Tire Age

[Low dsrt jon]

I live in Southern California and use my boat frequently, when not in use the boat and trailer are kept in my garage I take better care of it than my wifes car. Being kept out of sunlight and dry and properly inflated how many years should my trailer tires last before I have to replace them??? When I kept my boat in the driveway in the sun I replaced them every three years. LDJ

 

[scrit9mm]

Re: Tire Age

I too thought because the p/o kept the boat in a garage the tires would be good for at least a few years. However, last year I had tread seperating from two of my tires, upon closer inspection the tires were cracked and somewhat dry-rotted. Hopefully you have a dual axle trailer and a spare and only one tire will go at a time. I inspect all of my tires (including the spare) as part of my pre-flight check, this includes checking pressure.

Keep an eye on them and you will be able to catch potential problems before they arise.

 

[impatico]

Re: Tire Age

they could last anywhere from 3-10 years, all depends on the tires themselves. Just make sure you keep an eye on them, look for weather checking. Once they are weather checked start looking a new ones

 

[robert graham]

Re: Tire Age

With your extra care, being out of the sun and frequent use, I'd suggest maybe every 5 years. A lot would have to depend on how far and at what speed you're towing. We tow the boat 500 miles on I-95 to Florida in June when it's pretty darn hot, so I believe this stresses the tires more than just say a 20 mile tow to the lake and back. The whole trick here is to replace you tires Before they blow out on the interstate, and I've been there and done that, and it ain't fun! A pair of fresh tires for my trailer is about $200 and it's definitely worth it when you consider the alternative consequences! Good Luck!

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Tire Age

5 years.

My 5 year old tires failed this summer on my way home from Tahoe to Los Angeles. More than one failed on this trip. They looked perfect on the outside. No weather checking at all. They are also not run near their rated weight capacity and covered when not in use.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Tire Age

5 years.

My 5 year old tires failed this summer on my way home from Tahoe to Los Angeles. More than one failed on this trip. They looked perfect on the outside. No weather checking at all. They are also not run near their rated weight capacity and covered when not in use.

So Bruce, what did you do? Run over rocks in the road, run them at 80 mph under inflated for hours on end ???????? Really, you and I know that "stuff" doesn't just happen, it's caused......so what did you do to cause this failure. Really man, fess up.

Mark

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: Tire Age

I have had 6 trailer tire failures in my years of towing. All were just over 5 years old. Mix of Carlisles and Marathons.

Might try Kumho 857s next time I buy tires. They make a 205-14 radial that's D rated (2271 lbs) and can be inflated to 65 PSI.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Tire Age

So Bruce, what did you do? Run over rocks in the road, run them at 80 mph under inflated for hours on end ???????? Really, you and I know that "stuff" doesn't just happen, it's caused......so what did you do to cause this failure. Really man, fess up.

Mark

I remarked how good these tires look to be 5 years old right before I left!

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Tire Age

Keep an eye to them both inside walls, outside walls and tread. There is no hard and fast rule on when to replace. Best rule is always to carry a good spare or 2.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Tire Age

I remarked how good these tires look to be 5 years old right before I left!

I'm not pulling your strings man, I'm serious. If the tire failed, what was the failure mechanism? We are engineers. We know that "stuff happens"....my foot. Stuff is caused. If you have no weather cracks, are adequately inflated, load is within the rating of the tire, assume you aren't well beyond the speed/temperature rating of the casing......where is the failure mechanism? Seems to me has to be an unknown.....i.e. road hazard. What else could it be?

Mark

 

[robert graham]

Re: Tire Age

I'm not pulling your strings man, I'm serious. If the tire failed, what was the failure mechanism? We are engineers. We know that "stuff happens"....my foot. Stuff is caused. If you have no weather cracks, are adequately inflated, load is within the rating of the tire, assume you aren't well beyond the speed/temperature rating of the casing......where is the failure mechanism? Seems to me has to be an unknown.....i.e. road hazard. What else could it be?

