I know there's two main ways to handle getting new tires for your boat. One is to bring the whole boat and trailer into the local tire shop and the other is to just bring the old tires in and have them replaced.

I have larger tires, regular car size I believe, and the boat came with expensive, upgraded rims, so I won't just be buying whole new tires and wheels like I did for my smaller boat that had smaller tires. So the tires or boat/trailer need to go to the shop.

What route do you normally go?

I just purchased 2 wheels with tires mounted for my trailer. Took them to my tire shop guy had him balance them and I put both on my trailer. 

1 hour ago, tcbass said:

I know there's two main ways to handle getting new tires for your boat. One is to bring the whole boat and trailer into the local tire shop and the other is to just bring the old tires in and have them replaced.

I have larger tires, regular car size I believe, and the boat came with expensive, upgraded rims, so I won't just be buying whole new tires and wheels like I did for my smaller boat that had smaller tires. So the tires or boat/trailer need to go to the shop.

What route do you normally go?

 

I just take the wheels so I don't have to worry about someone messing with my boat at the tire shop. 

Make sure that you re tighten the wheels after the first small trip. I guess new tires will work the nuts loose after the first 30 minute ride. 

I just take the tires in. There's some places that will probably charge you close to 1/2 hour labor to take the tires off and put them on. At the going rate of 75-110 $/hour for labor you'll save yourself $40-55 dollars just by taking them off yourself. 

I just take the tires & wheels in by themselves. I have a dual axle trailer so I do two at a time. 

What about the trailer wheel bearings?  Are they usually lubed and inspected at a tire store or somewhere else like a boat dealership? I usually inspect and lube them myself but might have to have someone else do them one day.  I know the hubs will eventually need be replaced which include the bearings etc. 

9 minutes ago, MRBAMA57 said:

What about the trailer wheel bearings?  Are they usually lubed and inspected at a tire store or somewhere else like a boat dealership? I usually inspect and lube them myself but might have to have someone else do them one day.  I know the hubs will eventually need be replaced which include the bearings etc. 

There are some very good YouTube videos on how to check and if needed replace bearings, cups and seals. I did it myself and while messy it wasn't overly hard. And now I KNOW they are done right. Plus I kept the better set of bearings and if/when I ever have a problem on a trip I can band aid it and not have to leave my boat on the side of the road. 

2 hours ago, DubyaDee said:

Make sure that you re tighten the wheels after the first small trip. I guess new tires will work the nuts loose after the first 30 minute ride. 

This is true. 

My friend checked the rear tire on my truck. Later that day drove to work and the tire came un-bolted and flew down the road. 

5 hours ago, tcbass said:

This is true. 

My friend checked the rear tire on my truck. Later that day drove to work and the tire came un-bolted and flew down the road. 

Somebody forgot to torque!  I have never rechecked a tire.  Once correctly torqued, they stay that way. 

I brought the whole trailer in, but was leaving for a tournament that afternoon on Erie. Otherwise I'd just bring in the tires. I watched the guy just throw them on after mounted and balancing and he just tightened them with the impact gun and said I was done, I asked if he could just check the torque on them, they were tight to about 100 foot lbs. And away I went....read checked them at Erie with a simple tire iron to make sure they were good. 

11 minutes ago, Scorchx1245 said:

I brought the whole trailer in, but was leaving for a tournament that afternoon on Erie. Otherwise I'd just bring in the tires. I watched the guy just throw them on after mounted and balancing and he just tightened them with the impact gun and said I was done, I asked if he could just check the torque on them, they were tight to about 100 foot lbs. And away I went....read checked them at Erie with a simple tire iron to make sure they were good. 

 

How tight are trailer tires supposed to be?

Or is it different for all boat trailers?

I think it varies, I know my f250 calls for 115-125 foot lbs and my v6 mustang was 105 8 lug vs 5 lug so my 5 lug trailer I kept it to 100, smaller tire, less stress on it I think.

Do like you do with your car.  Take the whole rig there, wait, drive it home...or to work or wherever.

Much faster overall, less hassle.

I had all new tires put on my trailer this spring...total time invested: about an hour.

On 8/10/2016 at 1:06 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

I just take the wheels so I don't have to worry about someone messing with my boat at the tire shop. 

This.

On 8/10/2016 at 1:06 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

I just take the wheels so I don't have to worry about someone messing with my boat at the tire shop. 

4 hours ago, RFSims said:

This.

 

I'm a simple guy...were I worried about someone messing with the boat...I'd just stand there and watch while they did the work...

I think about all the screwing around it'd take to take off the wheels, block the axle so the trailer's off the floor...then drive the wheels into town, wait until they get done, drive home, remount...we're looking at at least an hour, hour and a half.

If I did 'em one side at a time, it'd be even more time...I dunno about you guys...but I'd rather go fishing than devote a half day to a tire change.

2 hours ago, Further North said:

 

I'm a simple guy...were I worried about someone messing with the boat...I'd just stand there and watch while they did the work...

I think about all the screwing around it'd take to take off the wheels, block the axle so the trailer's off the floor...then drive the wheels into town, wait until they get done, drive home, remount...we're looking at at least an hour, hour and a half.

If I did 'em one side at a time, it'd be even more time...I dunno about you guys...but I'd rather go fishing than devote a half day to a tire change.

Floor jack and jack stands, 10 minutes tops to take the wheels off the boat. There's a tire shop less than 2 miles from my work. Drop them off on the way in, pick them up on the way home and put them back on the boat. Then I don't have to mess with it on my days off. 

I'd like to know of a reputable tire shop around here where I could spend less than an hour just waiting to get my tires changed. They don't let you stand in the garage and watch them either, too big of a liability. The wait at the shop could very likely be half a day or more depending on how busy they are. 

11 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Floor jack and jack stands, 10 minutes tops to take the wheels off the boat. There's a tire shop less than 2 miles from my work. Drop them off on the way in, pick them up on the way home and put them back on the boat. Then I don't have to mess with it on my days off.

Ah...I see where the difference...It would take me at least 5 of those minutes to dig out the jack and floorstands because I don't use them often...I'm not even sure I still have the jackstands...then, reasonably, at least 5 minutes per wheel (2 plus spare) another five to get 'em loaded in the truck...so we're at 25 minutes...

Same on the back end only in reverse.

I don't have to mess with it on my days off, either, I just take an hour during the day, and I know a lot of folks can't do that.

11 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I'd like to know of a reputable tire shop around here where I could spend less than an hour just waiting to get my tires changed. They don't let you stand in the garage and watch them either, too big of a liability. The wait at the shop could very likely be half a day or more depending on how busy they are. 

Another difference - I make an appointment and call ahead to make sure they're on schedule.  None of the local shops has any real problem with me watching from inside the shop...if they did there's not much they can say about me standing just outside the door.