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Beware cheap trailer tires

So it turns out my odd rear axle tire wear issue is loss of preload camber on the axle. Buddy's shop so it won't be too awful expensive to replace.
 
jebruns said:
Marathons. Junk. They were on a lot of trailers as standard equipment for years. Poor wear was my biggest issue. Get maybe 3-5K out of them before they were worn out. Not a heavy trailer either. Figured it was axle misalignment the first time it happened, but a different brand on the same trailer produced much longer and even wearing results. Happened several times on several trailers.

Maybe the Endurance is better than those older ones, but GY has just lost me as a customer, given my experience with them.
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I swore off Goodyear back around 2005 when I got the ****tiest set of MT/R tires that absolutely rode like they were square after about 4 attempts of balancing including road force. Yet here I am praising the trailer tire haha. Time heals all wounds I suppose.
 
Drew M said:
I'm on my second set of GY Endurance on our Airstream. I replaced the first set out to age, (about 6-7 years). They wore well and survived trips to Alaska and Newfoundland, over 25,000 miles. I've had no issues with them, though I've read others have.
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You did better than I. Only 18,000 on mine and think that was pretty good
 
Speaking of my trailer tires, I took my Ram trailer tire sensor kit that came with the truck with me to the garage to be installed.
The tire guy looked at them and concluded that they were WAY too long and if installed would be at risk of being broken off by rocks, curbs, branches etc.
especially since some of the campsites I frequent are not the most pruned and pristine.
He put the shorter valves that would work well with the screw in type monitor systems.

So I guess I’ll get one of the aftermarket tire monitor kits
 

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Highcountry said:
I replaced my boat trailer a few years ago and only have about 5k miles on the replacement. A few weeks ago, I was heading over a mountain pass on a 5.5-hour trip for vacation when I heard a "whoop" sound and felt a little shimmy. The truck is so heavy duty I really didn't feel much, but a quick check of the mirror told the story as I watched pieces flying off. Fortunately, I was carrying a couple spares and had the tools I needed to remove the ruined fender. I've been hearing a lot of stories about boat and travel trailers coming stock with "China bomb" tires. I know in the future I won't hesitate to replace new tires if they seem suspect. It could have been much worse and I'm sure an undersized tow vehicle probably would have felt it more when it let go and started dancing.
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I crossed my fingers and went two seasons on my "Storm King" China bombs and made it. I put Endurance tires on this year and noticed immediately the improvement not to mention the greatly reduced fear of a blowout. First, the Endurance tires must have a much stiffer sidewall as the trailer was much better "planted" and I quit seeing the back corners of the trailer on a regular basis. It improved the ride very noticeably to the good... I have about 3500 miles on them at this point. One last trip of around 2K miles coming up...
 
Goodyears:
Marathon - Total trash, stay away.
Endurance - I've pulled several new RV's that had GY Endurance as an upgraded tire. Never had any trouble with them and I've thought they were a very good tire. That said, on another forum there were a couple of guys that mentioned some failures and thought they were overrated. Maybe those failed tires were just old? Glad to see many guys here reporting very good results. I won't write them off just yet.

Sailuns:
Since large 5th wheels have been my game as a new RV transport guy, I've pulled many new trailers with the 14ply S637. The ONLY tire failure I've ever experienced on a new RV was a Sailun. And since the temp was below zero that day and I hadn't much more than hit the road when it blew, I'm gonna say it was just a defective tire. Took out much of the side and slide of a brand new 40ft toy hauler. They may be considered a good tire as far as China bombs go, but they're not infallible.

Carlisle:
I've been somewhat of a Carlisle fan for years so when I needed a pair of 16" trailer tires for my flatbed a couple years ago, I bought a pair of their 10ply ST's. Within a few weeks, both had bubbles on the sidewalls. So I've switched to the heavy LR 14ply Gladiator. They're 4400# rated and I've probably pushed them to that or more with no issues so far but at less than 2 years in, I'm not prepared to endorse them yet. But the way I've used them (abused might be more accurate) I'm more optimistic all the time.

The comments about ply rating and ride are real. From now on my flatbed will have nothing but 14ply tires on it because I don't like changing flats out on the road, especially with torsion axles. Not fun. But a few years ago when I replaced the tires on my 5th wheel, they were 15" and I went with 8ply tires to hopefully avoid any failures. This might have been a mistake. It bucks noticeably when going over bumps. The next tires will likely be lighter. The truck does make a difference too. When I pulled it with a SRW 3500 High Country, it actually rode pretty well. Now with it back behind a dually, the ride quality has degraded. Not just the truck, when the trailer goes over a rough bump like most bridges, it whips the truck.

