| IDLife Express |
03-20-2019 09:50 AM |
The question of Goodyear tires just came up on THT... So I will give you advice based on 300+,000 miles of towing boats weighing in excess of 10K without a tire failure in the past two years on my own trailer and the experience of tire, wheel, hub and brake failures hauling other "Experts" ratings of trailer in "Great Condition."
First off... I tried the "New" Goodyear Endurance tires and they are JUNK! On a Cross Country trip from South Carolina to Seattle, Wa I mounted six new 225/75R15 tires on my triple axle trailer. I immediately noticed they come new with less tread depth of the Carlisle Radial HD tires. The Goodyear tires also do not have a center-rib tread design which lends to a lower rolling resistance and better directional stability at higher speeds or bad weather. The Goodyear tires netted a 1.5-2.2 mpg WORSE fuel economy with a 2013 Boston Whaler 285 loaded up... a type of boat I haul often and know exactly what my MPGs should be. When traveling such long distances... MPGs Matter! Another factor was high speed cross-winds... the Goodyear tires allow the trailer to move about way too much. Here is the real truth on the Goodyear tires... if you have a blowout with the Goodyear tire due to a tire defect, Goodyear will only replace the tire IF you can convince the store employee it failed due to it being junk from the start, he will only give you a credit for a new tire. If you have a Carlisle Tire that explodes, due to a construction failure and it is within 5 years of the MFG's DOT Date Code, they will not only replace the tire but pay for ANY DAMAGES arising from the tire failure!!
Do you know the DOT Date code of your tires? You will see a Molding-In oval with four numbers... typically something like a "3516" which means your tire was produced in the 35th week of 2016. This is very important... as it is the loophole your Insurance company can use to deny any claims for coverage should you have a wreck or blowout with tires that are older than Five Years Old.
If you want to see the carnage of "other people's trailers..." visit my Facebook Page and check out the albums where I post the Good, Bad and UGLY repairs I am sometimes forced to reveal to new boat buyers when their Seller's Surveyor gives the trailer a great rating without knowing anything about trailers! https://www.facebook.com/pg/AldenTransport/photos
Or you can read the thread I shared here with pics of the carnage!
Marine Surveyors Are CLUELESS when it comes to Trailers!
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