Boat Trailer Tyres-- Shocked Discovery

[seamaid]

:o :o :o
Hi Fellows
Checking my 4.55 Quintrex Trailer ( Dumbier product ) tyres ,rims,bearings & springs i was alarmingly to find out there is a WARNING::: NOT TO BE USED ON VEHICLES.
Brand of tyre ( DURO B78--13ST,4 ply tread & 2 ply nylon walls
Trailer-- ATM- 1180, ATM--1180 7 TARE- 280 -- All in good condition-
At the moment i only trav 20 klm's return, if to travel long distance @ 100 klm's
these tyres doing same speed or more than the vehicle.
have anyone discovered this tyre fitment on their trailers
cheers Ged

[squizzytaylor]

I think that means not on a powered vehicle (ie steer or drive wheels) in most countries a trailer is a trailer not a vehicle. But yes the crap that is passed off on trailers is shocking, Given that a decent 13 tyre costs around $50-60.

Geoff

[Poseidon]

The tyres on Dunbier trailers would have to be the cheapest rubbish they could find.
I purchased a brand new trailer back in mid 2006 and got less than a year out of the tyres. From day 1 there seemed to be a bounce in the trailer at low speeds and never thought too much about it. It was only when one of the tyres developed a huge egg in the side wall did it become apparent. Both tyres were not even close to being round and the sidewalls were breaking apart from within. Have since replaced both with Light Truck Tyres and the ride has improved out of sight.
Took the time to email Dunbier about their poor standard tyres and received the normal " thanks for your feedback"

Other than the tyres the trailer has been really good and well built.

[bluefin59]

My belco came with federal light truck radials .....matt

[Chimo]

Hi Guys

If you want to check how good your trailer tyres are take the boat off and get you wife / partner to tow it at normal speeds along the road.

Thats what I did and I quickly learned that 4 new tyres were needed as they were all separating and the high spots and low spots were shaking the car like I didn't believe.....till she got me to take the empty trailer for a spin.

Maybe the tyre builders are are still not washing their hands after eating fatty chips etc before they put the tyres together as thats all it takes for even a "good" tyre to fail.

Unbelievably crap tyres are being fitted to trailers and there is no excuse for it; or is there? Are the average buyers so cheap that they accept this rubbish to save a very few dollars?

Chimo

[VaSyd1]

I bought my boat in 2001. It came with a brooker trailer and the tyres looked like new with plenty of tread. I have towed the boat long and short distances without any issues until last year on a very hot January day. Travelling between Sydney and Newcastle on the freeway the car developed a severe shake. I stopped thinking something was wrong with the car but could not see anything obvious. I started driving again and noticed in my rearview mirror that the trailer wheels were bouncing around. A short time later the whole right tyre exploded into oblivion and was left wondering on the side of the road. Looked at the left tyre and it was all blistered. Tyres that look OK, may not be so.

[seamaid]

::)
Search on the net,( duro trailer tyre) i was astonish they are a good tyre, i have bought a spare sun rasor rim & tyre same profile from bob jane $ 250 later.
i dont mine paying good money if you get the best equipment.
however when they wear down , ill fit my choice of tyre.
the new awd vehicle got a stupid temporary tyre this even pis?? me off
cheers ged

[Chimo]

VaSyd1

Re your comment about your trailer.

When I towed my trailer; while it had the stuffed tyres on it; there was no shaking or shuddering at all while the boat was on the trailer and this is the problem.

Because of the weight, approx 2 t boat, in my case things seemed OK.

You really need to do a tow with the boat off to quickly test the tyre situation as well as have a good visual inspection.

Good luck with the next batch

Cheers
Chimo

[Fatenhappy]

Hey guys/girls ...

Although others might not want me to say this, I will anyway without being too specific.

I formally owned another type of boat of which had a Qld membersip club.

Within that club many times was raised the issue of tyres and how there were on going problems re tyre ratings .....

General concencous/experience/ legal advice from that was, if a boat package is offered, it finally is up to the dealer offering the package to provide the correct product (trailer) to cope with the all up weight, not the tyre manufacturer and not the trailer manufacturer. (unless the trailer had been incorrectly represented ...)

