Why do my boat trailer tyres keep going flat?

[paullee]

Hi all,

Stupid question for the day. Due to a new addition to the family we basically havent been out fishing for 6 months or so. Had no tyre problems prior to this when using boat a few times a month. So why is it that 2 out of my 4 tyres now go flat within a week or 2 of pumping them up? Whats the easiest fix? Maybe get tubes put in them? Could be valves as well i suppose?They are 165/13 light truck tyres. Getting sick of dragging out the compressor every week or so!
Cheers for any help...Paul

[rosco1974]

I recon it will be your valves,i just replaced all of mine on my trailer as ihad a couple of them with slow leaks

[Bustedoff]

Tubes can be a pain, as you can't get away with a slow leak (from a nail etc), they generally just go flat. I'd be taking the wheels off and get them into a tyre shop. They'll sort it out.

[stue2]

Can leak around bead sometimes as well as valves. Small cracks will open up after periods of low use.
Tubes arent great in this situation as water gets in between.
Remove tyre and scrub rim and if tyre is still ok try reseating.

[Chimo]

Paul

Check your valve stems ie the bit they pull through the hole in the rim and screw fit the valve into. I have had to get new ones as the centre rod can come loose. If this is your issue you are lucky because if they let go at speed it is not pretty. As stue2 says you can also get corrosion between the rim edge and the tyre bead and that gives rise to leaks too.

Cheers
Chimo

[tunaticer]

Alloy rims can go porous after exposure to salt water, mine did after about a year. Whacked tubes in them and not a problem since......16 yrs.

[Noelm]

Yep, always put tubes in boat trailer tyres.

[NArmstrong]

Take each wheel off individually and submerse in a drum of water (even a bathtub). U will quickly see where the leak is coming from

[Moonlighter]

And, if the tyres are older than 5 or 6 years, they may not show it but they will have deteriorated and best to replace them. Salt water, steel belts, porous rubber, heat, all are not a good mix. 5 years is about the safe lifespan.

[Haji-Baba]

I have had a slow leak in one tyre and am sure it is corrosion of the alloy wheel.

Next time I change tyres shall use tubes and am sure the problem will cease.

Valves maybe, but most of my leaks are from around the bead or valve stem.
On my alloys anyway.

Have fun Haji-Baba

[TheRealAndy]

I would say leaking of the bead, some soapy water will soon find it for you. Tyre shop will do one of two things, either put a tube in or they will clean up the rim then use a black sealant on the bead. I had the latter and it worked a treat.

FWIW, I think alloy rims are crap on boats. I have had both gal steel and aluminium and the gal never seems to have problems like the alloy ones.

[myusernam]

alloy rims leak around the bead from corrosion. Just get a tube put in. The tyre people seem to find this a difficult request to process. Double check that they have done it when you pick it up. The tyre fitter usually overrides any instructions and just does it normally

[Noelm]

Yep, agree with above, for some reason, they fail to accept someone wanting tubes in tubeless tyres, I have had it happen on galvanised rims too, salt water just sneaks in around the bead after a while, and that white corrosion starts, and before you know it, a tyre needs some air, that after a bit more time, you have a flat tyre, Andy, I have never seen any tyre service use anything other than the usual slop they splash on when fitting tyres, if there is some sort of sealer then that might fix the problem, I will ask them next time I go past and see what they say.

[TheRealAndy]

Andy, I have never seen any tyre service use anything other than the usual slop they splash on when fitting tyres, if there is some sort of sealer then that might fix the problem, I will ask them next time I go past and see what they say.

I had it done before, its pretty good. The fitters also cleaned up the bead with some sort of wire wheel before they used it. looked like a black contact adhesive.

[paullee]

Hi all thanks for the replies i will post what i find...thinkin tubes all round might be the go...

[paullee]

Gday just thought i would post a follow up, They removed the tyres cleaned the rim and put back on. 3 weeks later and 1 of them is going flat again, Glad they only charged $20! They recommended no tubes due to they go flat fast and have issues with the salt as well. Think i will put the spare on and see how that goes

[Noelm]

Regardless of what they say, put tubes in them, it is a common problem, cleaning the rims will fix the problem, but it is a tempory fix, as you have found out, strangly I have seen a leaky tyre, no idea how that could happen, but it had a tiny leak in the sidewall, only a small bubble every few minutes.

[Chimo]

Paulee

My tyre guys cleaned the rims where the bead sits and painted some stuff on and let it dry before fitting new tyres some years ago after the original tyres all started to get tread separation so the trailer bounced all over the place when towed without the boat on. Could have been interesting on the hyway.

Anyhoo since I got the brakes redone ie new rotors etc etc and decided to no longer drown brakes and as a result tyres the pressure seems to stay up fairly close to the 50 odd psi they run at.

Maybe consider less drowning and more use of winch (electric) unless of course if you have a bunk trailer in which case ignore the above and just keep at it.

Cheers
Chimo

[NAGG]

you didn't run over an echidna did you ...... seriously

Chris