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Trailer Tires


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I have several trailers (26" Travel Trailer, 20' covered utility trailer, 18' boat trailer and a 20' tilt bed gravel/dirt hauler) and I am tired of all the BS out there about tire life. Everywhere you look everyone say replace them every 5 years. I think it's a marketing ploy by the sellers to get you to buy new tires sooner. 

 

My travel trailer is a 2012 26' Denali that I bought new. It is always stored indoors when not in use. I just returned from a 600 mile round trip for a weeks fishing. The state highway was being repaired for about 20 miles. It is gravel and rocks and I drove no faster than 15 mph. I blew a trailer tire that I think a sharp rock punctures. I run Maxxii 10 ply tires that I bought new in 2014 (yep 2014!) and they have a little less than 35,000 miles on them. The remaining 3 are in great shape (about 60% tread remaining, no bulges or sidewall cracks) and I am going to replace the ruined one only. Heaven forbid!!!!!

blown trailer tire.JPG

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They deteriorate in time...doesn't make any differance stored inside or tires covered. A friend of mine just found out the hard way. He blew two on one trip. Chinese tires are one of the worst. My friends tires looked like new...no checking or nothing. When it comes to trailer tires especially...looks can be decieving.

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14 minutes ago, Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life said:

I think it's a marketing plot by the sellers to get you to buy new tires sooner. 

My shooting buddy "thought" that and had five flats on our drive to EOT a few years ago.  Tires looked like new.

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Storing the trailer inside, or covering the tires to prevent exposure to uv rays will lengthen their life.  That said, the composition does deteriorate over time.

Another factor in trailer tire life is proper inflation and tow speed.  

 

I just replaced Castle Rock (China bomb) tires on my camper with Goodyear Endurance.  My peace of mind level went up significantly.

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I replaced all 4 of my trailer tires with Goodyear Endurance.  I also have a TPMS for the trailer tires.  It has saved me several times.  I have about 35,000 miles on my current set of tires.  They get replaced next Spring.

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50 minutes ago, Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 said:

My shooting buddy "thought" that and had five flats on our drive to EOT a few years ago.  Tires looked like new.

 

 

We have had the same problem. 

Have had a lot of tire problems in the past. With tires that LOOKED brand new.

 

 

 

I have had the best luck with Maxxis.

But.

I will NOT run them past 3 years.

Don't care if the only have 1,000 miles on them. 

 

Since doing that. It's funny. I have not had any more trailer tire problems.

Has it cost me a little extra money? Maybe.

 

But after all the tire problems I had before. That I have not had since.

It's worth it.

 

I also check that date on the tires when I buy. 

If over 8 months old. I will not except them. 

 

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1 hour ago, LawMan Mark, SASS #57095L said:

Storing the trailer inside, or covering the tires to prevent exposure to uv rays will lengthen their life.  That said, the composition does deteriorate over time.

Another factor in trailer tire life is proper inflation and tow speed.  

 

I just replaced Castle Rock (China bomb) tires on my camper with Goodyear Endurance.  My peace of mind level went up significantly.

I've seen pix of Castle Rock China bombs that blew, even on the spare tire rack. The next purchase for our trailer is new tires and mine look like new, tits and all. But the " Castle Rock" on the side wall makes me uneasy.

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Tires NEED to be run to keep the chemicals intermixed. rubber that isn't run up to speed often like trailer tires can degrade faster.

 

5-7 years is normal tire life regardless of available tread.  

 

Not to put too fine a point on it your 10 year old 10 ply tire failed and it's a sharp rocks fault?

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1 hour ago, Texas Joker said:

 

 

Not to put too fine a point on it your 10 year old 10 ply tire failed and it's a sharp rocks fault?

It is if it's shaped like a knife blade!!!!

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If you have not recently had to pay to repair an RV damaged by tire blow out, you are fortunate.  I believe you can put on new high quality tires every 2 or 3 years and be money ahead, if you have prevented all blow outs when changing them often.   And also avoid the time wasted getting blown tires replaced on the trip.  And damages from  a collision due to the trailer swerving out of traffic lanes.

 

35K miles on a set of trailer tires is really asking for a repair.  Especially if running freeway speeds and close to weight limit like lots of folks do.

 

good luck, GJ

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That's another issue with China bombs, mine have a speed rating of only 65. Which means I'm always at max or a few above.

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26ft Denali - $15k to $30k.

Maxi trailer tires $85 each.

You do the math.

My vehicles, property and the safety of myself and passengers far outweigh the cost of new tires.

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i have a cowboy friend that has had two of those in recent years 0 the second last weekend , getting new tires all around , the damage to the camper has been extensive enough to get expensive , not worth running old tires even if not all that many miles are on them , reminds me , i need to replace my boat trailer tires 

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:FlagAm:The industry standard is replacement at six years old.  Many tire retailers will not repair a tire with a date code over six years due to liability.  That should tell you something right there.  

What the rest of us do regarding tire replacement on an RV follows the standard of four year replacement.  As previously stated, tires on an RV will not retain structural integrity due to typically long periods of non use.  The majority of RV tire failures occur due to internal degradation and not due to any external visual signs.

So please consider this.  It is one thing to have a tire failure while driving slow through road construction.  It is a totally different situation when traveling at highway speeds.  Not only are you putting yourself at risk, but have you thought about others close to you on the highway?  It is not guaranteed that you will be able to have control of your rig if a blowout happens.  And what if pieces and parts of the blown tire hit another vehicle, which can include a motorcycle, and cause that vehicle to loose control possibly leading to injury or death.  Take a moment to consider the implications to others with regards to your "thriftiness".  And boy howdy, the lawyers for the victims will have a field day with the date codes on those tires.  Good luck with that.  Not to mention having to live with that the rest of your life.

Industry standard for wheel bearing service/repack is 8,000-10,000 miles.  I am not even going to ask.

Happy trails,

Chas B :(

 

  

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16 hours ago, Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 said:

If you have not recently had to pay to repair an RV damaged by tire blow out, you are fortunate.  I believe you can put on new high quality tires every 2 or 3 years and be money ahead, if you have prevented all blow outs when changing them often.   And also avoid the time wasted getting blown tires replaced on the trip.  And damages from  a collision due to the trailer swerving out of traffic lanes.

 

35K miles on a set of trailer tires is really asking for a repair.  Especially if running freeway speeds and close to weight limit like lots of folks do.

 

good luck, GJ

 

 

+1 in the past. Had all most 4K in damage to the side of the camper and wires it tore out do to blow outs.

All on the same trip. 

 

It was after that we started buying better tires and replacing them every 3 years.

Not that it still can't/won't happen.

 

Also proper tire air pressure is a must.

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I've found that once they start blowing its one after another.

                                                                                                                      Largo

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