Tire Question

[bmas13]

I had a rough summer with my trailer tires and I'm doing as much research as possible to see what is my best move forward. Sorry in advance for the long post.

A little bit of background: I have a 2005 Nitro NX898 with a 225 ProXS. The boat is 20' 4" in length with a 10" Slidemaster jackplate, so the rig is long. The only reason I bring that up is because the trailer is a single axle - that particular model was made with either a tandem or single, and mine happened to be single. For many years I had no problems at all getting down the road. I rotate the tires each season and keep the hubs greased, etc. I also make sure that the tires are at max psi before every trip out of the garage. The GVWR and GAWR are both 4200lbs and the max load capacity is 3350lbs. The hull weight is 1760lbs, the engine is 505lbs, the fuel tank is 48gal (~300lbs full), the trolling motor is ~65lbs, and the three batteries and onboard charger is ~215lbs. I'll be very generous and say there's 200lbs of tackle and additional gear and that brings things to around 3100lbs. So I'm definitely under the max load for the trailer and well under the capacity of the leaf springs.

The original tires were ST225/75R15 LR-C. After about 6-7 years the trailer began bouncing more than usual and I noticed that the edges of the fenders were digging into the treads. After taking it over with a local trailer shop I went with ST205/75R15 LR-D, which is almost 1.25" smaller (diameter) and about 680lbs less load capacity per tire (2830 vs 2150). That seemed to fix the problem until three years ago when the curb side leaf springs broke from hitting a large pothole. I replaced both sides of leaf springs with sets rated at 2900lbs per side, up a little bit from the factory 2400lbs per side. That happened in June and I finished my regular fishing season in early November. Unfortunately the boat sat until mid-March (the next season) due to engine work that I had going through the winter - normally I'm on the water locally at least every other week through the winter. When I headed out in mid-March for an annual spring trip I lost the curbside wheel on the interstate (spindle and all). I decided to replace the entire axle assembly, along with the disc brakes, etc. in order to circumvent any future issues due to the age of things.

Sorry for the length of this post, but to quickly recap, in May of 2022 I had a new axle assembly (w/hubs & disc brakes), 1yr old leaf springs, and 2yr old tires. I was feeling very good about how well I could go down the road.

Since I've owned the rig I have a couple really long trips each summer. Last year my rig went to Pickwick (Mississippi side) which was 850mi round trip as well as a trip to Lake Murray, which was 925mi round trip through the mountains. This summer I had the Pickwick trip, as well as a KY Lake trip (675mi roundtrip), and a trip to the St. Lawrence River (1750mi round trip). As you know, there's a LOT of construction out there and the roads can be pretty rough. With that said, I had a tire pop late summer (two summers ago), and this summer I had two pop on me.

I just put a post up about my rear suspension (just now replacing the shocks after 200K miles) and I'm wondering if that may have had anything to do with the tires popping? One was a large staple in the tread and another was from a sidewall mishap. So I'm not sure if the bouncing is as big an issue as I'm thinking, but I'm trying to make sure I'm covering all the bases troubleshooting this. I'm also wondering if I need to get back to the ST225/75R15 or stick with the ST205/75R15? If so, I'm wondering how to modify the fenders to ensure they wouldn't dig into the tread if the trailer bounces. But with the beefier leaf springs it seems that it should help carry the load. Am I off base with that thought?

Let me know your opinions and/or what I'm missing. I'm also wondering if I should go with Goodyear Endurance or Hankook Vantras. My rig is in great shape and she's brought a lot of enjoyment over the years. I've got about 8 more years with her before getting my retirement rig. So hopefully I can make some good choices to have an eventless season next year, at least as it relates to my towing. Thanks in advance for all the help, and thanks very much for making it to the end of this extremely long post.

[21XDC]

I'd get the Goodyear Endurance in 215-225/75/14 "LOAD RANGE D"... Then make sure you have plenty of tire clearance... 3 fingers min. If not, You might install longer shackle links to get the ride height raised. Don't forget that the tires also carry the weight of the trailer, spare tire etc....

[CJ1]

If they said china on the sidewall, then you found your problem IMHE. There is only 1 brand of china tires that I have had last more than a few months. Gladiator, the rest speed destroys them. 1 did not even make it 100 miles before the belts broke. 2 y/o tire I had as a spare. Put it on to replace a flat spotted one and did not make it to my first stop 70 miles away. CJ
Edited to take 1 brand out. Realized I haven't ran them in over 5 years or longer.

[RangerTim619]

This is what you need to do!

I'd get the Goodyear Endurance in 215-225/75/14 "LOAD RANGE D"... Then make sure you have plenty of tire clearance... 3 fingers min. If not, You might install longer shackle links to get the ride height raised. Don't forget that the tires also carry the weight of the trailer, spare tire etc....

[Blair B]

Goodyear Endurance

[bassdge]

My guess is you originally had to downsize the tires due to the leaf springs age. Now that you replaced them, you may be able to go back to the larger size which gives you more load capacity.
watch that trailer for rust under the main rails and cross beams. Those trailers are known for rust.
the 896 and 898 ‘s were awesome hulls.
In 2017 I ordered a Venture aluminum I-beam trailer. I provided them with all the measurements for axle placement and the bunks and they shipped it to a dealer in Virginia. It was a tandem axle VATB 3625 and it was under $3500. Here is a link to the dealer I used. They had me work directly with the factory for the set up. May be cheaper and safer in the long run assuming you plan to keep the boat.

[bassdge]

https://www.vatrailerworld.com/all-i.../boat-trailers
I had 99 896 that I bought new in 1999. Same trailer would accommodate the extra 10 inches on the 898