Towing cross country on small trailer tires...

[tod osier]

Anyone have any thoughts on driving cross country with a boat (my Devlin Snow Goose) on 4.8-12C tires? I need to get the boat to Wyoming and was planning on pulling it out there in March/April. For those that don’t know, I've pulled a travel trailer across the country many times and have a lot of experience towing. I have a bias against "ST" tires and always put "LT" equivalents on my travel trailers, but that isn't an option here. So… thoughts on towing long distances on little crappy tires?


I'll probably buy an extra set of bearings and races and will have the gear to do a roadside change and obviously will repack and inspect the bearings and change inner seals before leaving and travel with a spare tire. Trailer is newer (2020 load rite with 1500 pounds carrying capacity with a torsion axle) and the load in it won't be too bad on the tires given their capacity (snowgoose 300#, motor 200# and I'll try to keep the gear load in the trailer well under the 1250 trailer max, so that leaves a big margin on the tire capacity). Tires are 5 years old, stored out of the sun, I may put new on.

T

 

[SJ Fairbank]

You've dragged enough stuff around the country to trust your gut. You have emergency stuff onboard, have inventoried your gear and it's condition and are taking all reasonable preventative measures. But shit happens sometimes despite our best efforts. That's just hard luck. So what does your gut tell you? Me, I'm taking a road trip.

 

[tod osier]

You've dragged enough stuff around the country to trust your gut. You have emergency stuff onboard, have inventoried your gear and it's condition and are taking all reasonable preventative measures. But shit happens sometimes despite our best efforts. That's just hard luck. So what does your gut tell you? Me, I'm taking a road trip.

I guess my gut is saying that I'd rather not drive 2000 miles on those tires. I'll look at options to at least get radials.

 

[Eric Patterson]

Tod

Bearings worry me more than tires going long distance at interstate speeds. Good rubber can roll way more than the distance between CT and WY. Five years old doesn't concern me that much as long as there are no visible cracks. If they are starting to crack no way I'd leave w/o replacing. I would repack bearings and replace the seals before hitting the road and having a spare set of bearings and a spare tire like you mentioned is more than a good idea. One thing I would do is make certain I have all the tools to do a roadside bearing replacement. Not a fun job but doable, unless the failure results in seized parts or damaged threads and then you have got a real job on your hands.

Good luck.

 

[tod osier]

Tod

Bearings worry me more than tires going long distance at interstate speeds. Good rubber can roll way more than the distance between CT and WY. Five years old doesn't concern me that much as long as there are no visible cracks. If they are starting to crack no way I'd leave w/o replacing. I would repack bearings and replace the seals before hitting the road and having a spare set of bearings and a spare tire like you mentioned is more than a good idea. One thing I would do is make certain I have all the tools to do a roadside bearing replacement. Not a fun job but doable, unless the failure results in seized parts or damaged threads and then you have got a real job on your hands.

Good luck.

For the camper I have a spare drum prepacked with grease and a further extra set of bearings and races that travel with the camper and also the tools to do the work. I have never needed to use any of it, so lucky there.

I'll bring the tools to pound the races out for sure and grease.

 

[Kevin Layne]

Just take it like it is and you'll be fine. And if I'm wrong it will make for a much more interesting story, LOL

 

[Capt Rich Geminski]

Tod, don't think it would be a problem. I would repack the bearings, have extra bearings seals and tools. I would go with new tires and have the older ones for spares, just don't overload the trailer. Never had a bearing fail. I use USA made bearings [timkin], not west marine [ china ]. Truck or auto supply.
Why did they put a spare tire under the truck??? A good spare easily available near tailgate. Good jack. Safe trip...

 

[tod osier]

I found that you can get a radial that closely matches in diameter, but it is over half again as heavy as the bias standard 4.8-12C in a D and E weight range (ST145/12). Nearly everywhere I tow in WY will on at least some ugly gravel. Having a heavier tire will be better.

 

[Lance Banfield]

First get the boat us trailer insurance. second you can put it on a U-Haul trailer to get you out there if you are worried.

 

[Kris Schaumburg]

would it fit on a uhaul flatbed?

 

[Carl]

I've towed a similar weight rig 500+ miles from Mobile to Tampa with same size tires with no problem.
My advice is to get two new tires w/rims and carry the old tires w/rims as spares.
Repack you bearings before you leave and go for it.

 

[Paul Taylor]

Install two new rims/tires, grease bearings, air up the tires and roll out. Carry the old rims/tires for spares, spare hub, grease gun

I tow my 24' Seaark on a double axle trailer and tow 750 miles to camp each duck season. All my tires are 13" First trip to camp this season a trucker started flashing his lights at me at 11:00 pm in the middle of nowhere Alabama. I try to avoid using the emergency lane and rode to the nearest offramp. I thought maybe some gear might have blown out (most was tied down) or lost a tire.....sure enough, back right tire was shredded to bits. When it blew it folded the fender well underneath on itself and took out the trailer light. No matter what you do, things happen.

Since I have a double axle trailer I used a drive on trailer jack, a hammer to beat the fender well back out for the new tire to fit and was back on the road in 30 minutes or less. I'd suggest bringing an extra trailer light too. LOL

 

[Farres]

I towed my old Fisher 1448 all over the west and never had a problem. I changed the tires every couple of years just because they’re inexpensive and made sure the hubs were in good shape.

 

[tod osier]

would it fit on a uhaul flatbed?

I checked quick for that the other day, too long for a standard car carrier, but I'm sure some sort of deck over trailer would fit.

 

[tod osier]

I towed my old Fisher 1448 all over the west and never had a problem. I changed the tires every couple of years just because they’re inexpensive and made sure the hubs were in good shape.

I think I'm just being overly cautious. I'm pretty good with the whole plan. A new set of tires and a set of bearings and races and I think I'll be set.

 

[tod osier]

I've towed a similar weight rig 500+ miles from Mobile to Tampa with same size tires with no problem.
My advice is to get two new tires w/rims and carry the old tires w/rims as spares.
Repack you bearings before you leave and go for it.

Thanks Carl, I guess I just don't like the little tires. In the RV community there are a LOT of blowouts with standard ST tires on campers. I've grown overly suspicious of anything rated for trailer use.

 

[Carl]

Thanks Carl, I guess I just don't like the little tires. In the RV community there are a LOT of blowouts with standard ST tires on campers. I've grown overly suspicious of anything rated for trailer use.

Camper tires are a whole 'nother story!
My camper has full size (15") trailer tires and wouldn't think of anything less given the distance & speeds traveled.
They are 10 years old and have held up well.
We are selling the camper or i'd be replacing them since they are past their shelf life.

 

[Brad Bortner]

Tod, you have my permission to replace your tires with radials. I like big radial trailer tires on my boat trailers even if they are overkill for the 4 miles to the boat ramp. Every season I find myself towing a trailer 5 or 6 hours for a hunt.