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Author Topic:   Tires

Mark Gallagher posted 02-19-2000 10:20 AM ET (US)
I need to replace my F78-14 Duro tires. They dry rotted badly in only four years. Any ideas why? Tread is like new. What are good tires? Should I go to a radial?
Thansk
Mark
Clark Roberts posted 02-19-2000 11:01 AM ET (US)
Mark, here's my take on trailer tires (don't know why they dry rotted in 4 yrs). First off, any tire that has the proper load carrying capacity will serve you. second, make sure tires are identical and don't mix radials with bias ply. third, sidewall strength is very important.. a trailer produces lots of side force from swaying and taking curves... in a curve the trailer is like a ball on the end of a string and centrifugal forces can be enormus!
Especially if you have to take some swerve in an emergency... radials or underinflated bias ply tires can come unsealed from the rim from these side forces (bad scene)... Best all-around bet is a bias ply (with max no. of sidewall plys) inflated to at least 90% of maximum PSI rating... No such thing as an economy trailer tire... The best will prevent you form big trouble.. It is important to have trailer tires spin balanced and it's a good idea to have them trued for roundness... nothing worse than a trailer that jack-hammers you boat and gear to bits.... Happy Whalin', Mark, and good to hear from you....... Clark
Mark Gallagher posted 03-01-2000 07:54 PM ET (US)
I found Goodyear Marathon radial trailer tires for $57 each at tirerack.com
A better price than some of the cheap tires sold at Marine outlets.
I will have them spin balanced and think I will clean and repack wheel bearings and install new grease seals. Can't forget to take good care of our trailers can we????
Mark
lhg posted 03-02-2000 02:10 PM ET (US)
I do a lot of trailering, and have found that radial tires have longer tread life and seem to have better traction on wet pavement, so I have been using Goodyear Marathons for several years. But when I did switch to Marathons, I noticed that they seem to pick up nails much more readily, and have suffered many (way too many!) flat tires with them for that reason, some of which damaged the tire beyond repair. I have never had that problem before with any trailer tires. So I am now having my doubts, mainly about their tread design and low resistance to nails, and am now trying the Titan Radials. So far, no flats, but they do run a little hotter than the Marathons at same 50psi inflation pressure.
(size P205-65-R14) and so far have not had any more nail problems. So I am going to stick with them for a while. The Titan radials are costing me $58, and I do like them.
Walt Steffens posted 03-08-2000 06:31 PM ET (US)
Mark: On tires, I was in the past a tire dealer by trade. I sold in my facility Dunlop, Michelin, Goodyear and over 25 years a host of other name brand tires. The dry rot most likely was caused by atomspheric or chemical exposure (ozone,ultriviolet light etc). Over the same time I have owned 3 whalers and trailers ranging from 17' to 25'. The 17' boat came and went on a trailer with factory supplied trailer quality tires. Many good miles no problems. However as I got more savvey, the 22' boat spent one season on the factory supplied rubber which then were replaced by high quality 1st line radial passenger car tires of the correct load carrying capicty. I would hope that you have noted that most (I can't say all) trailer grade tires are marked NOT FOR PASSENGER VEHICLE USE. This is because they generally don't meet all the DOT specs for such use and are lower quality product made on old tooling used to make formerally discontinued passenger car/truck tires of now obsolete design. This doesn't mean you can't find a high quality trailer grade tire, it just means most are made for price. My experience with the 22' boat and 30,000 miles of trailering was very good. The trailer tracked (tandem axle) as if on rails. In one emergency situation on wet pavement a violent manuver was carried out with more sure footedness than I could have gotten with the bias tires as their sidwalls wouldn't have given and left the contact patch in place on the wet pavement. They did however give a diffrent feel in trailering as the side walls did give and gave sort of cushy ride to the boat. My 25' also rides on radial tires on a tandem axle trailer. With the same results. Thease however couldn't be passenger car but light truck tires due to size availability. Again I looked for the highest carrying capicity with the lowest max inflation pressure. High pressure radial or bias ply tires will equall hard ride; and trailers have springs give little and have no shocks. As for attracting more nails and flats, I can only guess that it might be a result of wide low profile trailer design or the fact that it is very easy in a long trailer set up to get one or both the axles off the side of the road or in the gutter area where tramp iron is more likely to be found. As stated elsewhere, balance is very important, and suprisingly also alignment. I have seen trailers where the axles were not installed square to the frame as well as axles bent to induce things such as toe in as well camber. This resulted in "odd" wear patterns on the tires. Best of luck in your hunt. And many easy trouble free trailer miles. WLS
lhg posted 03-20-2000 11:50 AM ET (US)
Walt: Thank you for your information & knowledge on trailer tires. Would you happen to know which companies manufacture the Titan Radials, Carlisle Radials, or Duro Bias lines of trailer tires? I am curious if any of these are made by the major manufacturers. Thanks.
Walt Steffens posted 03-21-2000 01:03 PM ET (US)
IHG:
Both Carlisle and Titan are distributed/sold by trailer part manufactures.
