I just got back from Falcon this past weekend and blew out a Goodyear Marathon between Zapata and Hebronville in the middle of no where. I'm done with the Marathon tire because it had less than 2000 miles and two years of age and the boat was stored inside a garage when not being pulled down the road.

I personally think it was more the actual load than the tire since it was on a single axle trailer with a Champion 181 and a 150 etec fully loaded with gear and gas. They probably should have put this boat on a tandem axle.

Number one thing before going down the road is when you get gas in your boat check your tire pressure and be sure it is 50 pounds and not below that number. As earlier mentioned trailer tires are completely different than automobile tires.

I'm putting Carlisle on at Discount Tire and least they will stand behind the blowouts.

Purchase a tire guage today and put it in your truck if you do not have one. Always check your spare when you are checking your tires.
awares

LoL I bought 2 Denman tires last friday hoping to nurse the other 2 tires plus the spare for a few months so I can buy 2 more but that saturday we had a flippin blow out on another old tire... I was already running late to the lake that AM... Sheesh... Anyway, the Denman ST Radial seems good so far....

About tires from Academy... I have had 4 of them in the past year. The last one blew out this weekend between Kingsville and Hebbronville on my way home. Now I need to figure out what I am getting next.

ANOTHER GOOD THING WITH DISCOUNT TIRE IS THEIR WARRANTYS IF YOU OUNCTURE A TIRE..NEW ON FREE. JUST MAKE SURE WHEN YOU BUY THEM YOU GET THE COVERAGE. ALSO THERE ARE SO MANY OF THEM AROUND THAT THERE SEEMS TO BE ONE CLOSE BUY PRETTY MUCH EVERY WHERE

Okay guys. I have never owned a boat before, and I am getting a used boat and trailer in a few days. The trailer definitely needs either good used tires, or new ones. If I have to buy new ones, what do you suggest? The boat is a 14 ft aluminum with a home made trailer. This should be less than 500 pounds combined...probably 4-450 tops. I have not found any good used ones yet. I did get someone to look up a ST tire for me, it is a Power King Tow Max tire 14". I am wondering if any of you have heard of this brand, as I have not. I do not know where they are made either. I was quoted a price of 160 dollars for both tires. If these are made in China, I don't want them though. I just wondered if anyone here has heard of these, and if they are worth a flip. I was also told to check out Big 5 Tires, but not sure if I want to buy from them or not.

Sounds like someone is putting freon in your tires.

RR

Well I have heard of putting Nitrogen in your tires. I got tires with my new trailer, but don't know what kind they are yet. I will probably find out tomorrow.

No matter what tire you choose if you do not follow the manufactures recommendation for load and speeds you're asking for trouble. As an example, the Goodyear Marathon is rated not to exceed 65 mph. How many tire failures occur as a result of exceeding the speed rating? I'll bet quite a few. I take many trips down to Amistad and there always are 1 or 2 truck and boat combinations pass me at way over 65.

Thanks for that tip. You are right. I will have to see what it says about that on the tire.

Try Pioneer Tires in Arlington,located at 303 and Fielder.I paid 353.00 for 4 marathons mounted and balanced.Hope this helps

Tires came with the trailer, and I did not realize it until the trailer was put together.

Guyz,

Long time lurker here. Marathon tires REQUIRE 50 psi for speeds up to 65 mph and 60 psi above 65 mph. The higher pressure(s) keep flexing at a minimum. Flexing causes heat buildup and heat buildup is what destroys the tires. BBC had a Goodyear service bulletin about the speed/ pressure deal.

I run Cooper Cobras but I have a tandem trailer with a 1600# load on it. Adding the trailer weight I'm carrying 2700# on four tires or 675# per tire. Because of the low tire load I use car radials rated at 1800# per tire or 3X over capacity.

flyboy

I am running the Carlisle radials from Discount tire. IF they are not good, got to love Discount warranty program.

Well it should be a while before I need any, but I will surely give that Carlisle tire the once over. We have a Discount tire here. What is the warranty program there anyways, never heard of that. I guess you get your tires rotated for free, and what else?

Been running Carlisle for two years and just got done running them for 8 hours down to Falcon and 8 hours back. The next problem I have with them will be the first.

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTrailerTireFacts.dos

here are some facts

edit

I see alot of people saying just keep your tires at 50psi. I believe you should run what the recommended tire pressure is on the tire. Mine say max 36psi....

You are correct but most trailer tires have 50psi max cold.

I ran radials on my boat for 3 years before i had a blowout heading to fork one morning. Took it to a tire shop in Canton TX to buy new ones and asked him his opinion as to which tire to run. He told me that I would be better off putting Carlisle bias ply on it. He said that when radials get wet and set over a period of time will blow out because the metal in the tires rust. That was about 4 months ago. Well low and behold, I was heading to the lake Sat and had one seperated. I took it back and tried to get it replaced with no luck. He said Carlisle would not replace it. My boat stays inside a metal shop @ all times when I'm not using it. I would strongly advise against any product whos campany will not stand behind their product.

I would always choose a radial over a bias ply. Why do we all run radials on our cars/trucks?

Stick with trailer tires for the load rating and for safety reasons. However, I personally do not use the steel belted tires. I have had the belts unravel internally and come through the tire. I have never had a blowout or flat with the non-steel belted trailer tires. And I have driven from Houston to Del Rio in the month of August two weekends in a row without problems.

I tow a boat and a big heavy travel trailer and one thing I've learned over the years is that running under inflated tires, exceeding the tire's speed rating and running tires that are showing signs of age are the biggest causes of tire failures. As a general rule I replace my trailer tires at 5 to 7 years regardless of how much tread wear they show. If they show any cracks on the side wall from dry rot then they're gone. I see people all the time running under inflated tires because they haven't checked pressures. Also, if your gonna run over 70 mph then you should probably add 5 lbs over max pressure to reduce rolling resistance and heat.

Finally, and this important to those with tandem axles, those ST tires are designed to handle "scuffing" when turning and backing. Some "P" (passenger) rated tires can't handle the side to side torsional twisting exerted on the tire, causing the tread to separate.

I personally run GY Marathons (Canadian or US made) one load range higher than what is really called for.

i just picked up my second set of carlisles for $80 each at discount. they will wear much if not properly inflated but have not had any probs with them as long as i maintain proper psi. marathons were priced at 109 but ive seen too many blow on friends trailers...