# Spotty wear on trailer tires



## Duckdude82 (Feb 26, 2007)

I was just cleaning the boat today and noticed that there is consistent but spotted wear on the inner wall of both tires. i am told that the tires were new 2 years ago. the depth of the spots are pretty significant at about 1/2". i don't mind replacing them but i would really like to know what the problem is before i shred another set. the boat was trailored long distances for what that is worth. 

thoughts?


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## LUNDGE (Jan 7, 2007)

Your axle is bent,measure from same place on trailer hub on each side to the very front of your trailer, or is loose on springs, shifting side to side. Nothing else but axle alighnment, measure, measure ......
Also there is suppose to an ark , like a frown curve to your axle looking staight at from in front or behind.could also be bent up like a happy face, and thats not good. New axle around 140 with bend in it


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## Duckdude82 (Feb 26, 2007)

eyeballing the axel and jacking/spinning wheels looks square. it is consistent on both sides. axel has a "smile" but that is how it is designed. here are a few pics. 

note right side









note left side









tough to see but there is a consistent and significant amount of wear on inner middle line of tread and extra wear on the outer middle line of tread. almost looks like the trailer was hopping but it's a relatively heavy 17 foot boat. the same wear on both sides has me wondering if it's a bent axel. it is a 2001 shorelander trailer.


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## Hetfieldinn (May 17, 2004)

What brand of tires are they?


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## JIG (Nov 2, 2004)

They look like Carlise?? If its a dual axle easy on the turns. Youll break the belts in the tires. More so on the rear axle. What you have is called feathering. Brokin belts!


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## ShakeDown (Apr 5, 2004)

I had carlisles separate from the belt on the freeway at speed and I was running half tire/half belt on one wheel for a few miles before I felt it. Replaced with 
GY Marathon's, and have never had an issue.


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## Duckdude82 (Feb 26, 2007)

they are carlisle's and as mentioned pretty new with about 90% tread on all areas not effected and about 10% on the spotted areas. was told radials may be a better bet???? it's a single axle shorelandr trailer under a 17 foot starcraft starfire so there's a decent amount of weight on the leaf springs.


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## JIG (Nov 2, 2004)

Went through a set in a yr. Believe those are radials also. Seems the strait tread tire does better. Dont know what ply those are but I think they go by letter. G or H? Let ya know when it gets light out!


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## Doctor (Apr 5, 2004)

Just some more information for you to consider, check the play in the bearings see if you can rock the wheel more than a 1/4 of an inch if so tighten it up, also check the air pressure in the tires, I have seen that type of wear on an underinflated tire, when you get up to speed the tire flexs in the middle and makes no contact with the road and will give you that type of wear, another thing to do is take it out on the interstate and have someone follow you and let them watch your trailer and see how it reacats to road conditions, Larry had a problem with his trailer and I was following him with my boat when we noticed the tires were bowed out and running on just the inside tread, he made the dealership replace the tires and the axle and has had no problems since...........Doc


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## bountyhunter (Apr 28, 2004)

you should not use those tires there .junk , carisle is the worst thing you could put on a trailer . find maxxis or trail master .


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## bountyhunter (Apr 28, 2004)

it could be a broken belt/ply on the inside . when A tire comes rolling off the rim at 60mph it can do nasty things to your rig.


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## Hetfieldinn (May 17, 2004)

Duckdude82 said:


> they are carlisle's



There's your problem. Carlisle used to make a good tire. When they moved production to China, the quality went down the crapper. My local tire dude that I've dealt with since the dawn of time quit carrying them because of the amount of problems/complaints he was having with them.

Google Carlisle tires and see what you get. Their trailer tires are notorious for being very problematic.


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## pal21 (Mar 9, 2008)

Agree with Doctor. I've seen that type of wear several times on campers, equipment trailers and boat trailers. Tires are underinflated most of the time. Most trailor tires call for 60# or so. Check the side wall for correct pressure.


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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

thats my guess too, incorrect tire pressure.


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## walcat (Apr 11, 2004)

Put Cooper radials on mine years ago, never had a problem. All my friends run radials too, no problems.


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## JIG (Nov 2, 2004)

Missions are good too. Load range C. As mentioned below alot of things have to be right to insure proper tire wear.


