Boat and utility trailer tires

By age, not by tread. Most trailer tires should come off at five to six years from the date stamped on the sidewall, and in Florida sun a lot of them are done sooner. A trailer sits still for weeks under a heavy static load, so the sidewall gives up long before the tread wears out. Bring the trailer in and we will read the DOT date on each tire and tell you what you actually have left.

Because trailer tires almost always fail from the inside out. Heat, UV and years of sitting under load break the rubber down in the sidewall and the belts while the tread still looks new. Underinflation makes it happen faster, because a soft tire flexes and builds heat all the way to the ramp. Check the pressure cold before every tow and replace on the date code rather than waiting for the tread to tell you.

We do not recommend it. A trailer tire is marked ST, for special trailer, and it is built with stiffer sidewalls to carry a heavy static load and resist the sway a trailer puts through it. A passenger tire marked P is built to steer and grip, and it flexes more, which is the opposite of what a trailer needs. Bring us the trailer and what you tow and we will fit the right ST tire and load range for it.

The size is on the sidewall of the tire that is on there now, and the trailer's own plate lists its rated capacity. What matters is that the load range, usually C, D or E, covers the loaded weight of the trailer across its axles with room to spare. Boats are heavier than people expect once fuel, batteries and gear are aboard. Read us the sidewall or bring the trailer by and we will work it out with you.