Suggestions on trailer tires
- Thread starter gator508
- Start date
The tallest tire you can fit is best, the least amount of revolution the better. Make sure you repack the bearings, smaller tires spin faster and heat up the bearings more.
Dan.1977P
Active Member
Like you, I use bearing buddies so I don't have to repack them all the time.
The Goodyear Marathon used to be the best on the market, they are still ok, but they switched production offshore I had too many warranty problems. That is why I switched to Carlisle. Some of the Carlisle tires are made offshore, some in the U.S. The main difference being that Goodyear contracted out the offshore production and Carlisle owns the offshore factories they produce some of their tires at. Between our manufactured trailers and tires we sold to the general public and our dealers we sold over 2000 tires last year with only 1 warranty claim.
BUBBIE I run Radial tires on all of my trailers including my Hauler. Switched from Bias ply about 10 yrs. ago and never looked back. When sitting they don't flat spot and the compound is different so the UV doesn't crack them as fast.
Gator go with ST205/75R-15 tires you wont regret it.
Jeff and Dan I am not a big fan of bearing buddies. Most people over grease them and blow out the rear seal letting moisture in which results in bearing failure. We replace about 30 axles a year because of this. A good eaz-i-lube axle is a bit different from bearing buddies, but hand packing once a year after the trailer has sat the longest is the only way to go IMHO.
BUBBIE I run Radial tires on all of my trailers including my Hauler. Switched from Bias ply about 10 yrs. ago and never looked back. When sitting they don't flat spot and the compound is different so the UV doesn't crack them as fast.
Gator go with ST205/75R-15 tires you wont regret it.
Jeff and Dan I am not a big fan of bearing buddies. Most people over grease them and blow out the rear seal letting moisture in which results in bearing failure. We replace about 30 axles a year because of this. A good eaz-i-lube axle is a bit different from bearing buddies, but hand packing once a year after the trailer has sat the longest is the only way to go IMHO.
gator508
Experienced Member
Thanks again everyone, I now have to weigh all suggestions.
Like you Steve, I am not much a fan of buddy bearings unless its on a boat trailer where the wheels are submerged, helps keep water out.
Before every trip, I remove the axle cover, inspect and grease the bearings if needed.
Like you Steve, I am not much a fan of buddy bearings unless its on a boat trailer where the wheels are submerged, helps keep water out.
Before every trip, I remove the axle cover, inspect and grease the bearings if needed.
Tires have a useful life of about 7 years from date of manufacture (regardless of when you buy them). I use bearing buddies on my boat trailer to keep positive pressure (needed to keep water out when you put a hot wheel in the water) but not on my utility trailer.
I repack the utility trailer if I'm going to go on a long trip (> 20 miles) -- it takes less than an hour to do and gives me the piece of mind of knowing the a)They are full of clean grease and b)I did it so I know it was done right. If I trailered very often I probably wouldn't do it every time, but at least once a year is a good compromise.
I too run 12" tires and have never had an issue hauling my Roadking and speeds up to 70mph. I do stop though after about 10 miles just to check the hubs to make sure they are not getting overheated and to date they are always cool. I also check them every time I stop for anything else such as gas or food.
Having a spare tire is a must as you can never predict a flat. A spare hub assembly would be nice too (got one for the boat trailer).
I repack the utility trailer if I'm going to go on a long trip (> 20 miles) -- it takes less than an hour to do and gives me the piece of mind of knowing the a)They are full of clean grease and b)I did it so I know it was done right. If I trailered very often I probably wouldn't do it every time, but at least once a year is a good compromise.
I too run 12" tires and have never had an issue hauling my Roadking and speeds up to 70mph. I do stop though after about 10 miles just to check the hubs to make sure they are not getting overheated and to date they are always cool. I also check them every time I stop for anything else such as gas or food.
Having a spare tire is a must as you can never predict a flat. A spare hub assembly would be nice too (got one for the boat trailer).