CONTINUOUSWAVE

Give me some tips on the best brand and model trailer tires these days. I need size 175 80R13, or something close to it. My trailer has the original Goodyear tires on it—now 13 years old and used only locally—that need to be replaced before a road trip, but it seems impossible to find this size from any of the big names like Goodyear and Michelin—just a bunch of no-names that I'm not familiar with.

I use SturdyBuiltOnline for trailer parts. Their retail location is in Bradenton, FL.

I am partial to Load Star radials. They are OEM on Load Rite trailers.

13" unmounted http://www.sturdybuiltonline.com/13-inch-Trailer-tires-_c_7.html

13" mounted http://www.sturdybuiltonline.com/13-inch-Trailer-Tire-and-Wheel_c_367.html

Check with Discount Tires if you have a local dealer. They have 900 stores in 28 states. I have bought trailer tires from them several times, and tires for my truck and sedans several times.

Link to DISCOUNT TIRES for 175 80R13 trailer tire for $52
https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/carlisle-radial-trail-hd/p/27234

A principal partner in Discount Tires, Ted Von Voitlander, was a graduate of the University of Michigan. He passed away, but before he did he established a charitable foundation. His foundation has endowed and supported medical research at the University of Michigan Hospital. I didn't learn about this until a few weeks ago. I was a customer of Discount Tires for years, and had no idea about the owner's charitable giving. It is nice to see a privately owned company give back to the community.

Thanks for the link to sturdybuiltonline.

I have a different trailer that came with Load Star branded tires, but they started cracking after just a year or two. I bought a spare from Amazon that did the same thing after less than two years.



The Goodyear tires on my boat trailer still have no cracks after more than 10-years. and this is why I'm hoping to stay with a bigger name brand.

The Load Star pictured at sturdybuiltonline.com look different than the Load Star that came on my trailer, so maybe it's actually a different brand using the same model name.

Have you had any trouble with sidewall cracking from your Load Star like my attached picture?

No problems with my tires.

The running consensus is to replace tires after 7 years. I replaced the 2003 tires after 8 years out of caution, not condition. My current tires are brand new coming with a new trailer.

I think your sidewall cracking may be due to heat and sun damage. You may want to consider covers since you are in a warm/humid climate year round.

The cracking is definitely from the sun, but some brands seem to be UV resistant and others are not so I'm hoping to find a brand that is. Such as the Goodyears that I have now, but Goodyear doesn't make a trailer tire in my size anymore. I see that the Loadstar are actually made by Kenda, a company that has been around a while and making trailer tires since 1983. I might give them a try, thanks again for the link and suggestion!

If you can move up to a 14 inch wheel and tire the Goodyear Endurance trailer tires have very good reviews.
Chuck

Phil T wrote:I think your sidewall cracking may be due to heat and sun damage. You may want to consider covers since you are in a warm/humid climate year round.

Our 16" skiff has a small trailer that's keep outside in a storage lot, and we have two sets of tires, one set is old and cracked for storage and the other set is stored inside. When ever the boat and trailer hit the road I swap out the sets.