Just my .02, maybe .03?
 
I have a 17,000 lb 5th wheel. I've had (and fixed) so many things it's unreal. I am at every upper limit of the trailers capacities, added a lot of cabinets etc to trailer. But the absolute best thing I've done is add Morryde Independent Suspension. Then I converted to 17.5" wheels and Goodyear G114 H-Rated trailer tires. I can literally set a Solo Cup of water on the island counter and tow (on paved roads, even as bad as they are) a long way and that cup will be intact upon arrival. The truck may beat me to death!!! LOL. But the trailer is smooth as a baby's butt.
 
As my ST tires wear/age out I replace them with LT's. I've had to change wheels once, 15 to 16, but overall its better all around. They last longer, wear better, have better protection against flats, and brake better.

I currently have a set of Cooper HT3's on my 5th wheel, Bridgestone R500HD's on the stock trailer, and Kenda Kelver AT's on the elk hunting TH. Not sure what I'll go with on the small TT or single axle flat bed when the time comes. Both will stick with the 15" wheels they came with.
 
I had a set of Goodyear 949s which were the predecessor of the 614s on my boat trailer that got too old to trust and went with the Discount Tire's house brand of Hartland tires. Seems good so far. It's a triple axle trailer so using a G load rated helps with scuffing the tires on tight turns. Figure there's a discount tire located just about every where it would be a safe bet. Price was a lot better than the 614s too.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
My tires typically age out. I replace them every six years or so mostly due to deterioration of the sidewalls. This time I thought I would try Bridgestone DURAVIS R238 LT235/85R16s since they are a commercial tire and have solid outer treads. They can be recapped so I figure the sidewalls are pretty durable. And these suckers are heavy. They are made in the US. A buddy of mine bought a new trailer and I suggested the first mod was to change out the Chinese Exploders for something made in the US. He did.

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CdnHO said:
My tires typically age out. I replace them every six years or so mostly due to deterioration of the sidewalls. This time I thought I would try Bridgestone DURAVIS R238 LT235/85R16s since they are a commercial tire and have solid outer treads. They can be recapped so I figure the sidewalls are pretty durable. And these suckers are heavy. They are made in the US. A buddy of mine bought a new trailer and I suggested the first mod was to change out the Chinese Exploders for something made in the US. He did.

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I've always been a Bridgestone fan and ran a few sets of R500HDs with great results. Curious to hear how you like the R238s.
 
Sailuns came on my Montana 5'er and everyone raves about them. Made in Vietnam.
 
Brutal_HO said:
Goodyear Endurance is my current goto tire but they only make 14-15-16". Contrary to the Marathon, the Endurance is made in USA. Though I've seen some say theirs were made somewhere else offshore but not China.

FWIW, many swear by Sailun for heavy RV tires and they're made in China. only 2 16" sizes

There's a couple domestic brands that are reportedly reliable, Hercules comes to mind.

I've got some craptastic chicom tires on my echo atv trailer, but they're rated to 78MPH and seem to be doing fine. Can't replace them with goodyears as they're only 13". I'd have to do a lift to fit 14"

Have to replace them at 5-7 years depending on storage too, they are not dependable past that age.
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Check out Carlisle Radial Trail. Are made in 13 inch sizes.
 
Not a fan of ST trailer tires, I go too many places that they aren't made for. Running Falken AT3/W LT235/75R15 10 ply, 15K on them and not a sign of wear.
 
Changing my trailers over to LT tires as the ST’s wear out..ST’s suck.
 
Have Goodyear Endurance on both our TT and utility trailer. Swapped the china bombs out immediately on both trailers after getting them home.

The little boat trailer is stuck with em due to a smaller size....
 
jetrinka said:
Have Goodyear Endurance on both our TT and utility trailer. Swapped the china bombs out immediately on both trailers after getting them home.

The little boat trailer is stuck with em due to a smaller size....
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Did the same on my 26' enclosed trailer. Bought two spare rims and mounted the china crap on them.
 
To add on to what @Brutal_HO said, if you change form ST to LT remember to derate your tires’ load capacity.
 
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