blew out luckily because when i get a flat it usually takes out the tire next to it. Ken has the right idea with replacing them every year as mine always go bad at the 2 year mark. I have bought 11 tires in past 4 years including the three spares and i plan on replacing the bad carlisle with a goodyear next week. There are no 10 ply tires that i know of in this size,only load range c's. My buddies who have bigger boats w/16 or 16.5 tires on their trailers rarely get flats or blowouts,anyone with a heavy duty suggestion in the 14 inch/215 size let me know,Smitty
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Re: Best Trailer Tires
jrocket i have a set of goodyear marathon tires and rims brand new for 600 if your interested they are 6 lug wheels
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Re: Best Trailer Tires
We just did a set of Bridgestone R187 225/75r16 10 ply tires on an Ameritrail under a 39 Velocity yesterday...They have the stiffest, heaviest casings that I have been able to find..This same trailer has blistered and seperated 3 Goodyear Marathons in the last year..
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Re: Best Trailer Tires
I always had good luck with Goodyear Marathons until a few years ago. I took a trip from Austin TX to Lake Powell in Northern Arizona. I had 3 yr old Goodyear Marathons on the trailer. Towing about 8000 lbs on tandem axle Myco trailer, outside temp about 105 degrees, running at 70-75 mph. I blew 5 tires between Amarillo TX and Page AZ. One at a time though, every couple hundred miles. I got to know every tire guy along Interstate 40! I replaced them with Towmaster tires that are still on the trailer 4 years later without a problem yet. One of the dealers told me the Towmasters were made by Pirelli just for trailers with heavy load capabilities. If you can find em they work great. But just for comparison I still have Goodyear Marathons on my motorcycle trailer, single axle. They have been pulled over 15000 miles without a problem.
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Re: Best Trailer Tires
I would hve to say GOODYEAR MARATHONS.
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Re: Best Trailer Tires
marathons :D
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Kenda Tires have treated me well in the past. www.recstuff.com seems to have the most competitive prices from what I've found.
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I had Goodyear Marathons on the trailer when I got it. I started blowing tire very often, so I stumbled across MAXXIS tires and have had very good luck with them. The problem with the Goodyears is that they are only 8 ply and mine kept seperating. The MAXXIS are 10 ply and a much heavier duty tire.
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My Myco came with Goodyear wrangler Lt ,they lasted about 5 years and started blowing out,I replaced them with the same things.
I have marathons on the car trailer with good luck. |
Strange...I had Carlisles on my Nordic trailer and PowerPlay trailer (tandam So. Fl Trailer) and never had an issue and I know the sidewalls took a beating.
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Originally Posted by Indy
(Post 3138846)
Strange...I had Carlisles on my Nordic trailer and PowerPlay trailer (tandam So. Fl Trailer) and never had an issue and I know the sidewalls took a beating.
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The OP never said what size tires or wheels he had so it's kinda tuff to give a real good answer to his question. I think you will find that the larger the wheels you have the more choices you have regarding trailer tires. If you have 14" wheels and tires I think you SOL. Unless you have a small aluminum boat or a jet ski, your 14" tires are probably overloaded and you should upgrade to 15" anyway. 15" have a larger selection of tires but I agree with Jeff that the "best" right now are the MAXXIS tires. They are one of the few that are 10 ply. Marathons are pretty popular and a lot of people run them but they are only 8 ply & keep in mind that all Goodyear trailer tires are made in China. Goodyear does however have an insurance policy that will pay for any damage to your trailer or boat as a result of a tires failure.(I have been told this by two or three different dealers). The best is 16" tires if the wheels will fit under your fenders. The tire selection is much larger and you almost never hear of tire problems from people that run 16" wheels and tires.
Jay |
The OP asked his question five years ago, so I hope he has a good answer by now. This is a good discussion, though.
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Originally Posted by mountainstone
(Post 3139570)
The OP asked his question five years ago, so I hope he has a good answer by now. This is a good discussion, though.
Hey jrocket...what's the dealeo? |
Originally Posted by Steel Outlawed
(Post 3138513)
I had Goodyear Marathons on the trailer when I got it. I started blowing tire very often, so I stumbled across MAXXIS tires and have had very good luck with them. The problem with the Goodyears is that they are only 8 ply and mine kept seperating. The MAXXIS are 10 ply and a much heavier duty tire.