The trailers rating comes down to the total gross weight of the boat and trailer. And, therefore the weight of the total rig determines the tyres that MUST be provided on the trailer. In many cases these are light truck tyre ratings.

Don't forget that what makes most packages all the more attractive to you and me, is the bottom line, the price .... and that might be several hundreds or indeed several thousands of dollars in larger rigs as was our experience.

Food for thought hey?

Cheers
Greg

[Moonlighter]

Hi Ged

I also have a Dunbier trailer which was fitted with those exact same g##@@ge Duro tyres when I bought it. They lasted less than 12 months - luckily, when checking the bearings before a trip up north, I noticed the tyres didn't seem to be round and sure enough, when I took them down to mate's Bob Jane Tmart, we had a proper look at then and it was clear that the tread was separating from the casing.

I had previously noticed similar symptoms to what others mentioned - when you first drive away from home when the tyres (in Duro's case, I use the term tyres very loosely!)are cold, a vibration in the trailer like you're on slightly corrugated road.

I also complained to Dunbier, same response as others got. The Duro tyres, IMO, are only suitable if you only EVER travel up to 10 or 15 minutes from home to your local ramp. No way would I contemplate a trip of an hour or more with them on the trailer.

Do yourself a favour, get rid of them. Don't know where you live, but if Southside of Brisbane I can highly recommend Bob Jane at Underwood (near Moss st) - they will look after you with some decent quality light truck tyres.

One thing to watch in all cases is tyre pressure. If you know the weight of your BMT, your tyre outlet should be able to tell you the recommended tyre pressure to run around town and on trips - it will, in all probability, be quite a bot higher than you think!

Best of luck

Grant

[oldboot]

The whole trailer industry is dodgy on tyres, but as was once explained to me......."No body wants to pay for tyres on a trailer"

Id add " nobody wants to pay for a trailer for a boat"........ but you have to have one so most people buy the cheapest they can.

These tyres they put on are realy cheap, you can get emfrom the trailer supply companies realy cheap.........I Don't think you would find a tyre shop that would sell you that sort of rubbish......... (sorry...... yep.... I know one.)

So they put the cheapest tyres they can on when they are sold, because if they put brand name light truck radials on it would add $200 to the price of the trailer , then the dealer would mark that up & good tyres end up costing you $300 and thats on a single axle job $600 on a twin axle trailer.

So guess who misss out on the sale.

Just one of those things you need to do when you tune your rig.

cheers

[seamaid]

Hi Ged

I also have a Dunbier trailer which was fitted with those exact same g##@@ge Duro tyres when I bought it. They lasted less than 12 months - luckily, when checking the bearings before a trip up north, I noticed the tyres didn't seem to be round and sure enough, when I took them down to mate's Bob Jane Tmart, we had a proper look at then and it was clear that the tread was separating from the casing.

I had previously noticed similar symptoms to what others mentioned - when you first drive away from home when the tyres (in Duro's case, I use the term tyres very loosely!)are cold, a vibration in the trailer like you're on slightly corrugated road.

I also complained to Dunbier, same response as others got. The Duro tyres, IMO, are only suitable if you only EVER travel up to 10 or 15 minutes from home to your local ramp. No way would I contemplate a trip of an hour or more with them on the trailer.

Do yourself a favour, get rid of them. Don't know where you live, but if Southside of Brisbane I can highly recommend Bob Jane at Underwood (near Moss st) - they will look after you with some decent quality light truck tyres.

One thing to watch in all cases is tyre pressure. If you know the weight of your BMT, your tyre outlet should be able to tell you the recommended tyre pressure to run around town and on trips - it will, in all probability, be quite a bot higher than you think!

