Trailer Tires: Help

At Tire Rack:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Goodyear&tireModel=Marathon+Radial&partnum=075R5MAR6V2&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

 

It can be tough to find non Chinese trailer tires, but worth the effort and cost.

Dave

 

Had same problem replacing Marathons from GoodYear 2- 3 times until I discovered that its the weight rating that matters more than the brand. I now have Higher rated tires ( went from D to E) made in China BUT NO problems. word to the wise: Monitor your trailer weight and watch your speed.

 

I had Marathon's on my smaller boats and loved them. Very very stable and zero failures. Unfortunately they didn't have something to handle this beast when the time came.

http://my.att.net/p/s/community.dll?ep=334&fileid=612831&groupid=78814&folderid=91634&curRec=1&folderview=thumbs&ck=

 

Really NICE!!!

 

Trailers are hard on tires as the usually run a lot of camber to help them tow straight

 

that boat came with Kaama surface drives? single or twin motors? don't see many of those boats around.

 

Those tires are referred to as "china bombs". Those were the first thing my neighbor replaced when he bought a brand new travel trailer. Spend the money to get good tires. Michelin, Goodyear, etc.

 

Trailer tires have become an issue for anyone looking to replace them lately.....anyone that thinks they don't want Chinese tires (ie goodyear) should see where they're actually made.

 

This guy has figured it out. Also, make sure the air pressure is maxed out.

 

As SpecialK43 said, make sure the air pressure is correct or as high as possible. If it's low, the tire will warm up increasing the likelihood of a blowout.

 

How much weight are you towing?

 

Hello we live very close to Elkhart In. which is the trailor and RV capital of the world and we use a lot trailor tires and they all seem to made in China now. Watch your tire pressure and weight class, But Most important when not in use "keep them covered from the sun" UV will kill them faster than time and weight.

 

Basically true. Read this:

http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/goodyear/Marathon_Special_Trailer_Applications.pdf

 

You don't say how many years you've had the trailer but every year is too often, even with junk tires. The majority of blow outs are due to underinflation.

 

Weight rating is governed by the axle capacity not the tires safe load rating. You could have 2k lbs rated tires on a 1500 lbs axle which means 1500 lbs.

You of course want the tires weight rating to be 15-20% or more than the axle rating, but that rating really has nothing to do with the trailers capacity. ( I suspect you are asking because a higher rated tire may increase life)

Tires in question would be Wanli? They are dangerous.

I agree with what was stated above. Make sure the tires are at the correct psi every day. Generally trailer tires do not like anything above 68-70 mph.

Try losing one on a tandem axle single tire and a 40K lb trailer not fun...not fun at all.

 

Generally, the more pressure in the tire the better they will maintain a seal (more force holding the tire to the bead). If the beads are corroded, they will lose air over time. How much pressure it loses depends on how corroded the beads are. Compressed air will also lose more pressure than nitrogen over the same amount of time. Not by much, but it does. Even if your using the same brand I have a hard time believing you got three junk tires at three different times. It's possible the dealer could have bought many from the same batch but only the DOT numbers can give you an idea on that(I don't even keep track of my tires in that detail). It's hard to diagnose problems over the internet.

I'm surprised a reputable tire dealer couldn't give you the answers you're looking for. My best e-advice.... Step up to the 225's, make sure your tire pressure is maxed out, and you shouldn't have any more problems. As the above poster indicated, almost every blow out is due to under-inflation and since I'm not staring at the tire I can't give you an honest reply to why they're going out on you.

 

A lot of sitting time, it's been said before, also keep the sun off them.

 

An over pressurized tire can blow at the seal when impacting a speed bump, pothole, etc.

The correct way to maintain the trailer tires is to set them at ambient, then at about the 100-120 mile mark check them again and bleed off if needed. I started running nitrogen in the big truck tires so I wouldn't have to spend a month refilling them each morning. I also started carrying a tire pyrometer with me so I could monitor and record potential failures.

A true statement from above - "The majority of blow outs are due to underinflation." - this is usually because tire pressures are not monitored enough. I check mine every morning and at every stop, once more at the end of the day. Stopped having blow outs.