I agree with you!! The only issue some may have I believe is that the 10 ply (E rated) are only offered in the 15s. They do not offer E rated 14s or at least they didn't when we got them last years. We installed "tall equalizers" in order to get the 15s work on our Heritage. Now towing is night and day difference with the MAXXIS, much more stable. |
I just took off a set of 5 no name brand 15" tires. The trailer has about 100 miles on it. I went with the 10 ply E Maxxis. The Maxxis even looks like a heavier tire. I have to weigh the boat and trailer together and figure out what I should run for pressure. I have enough extra axle and tire capacity I could remove 2 tires off one axle and run it that way if I had to. I also have a spare tire and hub mounted on the trailer. Being stuck on the side of the road is dangerous and just sucks. Doug
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Goodyear trailer tires are built in CHINA??? sheesh. :rolleyes: Who makes Maxxis and where? Don't trailer tires come with max air pressure stamped on them?
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From purely personal experience, I wouldn't put Carlisles on my kids tricycle. My worst experience (about 4 years ago) involved two 1 year old Carlisles with less than 100 miles on them detonating separately on two different trips. One took out a brake line, marker light and tail light when it went. Neither was under inflated. They wouldn't cover either of them under warranty. I now run Goodyear Marathons with no problems.
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Originally Posted by mopower
(Post 1380475)
Goodyear Marathons.
Got them on my enclosed car carrier and boat trailer and never a problem. One small bit of advice...cover the tires during the off season. UV rays play hell on ANY rubber ;) This is what came on my Myco and I put the same back on it,Goodyear Wrangler HT 235/75R16. first set started failing at 7 years old. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes |
Mich, xps RIB pretty hard to beat those, pricey but great performance.
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What was stated earlier is correct, there are no radial trailer tires currently made in the USA. The only bias ply ST tire made in the US was Titan and I believe they still are but would have to check. Everything changes in the trailer tire world it seems.
Basically, it seems to me that the 2 real areas where radial tires are weak is their sidewall strength and they like to sway. Bias ply tires are actually a much better choice since their characteristics of tough sidewalls and their ability to follow without sway are great attributes. Sure, radial trailer tires will give an incremental gas mileage improvement and should wear better but the longer wear never occurs because the first time a radial trailer tire is curbed, and yes trailer tires are curbed frequently, the tire is set up for failure. On travel trailer forums the ST tire questions and threads are legion so tune into a travel trailer site like RV.net and you can learn more about trailer tires than you ever wanted to know! My Eagle trailer has Goodyear Marathons from the factory but I'm pretty sure that I'm going to use Titan bias ply made in the USA when the time comes. I ordered my equipment trailer with bias ply tires and although they are a crap Chinese tire (Taskmaster) that trailer follows my truck like it's on rails. The stability of those bias tires is amazing. |
We maufacture trailers and use Good Year Marathons exclusively. Never have had a problem that wasn't operator error.
Check your pressures, inspect your tires for damage, don't overload them and keep in mind that the fact that a 10 year old tire has "plenty of tread" doesn't mean the tire is OK. Most trailers will never wear the tread out, They do not get that many miles. All tires today have a date code molded into the sidewall. Rich |
Goodyear Marathons all the way. I am getting ready to finally replace mine this winter. Tread is near new, but they are starting to get dry rotted . The trailer is a 2000 model year, so the tires are almost 12 years old and has never been garage kept.. Jeff Wurl
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Originally Posted by sbracing
(Post 3527961)
We maufacture trailers and use Good Year Marathons exclusively. Never have had a problem that wasn't operator error.
Check your pressures, inspect your tires for damage, don't overload them and keep in mind that the fact that a 10 year old tire has "plenty of tread" doesn't mean the tire is OK. Most trailers will never wear the tread out, They do not get that many miles. All tires today have a date code molded into the sidewall. Rich I have learned to watch the date. I needed new tire. Dealer had to make a lot of calls to find one. When I went to pick up tire and checked date. Tire was already 3 years old. I did not accept tire and had them get me another one. |
This is a joke right ??? Goodyear marathon ??? Do a web search or even better Tirerack .com and see endless number of people have had them come apart with just a few miles and even come apart parked in driveway . From what I have read since Goodyear shipped all tire MFG to china that had nothing but issues . Do your homework before you trade your hard earned money for a set of tires that more than likely will come apart and maybe tear up your hull or worse put you in a Ditch ?
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Marathons are junk, lost them on two different boat trailers this year. One was my new Nautique 4 months old. No operator error here. Surely a better trailer tire can be made than what's out there.
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trailer tires
Had Carlilses and had to replace after just two yrs for really bad sidewall checking. loving the marathons. I swear they ride better
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Originally Posted by KEVLARKAT32
(Post 3528493)
This is a joke right ??? Goodyear marathon ??? Do a web search or even better Tirerack .com and see endless number of people have had them come apart with just a few miles and even come apart parked in driveway . From what I have read since Goodyear shipped all tire MFG to china that had nothing but issues . Do your homework before you trade your hard earned money for a set of tires that more than likely will come apart and maybe tear up your hull or worse put you in a Ditch ?
My local tire guy told me that the Goodyear Marathons are now made back in the states. |
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