Buying Trailer Tires During Pandemic

B

Bosn Mate

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 23, 2015
Messages
240
Fluid Motion Model
R-29 S
Hull Identification Number
FMLT2912I718
Vessel Name
Tingira
Good Morning:

I have to replace my trailer tires (7 total) for the first time as they have hit their 4 year time limit. Finding Goodyear Endurance, as well as other brands, is a real challenge. Local dealers don't usually stock ST225/75R 15 trailer tires and have to special order only to find they can get 1-3 tires.

I would appreciate any advice from those who have recently bought tires regarding sources. Also, I would be interested in those that buy from an online source.

Thanks!

Mike
 
We had a trailer custom built for our 2021 R29 in January and specified Goodyear Endurance tires. The trailer arrived with all 7 being Goodyear Endurance tires (although we did pay an up charge over the original quote for the cost of the trailer). I also purchased a spare Goodyear Endurance for an RV last summer during the height of the pandemic. My take is they are available but you may have to work on it and wait awhile to gather up all 7 you need. If your old ones are not in immediate failure mode I recommend taking the time to find all seven. You may have to call around and gather them from different retailers and take them all to one place then to get them mounted and balanced. Worst case you could replace them a few at a time, assuming you have not waited until the week before a cross country trip. (We had an original equipment tire failure on our 2015 R25SC trailer in the summer of 2020 and were faced with the need to replace at lease that one in order to get the boat home from the lake. We opted to replace all 5 with something other than Goodyear Endurance because we needed to make the 300 mile trip home on what appeared to be failing tires.)
 
Just checked Tire Rack, probably biggest on line tire merchant. Estimated delivery 2/26 2022! Looks like planning ahead for next season might be a good idea.

Larry
 
eBay and Craigslist have the Goodyear’s at a small mark up, otherwise it’s a long wait. But the Chinese really never stopped making tires. Plenty of those available.
 
Interesting. My local Discount Tire store in Medford, OR has 7+ in stock.
GOODYEAR ENDURANCE. ST225 /75 R15 117N E1 BSW $145 each.
That’s where I bought my four Endurance tires in April 2020. Still holding up well after 6,000 miles.
 
Just a follow-up.

I could not find Goodyear Endurance tires without a wait into 2022. So I did research on other brands and found Maxxis M8008 to have a very good reputation. Found that Walmart had the best price and had seven shipped to my local store where they were mounted today.

Mike
 
Maxxis is a very good trailer tire.
KKRCRACE
 
I also have had very good service from Maxxis trailer tires.
 
ditto on Maxxis. that is what I ran before Goodyear Endurance. No problems. I seem to remember that top speed rating is not as high, but held up well.
 
Where does the four year limit on trailer tires come from? On my RV I've always thought the 10 year mark was about when tires aged out.
 
The four year time limit is my own based on information from a number of tire manufacturers who state 4-6 years life for trailer tires.

RV tires may be different so I can't comment.
 
People that sell tires recommend replacing every 4 years.
 
Trailer tire life is dependent on lots of factors. Periods of non-use seem to be bad for them. Parking them on the bare ground is the worst thing you can do. I have friends that park their boat on an outside unpaved area and they have never gotten three years out of trailer tires. Every time they try to go that third season they end up on the side of the road changing tires. I have gone 6 years with trailer tires parked in a temperature controlled garage on concrete floors with the boat & trailer jacked up to take about 50 % of the weight off them in the winter season. Made it to the lake in season
number 6 before one of them failed. While we were cruising I had all 5 replaced so I could make it home. Our trip to the lake is over 250 miles and the summer heat is not kind to tires of age. I change my travel tires at 5 years also. It is much easier to pay and get good tires installed and balanced before the trip then spending my travel time sitting in some unknown tire store getting whatever brand they have available. If the lake was 15 miles away that might change my decision, but who wants to blow a tire on a boat that costs as much or more than their house at 55 MPH? Not my idea of a risk worth taking. Tread wear has nothing to do with the likelihood of them failing from dry rot due to age,
Trailer tires are discussed frequently in publications such as Trailer Life magazine. 5 years seems to be the maximum recommended life span and Goodyear Endurance or Maxxis are the top rated tires in my analysis of reading what is printed there.
 
Sounds like I've been living dangerously. The tires on my 18' aluminum fishing boat are coming up on 10 years. The five year old Cutwater we bought a few months ago is still rolling on the original tires. Guess I'll look at swapping both sets out this off season.
 
Maybe location has something to do with it, but in April I got five for my trailer from Walmart. I just went on line to see if I could get more and it said, delivered by October 1st. Perhaps the delay will come afterwards, but I have found Walmart delivery times to be accurate.
 
dgiles":2u1wzyo6 said:
People that sell tires recommend replacing every 4 years.
Click to expand...
I think I typed it wrong. What I meant was, "Only people who SELL tires recommend replacing every 4 years."

It is hardly necessary.
 
I own multiple trailers that get used hard and the tires are up to 13 years old with no issues. Protect them from the sun if sitting for a while and that’s it. They are parked on concrete or gravel all the time, have only had 1 blowout in thousands of miles and it was due to clipping a curb. Keep an eye on them and as long as they aren’t developing cracks, they will be fine. These are also loaded up a lot heavier than most boat trailers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You are lucky. I keep my tires cover when not in use. Always check for proper inflation. Never go over 65 MPH and have towed my tug over 30k miles. After three years 3 blow outs and a few leaks related to tires starting to delaminate. Last set bought prior to Endurance were Maxxis. They were fine, but developed leaks at 4 year point.
 
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