Best of luck

Grant
Hi Grant
;D these tyres are 4 year old like new,never seen the small warning etc on the side wall is that i wiped the grease off the wall of the tyre inquisitve i looked, as you say i will not be doing long distance running, i am only short distance to the ramp up here in Hervey Bay, i got a new spare , so i will match when purchasing at bob jane , keep duro's for spares
cheers ged

[ALOGT]

Our Quintrex trailer came with Rohden155R/13 8ply light truck tyres made in Taiwan. The wheels are Mullins powder coated alloys which are marked for trailer use only. Have not done a long distance run to our shack yet will keep an eye on them.

Tony

[Getout]

Trailer tyres have a really sad life. They sit for months (sometimes years) in the one spot and then all of a sudden, are expected to spin around at 300RPM, often under inflated. Is it any wonder that they sh*t themselves so often?

[Poseidon]

Trailer tyres have a really sad life. They sit for months (sometimes years) in the one spot and then all of a sudden, are expected to spin around at 300RPM, often under inflated. Is it any wonder that they sh*t themselves so often?

You must be speaking about your own experience... however most of the issues with boat trailers come from the very fact that trailer manufacturers from new find the cheapest crap tyre they can find to cut costs.

My Dunbier trailer was too fitted with those Duro junk as described above and the boat/trailer was used every weekend.

Sure, there are a lot of boats that have 4' of grass growing beneath but would imagine that most described above would have constant use and tyre failure not a result of flat on the bottom issues.

Regards Cameron.

[Getout]

You must be speaking about your own experience... however most of the issues with boat trailers come from the very fact that trailer manufacturers from new find the cheapest crap tyre they can find to cut costs.

My Dunbier trailer was too fitted with those Duro junk as described above and the boat/trailer was used every weekend.

Sure, there are a lot of boats that have 4' of grass growing beneath but would imagine that most described above would have constant use and tyre failure not a result of flat on the bottom issues.

Regards Cameron.

Yes, My trailer does sit sometimes for long periods due to weather/work, as do most. I would say that you the exception if you use yours every weekend!
Mine are Nankangs and they are still perfect after two years but that doesn't mean much.

[PWCDad]

I use my trailers most weekends (3 in 4 weekends on the water) e.g. ...

Longest weekends in a row in 2007 was 9 weekends straight with a week camping after that. Was out last Sat, then home, and then drive down again Sun. Am off again this Sun so my trailers run a fair bit. Spent 3 weeks camping on Sth Straddie over X-mas/NewYr etc.

I'm an hour away from the ramp I use and at highway speeds (Gateway/M1).

Tyres are ...

Kenda Radial Light Truck - 2 yrs old
Champiro Radial 155/80-13- 3 yrs old
Nankang Light Truck- 10 months old

Have had no probs so far (not even a puncture, touch wood).

The very average quality of these cheap imports is food for thought though and if possible (read "affordable") should be replaced. I'll now start a replace program starting with boat trailer first.

Be a very interesting outcome if they were taken to reputable tyre outlet for a true and balance check !!!! Even some good brands became hard to balance for e.g. I used many B.F. Goodrich Light Trucks and they started to use so much weight for balance you needed shares in a lead mine. The outlet started getting them in in lots of 10 to find 4 that would balance up with a reasonable amount of weight. I use Japanese tyres now for the vehicles.

Regards
PWCDad

[woodsy76]

i agree with everyone about these crap tyres i had two of these bubble up and start to fall to bits yesterday not happy .why do they let these tyres in the country sureley its a saftey issue. woodsy

[trueblue]

my trailer was custom built in Townsville by Bartel Trailers.

I can't recall the tyre name, but they are an imported light truck tyre.

When I bought by trailer, my only tyre option was to either accept his preferred option of brand new light truck tyres on galvanised rims, or go and get my own brand new light truck tyres.

more than 6 years later, my tyres are in great shape. They have been driven from townsville to brisbane among other long trips, and always go on the highway to the ramp. I keep them at 50 to 55 psi (60 psi is rated max for highway driving on these tyres)

you simply can't beat spending the extra bit of money up front for a good quality long life product.

cheers

Mick

[Bros]

I think you will find it is the rim that is not to be used not the tyre on powered vehicles. I believe it is the alloy rims that don't have a steel insert fitted. The same thing applies on some caravans.