Still mounted as a spare. Name brand American LT tire at that. Will look for picture tonight

did you go with a radial or bias. when we bought our boat in Tennessee i was sure we were going to have to spend the night some where on the way back because of multiple blowouts. the tires were dangerous looking to say the least. we made the trip no problem and continued to go the the river every weekend with them for 2 years and 2 trips to cumberland. one of them got a leak one day so we bought a set of radials. they were the best thing ive done to the trailer. even ahead of a full rewire with leds and back up lights. i could tell the difference in how it pulled immediately. the wife is even more confident pulling because it tracked so well.

Just happened to catch this discussion from the home page. Interesting because I just came back from a Poker Run that was about 150 miles from home port and blew two tires on the way out. These were Carlisle's (225/75R15). They were on the trailer when I bought it 7 years ago (don't know how long before that). I don't trailer much as I am 5 miles from the launch ramp and have a dock at the house where it stays all summer. This year I decided to do two out of town Poker Runs; one about 120 miles away and the one mentioned above. The tires looked fine (no signs of dry rot, cracking etc.) and were properly inflated. They made the first Poker Run back and forth fine but on the second one we had two blowouts on the way out?? Speeds were kept at 65 mph or less. The trailer is stored outside during the summer and inside with the boat during the winter. Got two new Goodyear Marathon's before the return trip home. Kept the speed at 55 mph or less as I still had four of the original tires on the trailer (made it home with no problem). Needless to say I am getting four new tires to replace the rest of the old ones. Moral of the story.... I guess external appearance doesn't always tell the whole story.

Few thoughts:

#1 thing to maintain tires: air pressue
#2 thing to maintain tires: check temperature

Buy and carry a Laser Temp Gun (Laser Pyrometer). It's the best $35 you will spend on your truck/trailer/whatever setup. I check my tire temperatures ALL THE TIME when towing, every stop. It takes 30 seconds. (I also check brake and hub temps too.)

The tires on my Corvette are 15 years old, and have never spent a night outside. I just took them off and sidelined them a few months ago. (They are Goodyear runflats.)

Average tire life is 6-7 years before there moisture content dilapidates beyond safe usability.

There are a lot of lengthy debates on the Internet about whether tire dressing hurts or harms tires over time. I can't tell you which one is right, but I do use tire dressing occasionally.

To me....tire dressing is more to help combat the UV breakdown of the rubber.....i personally don't like the "shiny" look of "armorall'd" tires.......i like them clean and flat black

What brand of radials did you go with and where did you buy them? I was tempted to install the Carlisle radials that I got from a buddy of mine because I liked the higher load rating of the 215-75-14 over the 205's, but when I saw "made in China" stamped on the sidewall and read some online horror stories, it scared me off. I just ended up replacing the oldest bias belted tire for now with another Towmaster bias.

Here's a question that I have always been curious about: what is the deal about mixing bias and radial tires on a trailer? I know it is not recommended. However, what is going to happen if you have 4 radials and end up having a blowout, and a bias spare is all you have to throw on there?

BTW - how did that manifold work out for you? Got that motor running yet?

Check out these products Wally:
http://www.drbeasleys.com/tire-conditioner.html
Local to you as well.
Fantastic line of products.

Saw this on TireRack.com:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...jsp?techid=138

I find it interesting that they mention storing unused, uninflated tires in their warehouses and that they age much more slowly this way. Makes me wonder if putting the trailer up on jackstands and letting all the air out of the tires during winter layup would help with longevity.

I consider the effort needed to change a tire on the side of the highway in 90+ degree weather vs the cost of replacing tires every 5 years. To me, the tires are cheaper than my time. Even more-so when you consider that the potential damage a blow-out may cause to the trailer, the boat, the tow vehicle, or my life! (and I store my boat/trailer inside a garage as well)

Some more interesting info, which seems to back up the idea that you might be able to extend the life of your tires if you at least lower the tire pressure during layup (assuming you put it up on stands). This obviously would not be practical if you don't have a good sized compressor nearby to air them back up in the spring. I am going to seriously consider storing mine in the garage like this in the future.

http://tires.about.com/od/Tire_Safet...Tire-Aging.htm

http://www.moderntiredealer.com/blog...old-tires.aspx