trailer tires

On Sun, 04 Jan 2004 14:02:05 GMT, Karen Kent
wrote:

 >Anyway...I'm going to go ahead and replace the tires for peace of mind.
 >Does anybody know of another cause for this or would the pressure and
 >lug problems explain it? I did check the axle alignment by measuring
 >from each tire to the tip of the tongue and the measurements were the
 >same.
 >
 >Thanks

You could have bent axels, but on both axels, that is unlikely. Most
probably it's a load problem in that the load isn't balanced on the
trailer properly.

Find a piece of level pavement and use a carpenter's level (not a
small level) and see if the axels are straight, then check to see if
the hubs are loose on the axel or possibly tilted inward a little.
Check the load range of the tires (weight of the trailer and the wet
weight of the boat).

Other than that, I can't think of much more.

Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
----------
"We may say of angling as Dr. Boteler said of strawberries:
Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless
God never did and so, if I might be judge, God never did make
a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling."

Izaak Walton "The Compleat Angler"(1653)
 >> Stay informed about: trailer tires 

Thanks. What should the load range of the tires be? The boat's about 3800
pounds and I'm guessing the trailer is less than 700-800. So, should each
tire have a load range of 1/4 that total weight?

Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:


 > wrote:
 >
  > >Anyway...I'm going to go ahead and replace the tires for peace of mind.
  > >Does anybody know of another cause for this or would the pressure and
  > >lug problems explain it? I did check the axle alignment by measuring
  > >from each tire to the tip of the tongue and the measurements were the
  > >same.
  > >
  > >Thanks
 >
 > You could have bent axels, but on both axels, that is unlikely. Most
 > probably it's a load problem in that the load isn't balanced on the
 > trailer properly.
 >
 > Find a piece of level pavement and use a carpenter's level (not a
 > small level) and see if the axels are straight, then check to see if
 > the hubs are loose on the axel or possibly tilted inward a little.
 > Check the load range of the tires (weight of the trailer and the wet
 > weight of the boat).
 >
 > Other than that, I can't think of much more.
 >
 > Later,
 >
 > Tom
 > S. Woodstock, CT
 > ----------
 > "We may say of angling as Dr. Boteler said of strawberries:
 > Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless
 > God never did and so, if I might be judge, God never did make
 > a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling."
 >
 > Izaak Walton "The Compleat Angler"(1653)
 >> Stay informed about: trailer tires 

On Sun, 04 Jan 2004 22:20:52 GMT, Karen Kent
wrote:

 >Thanks. What should the load range of the tires be? The boat's about 3800
 >pounds and I'm guessing the trailer is less than 700-800. So, should each
 >tire have a load range of 1/4 that total weight?

1/4 to 1/2 - all you are really checking for is that the trailer plus
the boat is well within the load carrying range at the recommended
pressure for that particular tire.

There is something else I just thought of - your axles might be out of
alignment - might want to measure from the back of the trailer to the
axels on each side and make sure they are square to the frame of the
trailer. I actually had that happen once on a bass boat I owned.

Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
----------
"We may say of angling as Dr. Boteler said of strawberries:
Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless
God never did and so, if I might be judge, God never did make
a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling."

Izaak Walton "The Compleat Angler"(1653)
 >> Stay informed about: trailer tires 

Yes ... minimum 1/4 since you have a tandem (you could subtract the weight
on the hitch but that's a tad nit picky) ... and I myself would add in as
high a safety margin as is practical especially if you travel the highways.
And might I suggest do some reading up on trailer tires vs auto/truck tires
characteristics. My radial trailer tires for example run well (the trailer
is stable) at 45 lbs and have a max rating of 50 lbs (higher than the
average auto tire).


"Karen Kent" wrote in message

 > Thanks. What should the load range of the tires be? The boat's about
3800
 > pounds and I'm guessing the trailer is less than 700-800. So, should each
 > tire have a load range of 1/4 that total weight?
 >
 > Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
 >

  > > wrote:
  > >
   > > >Anyway...I'm going to go ahead and replace the tires for peace of mind.
   > > >Does anybody know of another cause for this or would the pressure and
   > > >lug problems explain it? I did check the axle alignment by measuring
   > > >from each tire to the tip of the tongue and the measurements were the
   > > >same.
   > > >
   > > >Thanks
  > >
  > > You could have bent axels, but on both axels, that is unlikely. Most
  > > probably it's a load problem in that the load isn't balanced on the
  > > trailer properly.
  > >
  > > Find a piece of level pavement and use a carpenter's level (not a
  > > small level) and see if the axels are straight, then check to see if
  > > the hubs are loose on the axel or possibly tilted inward a little.
  > > Check the load range of the tires (weight of the trailer and the wet
  > > weight of the boat).
  > >
  > > Other than that, I can't think of much more.
  > >
  > > Later,
  > >
  > > Tom
  > > S. Woodstock, CT
  > > ----------
  > > "We may say of angling as Dr. Boteler said of strawberries:
  > > Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless
  > > God never did and so, if I might be judge, God never did make
  > > a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling."
  > >
  > > Izaak Walton "The Compleat Angler"(1653)
 >
 >> Stay informed about: trailer tires 

"Karen Kent" wrote in message

 > Thanks. What should the load range of the tires be? The boat's about
3800
 > pounds and I'm guessing the trailer is less than 700-800. So, should each
 > tire have a load range of 1/4 that total weight?


I would go a lot more than 1/4.

To start with, you need to consider how much the boat might be loaded when
you are on a long road trip. It is common to use the boat as a utility
trailer when you go boat camping and such. The weight of the camp gear, ice
chests, tool boxes, extra gas cans, etc. can add up pretty quickly.

A second issue is that the axels are not likely to be loaded equally.
Depending on a lot of issue, (such as the height of the hitch on your tow
vehicle) one axel could end up carrying significantly more weight than the
other.


I would recommend tires that had a rating of around 1700 lbs each.


Rod
 >> Stay informed about: trailer tires 

"Rod McInnis" wrote in message

 >


  > > Thanks. What should the load range of the tires be? The boat's about
 > 3800
  > > pounds and I'm guessing the trailer is less than 700-800. So, should
each
  > > tire have a load range of 1/4 that total weight?
 >
 >
 > I would go a lot more than 1/4.
 >
 > To start with, you need to consider how much the boat might be loaded
when
 > you are on a long road trip. It is common to use the boat as a utility
 > trailer when you go boat camping and such. The weight of the camp gear,
ice
 > chests, tool boxes, extra gas cans, etc. can add up pretty quickly.
 >
 > A second issue is that the axels are not likely to be loaded equally.
 > Depending on a lot of issue, (such as the height of the hitch on your tow
 > vehicle) one axel could end up carrying significantly more weight than the
 > other.
 >
 >
 > I would recommend tires that had a rating of around 1700 lbs each.
 >
 >
 > Rod

My 1991 EZ-loader tandem trailer weighs in at 1100#.
Bill
 >> Stay informed about: trailer tires