Trailer Tires

Running a 2013 Ranger 620 and am looking for new tires. Tire size is 215/75/14. Any recommendations on tires? I see Goodyear Endurance come up a lot but have no experience with their trailer tires.

Put GY Endurance on my single axle Skeeter. One of the few that had a LR D rating. Very happy with them.

I run Goodyears and have for years.

When I replaced my trailer tires two years ago the Good Years were sold out so the salesman at Fleet Farm talked me into Road Runners. I’ve been satisfied with them.

mxskeeter wrote:

Put GY Endurance on my single axle Skeeter. One of the few that had a LR D rating. Very happy with them.

^^^^

Whatever brand you end up with, make sure to get load range D rated tires. They cost a little more, but squat less (less heat = less worries about a blowout)

They also typically have a higher speed rating.

I bet over half the guys sitting on the side of the freeway are running load range C tires with a speed rating lower than the posted speed limit.

(below is a speed rating chart, completely different than a load range chart)

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I have sold a bunch of the Carlisle radial trail tires with the D rating,never had any problems.
The Goodyears are a good tire as well.

Dutchboy wrote:

I run Goodyears and have for years.

Same. Also upgrade the load rating as mentioned.

I must be missing something.

D rated tires are rated at “up to 40 MPH”.

Most of the time I’m on the highway running 60 MPH if not much higher.
Wouldn’t that mean using a tire rated at J or above?

I would use discount tire to get them mounted. You can do some searching online to find the best price for the tire you want and then just click the “found it lower” link on their website and they will usually either match or beat the competitors price. They also will balance the wheel when they install the tire.

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haleysgold wrote:

D rated tires are rated at “up to 40 MPH”.

Most of the time I’m on the highway running 60 MPH if not much higher.
Wouldn’t that mean using a tire rated at J or above?

What Bman posted is the speed rating and different than the load rating.

haleysgold wrote:

I must be missing something.

D rated tires are rated at “up to 40 MPH”

Load range and speed ratings are different scales. For load range a D is tougher than a C tire.

Haleysgold, what John said ^^^^

The chart I posted was speed rating, not load rating.

They are different ratings, but typically the higher the load rating, the higher the speed rating.

Your tires are probably an “L” or “M” (75-81mph), but take a look at the sidewall to confirm.

It’s possible to buy cheap load range C tires with speed ratings lower than posted speed limits (buyer beware).

B-man wrote:

Whatever brand you end up with, make sure to get load range D rated tires. They cost a little more, but squat less (less heat = less worries about a blowout)

They also typically have a higher speed rating.

I bet over half the guys sitting on the side of the freeway are running load range C tires with a speed rating lower than the posted speed limit.

My bet is most don’t know trailer tires take higher pressure than their truck tires = sidewall flex and blowout.

Had a coworker tell me he blew a tire. Asked if he checked pressure. “Every time before I leave – 35psi”. He saw me cringe and ask why. Told him I bet they’re supposed to be at least 60. He had his boat and trailer in the lot. He checked and almost turned white.

Baitwaster wrote:

My bet is most don’t know trailer tires take higher pressure than their truck tires = sidewall flex and blowout.

Also lower air pressure will make them overheat.

Baitwaster wrote:

My bet is most don’t know trailer tires take higher pressure than their truck tires = sidewall flex and blowout.

And watch for signs of UV cracking and sidewall damage, especially for trailers stored outdoors. I’d bet many tires are shot because of UV damage long before the tread wears out.

GY Endurance has been the best trailer tire for us. Late 90’s through early 2000’s I I went through a set of tires (or more) on every one of our trailers. We switched a car trailer and my boat trailer to run a test. That summer I put almost 30K miles on the boat trailer chasing all over the country and they were in awesome shape. The car trailer was about 10K miles and very good. We changed all our company trailers over to them and couldn’t be happier with the longevity. Currently 7 trailers here in WI and 6 more trailers in Colorado. Earned my trust

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

And watch for signs of UV cracking and sidewall damage, especially for trailers stored outdoors. I’d bet many tires are shot because of UV damage long before the tread wears out.

