Check your tyres (tires)

[bastonjock]

I was trailering my boat to go sailing for the weekend,i heard a loud "braap" noise fron the rear so i stopped to check and found that the tyre had delaminated,the tread had come off and taken the wheel arch with it,all that was left was a steel radial still inflated.I use sealant on my tyres so i dont carry a spare,i had to pull into the layby and wait until morning .

I managed to loacate a tyre so i then went to unhitch the truck and found that my wife had twisted the towing hitch whilst negotiating the slipway,fortuneately i have a comprehensive tool kit onboard so i fixed that one,one new tyre and tow hitch later we were off.twenty miles down the road a braap,the other one goes,same deal find a place to stop and find a tyre,i also found that the brakes had jammed on,this is what probably caused the second tyre to delaminate.

I fixed the brakes and put on a new tyre,nothing more went wrong.

The tyres on my trailer had done 1000 miles,but they were 7 years old,i was unaware that tyres only have a shelf life of 4-5 years,these tyres from the P.O. had been kept in a shed out of sunlight.

moral of the story,change your tyres if they are older than 4-5 years

[NiceAft]

Jock,

Thanks! This is something I now have to check into. Is that the normal life of any "tyre"?

Ray

[bastonjock]

yes ray,it came as a surprise to me also,the tyres that i had on were virtually unworn,the P.O had only done 30 miles on them before removing the wheels from the trailer frame.

The guys at the tyre shops both told me that the life of a tyre is 4-5 years,both of my tyres had 2001 stamped on them.

On the whole it was a crazy weekend.The police stopped me about 15 mins after i left the slipway,they gave me the full shakedown,i had to prove ownership of the boat etc then they gave the truck a going over,they were very polite and could have fined me $400.00 and endorced my licence as i had forgotten my insurance cert(i have a dealers ticket) anyhow it all got a bit anoying ,my wife and i did not have a cross word untill we got lost trying to find the marina,we were doing great ,the journey should have taken 3-4 hours it ended up taking 25

the good bit was that she and my daughter had a great sailing trip they both loved it in choppy conditions

[mike uk]

Out of interest, do you have the single axle trailer or the dual axle?

Mike

[Frank C]

Tire failures were very common on the 26X trailers, probably because they were only 14-inchers and generally overloaded. Roger upgraded tires to 15-inchers with the 26M, now with capacity of 2100# per tire, or about 2,000 kg for the axle. However, it's incumbent on the owner to maintain proper air pressure, or those weight carry capacities fall very quickly.

Inadequate air pressure, resulting in excess heat, is probably the most common cause of tire failure. I stop each hour to check the heat-rise in the tire carcass, just by feeling the sidewall for heat. When I had those older 14s, the tire was usually too hot to rest your hand there. My 15s, aired-up according to the sidewall warning, never feel more than "just warm."

[bastonjock]

i have a single axle trailer,it has 12 inch tyres,the tyres are commercially rated at 2 tons,they take 90 psi,if i was going to trailer the boat on a regular basis i would install a second axle

[mike uk]

I think everyone's comments are helpful in this thread. It is important to be aware of the loading on axle and tyres and also to renew tyres after about 4 years.

My rig weighs 1760kg. I have the UK single axle (the uprated version for 1800kg). This uses the 12 inch tyres which are rated either 900kg each or 950kg each, depending on the make. (90psi pressure).

I've had a few problems with blow outs and have been intending to get an extra axle fitted but not done it yet.

I've been in some doubt because I was intending to get a new axle identical to the existing (making a total capacity of 3600kgs) but I have been told that this set up would be too stiff for my boat and would not provide the right amount of "give". I can see the logic in that, but really don't want to throw away a perfectly good axle in order to buy 2 new ones.

Anyway, I've talked to a number of trailer people about this and not really got a single definitive answer. The last guy said that my 2 x 900 rated tyres are ample for the load because the manufacturers have built in margins anyway. His advice was to stick with the single axle. So for now I'm just carrying on as things are.

Mike

[Phillip]

I believe the margins have been very cleverly built in.
It is really just a case of maintanance....
With a dual axel system you have to be very careful in this country that you don't go over 2,000kg (total weight), because then you do need 2 axels, 4 hydrolic discs, with electric over (actuator), with break away battery incl, and in car controls, paralell bearings......coming to I believe around AUD$3,500.
If you do decide to go dual, then be aware breaking laws change at some point (in this country 2,000kg).
I personally believe the single is up to the job.....just look after it as you do your boat......and that's the crunch.....I see boats in great condition sitting on trailers that are a bit untidy....because nobody cares about it....
Cheers
Phillip

[RickJ]

Mike

I have the UK (Mersea) trailer from 1997. It's a twin-axle, but was upgraded from an original single-axle. I know because the invoice for the work is in with the boat's paperwork. The invoice shows that a 2nd axle was added, same as the 1st, they didn't put two new axles on. The axle hardware is all Alko.

I haven't trailed any long distances (yet), but with the towing I have done so far it seems quite happy.

HTH

Cheers, Rick

[Oskar 26M]

Phillip is right about threshold weights in Australia. Braking becomes a very pricey exercise once you go above 2000kg! So do tyres .
On the other hand, Mac's are not cheap here either so the investment needs to be protected.

[bastonjock]

i had a look at a twin axle trailer,it was a mersea,same as the single axle one that i have,it had a mac 26x on it so i took a close look and found that it was exactly the same as mine except for the second axle,12 inch tyres and manufactured by mersea.

I also intend to take my boat and trailer over to a public weighbridge,with all the extra stuff on board,id rather know what the boat and trailer weigh,if its over 1900 kgs,ill fit a second axle

[Kelly Hanson East]

I did check my tyres (standard issue 14 inch in NA)

They were fyne.

[Hamin' X]

Back to the original topic of tire life:

ABC News Story Video

Take special notice of how to read the date codes.

Rich---Hamin' X---N7ZH

[Oskar 26M]

Wow. Thats scary! But very informative, especially the bit about how the date codes is hidden on the inside type wall on some brands. Thanks for posting this link.

[NiceAft]

Very informative video Hamin. I recently saw on a local TV news station, a report on how to make ones tires safer by inflating them not with compressed air, but with Nitrogen.

Nitrogen filled tires will not rot as fast as tires filled with compressed air. They also will maintain correct pressure longer. There are shops in the area which will fill your tires with nitrogen for $39 (all four tires)


Ray