Best Tires

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

Any opinions on which is the best tire for a Mac stock trailer?

I guess I came a bit too close to my fencepost one day and gouged the sidewalls of one of my tires (it is an extrememly tight fit with only inches to spare). The tire went flat and dryrotted some. Now it leaks from the gouges and the dryrot so I guess it is a trashed tire even though it had barely any tread wear.

So, I want to buy two new tires (with galvanized rims) and then use the remaining non damaged bias ply tire as a spare. A local tire shop recommended the Goodyear Marathon ST tires which have the same ratings at the Titan tires that are stock. They don't have them in stock though and need to special order them. What say you, is this a good tire?

I know there are some good Internet tire places, but I figure you pay a lot for shipping and have to install them yourself and throw away the old one. And what about balancing, do mail-order tires come balanced? Seems like it may be easier to go to a local tire shop.

[craiglaforce]

I bought a spare tire and wheel at a Boater's World a few years ago. Mine is painted, but I thing they also had galvanized. It was about $100 even about 2 years ago. It was bias ply. The brand was Towmaster 1760 lb laod range C rating. I don't now if I bought exactly the right thing or not.

I doubt if it was balanced. I never used it yet so can't say how it works.
Make sure you get the right load rating on it, since I guess we are pushed to the limits of tire weight ratings with the single axle arrangement.

Chip is our resident tire expert so if he is around maybe he will give some more specific advice.

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

I guess Chip is still cruising the keys. There was a discussion not so long ago about whether an 215/75ST (special trailer) tire with a load rating of C (1870) lbs was better than a light truck/RV tire (205/75 with a D load rating) which was rated over 2000 lbs. Don't think we ever came to a good conclusion on that one which is why I want to ask if anyone can recommend the Goodyear Marathon Trailer tires.

I guess I should really go weigh my Mac, but with everything I've read, as long as I don't go hog wild on the mods, I don't think I'm putting more than 1870 on each tire...afterall, there is close to 300# on the tongue too.

[Frank C]

Goodyear Marathon's are radial tires. Most owners have reported that they like them better than the factory's bias tires.

There was thread in which Chip posted some information I'd never seen before, basically that LT (light truck) tires are not up to the abuse of trailering. Also, there are two different rating systems, but the LT tire's "synonomous" rating was less than the ST (trailer) tire. Also, ST tires can carry greater air pressure, which is where they gain their weight capacity.

The Tire Rack website has a Tech Center with excellent articles on tire ratings, sizes, brakes, wheels, etc.
Also, I think this is the thread referred to above.

[Captain Steve]

Dimitri,

I got my Marathon radials , mounted at West Marine. They frequently have sales of 15% of all trailer tires. THey cost about 100 each. sign up for a WM credit card and accumulate a rebate check for every purchase.

[Robert]

I replaced the tires on my Mac26X (already had the Marathon Radials on the old rims). I wanted the trailer to provide a smooth ride to my Mac26X, so balancing was a priority for me. I was told that hot dip galvaized wheels cannot be balanced because of the excess galv on one side. I also wanted corrosion resistance, so I went with Aluminum wheels which balanced nicely at discount tire where the old rims were swapped out.
..
Tires: I looked at the GoodYear Marathon tires and the Titan Radial-II tires. IMHO these are both excellent. There are two versions of Titan Radial Trailer tires, the old version and the -II version. B sure to ask for the newest version because Titan claims to have redesigned the tire to both run cooler and tollerate more heat.
..
Tire Sizes the same size tire in a Titan Radial-II is a little larger in diameter than the Marathon Radial tire. I was told this is normal variance in tire sizing between brands. If you want a lower trailer for easier launch and retrieve get the Marathons. Or if you want a little bigger tire with the latest in trailer tire technology for running cooler get the Titans.
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IMHO the new Titan ST-II is a tougher tire based on web comparisons.
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Tire ordering: My local discount tire could order the Marathons from a local warehouse and not charge shipping if I waited a few days. My local Firestone dealer could do the same for the Titans. Both types of tires were in town in a warehouse locally, but neither was at the tire store in stock.
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http://www.titanstore.com/store/trailerspec.html
http://www.goodyear.com/rv/products/pro ... athon.html

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

Thats interesting, the guy at my local tire store said he would have no problem balancing galvanized rims. If I buy from a tire store, I'll probably get goodyear marathons and have them balanced, they have to be special ordered. If I buy from a trailer store, I can either get trail america tires immediately (in stock), or wait until Tuesday for Titan bias ply tires (same as the stock tires I presume). If I get tires from a trailer store, WM, etc., then I would have to take them to a tire store to get them balanced anyhow. Seems like there is still a lot of different opinions on the Internet about whether bias ply or radials are better trailer tires. Both the trailer shops I talked to said that bias ply are still better for trailers...but a lot of people who post on the Internet like radials better. Whats your opinion?

