Do yourself a favor...Check those tires

[MAXXIE]

Not sure if this should be in the Trailer section or not, but Do yourself a favor & check your trailer tires. Yesterday while heading to the lake I heard A strange slapping sound. It was changing with speed so it had to be a tire, I thought it may be a rock in the tread or something like that. I have All Terrain tires & they always pick up little stones in between the treads. Anyway, it started to really bother me so I pulled over to take a look. Most of the tread section on one of the trailer tires was hanging off, I'd say about 4", & it was just slapping around. I was basically riding on the cords, stupid me does not have a spare so I limped it to the launch area. It was only about another mile & the speed limit is 30 mph on that road. I dropped the trailer & headed to Wal-Mart, only because last week I noticed they had tires on nice rims for $70, just bolt them up. I grabbed two of them & back to the lake. Now I do have a spare because the other old tire looked pretty decent. I just thank God that this didn't happen when coming back from the other "big" lake, that's all highway @ 65 mph or better pending traffic. I know you should not have a single axle boat trailer over 55 mph, but on that stretch of road you will be run over if your not up to traffic's speed, whatever it may be. Anyway, just wanted to pass on my "close call" of the week. Check your tires.

 

[TMALEGA]

Re: Do yourself a favor...Check those tires

I have never heard of the never getting a single axle trailer over 55 thing before. Growing up that was all we had and we were always on the highway doing 70 or so. Also i have 2-3 other boating friends who buy new boats with single axles under them and i have never heard the sales man say dont get over 55. I understand newer boats and trailers are different then older ones. However even when my dad and i owned the older ones he did we were never told or had any problems with that, so i am shocked to hear this. Is it possible that is a old wives tale? I would thinik if the tires are in good shape then all should be ok. But thanks for the advice to check the tires. I need to put some air in mine today and was planning on checking them out then.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Do yourself a favor...Check those tires

yup.... no such restriction.... single axle makes no difference on speed......

 

[jeffnick]

Re: Do yourself a favor...Check those tires

According to this, there is a 65 mph max for all trailer tires, and they should be replaced every 3-4 years.
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTrailerTireFacts.dos

 

[jayhanig]

Re: Do yourself a favor...Check those tires

If i were you I'd go ahead and change out that other tire so you have two new ones on the road. You may go a long time before you need to change one on the side of the road if you will. Make the current one your spare. It's less likely to get ripped off if it's used and you won't have any questions in your mind about how roadworthy you may be.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Do yourself a favor...Check those tires

just put on a new set of 10 plys my self

 

[CV16]

Re: Do yourself a favor...Check those tires

I put a new set on for my trip from Wisconsin to Arkansas. I made it less than 100 miles before I had my first blow out. I bought 3 new tires, so I just put on the new spare. About 150 more miles and the other new tire blew. Good thing I took my old tires along as a just in case type of thing. Then just about 100 miles away from our destination, the last new tire blew. I bought 3 more new ones down there, but haven't had to change them yet, as my old tires made the trip back home just fine. I'm going on another trip with it in a few weeks. This time I'm just going to leave the old tires on until the blow.

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: Do yourself a favor...Check those tires

It is a good idea to check the tires before each trip, as well as lights and basically the entire trailer. I had a painted trailer actually look like brand new on the outside and both crossbeams break right in the middle from rust from the inside. Although I check it every time I tow now, I still have a spare, and it saved our boating trip a few weeks ago. Some jerkoff that did not secure his load let crap fall out of his truck, and yep, you guessed it, we hit it. Punctured one of my brand new tires on the trailer. I actually didnt even realize it had punctured it until the truck started feeling sluggish and I looked in the mirror and one of the right tires was flat.

So all the planning in the world wont always prevent a flat. Always have a spare.

 

[MAXXIE]

Re: Do yourself a favor...Check those tires

I did not mean that the 55 mph was any type of law, just a suggestion from the tire Co.'s or whoever, not sure where I got it from in the first place. Anyway, it's not like I don't go over 55 with the trailer, esp. now with two new tires on it. Jayhanig- I did change both tires, I'm using the good old one as the spare.

 

[anymanusa]

Re: Do yourself a favor...Check those tires

Most states actually have laws on the books about keeping trailers under 65 mph, and even 55 mph in many states. The laws are rarely if ever enforced.

I always look over my tires before any tow.

 

[TMALEGA]

Re: Do yourself a favor...Check those tires

Huh never heard of those either. Lol may be one of those old rules everyone jokes of.

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: Do yourself a favor...Check those tires

Here is the Florida statute. Says nothing about tandem or single axle trailers.


Speed Limit
When towing a trailer, the total speed is limited to 65 miles per hour in the state of Florida. This may be somewhat slower than speeds posted on expressways and roadsides. One word of caution regarding speed limits---safety dictates that speeds be lowered in inclement weather. Icy roads rarely occur in Florida, but hard rains commonly reduce visibility. High winds create driving hazards, so slower is safer.

 

[BatDaddy1887]

Re: Do yourself a favor...Check those tires

There's a date on the side of each tire near the DOT number. It is good policy to check this when buying new tires.....they will sell you "new" tires that are already "old". I usually get about 5 years out of tires before I get new ones, and I always get tires that are over-rated for my rig....just for peace of mind on the road. I also carry two spares.

 

[old boat 54]

Re: Do yourself a favor...Check those tires

There's a date on the side of each tire near the DOT number. It is good policy to check this when buying new tires.....they will sell you "new" tires that are already "old". I usually get about 5 years out of tires before I get new ones, and I always get tires that are over-rated for my rig....just for peace of mind on the road. I also carry two spares.

Yep .. good point on the dates. I just had replaced two trailer tires while on vacation. I was told they were about a year old, should have checked myself. After I got tires and wheels home, and ready to install on trailer, decided to
check air pressure rating,( as you know they are hard to read on trailer). one is 60 psi cold and the other is 90 psi cold. My originals were 90 psi. Next item to check LOAD RANGE. The dingbats at the tire place gave me two
different tire ratings One was load range"B" ( about 760 lbs) and the other was correct load range "C" 990 lbs.
Dont trust the people installing, know your requirements. They replaced them with two new correct tires, 4710.
That would translate manufacturing to the 47th week of 2010.

 

[SteveRoss]

Re: Do yourself a favor...Check those tires

Who would trust Discount Auto Tires ?? Their advertisements sound like the "Big Lots" of commercial stores !!