need new trailer tires .....

[kenmac]

You know, I've always heard that 5-6 years is max replacement interval. I checked the tires on my camper trailer last night. They are date code 3710, so almost 7 years old. They have been indoors in either the camper's showroom or inside an fully enclosed and dark barn / garage at all times (unless driving or camping) since new. The tires show no cracking or signs of being tired. I'm very inclined to run them for another year or -gasp- two with frequent inspection. Am I delusional? Asking for trouble? Just for information, in the last year I bought Michelins for my car, new Firestones for my wife's Expedition, and a total of 6 Maxxis radials for two of my trailers, so I'm not averse to buying quality tires. I am averse to throwing money away by replacing perfectly good tires.

I'm willing to listen - enlighten me.

well, I'm not going to throw perfectly good tires away. If they are dry rotted, cracked around the sides, I'll replace. other than that. I'm putting them on the road.
I put used tires (age?) no idea on all my trailers except my camper

 

[EddieWalker]

I like Discount Tire and don't think you can go wrong with them. Just go to their website and get an idea of what's available and what it will cost you. Last weekend I needed new tires for my truck and Discount Tire was closed, so I went to Firestone and got some tires there that cost more then what I was hoping to pay, but think I got a better tire then what I saw available at Discount Tire.

For my trailer, I went to the local guy who builds trailers and asked what he wanted for a set of tires already mounted on rims. His cost for tires and rims was less then Discount Tire for just the tires.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I just got new greenball tires at Costco online.

 

[stevepsd]

By the way, I typically replace street motorcycle tires every 5-6 years. Since there's only TWO of them, it seems like a good idea for safety reasons...

Then you don't ride enough :laughing:

I'm lucky if I only go thru 2 sets of street motorcycle tires a year!

 

[zing]

ST tires have thicker sidewalls so they do not sway as much, but they are more susceptible to blowouts because they heat up easier if you have any with lower pressure, heavy loads, or drive fast. That will factor into your decision, because you know yourself. Are you meticulous enough to always check pressure before you go? Are you going to stay off the highway? Will you never over load it? If so, ST tires may be fine for you. I have had two horse trailers over the last ten years and both were moved from trailer tires to LT's because after 4 or 5 blowouts on the highway I was done with ST's. I keep the pressure good, but I also drive 70-75 MPH. I do multiple trips per year that are 1500-2000 km each way and 100-400 km trips every second weekend during the show season, so I am certainly not going to drive 55-60 MPH the whole way.

As far as spares go, I have two full spares on rims because if you are halfway through a long trip and you get a blowout, are you going to do the last 1000 kms with no spare? Not easy to stop for an hour and get a new tire on the rim while horses are on the trailer (when you stop they get restless and start kicking) and besides we often drive through the night by tag team driving. I also keep a full can of diesel in the back of the truck because open stations can be spotty at night.

As far as jacks go, the bottle jack from my HD truck would work but I never use it for the trailer. With a dual axle trailer you want a trailer aid, it is way better.

You just drive the non-blown tire onto the ramp and change the other one. 30 seconds up and down, no jacking or cranking on the side of the road while people fly by 5 feet from you. The last time I had a blow out I was pulling back on the road and my wife looked at me and said "That was 14 minutes! Nice work!" Probably half of that time was getting the spare down from the bracket under the gooseneck. I also have a four sided lug wrench because they give you better torque and are faster to spin off the nuts. plus it has a pry end to get the wheel covers off.

 

[zing]

Around here no tire shop will touch a tire over 6 years old except to dismount it.

You are exaggerating. 90% of tire shops will do whatever you ask them as long as it is reasonable, whether is is installing used tires, patching tires, and what-have-you. They may give advice like patch instead of plug, but if you lay down your money and are not being unsafe, they are going to do the job you ask them to.

 

[RickB]

You are exaggerating. 90% of tire shops will do whatever you ask them as long as it is reasonable, whether is is installing used tires, patching tires, and what-have-you. They may give advice like patch instead of plug, but if you lay down your money and are not being unsafe, they are going to do the job you ask them to.

