Trailer Tires - San Antonio

I am looking to replace my trailer tires on my 06 ZX 225. There are Goodyear Marathon P205 75 R14 tires on it now. The best price I am getting is from WW Tire in Boerne at $127.75/tire installed which beats Discount Tire by over $20 a tire. Any other tips or recommendations from you fellow TFF'ers?

I'm not a tire expert so take this for what it's worth. I've owned BassCats exlusivly for the last 6 years and BassCat puts regular car tires on their trailers and they work fine. In fact from what I've been told, car tires are better for the highway speeds most of us tow our boats. If you trust this, I'm sure you can find suitable tires for a lot less than Goodyear Marathons.

The problem with regular vehicle radials IMO is the side walls are not as reinforced as trailer tires and do not last as long, and when they go it is usually a blow out. I am sure they ride just fine.

Legend not to say you are wrong but my trailer tire came apart with the outside layer slapping my fender and ruined it. Think my trailer tire came apart the same way as you are saying a regular tire would. I put on a regular tire and the only difference i have noticed is a slight more bounce in my trailer. But i have had that tire on for 2 years with regular trips all through out Texas and i have not had any troubles. Just my .02 though

Both Goodyear anbd Carlisle compound trailer tires differently during manufacture than regular car/truck tires because they do not need the same traction characteristics and they are more resistant to ultraviolet light and ozone damage. They are more resitant to these environmental factors because the useful life in most instances is not governed by wearing out but instead because of dry-rot/crazing/deterioration of the rubber (i.e. age). The stiffness of a sidewall is a function of its load range class, which is typically load range C for auto tires and D or E for trailer/heavy duty truck tires. The greater the load range (D is greater than C, and so on), the more air pressure the tire can safely hold, as indicated on its sidewall, and therefore the stiffer it will be and will bounce less.

Car tires will work on a trailer if they are properly load ranged. Most tandem axel boat trailers for bass boats will work fine with car tires from a load range standpoint. However, they will dry rot faster, especially if not stored inside and out of the sun, which is the number two killer of tires after wear. Most cars/trucks wear out their tires before this is a problem. Most trailers will not.

In general, a trailer tire will resist dry rotting about twice as long as a tire not designed for trailer use.

This information comes from my Uncle Norman, a long since retired engineer for Goodyear in Akron Ohio.

Same here Bass Hawk, I had nothing but problems with the "Marathons" with blow-outs and coming apart at the sidewalls.
Finally, I went with regular tires with know problems!

car tires are best imo

Ordered (2) Good Year Marathon ST205 75/R14, Load range "C" on Wednesday, and they came in today. Cost was $222.75 with shipping to NE La.

The only problem was they don't offer the ROWL "raised outline white lettering" any more. The guy said that they only make black wall now. So, i'm going to have to get the other two tires on my trailer re-mounted with the black side out to make them match (I had replaced 2 of the 4 about 2-yrs back). I will just have to swap sides on the trailer with the older tires to keep them rotating the same direction as before.

I ordered them from treadepot. You can look them up on the web, or call them at 888 421-8473. I bought the last (2) from them also. They cost me only $171.54 last time...I guess everything has gone up though. Great experience dealing with them both times Hope this helps you out.

I too am no tire expert, but my experience with car tires on my boat was phenomenal. They lasted right at 6 years. Most people say that trailer tires wont last half that long. Sounds weird, but it worked for me. I thought I had marathons on there, wasn't til discount told me differently. Also, if you want a tire that Discount carries and find it somewhere cheaper I have never had a problem getting them to match it. Hope that helps. I got mine from Discount Tire in the Forum, I like the customer service at the Walzem location too.

I was told the exact same thing about not being able to buy ROWL tires any longer.. I am also in the same predicament with two tires that have letters and two that don't---what a freak'n pain to get it right.. I replaced he back tires 2-yrs ago and bought the front two in Nov.. Tandems never wear evenly..

Funny thing though.... I was at Fun&Sun last week and I noticed 10-12 new boats with ROWL tires on the show room floor..
These were 2012 models too.. HUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...

To add: Flip'n Discount tire used to be a great place to buy tires----- NOT any more IMHO.....
I’ll go to Sam’s or NTB before Discount.. That’s a dang shame too, they were head and shoulders better on price in the day…

Robert,
You don't want the Marathons with white lettering! Those are the old tires and they are junk. They only make the black wall now so you can tell the difference. I had replaced all the original tires on my 2009 trailer within a year. Have not had a problem since with the new ones.

Did your Discount Tire store give you a road hazard warranty?

Because the one here in Burleson wont give road hazard warranty because they said there is no way to register the mileage on them.

Will anyone give a road hazard warranty on trailer tires?

Ive been wanting to get new tires put on but not sure what to do.

The mickey mouse tire I have on now seems to be better than any other tires I have had. lol

The ROWl tires are no more in the marathons. Also the The Skeeter tire deal with having discontinued tires on the trailers is not surprising. Skeeter ought to have enough of those to make until 2016. They do this all the time and it screws the new owner if you have trouble. Goodyear will warranty or pro rate a tire but we had one on my buddy's 21i that is 2009 boat have 2006 year tires. You can see the year of the tire on the sidewall. Check your new tires on your new boats of all brands if it concerns you. I guarantee 90% of EZ Loader trailers that are new are like this. So it's not just a Skeeter issue. I believe its EZ Loader jacking is.

I have bought the road hazard premiums from Discount Tire here in Houston. I don't understand why they are giving you problems. This is not a mileage policy but, a road hazard policy. As I understand it, as long as your tire is not in the wear indicator it is covered.

You want trailer specific tires,not car tires. Trailer tires are built,differently. Have the wheels and tires balanced.

Also look at the valve stems closely. I bought my boat new in 2006 (2007 model boat/trailer). I had to get the dealer to replace all the valve stems. they were dry-rotted bad. If I put a finger on one, and pushed it to one side, you could see lots of cracks in them. they gave me no problem with getting them replaced. I guess EZ-Loader stock-piles that kind of stuff, and it sits for years.

I agree. Also check your batteries when you buy a new boat. The year will be heat stamped on the side somewhere. My 09 had two 06 and two 08 batteries. Needless to say, Interstate won't cover them under warranty after 36 months no matter when you purchased the boat.

Many more blowouts with auto tires. They don't handle the setting in one spot for a while as well. I have really liked my Marathons on my last 4 boats since 2001. Knock on wood or my head. No flats or blowouts. I purchase a warranty at Discount Tires on my new trailer tires all the time, in case something happens.

I have Goodyear Marathon 215/75/r14 on my Triton trailer. I got two of the ROWL for the front axle last year from Trailer Tires and Wheels online. I need at least one for my back axle and it appears the ROWL are nowhere to be found. I am going to check and see what my spare is. If it's ROWL, I am going to put this off for another year.

I put 4 new Marathons on my Skeeter in 07. They served me well. I replaced all 4 this year because they were starting to show cracking on the threads. Got 4 new Chinese Marathons at DT and with road hazzard warranty. I keep the pressure at 50psi. Four years ain't bad for a set of tires.