---

I see this question, and answers from all these same folks on this subject from the same posters I see here. After enjoying a few glasses of Jack Daniels after a lot of miles travelling, and for the first time ever on either Whaler forum, I will weigh in on this matter, against my better judgment :)

I agree with Finnegan. I am not surprised, actually, as he is, in my opinion, the foremost authority on trailering Whalers. I also agree with dougt, he is absolutely correct on the DOT number on each tire determining the manufacturing date of each tire. I do not really understand how this knowledge is actually practical, but it is true. Turpin and his dad have had exactly the same experience that I have had using car tires for trailer tires, absolutely ZERO problems with them.

I have seen the same argumentative postings, in quite some detail, regarding the cons of using car/pickup tires in lieu of "trailer" tires on another site by the same guy protesting here. It's all a bunch of hooey in my opinion. It does not matter at all to me if another Whaler site owner seems to agree with him on this, and, from appearances, most other matters that he posts on as well.

Among other pursuits, I own and run a medium sized trucking company here in the US. I am VERY interested in tires. They make money for me, and can lose a lot of money for me as well if I make the wrong decision on them. The following opinions are based on a lifetime of experience and knowledge gained, and should be considered as my opinion only. I have made a LOT of money on tires with these opinions.
I use nothing but load range D type tires on all my Whaler trailers. The higher the DOT load rating on a tire, the stronger the sidewalls will have to be. It aint rocket science, it's tires.I obviously believe these are the most reliable tires for this use available on the market today, used or new. I never use recapped tires for anything, especially trailers, of ALL sizes, that I own, up to 53' in length. When the tire tread is worn below the measurement of the distance of Lincoln's head from the edge of a penny, I replace them. When I observe any cracking or blistering on a tire, I replace them. There is NO SET NUMBER OF YEARS A TIRE WILL BE WORN OUT. Anybody who simply replaces tires because of the tires age is simply supporting the tire manufacturing industry, which is not necessarily a bad thing these days :) It certainly would, and obviously does, help keep the price down on all the tires I have to buy :)

Well, so there it is, I am now on record on this issue. :)