Trailer tires/bearings place

Looking for a place for tires/bearing packing and tire recommendation (north of the cities). I have never replaced the tires on my trailer before but since Iowaboy has revived my “big” motor the boat has seen more use. I have a small Karavan bunk trailer with a 14′ fishing boat and 20hp. I typically either drive short in-town distances or 4-6hr days with the trailer

It has 4.80-12 tires. When I look online I see tires and then tires mounted on rims for $15-$20 more. I would be surprised if labor was cheaper than that – do people typically just put new tire/rims on?

IMO the best out the door price on tires and mounting, is Sam’s Club. With trailer tires, you may have to call ahead and order them, but the prices are far better and even more important they don’t charge ripoff-level prices for mounting.

With bearings on small trailers, I really think this is a skill worth learning so you can do it yourself. This is not rockert surgery. With a small investment in tools (if you don’t already have a long taper punch, a jack, etc) and time, you can easily do this job yourself and save not only money, but the hassle of bringing the boat in every 2-3 years.

I’ve been doing trailer bearings since I was 17, but even though I don’t do them a lot, I still have the process down to 30 minutes per side or less. My point is by the time I’d drive a trailer in to shop to get done, I could be half done with doing it myself. Also, a bearing overhaul costs me the price of the bearings plus a tub of grease and a couple of pairs of shop gloves.

Grouse

tindall wrote:

It has 4.80-12 tires. When I look online I see tires and then tires mounted on rims for $15-$20 more. I would be surprised if labor was cheaper than that – do people typically just put new tire/rims on?

A lot of folks will go the route of a pre-mounted tire (w/rim) just for the convenience. This way also gives them an extra “spare” or two.

Don’t skimp and buy off brand tires. They are your connection to a fun trip or a ruined trip because you blew cheap tires out. You get what you pay for & this goes for tires also.

Dutchboy wrote:

Don’t skimp and buy off brand tires. They are your connection to a fun trip or a ruined trip because you blew cheap tires out. You get what you pay for & this goes for tires also.

PERFECTLY STATED!

Yea, I need to get whatever specialty tool is needed to do it myself – just really busy at the moment and wont be able to get at it for a bit. The hubs have the “sure-lube” system which I have just been topping off with a grease gun for the past few years – it looks like if I cram a bunch in it pushes the old stuff out. I will likely just do that this year and hope it’s all good until I can pull them apart.

I am pretty sold on just buying tires on rims then and slapping them on myself. What is a good tire? I don’t even see a brand on the ones on there, just a marking for “high speed”. The brands I am seeing with this tire are unfamiliar to me. I have gotten much better about not viewing the boat as a huge bucket for trips and overloading it, but I definitely still want a good quality tire.

After hearing all the hype about the Goodyear Marathon trailer tires several years ago, I ponied up the cash and tried them. From my experience, they are worth every cent. When mine need replacing, I will do it again.

Always very important to have good tires and a good spare this just happened today. This Carlisle had over 5000 miles on it I think I picked something up on my way home. It was quite loud when it went.

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tindall wrote:

Yea, I need to get whatever specialty tool is needed to do it myself – just really busy at the moment and wont be able to get at it for a bit.

You can both drive out the bearing races and install new ones with a simple taper punch if you work carefully during the reinstall so as not to slip and scratch the new race. I have done this dozens of times, just don’t get impatient and try to hurry. One tap at 12 o’clock, one tap at 6, one at 9, one at 3… tap, tap, tap until it’s seated.

If you want, it’s much easier and faster to invest a few bucks in the seating tool that makes this go much faster. Don’t overpay! A complete set like this one is available on eBay for $20. Don’t be tempted to spend much more.

Watch a few YouTube vids to get the idea, but on a single axel trailer even your first overhaul should take no more than 2 hours and it’s faster after that.

Grouse

I do my own just cause I want the peace of mind, knowing that it was done right…….and I’m on a very limited budget so why pay someone to do what I can?

As everyone has stated….they are easy to do and it’s good to know how.

However, I now carry a spare hub with me in case I have an issue on the road. A lot easier to swap a hub if you lose a bearing than changing bearings on the side of the road. I’ve seen bearing come apart and wreck a hub so I carry one. I think paid $40 for the whole assembly….probably less for your smaller trailer.

I had Marathons and if they would have been balanced when I bought the trailer they would have served well.

Now there is a newer tire that is made in the States and not in China by Goodyear. Goodyear Endurance® It is the next level tire above Marathons and worth the minimal extra cost.

Matt Moen wrote:

As everyone has stated….they are easy to do and it’s good to know how.

However, I now carry a spare hub with me in case I have an issue on the road. A lot easier to swap a hub if you lose a bearing than changing bearings on the side of the road. I’ve seen bearing come apart and wreck a hub so I carry one. I think paid $40 for the whole assembly….probably less for your smaller trailer.

Great advice, just make sure you pull off if you notice an issue quick. I drove too long with an exploded bearing before noticing it on a small boat trailer. Ended up having to cut the race off with a dremel/grinder as it had worn a groove in the axle spindle, making it impossible to pull the hub off.

Which means I had to replace the axle as well(found one fairly cheap, could have also had someone weld a new spindle on).

I think that’s what happened, was a few years ago now, but was a total PITA.

Balancing is an interesting thought. I replaced the Marathons on my trailer about four years ago. Might be 4k miles on them now. I don’t drag it around much anymore.

However, when I bought the new set I took them to the local shop to have them balanced. It was worth every penny. Now I’m wondering, after 4k miles and 4 years, would it be a good idea to have them re-balanced?