more trailer safety

[Thomas Macaluso]

I

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

I agree. But at some point ya just gotta take a chance that your equipment will hold up. I know on long trips it feels to me like I am taking a spare boat and trailer with all of the "extra" gear on the chance that I "might" need it. I just make myself stop packing when I feel I have too much "just in case" gear. I know what you mean about the trailer tires. I tried to find them before my WI trip and every shop I called it was a "order" item. Just happened to call a Goodyear dealer who had a guy order a set of 4 and then not pick them up!! I got 2 and there are 2 still at the sore.



TOXIC

 

[Bill Hamilton]

I agree with Tox. You can just carry soooooooo much stuff. While the trailer tire blew (twice) I think the chances of this happening often are negligible. You don't carry two vehicle spares (At least I don't) and they get many more long distance trips than my trailer. I guess one of the questions would be; what type of trailer tire was mounted and how many miles, condition of the first tire and the spare. Did you ever find out why the lug nuts wouldn't hold? Were they stripped when the first tire blew?



Trailer tires need to be balanced just like a vehicle tire. Far too often we just mount it on the trailer and expect that it will run properly. Any thoughts on whether to balance or not????????

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Had a long thread on that subject not too farr back. Consensus was....Make sure pressure was right (usually 50psi) and balance them. Do not have to rotate.



TOXIC

 

[Jim B]

Tom did they check the pressure in the spare after they put it on? the spare tire pressure is something so many people(myself included) neglect. If the spare was low it could have caused the tire to blow. a tire low on air runs hotter and also cant carry as much of a load, if its too low they can blow out.

 

[Texas Transplant]

When I replaced a bad trailer tire before towing my boat to it's new owner, I put on a steel belted radial. The GoodYear store didn't have a standard 'trailer' tire, so sold me a regular tire.



My suggestion is that if you travel long distances, get better tires in the first place. Trailer tires are generally cheaper bias ply tires, not steel belted.



Secondly, I now routinely check my trailer tire pressure at least once a month. Bad pressure, as mentioned above, will ruin one of those tires quicker than anything. Another point is that quite a few spare trailer tires have probably dry rotted from lack of use. Not all that surprised that it went.



Tex

 

[Thomas Macaluso]

I think what happened was that the tires were dry rotted . My sister and brother in law only trailer the boat any distance once a year and that

 

[TROY WAINRIGHT]

I'VE PULLED TRAILERS FROM HERE IN FLORIDA TO SEATTLE AND BACK.I WOULD RECOMMENED EVERYONE TO CARRY A SPARE TIRE AND MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE AIR EVERY NOW AND THEN.ANOTHER THING I CARRY IS A HUB ASSEMBLE KIT.I'VE HAD A BRAND NEW 30 FOOT FLOATON TRAILERS BEARINGS GO OUT ON ME.IF YOU HAVE THIS HAPPEN TO YOU PULL OUT THE BEARINGS AND SEALS RIGHT AWAY BEFORE THEY WELD THEM SELFS TOGETHER BY COOLING.

 

[Bruce Freeman]

A spare hub set-up is cheap insurance. If you ever have 1 fail on the road you will never ever go without 1 again. Also a file to help repair the spindal if it gets that bad at least to get you off the road. Include the spare in your regular tire maint (check pressure) and it will serve you well. Leave it hanging under the boat untill you need it and don't be suprised if it blows out when used the first time. When I was much younger I learned the hard way what lack of trailer care will do. Got a flat on the right side of the trailer about 3 mile from the ramp on a back road.. OK I can limp that far and get it off the road 1 mile later the left side tire and hub took off because the bearings exploded.. Lucky I was going slow. But still had to leave the boat and trailer on the side of the road to get back and get a car trailer to haul the whole mess home again..

BF