Best Price on Quality Trailer Tires?

That tire still has a lot of miles left. Philip uses them till they look like this. 😆

ROFLMAO!

try Harbor Freight, $30 for the wheel and tire.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=44143

Jeff O

So i know a lot of these small trailer tires I know are only recommended up to maybe 55 MPH. I'm curious how many of you actually stick to that?

Quarath wrote: So i know a lot of these small trailer tires I know are only recommended up to maybe 55 MPH. I'm curious how many of you actually stick to that?

I've never heard that, only a load limit. That tire had at least 25,000 miles on it and was looking a little thin on the tread, I was planning on replacing them over the winter.

ohmsj wrote: try Harbor Freight, $30 for the wheel and tire.

Thanks, but that ones too little, need 4.80 x 12, and is extremely light-duty rated less than B (only 2-ply) for spare tire use. I make a lot of 1,000 miles weekends and want quality rubber, it's no fun to change a tire on the highway in a pouring rain after driving 400 miles, I promise you.

Don't forget to check the wheel bearings. Thanksfully I haven't had a tire blow out, but have had wheel bearings start to go bad on me. Having good rubber on the trailer tires sure make 1000 miles trips sound better.

edited by: smfinley, Sep 18, 2009 - 01:28 PM

damonAdmin wrote: I find myself needing a couple of trailer tires after having a blowout coming back from the Juana regatta.

I think you can buff that out!

andrewscott wrote: I think you can buff that out!

Yeah, but that'll only get you to the next service station. Now, wrap a bunch of duct tape around that thing and your good for a couple hundred miles!

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=44143

Quarath

So I know a lot of these small trailer tires I know are only recommended up to maybe 55 MPH. I'm curious how many of you actually stick to that?

I've never heard that, only a load limit. That tire had at least 25,000 miles on it and was looking a little thin on the tread, I was planning on replacing them over the winter.

--
Damon Linkous
Owner, TheBeachcats.com
Hobie 18 Magnum
Memphis, TN
--

Mine are the 5 lug 12" variety I think this one at Harbor and says 55 mph so I was wondering. Plus I had heard something about it earlier but forget where.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=92469

edited by: Quarath, Sep 18, 2009 - 04:18 PM

Got to love Harbor Freight. The tire is rated for "55 MPR"
Interesting choice for the abbreiviation, maybe it means....

MPR: miles per repair?
MPR: miles per revolution (really big tire)?

I was looking at the 12" tires with rims at Walmart for $60. Didn't notice the load range tho'.

I didn't even catch that MPR lol

I have looked at the Wal-Mart ones too they look exactly the same as mine.

Perhaps you should not be looking for the cheapest tire.... looks like you already have experienced it.

Deepsees wrote: Perhaps you should not be looking for the cheapest tire.... looks like you already have experienced it.

Good point, I've changed the thread title. If you read my first post I did mention I was looking for the best price available on the higher quality "load range c" tires.

But since most of the responses were talking about strictly the cheapest price, I obviously wasn't clear what I wanted.

Maybe I should change the title to

"Please help me find the best price possible for two replacement trailer tires in size 4.80 x 12 in load range C, I prefer a name brand like the Carlisle Sport Trail ST (special trailer)."

Maybe I should change the title to

"Please help me find the best price possible for two replacement trailer tires in size 4.80 x 12 in load range C, I prefer a name brand like the Carlisle Sport Trail ST (special trailer).

Such sarcasm ... tisk tisk.. i hope i am not rubbing off on you!

haha, just kidding.

I bought some replacement tires about 2 months ago at my local Northern Tool store. They were $19.99 but I think are listed as $34.99 on the website, not sure if the sale is still going on.

Actually... in the many flats I have had, seems there are no really reliable tires out there. Something I have leaned to do with carrying spares.... is to carry the entire assembly.... hub and bearings and change the complete assembly. Instead of taking off four or five lugs,, one big nut and a cotter pin.

There are no durable bearings where salt water is concerned either. I have even looked into ceramic bearings... way expensive.

I did not mean to sound condescending... lord knows I have had lots of trailer flats...sometimes two at a time on one side.

Which brings up some maintainence (sp) that we all need to pay attention to. I am certainly prone to not pay attention to any possible problems...until they have already happened.
Proper wheel maint. would be to take your hubs off and regrease the brg.s once a year. These trailer tires are spinning way faster than your truck tires are because of these small size. Therefore, they should have grease pushed in more often.
Also, the speed rating on the tires is important. More speed causes more heat and the speed rating on the side of the tire can also be interpreted as a heat rating. Proper inflation is very important as well.

The rear of the stub axle is sealed by the seal on it....putting a very small amount of silicone on the outside of the axle's cap can help keep the water out.

Another word of caution, when you have trailered your boat for a distance, the grease and bearing are very hot and backing it into the water too soon will have an adverse effect. The type of grease that you use is also a factor, I use Lucas (I think I spelled it right), like anything else some produts are better than others. Check with your local auto parts store or trailer shop and see what they reccomend. A dollar or two spent on better grease can go a long way.

Heat from dying bearings also bleeds out to the tire causing the internal pressure to increase....

I agree with Hullflyer, it is not recommended to put trailer tires into the water right after a long drive. The high RPM the little tires turn really can get the bearings hot under normal conditions (not to mention if you drive fast or haven't packed the bearins recently), to drop them in cold water is not good for them or the grease on them.

Probably not a big issue for frequently serviced bearings, but who really repacks their bearings annually.... My first boat I maintained the bearings for the first time when I realized they were failing, my second boat I repacked the bearings when I first bought it, 5 years ago now....

I never back my trailer bearings into the water. Just back the trailer into the water till the water is just below the axle. Push the boat off the trailer. I have cradles and can do this easily. When putting the boat back on just lift the bows up and slid on to the rear cradles, hook the winch just below the mast and crank. No water in bearings.

Proper wheel maint. would be to take your hubs off and regrease the brg.s once a year. These trailer tires are spinning way faster than your truck tires are because of these small size. Therefore, they should have grease pushed in more often.

Do you think Wheel Buddies (or hub buds) are good? They are caps that go on the hubs and "close" the hub and allow you to simply inject more greese at any time?

Wheel Buddies can be a good idea but a common mistake is to over grease them and thereby push grease out the back of the hub assymbly and ruin the rear seal.

Even with Brg. Buddies on, I would still recommend taking them apart every couple of years to check for galling.

www.trailertiresanswheels.com

4.80x12 Load Range C $23.12
Don't know about shipping.
Jim Gates

http://recstuff.com/st145r-12radialtire.aspx

www.sailboxes.com

Nice link thanks