Carlisile by "Carlisle Tire & Wheel" Milwaukee Wi and Titan By "Titan International" in Quincy Ill. I don't know anything about Duro.
My guess is that none of the above are actually manufactured by the companies that market them, but are made by some one under their private lable. An example of this in the passenger car tire lines was that "Lee" and "Kelly Springfield" were at one time (70's & 80's) molded by Goodyear Tire & Rubber.
For what its worth, Carlisle has been around a long time. I can remember buying one as a replacement tire for a boat trailer in '72 up in Canada.
If you want to dig deeper you can probibly find more company information in the Thomas Register (the mechanical enineering equivlent of "Sweets" archetictural). However I seriously doubt if they will tell you who the molder is if they aren't.
Best of luck in your search.
WLS
bigz posted 03-22-2000 08:41 AM ET (US)
Thought I might mention fellows, that Carlisle Companies Inc. and Titan are one in the same Carlisle and Titan merged last year. They both manufacture their own tires Carlisle has newer low cost plants in China and in Trinidad, also older plants in the US, and I think Titan has a major plant in Brownsville, Texas and also plants in Europe and South America. Note: Carlisle Tire and Wheel like Titan now are separate companies with in Carlisle Companies Inc. --- Titan is know internationally for their industrial and agriculture tires, and of course Carlisle is well known in the golf cart, turf, lawn, trailer and AT vehicle markets. Carlisle Companies headquarters are in Syracuse, NY (NYSE: CSL) ---
Regards, Thomas
lhg posted 03-22-2000 12:54 PM ET (US)
Thanks, Walt & Thomas, for the tire info. I'm trying out Titan Radials (size P205/75R14C)on one of my trailers right now, and so far am quite happy with them, with no problems.
Mark Gallagher posted 04-09-2000 08:42 AM ET (US)
I have new Goodyear Marathon tires on my trailer. I have them set to 50psi.
That seems high for a radial. My old ply tires did reguire 50psi as stated on trailer
spec sticker. I don't want to overinflate.
Is 50psi correct for these 205/75/14 load B
tires?
Thanks MArk
triblet posted 04-10-2000 12:37 AM ET (US)
What's the max pressure on the sidewall?
Higher pressure means cooler running,
a bit better gas mileage. You also
will tend to wear the center of the tire,
but most trailer tires die of old age, not
wear. And the boat will have bit harder
ride.
I'd ask Goodyear.
Chuck Tribolet
triblet@garlic.com
lhg posted 04-12-2000 11:41 PM ET (US)
Mark: Load Range B trailer tires take 35lbs max, whereas the Load Range C take 50lbs.
Max allowable pressure is shown on the sidewalls of all tires.

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Author	Topic: Tires
Mark Gallagher	posted 02-19-2000 10:20 AM ET (US) I need to replace my F78-14 Duro tires. They dry rotted badly in only four years. Any ideas why? Tread is like new. What are good tires? Should I go to a radial? Thansk Mark
Clark Roberts	posted 02-19-2000 11:01 AM ET (US) Mark, here's my take on trailer tires (don't know why they dry rotted in 4 yrs). First off, any tire that has the proper load carrying capacity will serve you. second, make sure tires are identical and don't mix radials with bias ply. third, sidewall strength is very important.. a trailer produces lots of side force from swaying and taking curves... in a curve the trailer is like a ball on the end of a string and centrifugal forces can be enormus! Especially if you have to take some swerve in an emergency... radials or underinflated bias ply tires can come unsealed from the rim from these side forces (bad scene)... Best all-around bet is a bias ply (with max no. of sidewall plys) inflated to at least 90% of maximum PSI rating... No such thing as an economy trailer tire... The best will prevent you form big trouble.. It is important to have trailer tires spin balanced and it's a good idea to have them trued for roundness... nothing worse than a trailer that jack-hammers you boat and gear to bits.... Happy Whalin', Mark, and good to hear from you....... Clark
Mark Gallagher	posted 03-01-2000 07:54 PM ET (US) I found Goodyear Marathon radial trailer tires for $57 each at tirerack.com A better price than some of the cheap tires sold at Marine outlets. I will have them spin balanced and think I will clean and repack wheel bearings and install new grease seals. Can't forget to take good care of our trailers can we???? Mark
lhg	posted 03-02-2000 02:10 PM ET (US) I do a lot of trailering, and have found that radial tires have longer tread life and seem to have better traction on wet pavement, so I have been using Goodyear Marathons for several years. But when I did switch to Marathons, I noticed that they seem to pick up nails much more readily, and have suffered many (way too many!) flat tires with them for that reason, some of which damaged the tire beyond repair. I have never had that problem before with any trailer tires. So I am now having my doubts, mainly about their tread design and low resistance to nails, and am now trying the Titan Radials. So far, no flats, but they do run a little hotter than the Marathons at same 50psi inflation pressure. (size P205-65-R14) and so far have not had any more nail problems. So I am going to stick with them for a while. The Titan radials are costing me $58, and I do like them.
