www.iFourWinns.com

This might be kinda long.. When we got our boat back in February, it had four Passenger tires on it.. two 205/75R14 and two 215/75R14. The folks we bought it from only pulled the boat a mile or so to the ramp, they stated that "passenger tires ride softer than trailer tires". We replaced the rear axle with two ST 205/75R14 (trailer) so we would have matching 205's all the way around. We bought the tires used, and one blew on me going 60mph after about 50 miles of towing. My question is this: People with relatively the same size boat, what exact tires are you using? Size, load range, passenger, trailer, whatever? Also, opinions on trailer vs. passenger tires? And running mixed tires? Prices on new tires? We usually run between 80 and 100 miles round trip to the lake. Thats a lot to answer but wanted to save forum space. Thanks all

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1990 Horizon 200
5.7L OMC Cobra 260HP

Go to http://www.iboats.com and search their forums because your questions have been answered a hundred different ways. In general though, most seasoned boaters will tell you stay away from automotive tires on your boat trailer. The brand of boat trailer tire is vitally important too. I had 2 Carlisle boat trailer tire blowouts in about 3 weeks then replaced all 4 with "Towmaster" tires and have put a couple thousand miles on with no problems at all. Tire pressure should be monitored closely too as it tends to be greater than automotive. Good luck.

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2008 H220 Frenzy - 5.7L VP SX Drive
2013 Tahoe LTZ Tow Vehicle (admiral's ride)
2011 Ford F150 XLT Ecoboost Tow Vehicle

The only thing in there that I would say is definite is, don't mix them. I recommend checking with FW to find out what was originally specified on the size, and stick with that.

Beyond that, you'll get all kinds of varying opinions (most of them valid, even though they disagree) about passenger vs. LT vs. ST, radial vs. bias, etc.

Though I don't have the same model or weight, I'm also one of those people (a bit rare on this board maybe) who tows ~140 miles round trip every time we boat. So far I've stuck with ST radials (Goodyear Marathons) and have had good success with them (knock on wood). The trailer of course came with Carlisles, which I swapped for Marathons during the 1st season. Marathons don't have a perfect track record either, but I think 95% of boaters would agree they have a better record than Carlisle.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

I have 205 by 14 Carlilse ST's and have no problems with them and tow thousands of miles each year (tow much further than I actually boat ). In Oz, you can't get special trailer tires, so most people use light truck tires at replacement time.

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Alec

2006 Horizon 190
VP 4.3GL/SX, Sunsport

Just make sure of a couple of things.
They are all the same size.
Keep them at Max. pressure.
Make sure your bearings have plenty of lube, as the extra heat will take out a tire.
Make sure the rating on the tire is enough.
You can run car tires if your boat is light enough, but most of the time, they are not, you have a four winns,
so it's not a 1200 lbs fishing boat.............

A quick rule of thumb. If it does not hold at leat 44psi, it's not enough.

I just put 6 Kumo's on mine, they hold 65 psi and ride like a car.
Never buy a Goodyear Marathon, they just plain suck.

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1992 Baja 38 Special Twin 502 Mags

03 Stingray 3.0
88 261 Liberator 460 King Cobras
95 Bayliner 1850 3.0
77 Fiber Form 20ft 350/385hp
70 Wescraft 1800 SS 455 Jet

Lead, Follow, or get the Hell out of the Way!

I have had 8 different trailers in the back yard over the last 15 years. Gone through many trailer tires.

Most important, weight rating, get the highest rating you can get in your given size.
Load range varies from MFG to MFG, so refer back to weight rating.
LTs are great due to they can be found everywhere, STs can be a little more difficult to get when out on the road away from home. "P" passenger, no way for a trailer.

Brands, they all make some that last and some that only go 100 miles down the road and fail. If you go with a major brand and a little over kill on weight rating your chances are better.

You do not have to air up tire to MAX pressure, but you do need to air up to the proper pressure to carry the load. If in doubt, air up to max, just will ride rough. Remember, air is what is carrying the load.
My current favorite trailer tires today are Carlisles, load range E, weight rating 2830lbs / tire at 80 psi cold. Have Load Max on camptrailer, not liking them, lose 1 or 2 per season.

Another big mistake with tandem axle trailers, do not twist trailer (jack knife) which will over flex side wall and likely tear the carcase which will lead to failure very quickly. I believe this is a major cause of failure, driver over flexes sidewall and tire heats up going down the road, fails, then drive blames tires poor quality. In all reality it was operator error.

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2000 248 5.7L DP
'92, '94 SXI 750, '08 STX 15F, '12 Ultra LX 300
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