28 minutes ago, slonezp said:

You bought another one?

It's a family camp boat for trout, salmon

Time flies when we're having fun, and the fun this week comes in the form

of purchasing the new boat trailer tire replacements. That might have been the quickest 5 years in quite a while.

Either way, after running two sets of the OE Carlisle Radial Trail HD Trailer Tires and being mostly happy with them, I was looking to upgrade the "guts" of the tire without having to change my wheels or fenders.

Went with the same size but got the Taskmaster Provider ST205/75R15 .

Stumbled across a stupid good deal at Walmart of all places and went for it.

Seems like a significant step up from standard stock tires in a few key areas:

Speed Rating (The "M" Factor): Most standard trailer tires are rated for 65 mph. The Providers carry an M speed rating, meaning they are rated for up to 81 mph. I don't plan on hitting those speeds; having that overhead means the tire runs cooler and handles highway heat much better than a tire pushed to its limit.

Automotive-Grade Tread: Unlike traditional trailer tires with solid ribs, these have siping (small slits) and a tread pattern more like a truck tire. This helps significantly with water evacuation, which is a big plus when you're backing down a slick northern Michigan ramp or hauling in a downpour.

Full Nylon Overlay: One of the main reasons trailer tires fail is tread separation. The Provider uses a nylon wrap over the steel belts to help keep everything together under the high heat and stress of long-distance towing.

Roadside Assistance: A nice "old school" perk they include is 2 years of complimentary roadside assistance. If you're on the shoulder with a flat, someone will come out to swap your spare.

Tire mounting and balancing happens next week.

Trailer goes up on jackstands for a day in the garage.

So just an FYI.

A-Jay

Mine are due to be replaced next season.

Remember to check your spare tire too

If you have one in your area check out Discount Tires. You can get almost any brand from them. I have bought tires for my boat trailer, utility trailer and truck from them. When I go back they check the air, rotate and balance the tires for no additional charge.

It has been three years since my last trailer tire replacement. The last time I replaced them I was driving down the road from a long trip, looked in my left side mirror, and noticed a huge bubble on the side of the left tire. I was fortunate to get them replaced before complete failure, though that has happened a couple of times as well over the years. These Taskmaster tires appear to be worth looking into.

FWIW, from the Carlisle site in reference to trailer tires.

– 3 to 5 years is the average life expectancy of a trailer tire, regardless of mileage.

– It is estimated that in approximately three years, roughly one-third of a tire's strength is gone.

– After three years, depending upon storage and conditions of usage, consider replacing trailer tires even if they have tread depth remaining.

– After five years, trailer tires should be replaced in all cases.

While I am entirely pro-active about replacing something like tires when necessary, I would be hesitant to completely agree with what a tire company communicates on new ones because their business is fully dependent on the customer. They WANT you to buy new ones whether you need them or not.

I'd be more inclined to take the advice of a someone who's more partial to something like this. Like a mechanic or specialist, etc.

It's like the shop who wants me to change my oil every 3000 miles even though the oil tracker still says there's 50% oil life remaining. The more often I go in there, the more business they generate.

Trailer tires is always a contentious topic, be it brand or life, hence the Fwiw.

Hearing A-jay had a tire failure at 10 years while unfortunate isn’t surprising, got his $ out of those.

14 minutes ago, gim said:

While I am entirely pro-active about replacing something like tires when necessary, I would be hesitant to completely agree with what a tire company communicates on new ones because their business is fully dependent on the customer. They WANT you to buy new ones whether you need them or not.

Yep. I have found over the years that my tires will usually go 5 years, though once in a while that is cutting it close. Three years is too soon to replace IME.

@padlin, A-jay's original post about his tire blowout was in 2021.

I don't put a lot of mileage on my boat trailer. The tread is not usually a good indicator of when I need to replace them. It's more so the "tire rot" if I remember correctly. Also something to keep in mind is if your boat/trailer is stored indoors or outdoors. The outdoor elements (mostly UV sunlight) can degrade them quicker.

4 minutes ago, senile1 said:

@padlin, A-jay's original post about his tire blowout was in 2021.

Dang, I hate it when I don’t notice a resurrected thread. 😡

3 minutes ago, padlin said:

Dang, I hate it when I don’t notice a resurrected thread. 😡

Not exactly resurrected.

More like continuing.

Helps plant the check the trailer tires seed in our often basshead distracked brains.

A-Jay

18 minutes ago, padlin said:

Dang, I hate it when I don’t notice a resurrected thread. 😡

It has happened to me too. LOL

There may be a few indicators, like tread wear if you put a lot of miles on them, or sun checked dry rot cracking on sidewalls if exposed to the sun, however, all tires have a type of rot from the inside out that you cannot see. When my trailer tire blew out, the shop that replaced them showed me. The outside looked new, but the inside had this strange gray cracking, dust and chunks on the inside where it just sort of disintigrated over time. He told me any tire, no matter how it looks, is a time bomb at 7 years. The Chinese rubber that is very commonly used today is reduced to 5 years.

The GMC I am towing with now (as well as the next one on order) has an in vehicle trailering app. Provides detailed information on everything trailer. Keeps track of milage, tire psi, brakes, properly lighting and does self check on everything everytime I plug the Lund trailer in. Keeps tabs on my canoe trailer as well.

Didn't think I'd use it at first. I was wrong.

A-Jay

The new Taskmaster trailer tires went on last week.

Towed my rig with them a few times now.

On the highway, some dirt roads & a couple of different boat ramps.

Totally uneventful.

Just the way I like it.

Should be good now for a few years anyway.

A-Jay