Trailer tyre advice

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SeacretSailor

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Our tyres need replacing on our single axle trailer for our 19ft four wins bowrider.
Q1 - I have some spare 15” shogun alloys with ‘as new’ 4x4 tyres that fit perfectly . Is it ok to use car, albeit 4x4, tyres on a boat trailer? Their max psi is 44, they are 4 ply and they max weight is over 1100kg each. Will they be stiff enough or cause any issues?
The old original tyres have a Max psi of 55 and 8 ply from memory, but are over 15 years old.

Q2 - If the shogun wheels and tyres are not right, do I go for 8 ply commercial van tyres? Or does it have to be specific trailer Tyres?
 
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Proper trailer tyres have stiffer side walls and run at greater pressure. All to do with better straightline stability (less inclined to snake) and to reduce risk of tyres rolling off rims during corners and manouvering.
If you are only pulling a few low speed miles to a local slipway with a light boat on a two wheel trailer then I doubt that you would have an issue but personally I would stick to the correct tyres for other types of journey.
You might want to consider the legal / insurance / liability implications of having an accident with the wrong tyres fitted anyway.
 
don't take any risc on this,
buy complete new wheels from a specialist trailer parts supplier,
(there are a few good online shops in NL, I guess also in UK. )
price for a complete wheel is very affordable,
and no hassle exchanging the tyres
 
It may be a little off an a tangent, but I agree with the above, it is not only the strength but the heat they generate.

In the last couple of years, locally, the po-lice must have been short of funds as they have found a new revenue stream and this is stopping anything out of the ordinary and doing vehicle checks, they have limited things they can check and one they can check is tyres, they were hitting motorhomes, caravans, trailers, and trailers with anything on them.
They were checking dates and summonsing people with tyres on over 5 years old and the motorome fraternity checked the law and it only stated that it was a recommendation and not actual legislation and they were caught out and were threatened with a court action themselves, and had to reimburse many people, they then said people had to apply, whick many people from outside the area wouldn't as they were unaware of it.

This raises a number of issues, do you really want to become embroiled in such a situation?
 
in my early years of trailer boating we've had a exploded tyre (en route to Croatia)
very lucky not too much damage,
turned out the tyres were 10yo,
while they usually have a lifespan of 8y (date is on the tyre)

sinze then, I alway's replace trailer tyres after 6 years
in some cases they looked like new
I replace complete wheels, so all looks nice and chiny
we have had trailer boats (4) since y2000, still have one now
 
Assassin said:
It may be a little off an a tangent, but I agree with the above, it is not only the strength but the heat they generate.

In the last couple of years, locally, the po-lice must have been short of funds as they have found a new revenue stream and this is stopping anything out of the ordinary and doing vehicle checks, they have limited things they can check and one they can check is tyres, they were hitting motorhomes, caravans, trailers, and trailers with anything on them.
They were checking dates and summonsing people with tyres on over 5 years old and the motorome fraternity checked the law and it only stated that it was a recommendation and not actual legislation and they were caught out and were threatened with a court action themselves, and had to reimburse many people, they then said people had to apply, whick many people from outside the area wouldn't as they were unaware of it.

This raises a number of issues, do you really want to become embroiled in such a situation?
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I remember many ears ago I was stopped in a routine vehicle check. The copper proclaimed I had 2 illegal tyres. Oh no I haven't I said and quoted the regs, Dumbfounded he asked how I knew them, I explained I was an MOT tester, on your way sir...........
 
BartW said:
in my early years of trailer boating we've had a exploded tyre (en route to Croatia)
very lucky not too much damage,
turned out the tyres were 10yo,
while they usually have a lifespan of 8y (date is on the tyre)

sinze then, I alway's replace trailer tyres after 6 years
in some cases they looked like new
I replace complete wheels, so all looks nice and chiny
we have had trailer boats (4) since y2000, still have one now
Click to expand...

Bart, in the Uk there is not actually legislation to prevent the use of tyres through age, but there are recommendations and recommendations are not law. The trade off is the condition of the tyre and as long as it has sufficient tread, no obvious nicks or splits then it is deemed as legal, what cannot be seen is the internal condition of the tyre, many people lay up campers and boat trailers over winter and very few lift their vehicles and take the weight off the tyre and this may cause internal damage to the structure of the tyre over several months and a weakened structure causes issues such as yours, it comes down to common sense and you feeling secure by changing them more frequently.

Croftie said:
I remember many ears ago I was stopped in a routine vehicle check. The copper proclaimed I had 2 illegal tyres. Oh no I haven't I said and quoted the regs, Dumbfounded he asked how I knew them, I explained I was an MOT tester, on your way sir...........
Click to expand...

