Rotate tires?

[JASinIL2006]

I can't recall seeing this before, but since I'm getting ready to do some off-season maintenance...

Is there any need to rotate tires on a trailer? I have a single axle, torsion spring trailer pulling a 19' I/O fiberglass boat. Since I'll have the wheels off anyway to service the bearings and check the brakes, would I benefit from switching the tires? I don't see any apparent wear issues, but I'm just curious...

Jim

 

[rallyart]

Re: Rotate tires?

Not really. If it were a tandem axle there would be some but not much on a single axle.

 

[limitout]

Re: Rotate tires?

it wouldn't hurt to swap sides just in case there is a small uneven tire wear you cant notice.

that said I doubt if it matters all that much unless you can see wear differences

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Rotate tires?

Automobile suspension systems are quite complex because during a turn, all four wheels describe a different radius. They also have adjustable caster and camber which changes when entering a turn and as the suspension travels up and down. And, with power steering it is easy to take turns too fast, scuffing the tires against the road. It is also easy to turn wheels when at a dead stop, again scuffing tires

Single axle boat trailers do not have these complex systems and the tires will wear evenly UNLESS an axle or spindle is bent OR the bearings are set too loose. Thus for normal operating conditions, rotating tires is just a waste of time.

 

[JimS123]

Re: Rotate tires?

just because oits a torsion axle it wouldn't hurt to swap sides just in case there is a small uneven tire wear you cant notice.

that said I doubt if it matters all that much unless you can see wear differences

Trailer tires, crappy as they are, will fall apart before the tread wears out. Regardless, if they are radials, changing the rotation by swapping sides may cause the belts to slip and fall apart even sooner.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Rotate tires?

Trailer tires, crappy as they are, will fall apart before the tread wears out. Regardless, if they are radials, changing the rotation by swapping sides may cause the belts to slip and fall apart even sooner.

Many auto manufacturers recommend a front to back and then cross pattern for rotating modern radial tires... I've actually heard that of bias ply, once you use them never reverse the direction of rotation.

In any case, I agree, its nearly impossible to wear out the tread on a trailer tire!

 

[limitout]

Re: Rotate tires?

Trailer tires, crappy as they are, will fall apart before the tread wears out. Regardless, if they are radials, changing the rotation by swapping sides may cause the belts to slip and fall apart even sooner.

good point about radials so if they are radials its better not to swap them or you can cause a tire issue.

all my tires have always been bias ply and they never got swapped and always wore evenly so I don't think rotating tires does any good for ttailer tires but can and do help on your vehicle where the tires roll and wear out on tight turns (or not slowing down enough), that's why the front tires get rounded edges while the back tires stay flat

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Rotate tires?

Bridgestone, Firestone and Dunlop all say you can change the direction of radial tires but what do they know. :facepalm:

Not that it matters on a trailer unless you have something physically wrong with the trailer's suspension.

 

[ricohman]

Re: Rotate tires?

On every trailer I've owned the tires start cracking and falling apart before they are anywhere near worn. Why trailer tires are so crappy is beyond me.
My car hauler needs 4 new tires next year. The tires have about 5000 miles and they are falling apart. And 16 inch trailers tires ain't cheap.

 

[limitout]

Re: Rotate tires?

Bridgestone, Firestone and Dunlop all say you can change the direction of radial tires but what do they know. :facepalm:

Not that it matters on a trailer unless you have something physically wrong with the trailer's suspension.

well once a radial tire has a lot of miles going in one direction and then you turn it in the opposite direction there is a good chance that the steel treads will separate from the rubber cord and that's when you see an "egg" of high spot show up on the tire. I have had so many "egged" tires I stopped rotating tires because I falsely thought you were supposed to switch direction of rotation when you rotate them. if you don't rotate them at all you just need to replace the front tires sooner then the back but the actual time the tire lasts doesn't change by rotating them, it just helps avoid alignment and steering influences to be more noticeable.

I would put the odds at 30-40% of getting an egg in a radial tire if the tire has nearly half its miles used before you switch directions.

tire manufacturers are just saying you can put tires on in any direction which is true if you are talking about new tires and if you are talking about if tread patterns matter for direction, so it can bell in how you ask the question.

once I started going straight front to back rotation keeping them on the same side so direction stays the same, I have never had another egged tire since.

its also important to note what happens on a car or truck is nothing like a trailer situation as far as how tires are used and abused so the egged tires might be from influences of the cars suspension or drivetrain applying pressure causing it to happen and such influences I don't think ever apply to trailer tires

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Rotate tires?

well once a radial tire has a lot of miles going in one direction and then you turn it in the opposite direction there is a good chance that the steel treads will separate from the rubber cord

Ok tire expert...show me one article from someone who know what they are talking about that says this.

 

[limitout]

Re: Rotate tires?

