Hot Wheels

[l008com]

Hot tires actually. So the tires on my trailer get pretty hot. I thought this was just normal. But recently I went for a fairly short drive, and happened to touch one of the tires, and was surprised how hot the tires were. Are hot tires normal or do I have something else going on? I have not yet jacked up the trailer and spun the tires by hand to see how much resistance there is, but just from normal towing, it doesn't feel like theres any unusual drag or resistance.

This trailer has no brakes of it's own.
The trailer and boat combined weigh about 1860 lbs.

And here's some pics.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Hot Wheels

Rather than feeling the tires, feel the hubs. If those are much hotter than ambient temperature you probably have a wheel bearing issue. However, under inflated tires cause very rapid heat build up. Overloaded tires (more weight than the tires are capable of carrying) causes high temperatures. Traveling at high speed can cause high tire temps. You need to isolate the issue. Start by making sure the tires are inflated to the pressure indicated on the sidewall. Then make sure they are not overloaded. You do that by weighing the rig. If you've not disassembled, cleaned, inspected and repacked bearings in the last couple of years it is time you did.

 

[gm280]

Re: Hot Wheels

I concur with Silvertip's ideas. And I have a question to ask as well. Were the tires hotter then the road? Feel the road next time and make a comparison...

 

[cannonman]

Re: Hot Wheels

If you can't keep your hand on them because of the heat they are too hot. Follow Silvertips ideas and see what you find.

 

[l008com]

Re: Hot Wheels

So I checked out the tires and hubs today when I stopped to gas up on my way out. Again the tires were hot. Not too hot to touch, but very hot when you did touch. Compared to the temp of my truck's tires, much much hotter than that. The hubs, however, felt cool to the touch. Not hot at all. And as you can see in the pics, the tires sure don't look under-inflated to me. Is this heat just normal behavior?

 

[NYBo]

Re: Hot Wheels

Don't go by how the tires look. Use a gauge with the tires cool.

 

[l008com]

Re: Hot Wheels

Well kind of a separate topic but how do you determine how much air to put in? The sidewall will say the max pressure but you generally don't want that much air in there do you? Everything else form cars to bikes, you do what works out to around 66-75%, so maybe i should just do about 70% of whatever the tire's max pressure is?

 

[bassman284]

Re: Hot Wheels

No, trailer tires should be inflated to the maximum pressure shown on the sidewall.

 

[l008com]

Re: Hot Wheels

Hmmm now I'm curious, I'm going to go check them out.

 

[saumon]

Re: Hot Wheels

Well kind of a separate topic but how do you determine how much air to put in? The sidewall will say the max pressure but you generally don't want that much air in there do you? Everything else form cars to bikes, you do what works out to around 66-75%, so maybe i should just do about 70% of whatever the tire's max pressure is?

That's likely the cause of your problem. Inflate them at max. pressure (usually around 50 psi). That's where they need to be. A lot of people do the same mistake and inflate them @ 30-35psi, causing them to blow. They're not like car tires (on which the recommended pressure is indicated inside the driver's door jamb). The max. pressure on trailer tires is to be used when the trailer is loaded, that mean almost all the time. The only time I'd under inflate them was if I had to make a fairly long run with an empty trailer (too much bouncing).

 

[l008com]

Re: Hot Wheels

Yup that did it. The sidewall said 50. My pump said about 30 each. So I pumped them both up to 50 by hand (faster than getting my 12v pump out and getting a vehicle positioned near the trailer to plug it into). Drive about 8 miles or so and the tires were cool to the touch when I go tot my destination! Also I don't know if it was just in my head but it seemed like it felt easier to pull too. That solves this mystery. I still want to get the bearing repacked though since it's probably never been done.

 

[l008com]

Re: Hot Wheels

My MTB tires say their max is 65 PSI, and if you road them that high, it would be like driving a flinstone car, riding on solid granite. OUCH. But the boat trailer actually seemed to bounce LESS with 50psi than with 30psi. Very strange.

 

[saumon]

Re: Hot Wheels

Glad you solve your problem!

If you repack your bearings, you could get this "bearing packing" tool, available at any auto store. One of the best $7 invested...


Remove the top piece by unscrewing, position the bearing, screw the top until it contact the bearing and pump grease until it ooze through the bearing. More efficient than doing it by hand and it literally push the old grease out of the bearing.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Hot Wheels

Trailer tires are sized by the load. If their over rated yes they will be hard and bouncy, a E rated tire on a C load would cause that, but running them under inflated will cause a lot of heat and side wall separation and a blow out. Get the right tire for the load.

 

[l008com]

Re: Hot Wheels

Hmmm, I don't think this trailer was the original trailer for my boat. But I KNOW for sure these aren't the original wheels, I upgraded them a few years back. And they definitely didn't ask me how heavy my boat was at the tire place. If they had, I woudln't have even known. I do know now, 1860 lbs.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Hot Wheels

Yea and that is the thing my pontoon boat and trailer is weighs in at 2497 pounds including gear and gas. I had it weighed at a truck stop. I can chose several load ranges my tire size is 20.5x8.0 and this is the load ranges available. I could of went with a D load range but I like a bit of a margin for error and extra weigh handling capacity, but you cant guess you have to know what your boat and gear weighs. If a tire is under rated it will blow out if its way to over rated it will shake you boat and ride harsh. If you under inflate it it will run hot and blow out

C load range is 1100 x 2 = 2200 at 50 psi
D load range is 1320 x 2 = 2640 at 70 psi
E load range is 1650 x 2 = 3300 at 90 psi.