Trailer tires should be changed by age I think? My boat wasn’t even stored outside ever and started having chunks fall off at about 8 years old even though the tread looked fine… Besides the missing chunks

I’m going to replace them no matter what at 5 or 6 years from now on just to be safe. Changing tires on the side of the road is low on my list of things I want to do on a trip.

Iowaboy1 wrote:

I have sold a bunch of the Carlisle radial trail tires with the D rating,never had any problems.
The Goodyears are a good tire as well.

I’ve been happy with Carlisles over the years. I’ve never tried Goodyears.

I learned the hard way on boat trailer tires last year…shredding all 3 in one trip and a bent rim for good measure. Tread was great….but they were 8-9 yrs old. My tire guy said anything over 5 years is a gamble.

Thanks for all the input. Pretty sure my existing tires are rated C which is why they burned out so quick. Appreciate the help.

I must be the oddball here. I had a 20’ glass boat I bought new and the first summer I went through 2 sets of Carlisles, warranty both times. Switched to marathons and I’d get about a year out of a set of those. I now have a 20 foot aluminum boat that came with marathons on it and those lasted one summer, granted they were used when I got the boat. I since then put cheapie tow king brand tires on it and they lasted two summers and still look great. Now we rarely even put the boat on the trailer so they will be good forever. When we did travel a lot it was to Lake Michigan a few times a summer, a couple trips to chamberlain, a couple to Green Bay and usually once to devils lake so it saw some miles but I was less than impressed. I would like to try the endurance ones to see what they are all about. People sure like them.

Fins, do you remember what load range your tires that were giving you problems were??

I tow my Grady all over on tandem Carlisle load range D’s with an 81mph speed rating (M).

Had load range D Rainier’s before that, they lasted a couple-three seasons but then started blowing belts internally (caught them before they blew out and switched to Carlisle’s)

Couldn’t even tell you how many thousands of miles are on my current set of Carlisle’s, thinking they’re on at least their fourth season now.

I tow to Lake Michigan, Lake of the Woods, Isle Royale, and locally Lake Superior a bunch of times each year.

Last fall I got a flat on my way to Loons Foot, thought it was from hitting a set of train tracks way too fast/hard but ended up being just a pluggable puncture from lord knows what.

As mentioned before, make sure your tires are inflated to their max cold PSI rating. The only exception would be a very light boat that bounces too much (like a 14-16′ bench boat), I run those 5-10-ish psi under max.

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Reef W wrote:

I’m going to replace them no matter what at 5 or 6 years from now on just to be safe. Changing tires on the side of the road is low on my list of things I want to do on a trip.

I change mine every 5 seasons, regardless of tread. My boat/trailer is garage stored.

Don’t forget to check the spare tire too.

This isn’t a picture of my Rainier tires, but it’s exactly what they started to do (blown belt internally)

If you ever see a tire looking wonky like this, stop and change it before you have to buy a new fender and possibly rim. They’re a ticking time bomb. Might go at 500 miles, might grenade in 5.

When I first bought the Grady it had C rated Goodyear Marathons (maxed out for weight) and they started doing the same thing, but I looked up the date on them and they were original 2001 tires well over a decade old lol

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fins wrote:

I must be the oddball here. I had a 20’ glass boat I bought new and the first summer I went through 2 sets of Carlisles, warranty both times. Switched to marathons and I’d get about a year out of a set of those. I now have a 20 foot aluminum boat that came with marathons on it and those lasted one summer, granted they were used when I got the boat. I since then put cheapie tow king brand tires on it and they lasted two summers and still look great. Now we rarely even put the boat on the trailer so they will be good forever. When we did travel a lot it was to Lake Michigan a few times a summer, a couple trips to chamberlain, a couple to Green Bay and usually once to devils lake so it saw some miles but I was less than impressed. I would like to try the endurance ones to see what they are all about. People sure like them.

Carlisle had a period where they made crap tires but they seem to have changed for the better in the last 5 years or so. It’s been more than 10 years since Good Year stopped making Marathons so they may have been very old tires.