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I will need to replace the tires on my dual axle trailer next Spring, it is sitting on 14 inch tires supporting a 1979 Newport 17, i Asked my tire dealer to keep an eye open for a good set of lightly used car tires if someone trades up to a newer car, his response was that I can not put car tires on my boat trailer, buy the way tires are a lot more expensive in Canada.

Is there any truth to this

Thanks

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Trailer tires are designed with a stiffer sidewall to prevent swaying. I would never put a car tire on any trailer. I have seen truck axles used in trailer fabrication. The truck tire has a stiffer sidewall rating. You have a dual axle trailer for your Newport which may be an overkill. Add up the maximum tire load and multiply by 4. That will give you the load rating (must add in the weight of the trailer itself). Figure out the weight of your boat outfitted. If a decent discrepancy in your favor you may sneak out savings getting used truck tires (if you can find some that small).

You may want to convert to a single axle with an axle/tire capacity/springs for your boat. With springs, bigger is not better.

Garris

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I use light truck tires for trailer tire replacements. They work perfectly well and are much better tires. Read the specs and you may be surprised how much better.

Don't use used car tires or any used tires. Someone replaced them for a good reason. Furthermore you have no idea how old the tires are unless you can decipher the sidewall code. Tires should be replaced with new when the are six years old. Tread wear is not a consideration, age matters.

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As mentioned, you are so overrated with a 1979 Newport sitting on a tandem axle trailer with 14" wheels, that it is ridiculous. You probably already know that. I carry my 1979 Montauk, approximately the same weight as your boat, on a single axle trailer with 13" wheels, and the trailer is rated for 2000# carrying capacity.

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/lgolt...9383618435

I even carry my Outrage 25 on a tandem axle with 215-75-R14" wheels, on a trailer rated for 6500# capacity.

So in your particular case, because of your huge excess capacity, I do not see a problem using passenger car tires, even good used ones. All of us have seen boat trailers with paassenger car tires, some with white walls, mounted either inside or out. When I bought my Montauk, it came on an EZ Loader trailer with inside mounted whitewall 14" tires! (which I quickly sold)

Now I don't know about Canadian laws, but in this country you can do it. It is not something I would normally recommend, and I don't do it because all of my trailers are properly sized for the load and therefore NEED trailer load range "C" rated tires, But in your case it seems like complete overkill to buy four 14" load rated "C" trailer tires, all of which have a rated capacity of 1768#, for a total of 7072# to carry a 1600# rig.

It is also interesting to note that all TRAILER tires have a warning on them "NOT FOR PASSENGER CAR USE". THAT SEEMS TO INDICATE THAT A PASSENGER CAR TIRE IS ACTUALLY A SAFER TIRE, although most have only a load range "B" rating. In your case load range "B" 14" tires are still overkill. Also, all passenger car tires are radials, and what are the best trailer tires now? Radials! So I don't see a problem.

So if budget is an issue, go for the used passenger car tires. But you really should consider getting a new trailer for the boat if you are doing any amount of serious trailering. If not, your grossly overrated tandem axle trailer with 14" wheels will work to get you around locally I am sure.

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Finnegan,

Do you have any advice concerning how to KNOW the condition and age of any used tires available?

My opinion it is not a terribly good idea to put used tires of any kind on any boat trailer. It's virtually impossible to determine the provenance of used tires.

The potential cost of the damage to ones boat , trailer, and tow vehicle does not argue in favor of the use of used tires. it's a crap shoot and I don't recommend shooting craps with the safety of your property on the road.

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The operative words are *Good Condition* and that is up to the buyer to determine, along with trusting a reputable tire dealer. They should be able to determine age and condition if they know their business and are honest brokers.

Good 14" tires may even be hard to find, since not many cars today use a wheel that small. In my experience, most reputable tire shops pitch "take offs" unless they are in really good condition and have selling value left in them.

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Thak you for all the comments and insight, a lot of knowledgeable people on this site, I love my dual axle trailer, it came with the boat, i know it's overkill but it rides quite smooth and is still in great shape.

I will have to do some more research and price differences between the U.S. and Canada, a shopping trip might be in order.

A little more reading and difference in sidewall design in trailer tire is to support a high load but also to absorb road harshness when loaded with lighter loads.