Walt Steffens	posted 03-08-2000 06:31 PM ET (US) Mark: On tires, I was in the past a tire dealer by trade. I sold in my facility Dunlop, Michelin, Goodyear and over 25 years a host of other name brand tires. The dry rot most likely was caused by atomspheric or chemical exposure (ozone,ultriviolet light etc). Over the same time I have owned 3 whalers and trailers ranging from 17' to 25'. The 17' boat came and went on a trailer with factory supplied trailer quality tires. Many good miles no problems. However as I got more savvey, the 22' boat spent one season on the factory supplied rubber which then were replaced by high quality 1st line radial passenger car tires of the correct load carrying capicty. I would hope that you have noted that most (I can't say all) trailer grade tires are marked NOT FOR PASSENGER VEHICLE USE. This is because they generally don't meet all the DOT specs for such use and are lower quality product made on old tooling used to make formerally discontinued passenger car/truck tires of now obsolete design. This doesn't mean you can't find a high quality trailer grade tire, it just means most are made for price. My experience with the 22' boat and 30,000 miles of trailering was very good. The trailer tracked (tandem axle) as if on rails. In one emergency situation on wet pavement a violent manuver was carried out with more sure footedness than I could have gotten with the bias tires as their sidwalls wouldn't have given and left the contact patch in place on the wet pavement. They did however give a diffrent feel in trailering as the side walls did give and gave sort of cushy ride to the boat. My 25' also rides on radial tires on a tandem axle trailer. With the same results. Thease however couldn't be passenger car but light truck tires due to size availability. Again I looked for the highest carrying capicity with the lowest max inflation pressure. High pressure radial or bias ply tires will equall hard ride; and trailers have springs give little and have no shocks. As for attracting more nails and flats, I can only guess that it might be a result of wide low profile trailer design or the fact that it is very easy in a long trailer set up to get one or both the axles off the side of the road or in the gutter area where tramp iron is more likely to be found. As stated elsewhere, balance is very important, and suprisingly also alignment. I have seen trailers where the axles were not installed square to the frame as well as axles bent to induce things such as toe in as well camber. This resulted in "odd" wear patterns on the tires. Best of luck in your hunt. And many easy trouble free trailer miles. WLS
lhg	posted 03-20-2000 11:50 AM ET (US) Walt: Thank you for your information & knowledge on trailer tires. Would you happen to know which companies manufacture the Titan Radials, Carlisle Radials, or Duro Bias lines of trailer tires? I am curious if any of these are made by the major manufacturers. Thanks.
Walt Steffens	posted 03-21-2000 01:03 PM ET (US) IHG: Both Carlisle and Titan are distributed/sold by trailer part manufactures. Carlisile by "Carlisle Tire & Wheel" Milwaukee Wi and Titan By "Titan International" in Quincy Ill. I don't know anything about Duro. My guess is that none of the above are actually manufactured by the companies that market them, but are made by some one under their private lable. An example of this in the passenger car tire lines was that "Lee" and "Kelly Springfield" were at one time (70's & 80's) molded by Goodyear Tire & Rubber. For what its worth, Carlisle has been around a long time. I can remember buying one as a replacement tire for a boat trailer in '72 up in Canada. If you want to dig deeper you can probibly find more company information in the Thomas Register (the mechanical enineering equivlent of "Sweets" archetictural). However I seriously doubt if they will tell you who the molder is if they aren't. Best of luck in your search. WLS
bigz	posted 03-22-2000 08:41 AM ET (US) Thought I might mention fellows, that Carlisle Companies Inc. and Titan are one in the same Carlisle and Titan merged last year. They both manufacture their own tires Carlisle has newer low cost plants in China and in Trinidad, also older plants in the US, and I think Titan has a major plant in Brownsville, Texas and also plants in Europe and South America. Note: Carlisle Tire and Wheel like Titan now are separate companies with in Carlisle Companies Inc. --- Titan is know internationally for their industrial and agriculture tires, and of course Carlisle is well known in the golf cart, turf, lawn, trailer and AT vehicle markets. Carlisle Companies headquarters are in Syracuse, NY (NYSE: CSL) --- Regards, Thomas
lhg	posted 03-22-2000 12:54 PM ET (US) Thanks, Walt & Thomas, for the tire info. I'm trying out Titan Radials (size P205/75R14C)on one of my trailers right now, and so far am quite happy with them, with no problems.
Mark Gallagher	posted 04-09-2000 08:42 AM ET (US) I have new Goodyear Marathon tires on my trailer. I have them set to 50psi. That seems high for a radial. My old ply tires did reguire 50psi as stated on trailer spec sticker. I don't want to overinflate. Is 50psi correct for these 205/75/14 load B tires? Thanks MArk
triblet	posted 04-10-2000 12:37 AM ET (US) What's the max pressure on the sidewall? Higher pressure means cooler running, a bit better gas mileage. You also will tend to wear the center of the tire, but most trailer tires die of old age, not wear. And the boat will have bit harder ride. I'd ask Goodyear. Chuck Tribolet triblet@garlic.com
lhg	posted 04-12-2000 11:41 PM ET (US) Mark: Load Range B trailer tires take 35lbs max, whereas the Load Range C take 50lbs. Max allowable pressure is shown on the sidewalls of all tires.