Just that.

I was wondering what brand(s) people are running now and have run as well as praise or problems with any brands that you may have had. Rumors float about that the China Inc Marathons are not as good as the Canada made ones and that Carlisles separate and other brands might be better.

Frankly I've had Carlisles that never gave me a problem and Marathons with bubbles (may be due to a slowly failing axle spindle).

Do you check your trailer tire pressure?

Do you keep them at max pressure? More? Less?

What speed do you trailer?

Have you checked to make sure that you're not overloading your trailer tires?

Do you monitor trailer tire temperature while towing?

Are your trailer tires more than 3 or 4 years old?

Are a lot of these failures due to operator issues (under-inflated, over-loaded, over max speed, running beyond design life)?

So this is open ended to share any information that you may have, good or bad, about trailer tires. Did I miss anything?

"Original" Marathons, 3.5 years old. No problems, but I store indoors out of the sun and don't leave storage until all 5 are at exactly 65psi cold.

IMO the source of all the trailer tire problems is nothing more than speculation on anyone's part. Some are convinced it's chronic under-inflation; others believe it's from sitting out in the UV all the time. Some believe it's just age. Some believe it's just crappy tires. IMO (and that's all I can have) is that the single biggest problem is under-inflation, but probably all the factors mentioned contribute to some degree. I have to admit, I *am* leary about the Chinese Marathons, simply because of their origin.

65 psi? Are they 15"?

How many years can a tire be used before replacing it?
I think that it is a function of age and not treadwear when they need to be replaced.

Yes, 15". I agree you can't tell anything by remaining tread, and very little by outward appearance. Even most of the "bulges" that concern so many folks are just where the belts overlap and are not a problem.

Original Marathons here too. Mine are on their 4th year. No problems yet. I run them at max psi and check them before each long tow in the spring and fall. Summer tows are only a few miles each way. I did notice this year that the valve stems are severely dry rotted. Replacement stems are on the winter to do list.

Tires on single axle trailers, assuming the spindles are 'true', will rarely have a problem. (but bad tires happen)

Double and triple axle trailers are another story. Problem 1 is that the weight on the tires is almost always real close to their rated limit. Problem 2 is "scrub", that happens whenever the trailer is moving in any direction but dead-straight. Imagine the force exerted on your front tires if you make a sudden hard, full-on turn at 30 mph. Just making a normal left turn can exert about the same force on the scrubbing trailer tires. Right turns, and the normal turns around your boat harbor are even worse. And if the tires are under-inflated, the inner cords become REALLY susceptible to separating and breaking. It's amazing how much abuse tires can take...

3 years and 1 month old they were...always ran at 50psi...stored indoors in the winter...tow around 68-69mph...lost 3 of them on the way home from Table Rock this July. Turned our normal 10 hour tow into a 14 hour saga of changing tires and checking the mirrors every 5 seconds!! Having lived through this nightmare I feel I'm qualified to state that New Zealand made Marathons SUCK.

I'm hoping the 4 new "Chinathons" on there now are a bit better...

Pushing it w/ 6 years of very light use on my Canadian made Marathons.

Sun will get them before wear.

Looking at Kumho 857's as replacements, but hard to find in my size (205/R14) if at all still available.

Next in line are Maxxis if I can't find the Kumho's when the Marathons give out.

My original Marathons started giving out last year. Had a blowout on tires that only had about 2500 miles on them and were in their 4th year of use. I think the sun got to the sidewalls. I always kept them inflated at the 50 PSI max. Towed about 65-70 most of the time.

I just bought 4 new Marathons this April. I guess they are made in China? Not really sure, but am keeping my fingers crossed.

Original Duro's on mine. Well, 3 are original, I replaced one with some stupid off-brand Indonesian bias-ply tire.

I have valve-stem monitors that let me know if they fall below 50psi.

SD, the build location is stamped on the sidewall if you're curious....

Anyone rotate trailer tires? I have a single axle and thought about rotating them as there is some minor tread wear. Boat is kept in a garage, sidewalls are good. The boat is a 2001 and we bought it in 2003, good chance the tires are original. Tires are GY Marathons.

Time to change those tires out. Should only go 5 years max regardless of tread wear.

My rotation consists of replacing two of the four in staggering years.

BTW, if you have Marathons, the TSB from them that I posted above actually recommends inflating them to 10psi above the pressure stated on the sidewall or to the maximum pressure stamped on the rim. Mine say 50psi on the tire so all but the spare are at 60psi and the spare rim is limitted to 50psi.

Thanks for posting that TSB!

I don't often run over 65 when towing anyway, but in any case I'd be hesitant to run mine at 75psi. Seems like it would be a more harsh ride for the boat.

Probably, but running across the desert at 75mph when its 115 degrees out demands a lot of air in the tires.

I had Maxxis radials on my last trailer. 4 years and no problems but stored indoors year round. I would by them again.

On the 7th year on my tires (Marathons).....getting ready for a trip in a few weeks.....tires do not see the sun much.....will inspect this weekend....keep inflated to 50 psi.....

I have our boat on a heavy 1970's tandem axle that I rebuilt 5 years ago. The trailer is rated at 4800lbs capacity in its original config (14" tires). I replaced all hardware and since I couldn't readily lay my hands on new 14" wheels and tires, I ended up with 15" Duro Bias tires pre-mounted on steel bullet hole wheels. Combined capacity somewhere over 8,000 lbs. I have 3500lb axles. Essentially, I built overkill as our total towed load with full tanks is ~4100lbs (weighed, not guessed). We are on our 5th season with the Duros and they are still in great shape.

Do you check your trailer tire pressure? Yes. Every couple trips

Do you keep them at max pressure? More? Less? 2-5 lbs below max (shoot for 45-48)

What speed do you trailer? 60-65mph

Have you checked to make sure that you're not overloading your trailer tires? Yup. no problem here

Do you monitor trailer tire temperature while towing? Any time I stop, I do the hand on hubs and tires routine

Are your trailer tires more than 3 or 4 years old? Yes, 5