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I have always used age to determine when to change tires on a travel trailer and now boat trailer.
They rarely wear out before they age out.
All US tires have a DOT stamp that indicates week and year they were manufactured. See DOT tire stamp
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretec...?techid=11

At 5 years I change tires.

Doug

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Doug,

Great advice. Thanks for providing the link for the date code. Personally I use six years but five is a more common recommendation.

Another thing most boaters seem to ignore is the recommendation to have trailer tires balanced. It's not helpful to have imbalanced tires shaking your boat and trailer while going down the road.

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My dad and I have used 14" car tires on our trailers for a great many years, my dad on about his 5th set. No problems, ever.

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Agree that using 13s is not a problem. Thousands do so. The advantage of larger wheel/tires is that they spin so much more slowly for a given speed. This allows them to run cooler and incur less wear. It's a little easier on the wheel bearings, too. Get those 13 inch tires balanced when time allows.

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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. :)

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Silent,

I don't think anyone would argue that it is bad to use D range tires when C range would meet the load requirements. There is nothing wrong with wearing a belt and suspenders if that is a preference.

I will disagree with you over the tire replacement for age issue. As you own and operate a trucking company I doubt very mush if you have a lot of experience with your tires reaching five or six years of age before the penny test fails. So, I guess your opinion is probably based on tires used for vehicles or small craft trailers.

My experience of using tires older than six years is fairly extensive. I've been retired since 1996, have a car, a pickup, and two boat trailers. The pickup is a year old and has a whopping 4000 miles of use. The car is six years old and has 14000 miles on it. My main launch ramp is less than a mile from home so my trailers are very low mileage. So I have about fifteen years of experience with tires that age out rather than wear out.

Tires are cheap. Cars, trucks, boats, trailers medical expenses and funerals are not. Consequently I follow DOT and tire manufacturers recommendations on tire replacement intervals for age. Is the penny test not a DOT and tire manufacturer recommendation?

I say let your judgement be your guide but I do try to pass on information that is known to me to be endorsed by more than just my experience. I won't express an opinion known to me to be contrary to widely followed government and industry guidelines. I would hate to cause harm to someone for following a suggestion I made.

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There is no DOT regulation requiring that any tire be changed out due to its age alone. I really don't understand how that misunderstanding got started.
I am also passing "on information that is known to me to be endorsed by more than just my experience." Every single thing that I have expressed in my post is based on DOT and even stricter FMCSA regulations.
I did not "express an opinion known to me to be contrary to widely followed government and industry guidelines." As a matter of fact, the opposite is true.
It is very misleading to insinuate that there is somehow a legal issue by using the phraseology "government and industry guidelines" requiring the replacement of any tire due to it's age alone. This regulation does not exist. It's hooey and was made up out of thin air. There is absolutely no regulation by any government agency that requires that a tire be replaced due to its age alone.
By your definition of standards, a tire manufacturer would be liable legally if a tire sat on a shelf for more than 6 years before being sold! Where did this come from?

I actually do wear suspenders that are looped and my belt actually runs through those suspender loops and supports my pants. They stay up quite well with this arrangement :)

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I'm sure this thread has had about as much attention as it can stand and I don't want to quibble..... but guidelines are recommendations, nothing more and anyone that cannot understand that or know it is too easily misled.

I don't believe I've misled anyone at any time by saying something is recommended by a governing agency. Sometimes it's necessary to take a poster's comments in their entirity in order to fully understand them.

I have no dog in the fight. Folks in this country get to do what they want. Darwin rules.

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I have run trailers and gone through scales in CA. I also know how to avoid scales because I would allow "baloney skins' and "turf tires" in my early days. I would replace bad tread just before winter because wet roads need traction. The tires Silentpardner speaks of are full size trailer tires. None of my stuff is modern so a comparable size to me is 9.00 x 20 on split rims. A totally different concept than these little 14" and 15" dinky little things.

To me, if towing a 2500 lb + or - is a matter of ratings. A few years ago a dealer sent out a car with mismatched poorly inflated tires with a car with a new stereo system and the driver died (different topic). If a little S-10 or Tacoma or SUV has a blow out and wanders into the next lane. They check the accident. Mismatched tires and posted ratings comes into play. The same true with a trailer with a blow out. The tire industry has to conform with standards. If you vary from that standard or recommended age replacement , your guess is as good as mine. Not a chance I would take. It is not "...will it work..." but "....does it comply....".

