18" trailer tires??

[moombadaze]

Anybody know what tires boatmate uses when they come with the 18" upgraded wheels. Are they just car/truck tires and not the trailer tires?

thanks

[kaneboats]

I don't know, but most trailer tires are different in that they have more rigid sidewalls to prevent sway. I can't imagine they use a car tire.

[zegm]

Trailer tires have MUCH higher load ratings, so they would have to be trailer tires unless they are tires for the likes of the Porsche Cayanne or VW Touareg. RUN, RUN, RUN, STAY asfar away from low profile tires as you can!!!
I have a BMW540i and let me tell you once you pass the 16" wheel mark the tires get VERY Expensive (260 each for my car). They damage easily (gone through 3 in the last 2 years due to road hazards) because of the low sidewall height, holes and curbs eat them. They don't let you know they are flat right away because of the sidewall having a rim protector that is very stiff, so you drive on them not long but long enough to damage the tire so that even if you could get it repaired the inner sidewall is too damaged. And finally they do NOT help act as part of the suspension. A 15 or 14 inch tire with a nice tall sidewall actually flexes and helps the suspension absorb some of the rock shock. All of this road shock gets transmitted to the suspension and then to the vehicle with low profile tires as they are no help here at all.
AGAIN unless you live around Marietta GA with their awesome smooth roads that never see ice or salt and are built over that red clay that packs like concrete for the perfect base.......RUN!!!!

[jmvotto]

Z, nice to hear about the BMW. I was fortunate enough to drive one for a week, when my brother-in-law borrowed my suburban to take my nephew to his first year of college( university of Richmand) Its a 335xi coupe what a blast i had with that, too bad i can't tow the moomba behind it...

sorry for the hijack,

[Razzman]

Not necessarily true on all points. It's all based and determined by the construction of the tire and the wheel. No you wouldn't want to put the BMW's ZR rated tires onto a trailer as the aspect ratio of the tire lends to a very short sidewall and does to a degree transmit shock to suspension that's not designed for it. That doesn't mean you cannot put 18" tires and wheels safely on a trailer though. The difference is what the tires original intent is. Stiffer sidewalls do not make a trailer tire, the load rating does.

For instance, BF Goodrich makes their Tractions T/A that carries a "C" load rate (same as your trailer), is better constructed, max load rated at 1764 lbs per tire (max load of over 7000 lbs) and it's 225/60R18 size will fit in the fender opening safely on a 6-8" wheel at 28.62" diameter overall. It can be done, you just have to watch how you do it is all. Of course you have to make sure the wheels are load rated for such loads as well.

As another example i put a set of quality 18" tires and wheels on my wife's Dodge Durango 3 years ago next month. They are still the original tires and do not ride much different at all from the original 16" tires, and they are around $150 a tire and have so far logged around 30K on them. The difference is thay are "H" rated, not "V" or "Z" rated and they last much longer. You don't have to run away, just be smart is all. In fact many of the boat mfgrs are now putting 18" as standard or optional tires. Malibu, Tigé, Epic, Wakecraft & Correct Craft to name a few.

I learned all this growing up in the tire industry + 20 years as an adult in the industry perfecting it.

[moombadaze]

response from Jerry at boatmate trailers "[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']The tires we use are a Nexen 255/45/ZR18…….but beware, upgrading to 18” wheels is usually not as simple as it sounds",[/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']i dont think i will do a upgrade but dang it sure looks good[/FONT]

[zegm]

Razz/Stacy,

Your math is correct and I learned something, mainly they are making trailer tires & rims for show. I remember that Malibu trailer with the spinners at the Atlanta Boat show!!!
However my trailer tires are Load range D and the fact the boatmate tire is Z rated means it cannot possibly be a trailer tire (perhaps that needs to be defined better?). Here is a link to that tire from boatmate http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.p...&nichtweiter=1

Don't get me wrong, I love my low profile tires, but having owned BMW's for over 20 years I have experienced everything from 13" to 18". The low profile tires and larger wheels have better response, less rolling resistance, better looks (ok, subjective here) and allow for larger brake systems within the same diameter tire. I used to gear my racecar by the tire diameter I bought for a particular track. But I can also tell you that the rims on the larger diameter wheels also take a hit more often(get damaged more easily) and ride rougher. So there are tradeoffs, I care more about having a high quality, high load range trailer tire than I do about it looking good so I prefer to stay with "tailer tires". Especially when you dunk these things down boat ramps that you often can't see what backing over. Just my 15 years of being an automotive engineer speaking.

Or if you like what you see and really want them then make sure you get a spare wheel and tire just in case and go for it!

[gcombe74]

Anybody know what tires boatmate uses when they come with the 18" upgraded wheels. Are they just car/truck tires and not the trailer tires?

thanks

daze..

I was at marine products this summer talking with thier sales guy and looking at a supra that had 18's I was pretty surprised at what he had to say about them.. that none of them are trailer rated.. and they are just truck tires. He was pretty much against them, and even said he would not get them bacause of the obvious, very expensive, and not trialer rated, along with easy to damage, and expensive to replace.

Thats a dealer telling me this.. not me injecting my opinion? Take it for what its worth?

[moombadaze]

Guy's, all your responses have just confermed what i was thinking--good for show but not for go. Looks good enough the way it is for me anyway.
My dealer said they would swap me my 16' spare for the correct size with this trailer. One thing i will say with the tandem is how much better it tows, i only pulled it home but could tell the difference allready--so much smoother.

[NAW]

I really like the look of the 18" wheels and tires on Boatmate's. One note of caution is if you are new to trailering, or have curb checked your trailer before, 18's might not be for you.

Also, Boatmate installs fenders that are 2" wider at the fender to accommodate 18" wheels with increased width.

I have them and the trailer tracks amazing and looks fantastic.

Every vehicle I have has low profile tires, so it's something I'm used to.