Ok tire expert...show me one article from someone who know what they are talking about that says this.

the thirty something egged tires I have replaced after rotating tires by switching direction of rotation and my 45 years of replacing tires has given me all the proof I need its true. it doesn't happen overnight and takes a month or two to show up but it will show up "most" of the time without fail.

nothing is an absolute certainty to happen every time but when something happens 8 out of 10 times you do something the same way but doesn't happen 10 out of 10 times you keep the direction or rotation the same, then its called a verified result

sorry if that doesn't fit your preconceived notions on the subject

if you do as suggested and constantly rotate your tires every 10k miles then the tires don't wear in one direction for most of its mileage life and you wont have issues switching the direction of rotation. the key is in how long and how many mile you drive on it in one direction only.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Rotate tires?

the thirty something egged tires I have replaced after rotating tires by switching direction of rotation and my 45 years of replacing tires has given me all the proof I need its true.

Why after 30 failures wouldn't you stop doing this?:facepalm::facepalm: LOL...yet you say this:

it wouldn't hurt to swap sides just in case there is a small uneven tire wear you cant notice.

But you say you never use radials so where is the experience of 45 years?

all my tires have always been bias ply and they never got swapped

Then you added this:

if you do as suggested and constantly rotate your tires every 10k miles then the tires don't wear in one direction for most of its mileage life and you wont have issues switching the direction of rotation. the key is in how long and how many mile you drive on it in one direction only.

Why weren't you doing this to keep all your egged tired from failing? If you knew what was causing them to fail, why don't you follow your own advice?

 

[limitout]

Re: Rotate tires?

LOL...yet you say this:

Quote Originally Posted by limitout

it wouldn't hurt to swap sides just in case there is a small uneven tire wear you cant notice.

yes I said that ABOUT BIAS PLY TIRES !

good point about radials so if they are radials its better not to swap them or you can cause a tire issue.

But you say you never use radials so where is the experience of 45 years?

sorry if you have never owned a car but I do

now stop being a troll and disrailing this thread with your silly need for documentation for someone to have an opinion on something, im sure you hold no opinions of your own at all unless there is a certified document to back it up

 

[JASinIL2006]

Re: Rotate tires?

Thanks, everyone, for the information. I'm not having any bad wear problems, so I will not tempt the Fates; I'll leave the tires on the sides they're now on.

Thanks again,
Jim

 

[JimS123]

Re: Rotate tires?

Ok tire expert...show me one article from someone who know what they are talking about that says this.

When radials became the tire of choice in the late 1970's the manufacturers ALL recommended against switching rotation. Maybe 15 or 20 years later, they changed their tune - probably becasue they were lasting too long....LOL.

I have always followed the original recommendation and never had a problem. Regardless of what the tire jockey says, I insist on same side. One time about 10 years ago I bought a used car for my son and had it gone over very closely, fixing things up and doing PMs. The dealer also rotated the tires (against my wishes) and he switched sides. Within 10,000 miles 3 of the 4 tires slipped belts and had to be replaced. When trashed they only had about 20,000 miles on them total.

My 2011 Chevy is quite clear in the owner's manual about doing only front to back tire rotation - but what do they know (facepalm)

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Rotate tires?

My 2011 Chevy is quite clear in the owner's manual about doing only front to back tire rotation - but what do they know (facepalm)

Quite possible that the tires on that vehicle need to rotate in a certain direction as per noted on the side of the tire. :facepalm:

 

[MAC ATTACK]

Re: Rotate tires?

Have seen this discussion on many auto threads over the years. Most high performance car tires have a directional arrow depicting rotation. Most high performance car owners never change direction of a tire. If rotating front to rear does not work, then they "flip" the tires, removing them from the left side and placing on the right and vice-versa. This allows for more even wear, especially on the cars with severe negative camber (adjusted that way for handling purposes). Flipping the tires became popular when high end automobiles came from the factory with staggered set-ups (wider tires/rims in rear) like Porsche, BMW etc.

Now to the OP's question. If it is a single axle and tire wear is an issue, just have them flipped. Do not change rotation direction as it will increase the likelihood of a separated or busted belt. I do not have scientific proof for some on this thread, just 35 years of high performance automobile experience. Do whatever your wallet can handle.

 

[JimS123]

Re: Rotate tires?

Quite possible that the tires on that vehicle need to rotate in a certain direction as per noted on the side of the tire. :facepalm:

I run Goodyear TripleTreads on 2 of my cars and that IS the case. The treads are directional, so if switching sides they would need to be remounted. But my Chevy has Michelins and they are not so marked. Its strictly a GM requirement for the specific vehicle. I would be interested to hear what other recent GM models say in their Owner's Manuals.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Rotate tires?

Here is the owners manual page showing rotation for a 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe. Shows tire rotation changing direction by swapping sides....but what do they know!