[jklightner]

I did a bit of research via the internet and the Goodyear Marathon radial in the 14" size is apparently a very good tire. There were some problems with the earlier 15" D rated ones that had to be fixed by adding 2 more nylon belts to hold everything together, or else the tire tended to come apart. The newer version have a small "s" in a circle after the size to indicate second generation. Nothing good was said about Carlisle tires at all, lots of negative comments and problems. I can only find one mention of Towmaster, but my tire guy speaks highly of them. I was looking at ordering online, but by the time the shipping, taking them in to be mounted, it is cheaper to buy them here. I'm not going to be sailing this season, guess it will give me lots of time to catch up on all the little things that need doing. I currently have the trailer up on blocks and the wheels pulled off and in the garage to protect them. Has anyone tried the newer oil bath roller bearing hubs? I hear they run a lot cooler and are better than the grease type.

[Tom Spohn]

Here is some info:
http://www.championtrailers.com/tire_art.html

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

Well, it took a couple months, but I finally finished with my tires, tore down my brakes and inspected, cleaned, adjusted, and sprayed them down with anti-corrosive.

I was riding the fence for a long time about getting radials versus bias-plys. I was ready to get Titan bias-plys (based on cost difference) up until just a few days ago..when I changed my mind yet again. After several discussions on this board as well as the sailnet list, I finally decided that:

1. More people seemed to report problems with the bias plys separating or getting lumps than they did with radials.
2. More people seemed to think that radials ran cooler than bias plys.
3. Because I don't put that many miles on the trailer, I figure that I may as well have better tires and if I take good care of them (this time), they will last a long time. The former (stock biasply) tires were already 3.5 years old and had started dry rotting a bit when I bought the boat...they still had virtually all their tread on them.

Prices of the bias plys with galvanized rims were around $100 per side (not balanced). I managed to get Goodyear Marathon Radials for about $135 per side and the shop gave me free mounting and balancing.

Before I put them on, I opened up my drum brakes for the first time since they were installed about 13 months ago. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were still in pretty good shape despite several dunks in salt water. The trailer guy talked me out of the flush kit saying that they didn't do as much good as spraying them down with anti-corrosive every so often...maybe he was right. Very little rust on the shoes, and the springs and cylinder still looked like new. He said that the stock Mac brakes were basically crap...very thin metal, poor slave cylinders,etc. and I replaced them with much heavier duty drum brakes specifically made for boat trailers. So, I guess either the better quality parts, or spraying them down with the SP-200 (or is it 400), or both has made them do pretty well after longer than a year.

I did have to turn the adjusters a few turns to tighten them up some seeing as they don't seem to have self adjusters (and I think that only works when you use the brakes in reverse anyway) so I suppose that is enough of a reason to open them up once a year anyway.

13 months ago, I didn't know enough to use SS disc brakes..which was not something that the trailer shop was used to doing anyhow. If I was replacing brakes again, I probably would go with the DIY disc variety because they are wide open and you can take better care of them. But at least its nice to know that there are better quality drum brakes than the ones that were stock..which had rusted away so bad after 3.5 years that all the fluid had leaked out and they were useless. Guess I'll let you know how these ones do after a couple more years

[jklightner]

To help your tires last longer, spray them with 303 once in a while. It's like SPF 50 for tires. Do you use tire covers when parked? They help too.

[Catigale]

Is 303 an Armor All type product?? I havent been treating my tires since I keep the trailer in the shade, but if a few squirts of something can elongate tire life I should do this..

I trailered my Island around for most of last summer (just local) before I checked the tires and found they were the original 1976 trailer wheels

They had good tread, held air well, and had leprosy on both sidewalls...

Bearings were shot too.

[Hamin' X]

Is 303 an Armor All type product?? I havent been treating my tires since I keep the trailer in the shade, but if a few squirts of something can elongate tire life I should do this..

303 is a brand 303 Products

In the 60's, we used to wipe our tires with brake fluid. Kept them shiny and help protect them. We also put a little brake fluid on the wiper blades to keep them soft.

Rich

[kmclemore]

Is 303 an Armor All type product?? I havent been treating my tires since I keep the trailer in the shade, but if a few squirts of something can elongate tire life I should do this..

303 is a brand 303 Products

In the 60's, we used to wipe our tires with brake fluid. Kept them shiny and help protect them. We also put a little brake fluid on the wiper blades to keep them soft.

Rich

Yikes. I would NOT use brake fluid for anything where it might even remotely get on the paint... it's a SUPERB paint remover.

As for Armorall, I'd recommend against it. Yeah, it makes stuff shiny, but at a price... it's really good at pulling the moisture and plasticisers out of materials and will end up causing more drying and cracking than if you just left the material alone. It has ruined far too many rare antique dasboard pads... this I know for sure.

My advice is to use good tire covers... keep them out of the sun... and keep the tires as far as you can from any electrical devices (ozone is a killer on rubber).

[Night Sailor]

I've got 12,000 miles on a set of Goodyear Marathons. They have worn little, though they are mounted on a dual axle travel traifler weighing 5200 lbs., which must be turned inside it's own length to get it parked in my driveway with an electric dollly. No problems so far. I do keep them covered, and protectred with 303, and always inflated to max. pressure.

Tires made for trailers are the onlly way to go if you don't use them every week year round. They are made to resist flat spotting, UV degrading, and ozone softening. If you do use the trailer at least once per week then maybe you can consider a extra load truck tire.