16 in. wheels

[schuylski]

Has anyone upgraded to 16 in wheels? Will they fit? My only reason is for availability of load range E tires... I've got single axle - although fortunately no axle troubles knock on wood.

Also- does anyone else frequently tow their boat - like a lot. We ate through 2 tires in just over a year and I'm wondering if that's normal or if those tires were junk. It may have been towed around 4000 miles- is that about all I can expect to get? I know there is no way to align trailer tires, I guess most avoid this issue as the boat hardly sees the trailer. But Jpage was talking about wear with a few others a while ago - any others out there?

Gas mileage is bad enough $$ when towing, add in trailer tires too...... I need a lake house.

[KG's Supra24]

What tire are you running? Are you running trailer tires? 4,000 doesn't seem like near enough but I have nothing to base that on really.

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[yearround]

we have more than 7000 miles on our 08 LSV trailer, dual axle, original stock tires.

[Nobodyrides4Free]

Good Topic. I was thinking of going to 15 or 16 inch wheels as well. Not sure of fit either.
I tow my boat a lot with tandem axle trailer, I have one tire that wears faster than others. The inside edge gets eaten up fast, the others wear fine. Couple of tires I put on trailer have been on for 3 years. Replaced another last week. Put a lot of miles on them. Live in Wichita, Ks and go to TableRock (600 round trip) at least once a summer (and Grand lake(400 round trip) 10 to 15 times a year to our lake house. Not to mention lakes around here. Roughly 6 or 7 thousand a year. They hould last longer than one year. I buy Radial tires , not Bias. What kind do you run?

[bergermaister]

I'd say your axle alignment is jacked up or you had a set (sets?) of crap tires.

My 2001 is still riding on 3 of the 4 original Goodyear Marathons - 205/75/14. Had every intention of replacing all 4 last summer but the truck got new ones instead. With the year of my boat/trailer I'd estimate a solid 1,500 miles towing per year so that's at least 15,000 miles. Maybe more.

I do have a tandem but still, sum tins up widdat!

[schuylski]

Hmmmm... sounds like things are off with my trailer. It had the stock Trail America's it came with new, 225/75R15. Which I've heard are crap, but then searching the web I seemed to find that all trailer tires are crap...

The outside edges actually wore more quickly on mine. I noticed the wear and it worried me - then the tire with MORE tread on it blew. I'm not sure how that works - I was real careful checking tire pressures. I can say we did a lot of highway miles, and did not keep it to 65 or under... I don't know if that would be an issue or not.

I've got Goodyear marathons on it for now... I've read plenty of horror stories about them, but I did some fairly extensive web searching and found horror stories about all of them. These were in stock and nearby when i needed them. Also, didn't want to spend a lot if they're only going to last a year...

You guys all seem to have tandems tho, anyone else with single axle who tows a lot?? (And maybe that's just a clue that I should have the tandem...)

[maxpower220]

How often do you check the pressure in your tires and what pressure do you keep them at? You really should check at least once every 2 weeks if you tow a lot and you should be running close to the MAX pressure that the tire specifies. A single axle means that your tires will flex a lot, as you only have 2. If your pressures are low, your tire will overheat quickly. That heating will break down your tire and cause failure.

Wheel size can be changed if you can find trailer tires that will keep your same diameter. The problem is that there are only so many sizes in trailer tires. Also, check the weight rating on the wheels that you choose.

[tnbrooks01]

+1 on what Maxpower said. I have single axle trailer and I tow mine 4-5 times a week to our wakeboard lake thats approx 35 miles away. I drive for a living so I am meticulous about my tires and I probably check them way more than necessary but now it has become habit.

[viking]

I tow many many miles in a summer season. Every weekend at least 200miles round trip (usually more). Had the same thing happen last year with my single axle.............noted a bad tire and then the "other" side blew out and ripped apart my fender. Needless to say, I replaced them both. The local tire shop said that when one starts to go they both are innevitable so replace them!! I also read that they are really only good for about 4-5 years if you tow alot. Sucks........but probably cheaper to buy new every four years than push it and have to buy a new fender and do body work? Not factoring in the inconvenience of being roadside with your family while you change out the flat and do some pry-bar work to get the mangled metal out of the way

[bergermaister]

I have been shown that trailer tires have an expiration date branded right on them and yes, only 4-5 years typical life expectancy. I gotta say, I feel way safer towing with a tandem to the point where I wouldn't want a boat or travel trailer that's not. I had a blowout on the freeway last summer all loaded down with camp gear and it was pretty uneventful with the tandem. With a single axle I think it could have been real ugly...