10 inch trailer wheels

[B.Hart]

  Here in Florida the 10" tires seem to have a short life due to heat build up. On my 16 I replaced the 8" rims with 12" and moved the axel from under the springs to over the springs which lowerd the trailer back to the original height. The trailer handles much better now.     BILL

[kickingbug1]

   when i upgrade (not this year) i will follow hart's lead and go with 12" wheels. but for now those 8 inchers remain. one thing about 12s is more tire choice. along with less tire wear.

[Salty19]

Bringing this back up.

Inspected the tires on my 19 with "Performance" trailer yesterday.    Was surprised to find load rated D tires (one axle) on the 10" rims.  They are Carlyle tires which are not rated that high.

D rating is not enough for this boat..the weight is right around 3,000lbs with boat, trailer, outboard, and items in the boat.
Very close to the max weight limit.

They seemed OK towing the boat home 800 miles, but they do not ride well (a lot of vibration) and they appear to have flat spots now.

Really want to upgrade to 12" tires sooner than later.

The question becomes:  "Will 12" tires fit the performance trailer without raising the fenders??"

I don't see a way to move the fenders with cutting them off and rewelding them...

[Salty19]

Well, got this covered for now with E ratings.  But eventually would like bigger tires.  After further inspection, the fenders could be unbolted, new holes drilled and fender raised a bit.  Should be room for 12's, maybe 13's. 

Has anyone put larger tires on the performance trailer??

[gradycampbell]

I have had USA Trail tires and Duro tires of the 10 inch load range E variety that I also kept at 90 that had tread separation. I feel way luckier than I deserve that all three of the tires this happened with I didn't know it until I had the trailer parked in her cement slip (I rent a space in a boat/RV storage yard). Trail America has been a better brand for me, though they wear fast. They also according to the sidewall let you have a little better capacity if you blow them up to 94. I shoot for more like 92. I have gotten to where I do my best to stick to 60 on the interstate. I felt a lot like another gentleman on these pages who felt more like a trailer owner than a boat owner. Many months I am fixing my trailer as much as I am fixing my boat, and that is saying something... I'd be interested to hear what other experiences you all have had with tire brands. Currently I keep my boat on a mooring, but trailering it is my hurricane plan so I will be using the trailer again. By the way, Performance/Com-Pac gave met the trailer with load range C tires! At least they didn't question when I complained, shipping me new mounted tires immediately.

[nies]

Don't know where I have been, but never heard of a trailer tire at 90 #, ...................Phil

[Craig Weis]

Read the sidewall on the ten inch. I don't think it's 90 lb but closer to 80 lb for max load rating. That's why it does not matter the size of the tire, but rather the LOAD RATING of the tire at X lb. It's the construction of the tire's carcuss and combination of materials used and the manner of belting.

The boat, stuff in the boat, the trailer all weighs X. Divide that in half and again read the max load rating for each tire. The tire load rating listed on the sidewall at x lb ought to be more then half the total weight. If it is...forget about everything else.

Joey Chitwood Thrill Show pumped up his tires over 120 lb to ride on 'two on the same side' out of four on his stunt cars. Not that that has anything to do with this...

skip.

[CaptRon28]

Phil & Skip -

The five (spare included) 205/65-10 Loadstars on my Magic Tilt are all marked 10 ply, E rating, 1650 pounds at max pressure, and 90 PSI maximum cold. Considering the total weight of the boat and trailer are in the 4500 pound range (with about 400 on the tongue, so 4100 on the tires) and the 4 tires can "safely" hold 6600 pounds, I tend to pump them up to around 85 psi each. I'm probably giving away about 500 pounds of GVW at that slightly lower pressure, with minimal additional flexing because of that. If I was closer to the 6600 pounds I would keep them at 90.

I agree that heat is an issue with small tires, but if you're carefull you will be OK. Keep the speed down and check the temperature occasionally. Maybe carry a grease gun on the road to lube the bearings on long trips - say every 1,000 miles or so. On the trip north (1300 miles) 2 months ago the hub temperatures never got above 130. Yes - I'd prefer 13 or 14 inch wheels, but I can make do with the 10's for now.

It would also be a very good idea to inspect the hubs and brakes once a year, and that means pulling the drums off to take a look, especially if you launch in salt water.