Best trailer tires on the market now?

[resq302]

for those of you who have a trailer.....what is the best trailer tire out there now? We seem to have had an issue with one, possibly two tires on our trailer on the way back from VA and want to replace them with some good ones. I've heard not too good of things about the Goodyear Marathons that we currently have on the trailer now.

[hemigeno]

My experience is probably different than others, but...

I've chosen to stick with trailer tires that have a high enough load rating for this trailer's 14,000# GVWR, which unfortunately (at the time I needed 'em) eliminated every other tire brand besides Carlisle.  All of my trailer's original Carlisle tires blew within a few months of when they turned 5 years old.  It's like they had a timer on them.     Some have said that exposure to UV light is what degrades the rubber and leads to blowouts, but even my original spare - which was mounted inside the trailer for almost 5 years - still blew right on schedule with its mates.

Sadly, the replacement tires are all over 4 years old too - so I am fearful my planned trip to Talladega in October could involve a couple of roadside changeouts.  Those tires are not cheap either!  At least there are a few more manufacturer options available now.

Brian, are you sticking with a true trailer tire like the GY Marathon's, or are you going to use a LT truck tire?  IIRC Jim McCauley/3--Daytona uses (Hankook?) LT truck tires, but I think trailer tires have much stiffer sidewalls to handle the twisting they get during tight turns.  Jim's got a nice 26' enclosed trailer which has done fine with LT tires, plus he's had bad experience with Carlisle brand tires in the past so they're off his menu.

[Aero426]

Do you have an open or enclosed trailer?   What size tire are you running?    What kind of problems did you have?

I have not had any problems with two sets of Marathons on two different trailers.    Been running them since 2009, made in various plants all over including China.    Slight over inflation for higher speed  interstate travel is recommended.    I wore some of them out because of  bent torsion axles on one trailer.    Because of this, they were wearing severely on the inside edges, but did not fail.   Not the fault of the tire.

I towed an open trailer with some used Goodyear Wrangler LT tires for many years without trouble.    On the enclosed, I would not be comfortable with LT tires.    

My new enclosed trailer came with some off brand tires from the trailer manufacturer.    Put a few thousand miles on them last year.    We run them at the sidewall pressure, plus a few extra pounds.      

One other thing, on the enclosed trailer, if you are unlucky enough to have the light duty 3500 lb axles,  they take a smaller load range tire than the six lug 5000 lb axles do, even though the tire size is very close.   On the 3500 lb axles, the lighter load range tires  + the weight of an enclosed increases the possibility of running the tires past their limits.  

I think with any trailer tire,  age + speed + weight all factor in to when problems occur.     We ask them to do a lot.    

[c00nhunterjoe]

On the 7k open we run whatever is on sale, replace every 3 years regardless of tread. The 28 ft tri axle enclosed i think has dynapro by hankook on it. They were on sale, same rule, 3 years and out.

[resq302]

We have a Pace American 28' enclosed car trailer (24' box) with a pair of T3 torsional axles.  Each axle is rated at 5000 lbs.  I am a stickler for the tires being at the recommended 65 psi with the tires being the correct ST 225/75/R15 sized tires.  I'm well aware what can happen if you run tires too low on pressure from when I worked at a tire center a few years ago.

I was at my Dad's house today to pull the wheels and check into the issue further.  What I found when I pulled the first wheel was scary !  The tread seemed to be in the process of separating from the belts as gaps in between the tread were very uneven in areas where the tire was bulged.  Considering the trailer started the "bouncing" on the way back home from the show we attended in Virginia Beach, VA, shortly after we headed home, I consider ourselves VERY lucky that the tire did not either blow or peel the tread off and damage the trailer.  These tires are the Goodyear Marathon tires which were Made in China.  We had them installed back in 2009 and we store the trailer with the tire covers on it so as to not get dry rot on the sidewalls.  Typically, we might use our trailer on an average of 2-3 times a year.  Last year, due to vacations and such, we did not use our trailer once as we drove our cars to the local shows with the bias ply tires on the cars.

[Aero426]

If they were installed in 2009,  they are pushing six years old.   I'm sure it doesn't hurt to use the tire covers.   But age is age.       

There was talk about the early China built Marathons not holding up well.  But it is hard to tell what is fact or fiction.   

[bill440rt]

I'm on a 2nd set of Marathons, current set was installed back in '07.
The previous tires were also Marathons, which had virtually no tread wear but started to crack/dry rot from age & sun so I replaced them. Ever since I've kept the tires covered with tire covers and they do not show any signs of age.
Trailer sees use maybe 2-3x/year as well.
If I were to replace them again I'd probably go with Marathons. There are good/bad reviews about all trailer tires, it seems.
This is on a 24" ft enclosed Wells Cargo.

[skip68]

With the travel trailer I'd take the weight of the tires with Jack stands if sitting very long.  On my utility trailer I do nothing.  It only weighs about 1200 lbs plus I use it all the time.    Ten ply actual trailer tires on the rv and LT truck tires on the utility trailer is what I do.   Speed, heat, sitting for long periods and low tire pressure kills rv tires.  Far as brand, I'm not picky as long as the new tires aren't several years old that sat around till I bought them.   Tires have dates on them so be sure to ask for the newest manufacture date.   

[Trulyvintage]

I just took delivery of my new 34 ft. enclosed trailer about two weeks ago ...

Sunday - lost a factory ST tire on the curb side ...  

Today - replaced it with an LT Dextero 10 ply E load range from Walmart ...  

For over 3 years & 300,000 miles in year round driving - I have relied on Dextero LT tires from Walmart.

On my F350 dually & on my trailer I run Dextero DHT2 ...

@ http://www.walmart.com/ip/Dextero-DHT2-Tire-LT235-85R16-120-116R/21607864

ST tires have a more rigid sidewall but the tread area is more prone to puncture & blowout ...  



Jim

[Mike DC]

  


There's no excuse for the shit quality of trailer tires.  The short mileage is a compromise for stiffer sidewalls but everything else about them is a joke.  There's no reason they need to be unsafe after 3-4 years in covered storage when other tires are good for 10+ years outdoors.  There's no reason a supposedly heavy duty "safer" trailer tire has a failure rate several times worse than an economy car tire doing the same job.  This is ridiculous.  

[toocheaptosmoke]

Seems like every set of trailer tires I've bought within the last few years has sucked...  One set I put on a sled trailer was cracking in the sidewalls LESS than a year later!!  They weren't even the cheapest chinese pos tires either... Got a set of 18+ year old carlisles (made in usa) on the 20' utility trailer, I know they are on borrowed time, but the freaking brand new spare I bought 3 years ago is now in worse shape than the carlisles!    I'm running the old carlisles until they blow or start showing damage, probably go through 3 spares by that time...

I think maybe the 10 ply LT tires are something worth looking into?  Of course, they probably won't pass inspection. 

[bill440rt]

With the travel trailer I'd take the weight of the tires with Jack stands if sitting very long. 

Skip, this is a good point I forgot to mention.
When not in use, I extend the stabilizer jacks in the back & crank up the tongue to take the weight off the tires. This will also help prolong the life of the tires.