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## paangler (Apr 29, 2010)

I'd also suggest checking for loose wheel bearings. If they are good:

Looks like mainly toe wear to me. Jack it up and scribe a line around the circumference of the tire while rotating to get a accurate measuring point. Then lower it down, roll it a couple feet to settle it out and measure at/near axle height front and back to measure the toe. It needs to be equal (zero toe)


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## Eric E (May 30, 2005)

Sorry to hijack the thread, but on my small boat tires, (12's or 13's) it says max psi is 90. What should I run them at? It is a 16ft deep v aluminum with a 35 on the back. Thanks.

sent from my HTC evo


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## Duckdude82 (Feb 26, 2007)

i have talked to a couple buddies and actually most of them said their trailer tires look pretty much the same. the tire pressure was at 60 and it is rated for max 60. also, the bearings are in good shape as well with very little play. the tires on it are the bias plies so i am thinking about switching to a radial the go round. some very good info here. i really don't think it is a bent axle but i will measure the toe today to make sure. thanks guys!


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## Lewis (Apr 5, 2004)

Something most anglers neglect to do is to have the tire shop balance their trailer tires.
No one would tolerate unbalanced tires on their vehicle.
It really extends tire life and is much easier on the boat and electronics without all that highway vibration.


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## paangler (Apr 29, 2010)

Eric E said:


> Sorry to hijack the thread, but on my small boat tires, (12's or 13's) it says max psi is 90. What should I run them at? It is a 16ft deep v aluminum with a 35 on the back. Thanks.
> 
> sent from my HTC evo


For example: if your tires say [email protected] 90psi you will need only 45psi if the tire only has 600lbs on it. You need to know the weight of your trailer and boat. Divide by 2 for the 2 tires and there you go. You could take it somewhere with a scale; feed mill, stone quarry etc. It's much better to be on the high side for safety.


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## muskyhound (Jan 22, 2011)

guys if you look at the tires in the pics they look like a cheep car tire dont they, thats because most trailer tire manufactures dont spend the money on the molds they just get a allseason car tire mold and thats it, trailer tires need a tight shoulder to handle the weight witch reduces heat ie less chance of ply or tread separation and radials do that much better, your tow vechicle has shocks does you trailer (no) trailer tires are designed to handle that as well, oh by the way all trailer tires are now made in china, all trailer tires are designed to run at max psi all the time, under inflated tire makes heat and will damage the inner linner and blow out. I only run towmaster radials and all my friends do to cuz I dont like changing tires on my days off along side the road, Oh I am a Goodyear dealer, towmaster uses the same mold as a Goodyear, I have 50 k on one set and still going strong, my one friend has a 18 ft g3 1700 llb hull weight dry plus 115 4 stroke yam and a 15 4stroke yam heavy rig for a single axle, 4 years and 40 k going strong, his older rig was 18 ft, single axle eagle would eat bias tires in a year and a half till I put him into towmasters 4 years with out a problem. we dont tow slow and we run to chautauqua all summer, just my 2 cents... oh and any over the road tire that can be balanced it should be....


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## COmmodore 64 (Jun 24, 2006)

It's the Carlisle tires. Same thing happened on my dad's Crestliner trailer. They measured the crap out of the camber and all those other things I do not understand and concluded that the tires were just ass.

Replace your tires with good ones and you'll be fine.


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## paangler (Apr 29, 2010)

muskyhound said:


> all trailer tires are designed to run at max psi all the time, under inflated tire makes heat and will damage the inner linner and blow out.


I agree with others that Carlisle tires are junk. But I've been working in the auto industry for 30 years and I've never read from a tire manufacturer that radial trailer tires should always run at max. psi. or they will run hot. It depends on the weight they carry. Also, It's been my experience that most boat trailers use tires that are just adequate for what they need to carry so max psi is usually best. 

Would car hauling trailer tires rated for 80psi run hot and blow out if you inflate the tires 40psi when the trailer is empty? Always willing to learn, can you refer me to some information about that.


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## muskyhound (Jan 22, 2011)

paangler
yes you would be fine running 40 psi empty since you prolly would be way under the load carring weight of tire (s) but when it is loaded with a 3800 lb car I would hope you raise the pressures to handle the weight after it is loaded and running on them. When we are towing our boats our trailers are loaded all the time and in most cases we are close to the load carring capacity of the tires, I have been it the auto repair and tire business 35 years and I have seen first hand what happens to under inflated car, Lt truck and trailer tires, best practice for trailer tires is to run them at max psi, not here to pretend i know it all (check your tire pressures often) 
goodyear has a site that will give you tire pressure recomended pressures per weight and tire size per load rating.

duckdude get goodyears or towmasters you will be happy!!!!!!


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