The treads are cemented or vulcanized to the tire carcasses, and in one small spot(maybe a flat-spot from sitting in the driveway for days or weeks), the bond starts to fail forming a small bubble between the tread and carcass....you can't see it yet, but as you roll down the highway the bubble gets just a bit larger until it begins to look like a small knot or bump on the tire, and it's starting to separate, maybe making a slapping sound on the pavement, then either the tread come completely detaches from the carcass and or the tire looses all it's air in a blowout!....and that's about how it happened to me!...Of course there's other ways and causes(overheating/under inflation,etc.) for tires to fail, but this seems to be mostly what gets trailer tires. It ain't fun out on the interstate!
Mark

---------------

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Tire Age

I'm not pulling your strings man, I'm serious.

Large bulge formed on 3 of the 4 tires so both sides of the trailer were affected. Once the bulge formed you could see tread seperation start to occur. Tires were inflated to spec on side of tire. Load on tire is less than 70% of maximum rated load. Speed was typically 55MPH throughtout the trip occasionally hitting a whopping 60 MPH when I wasn't paying attention. I inspected tires carefully before the trip of 1000 miles. Was during the summer with temps between 90 and 100 degrees.

Looks like what Robert was describing above.

And I am curious Mark, why you are so serious about this? Was this enough info for you? Sorry but I don't have any of the "before" pictures of the tires for you.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Tire Age

Mark--Mark--Mark! You are an engineer. Have you never heard of Mr. Murphy? I thought they taught that in school. You know: Murphy's law derived by a man who's mother never married his father. One example of his law as related to electronics: A ten dollar transistor or integrated circuit will always blow first to protect the ten cent fuse. Ad infinitum.

As a frustrated engineer I find it perfectly acceptable that Bruce's remark that the tires looked good caused them to disintegrate on the tow. The only fault I find is that Bruce did not realize or recognise the damage his comment would cause. Once he said it, tire failure was inevitable.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Tire Age

And I am curious Mark, why you are so serious about this? Was this enough info for you? Sorry but I don't have any of the "before" pictures of the tires for you.

Because I pay a lot of attention to my running gear as breakdowns on the side of the road are not my cup of tea. So, I was wondering if there is something I should be monitoring that I wasn't.

Thanks,

Mark

 

[robert graham]

Re: Tire Age

Because I pay a lot of attention to my running gear as breakdowns on the side of the road are not my cup of tea. So, I was wondering if there is something I should be monitoring that I wasn't.

Thanks,

Mark

I think tires are in about the same category as water pump impellers, the trick is to replace them Before they fail!....and there's not much way to tell for sure exactly When they're gonna croak!

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Tire Age

My trailer had set in one place a lot longer than in previous years so that probably contributed to it. Tires were fine for the first 500 miles of the trip.

 

[robert graham]

Re: Tire Age

I've really wish Michelin would produce a top-quality trailer tire...I'd go a few extra bucks$$ for a tire I could have some confidence in!

 

[veritas honus]

Re: Tire Age

I'm suprised that no one's mentioned keeping the tires off concrete when not in use. In a garage, unless you have an epoxied floor, or at least a heavy high gloss painted floor, you'll greatly increase the life of your tires by at least putting a piece of plywood between the tire and concrete floor. The best thing to do is to raise the tires off the floor completely, such as with jack stands. This not only prevents the concrete from drawing the moisture from the rubber, but also takes the load off of them. These things will greatly increase the life of your tires.

There are so many factors which will effect the life span of tires, that it's impossible to give an accurate time frame in which your tires should last.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Tire Age

I bought a new pontoon trailer and the beginning of the second year of ownership noticed severe cracking of the tires. I checked the date code and this one year old trailer had 4-year old tires. Unused of course, but nevertheless four years old. They were replaced by the manufacturer with another set of one-year old tires. When you buy new tires for any vehicle, before you have them mounted, demand to see the date code. It is stamped into the sidewall of the tire.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Tire Age

in addition to keeping them off the cement, I have heard to keep them off the dirt/grass, as the moisture there can harm them with time, so parking on boards is a good idea. But then someone suggested pouring concrete pads....