Trailer Tires

[rogerschwake]

 My Sun Cat has a factory trailer with 20.5x8.0-10 tires on it. In the last five years I have had three blowouts. Am I the only one having this problem. The trailer had load range C tires on it when I bought it used. Used Carlisle load range C and D also Load Star load range D with no luck. I have not checked the weight of the boat and trailer but don't think it's over the weight the tires are rated for. Installed a new axle this winter because both tires were wearing on the inside edges, this seems to have taken care of that problem. These darn little tires are on the expensive side and wonder if someone out there has a answer for this problem?

ROGER

[Jon898]

May seem obvious, but how are you making sure the inflation is correct?  At the pressure trailer tires should be, many (most?) gauges are notoriously inaccurate, even the fancy digital ones (when did anyone last calibrate the gauge...yeah, right).  Under inflation is a classic cause of blowouts.  Because the PC is so light I've not worried about this (at rated inflation, the tread actually stays convex and the trailer bounces), but the SC is quite a bit heavier.

Another one is how old are the tires...even "new" tires can have sat on the shelf for many moons particularly if they are a size that not many use.

Just two thoughts.

Jon

[Tom L.]

Roger I bought my tires from this web site http://www.easternmarine.com/8-and-10-Trailer-Tire-Rim/. Check it out you will see that the "D" rated tire is 1100# that would mean a total capacity of 2200# the boat weighs 1500" the trailer and gear would put the total weight right at 2200# right on the max capacity. That's the bad news. The good is that they also make a "E" rated tire which is rated at 1600# each or a total of 3200# well over what is needed. In addition when I bought my tires the "E" were cheaper than the "D". I think because Eastern Marine stocks the "E". The tire comes from them mounted to rims and right to your door. Pick the Galv rims.

Tom L.

[alsantini]

Hi Roger.  I had nothing but problems with the 10 inch high pressure tires on the Eclipse trailer.  Blew one just after I purchased the boat.  I put 2 Carlyle 10 in on but they vibrated the daylights out of "me" at highway speeds.  Even balanced they still vibrated so badly that I would break fender supports.  Last summer I switched over the fenders to allow 13 or 14 inch tires.  I bought 2 - 13 tire and wheel assemblies.  What a difference!  The 13's are also radial.  Sail On.  Hope to make CLR next year and see you.     Al

[rogerschwake]

  Thanks for the good ideas and letting me know I'm not the only one having trouble with this size tire. Going to a larger diameter tire would really help but the bunks and fenders would have to be raised up and the trailer would have to be backed deeper in the water to float the boat off the trailer. This will be my last choice if nothing else works. I believe the tires were at the proper inflation?  I did check the gauge with two others and they all read about  the same. Tom I'm going to go with the E rated tires from Easter Marine the next time I need to replace a tire. At seventy plus dollars with a new galvanized wheel, that's a real good deal in my book. The biggest problem is the small diameter of these tires and how fast they turn at highway speeds. Hope this is some help to the rest of you out there.

ROGER

[Christopher]

Roger,
  Check your tire pressures.  The pressure should be 50 psi.  Seating the tire to the rim is at 32 psi.  When I first bought the boat I inflated to 32 psi and found that the tires got quite hot when I checked them.  Going to 50 psi keeps my tires much cooler even after long periods of freeway driving (Ohio to S. Florida and back).  If you read the tire sidewall carefully it will say 50 psi and seat at 32 psi.  I also jack the trailer up over the winter to keep the weight off the wheels.  This keeps the tires round so they don't get oblong from all the weight being at one location on the tire for long periods.  I did replace the original tires in 2014 with 205/80-10 Carlisle tires.  The original tires I believe were -8 tires.

[Christopher]

Erase the -8 comment on the old tires.  That is rim diameter.  I must have gone with the E rated tire as well.  I know it had a high GW rating than the tires I replaced.

[rogerschwake]

  After setting hear thinking I looked on Amazon and found all kind of 10" tires. They have lots of brands and C, D and E load range tires mounted on rimes or just tires alone. The first time I blew a tire I changed it myself, got it done but it is a real bitch and will never do it again. The next tire I buy will come on a white rim and tire and wheel will not be save when wore out.

ROGER

[kickingbug1]

    i went with 13" car radials on my catalina's trailer. they are hankook and have a 21" diameter. so far so good. most of the trailer tires i have tried in the past were poorly made and never lasted. some even shed their tread which is not a good thing at 65mph. at least these tires could be balanced and so far they appear fine. the whole rig weighs about 2200lbs i think. time will tell.