Garris

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Marc, as some have suggested, the load carrying capacity of our trailer is overkill for your boat. But I don't recall anyone telling WHY this is a bad thing.

A bit of trailer training here....a trailer is designed to carry a certain amount of weight. If the load is greater than it is designed to carry the springs will be compressed too much and will not be able to cushion the load as the trailer is designed to do.

Conversely, if the load is way too light (as it appears your setup may be), the weight of the load does not compress the springs adequately. The springs, being uncompressed, do not soften the ride so they tend to pass on every little road jar to the load.

In your setup, what's happening is that over time your boat is being rattled to death by your trailer. That results in fittings working loose, screws coming unscrewed, and the vibration literally shaking your boat apart. This doesn't happen overnight, but it does happen.

To find out the correct trailer loading for your boat, weigh the boat and trailer together, then launch the boat and weigh just the trailer. Now keep in mind this has nothing to do with tires, it just has to do with the load carrying capability of the correct trailer.

If your trailer is in good shape you may find a boat dealer who is willing to make you a good deal on trading your trailer in on one that's more appropriate for your boat. Look at the specs on a trailer you're considering and make sure the load range for the trailer suits your boat.

Your boat will thank you by staying in one piece longer.

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Or you could replace the springs or possibly remove a leaf or two. Get some professional advice before modifying springs. A more costly but perhaps better long range approach could be to install replacement torsion axles of the appropriate capacity. For fresh water use I'm not sure torsion axles add a lot of value.

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I agree with gchuba above, checking air pressure, and the general condition of tires is much more important than the "age" of any tire, if that was what he intended to say with all that "mumbo jumbo" I read above.

I wish to assure you all that I have towed and/or been financially responsible for many more trailers than ALL of you combined with 16" or less diameter tires. I own a company that is responsible to ALL of the government regulatory agencies for the safe operation of over 100 times the number of small 1-ton capacity or less tow vehicles any one of you appear to own, and the trailers you could possibly be pulling. I also own and operate the larger capacity trailers in all 48 continental states. Literally, millions upon millions of miles combined across literally 1000's of trailers..

I do not mean to brag, but upon reviewing the post above, other "experts" in the post seem to be questioning my vast experience. I apologize to the rest of the Whaler community.

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Thank you all for chiming in, I never thought that my simple question, it seamed simple at the time would generate this much discussion.

I guess that is what happens when our boats are stored for winter, well at least for some of us.

We are privileged to be able to express our thoughts in such a forum as long as we keep it civil and stick to facts and first hand knowledge, experience is valuable.


I have read and pondered all you comments, suggestions and observations, and I would like to add few details and hopefully close off this thread.

The boat has been on this trailer for 35 years and it is still quite intact and in my opinion good shape, no falling parts,the owner before me would trailer with the motor tilted all the way up and no transom saver, and before that it was a commercial boat for Bell Canada in Northern Quebec used in dirt and gravel roads, the boat has no sign of stress cracks at the transom where I would expect to see some, maybe it's the extra fiberglass this being a commercial hull.

The trailer is built up of 3 inch square steel tubes and has a custom welded steel cradle that holds the bunks and wobbler rollers at the back bolted onto the frame, even the fenders are thick steel, I weigh in close to 280 and can stand on the fenders with little flex, it also has quite a wide track, I know it is made to carry a bigger load, it is hefty but not that long, you would not be able to fit a much longer boat on it

I had the boat off so I could sand and repaint the trailer, plus other maintenance (bearings) even empty it was a chore to move around, i trailered it empty and did not notice any bad road behavior, not that much bounce, I do not know if the springs where modified, it still had the EZ loader tag on it but the model and specs were not legible.

I have had two other boats prior to this one on single axle trailers that had a lot more bounce and not as good overall road behavior than this one.

As long as the trailer is road worthy I plan on keeping it. The boat, motor and trailer have been together since day one.

I will be buying trailer tires next spring and have sourced some Canadian suppliers that have some decent pricing, it is not feasible to buy in the States and ship to Canada (Shipping, taxes, broker fees and customs) and warranty issues

On another note, I think the wife has put a few boating gifts under the tree.

I wish all my fellow Whalers and their families a safe, peaceful, and joyful Holiday season.

Cheers

Marc