That's an interesting one as there is no such thing as a "routine stop" as they have to have "reasonable suspicion" that you have committed an offence, are committing an offence, or are about to commit an offence; I never play ball with this type of B/S as it is a play on words, I was pulled for a "routine check" and the tester came over with his bolshy attitude and said "I need to get into your vehicle" and I merely asked if he had a warrant and he said no, I told him he was denied access, he said "there's a copper over there" and I simply told him he had to remain impartial and couldn't intervene and if he even touched my vehicle I would bring a case against him. He called copper over and said I refused to let him into my vehicle and I said its consensual and copper said he was only there to stop vehicles and prevent any breach of the peace, what he didn't know that yon copper was a mate and he also knew I knew more about traffic stops then any DVLA examiner did and examiner got awkward and said he would crawl under my vehicle and examine it, I merely said if I couldn't see him I would drive off and squash him and then bring a case against them as there is legislation about deliberately putting yourself in a position of danger, and a copper makes a good witness.
 
Assassin said:
Bart, in the Uk there is not actually legislation to prevent the use of tyres through age, but there are recommendations and recommendations are not law. The trade off is the condition of the tyre and as long as it has sufficient tread, no obvious nicks or splits then it is deemed as legal, what cannot be seen is the internal condition of the tyre, many people lay up campers and boat trailers over winter and very few lift their vehicles and take the weight off the tyre and this may cause internal damage to the structure of the tyre over several months and a weakened structure causes issues such as yours, it comes down to common sense and you feeling secure by changing them more frequently.
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I'm not sure about legislation in B either,
but my point is, the tyres have a expire date which usually people don't care about (I wasn"t aware of that)
moreover, the tires are sometimes exposed to strong med sun for longer periods (that was in my case)
are drained in salty water
or as you say, wheel remains in one position all winter, ...
so in general;
I want the trailer tobe in top condition before departing for a long distance.
(at the time several subsequent years we travelled 10000km/year with a 3,5T trailer&boat)

but ofcause you can be much more relaxed if you just travel to the slipway in the next village ;-)
and even then you don't want to risc harm to your pride and joy while carrying around :)
 
Hi Bart, I think you are a little wrong there as tyres do not have an expiry date, they are all stamped in the EU markets with a manufacturing date which is obviously their date of manufacture, most tyre manufacturers recommend a life span and in the UK this is generally 5 years for car tyres and this is only a recommendation.

Most major manufacturers produce batches of tyres and if they produce a certain batch they make them by the millions and are then distributed to storage areas where they are sold in large quantities to the largest wholesalers in numerous countries, they then buy in bulk and store them in their warehouses and then distribute then to tyre dealers and businesses as they need them, and here is the issue, it isn't uncommon for a slightly less popular size of tyre to be 3 years old before they are fitted to a vehicle, hence why this is only a recommendation.
When the manufacturer stores them they are kept in very precise storage conditions and their degredation is very minimal, when they are transported to many countries to their largest tyre distributors they are then stored in their warehouses and some of them are slightly dubious, hence degredation increases, they they are sold to various regional wholesalers whose storage conditions may not be ideal but they don't store them for long periods and they move them on quickly to retailers, some keep reasonable stocks on their shelves and this would usually be in a tyre fitters workshop which is in daylight.

You are spot on with the rest, modern tyres are made to EU standards and to comply with their environmental legislation they use a different compound to manufacture the tyres and the biggest cause of degredation is UV rays or bright sunlight which massively degrades them.

Tyre reinforcing is made from many things, the popular being steel, Nylon, Polyester, and more recently carbon fibre or Kevlar; any nick or split and salt water badly affects steel and Nylon reinforcing and suddenly your tyre becomes a ply light so suddenly your 4 ply tyre becomes a 3 ply tyre and much weaker.

One top tip is to check the tyres before they are fitted, look at the manufacturing date to ensure you are getting old tyres fitted.

What you are doing is getting peace of mind, you replace your tyres regularly so they are in tip top condition, their degredation is well within tolerances, and on any long journey, you know blowout risk is at its minimum.
 
Assassin said:
Hi Bart, I think you are a little wrong there as tyres do not have an expiry date, they are all stamped in the EU markets with a manufacturing date which is obviously their date of manufacture, most tyre manufacturers recommend a life span and in the UK this is generally 5 years for car tyres and this is only a recommendation.
Click to expand...

yes, you're totally right here, sorry for my confusion on dates printed on the tyres
and thanks for the extra explanation, (y)
 
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