Sadly, that is not as true as it used to be. And totally untrue of WalMart.

 

[Diamondpilot]

You are exaggerating. 90% of tire shops will do whatever you ask them as long as it is reasonable, whether is is installing used tires, patching tires, and what-have-you. They may give advice like patch instead of plug, but if you lay down your money and are not being unsafe, they are going to do the job you ask them to.

I bet 10 would do the things you mentioned out of a hundred around here.

1st thing they all do is look at the date code.

 

[bspeedy]

Then you don't ride enough :laughing:

I'm lucky if I only go thru 2 sets of street motorcycle tires a year!

:thumbsup:

Right you are. Before kids - at least 10-15k mc miles per year and a couple sets of tires. Since having the boys, tires age out about the time the wear out. Fortunately, dirt bike tires are going like hotcakes these days, so we're still having fun.

 

[Degolyerent]

I am using 16" load range" E " LT radial tires and getting good service

 

[rd_macgregor]

As far as spares go, I have two full spares on rims because if you are halfway through a long trip and you get a blowout, are you going to do the last 1000 kms with no spare? Not easy to stop for an hour and get a new tire on the rim while horses are on the trailer (when you stop they get restless and start kicking) and besides we often drive through the night by tag team driving. I also keep a full can of diesel in the back of the truck because open stations can be spotty at night.

FWIW, we bought a horse trailer that took the same size tire and rim size (ie, hole placement and all) as our truck, so that we'd have access to two spares (for whichever vehicle), should they be needed on a trip.

 

[Raspy]

I am using 16" load range" E " LT radial tires and getting good service

Absolutely the right choice.

Most ST tires are junk and they are so cheap that they are suspect right out of the gate. I just bought a set of ST 205/15s for my quad trailer for $70. each, mounted on new wheels, all aired up and ready to go.

But for my travel trailer that I tow out to the desert and use on the highway in hot weather, it's LT tires only. BTW, that is what came on it from the factory.

ST tires have a very bad reputation for blowing out and the idea of running any tire at full pressure all the time, just to keep it cool, is a problem. LT tires are not so prone to popping or timing out and you can run them at a wide range of pressures, according to the load and road conditions, without a problem. How many of you guys would actually throw a set of truck or car tires away just because they were 3 or 4 years old, just to keep them from blowing out? And as far as stiffness goes, the weakest sidewalls I've ever seen were on Carlisle radial trailer tires. The sidewall squirming load on my Ram Cummins truck is very high and it's never a problem with LT tires.

 

[zing]

FWIW, we bought a horse trailer that took the same size tire and rim size (ie, hole placement and all) as our truck, so that we'd have access to two spares (for whichever vehicle), should they be needed on a trip.

I am kind of surprised that would work as trailer hubs usually stick right through the big hole in the middle of the rim, so you can't get a car/truck rim on there. Certainly not an alloy rim. I guess if the spares were all steel trailer style rims with the big hole for the hubs it would work. My trailer and truck are both 8 bolt rims, but i think that is about the only thing they have in common. Good idea if you can make it work though.

 

[hkbirdman]

I am kind of surprised that would work as trailer hubs usually stick right through the big hole in the middle of the rim, so you can't get a car/truck rim on there. Certainly not an alloy rim. I guess if the spares were all steel trailer style rims with the big hole for the hubs it would work. My trailer and truck are both 8 bolt rims, but i think that is about the only thing they have in common. Good idea if you can make it work though.

Hello - Have been researching this forum after getting a couple of flat tires on my Belmont 12,000 GVW dump trailer. Upon inspecting my paperwork - I discovered existing tires (Carlisle) were appx. 9 yrs. old. I decided to buy Greenball Tow Master radial trailer tires (thanks - Diamondpilot) in size of 235/80 R16 - load range E. I had them mounted, balanced, and also including high pressure, steel tire valve stems. Very fair price - appx. $125.00/ea. total. Will report how they work out.