Tandem axle trailer tires

[mccobmd]

We've had lots of discussion on Marathon's and other tires. Many people feel the tandem axle trailer is harder on the tires. Do any of you that have tandem axle trailers rotate them front to back or side to side. I've pulled tandem trailers all my life and have never rotated them but if you believe the axles pull differently on the different tires it should increase the tire life to rotate them. What are thoughts?

[russlars]

Interesting thought. Can't answer your question, however, FWIW both blowouts that I have had on my tandem axle trailer were on the front tires. This may be more of a load issue though. Never thought about rotating them to try and incease the longevity of the tires. I'll be following this thread.

[thatsmrmastercraft]

It seems that the blowout complaints are from torsion axle tandems and not w/leaf spring tandems.

russlars.......was your trailer level when connected?

[russlars]

It seems that the blowout complaints are from torsion axle tandems and not w/leaf spring tandems.

russlars.......was your trailer level when connected?
Yes it was level and tires were at 45 - 50psi. However, it was also about 100 degrees and even though the tires looked great they were probably about 7-8 years old. Both blowouts happened within 45 minutes of each other on the freeway going about 70 mph. From what I have read here and other places, the tire age was probably the biggest factor. Needless to say, the trailer got 4 brand new tires that day!

[Thrall]

It seems that the blowout complaints are from torsion axle tandems and not w/leaf spring tandems.

russlars.......was your trailer level when connected?

I think the torsion axles exaggerate uneven loading f to r because they dont have the pivot that evens the load out if the hitch is too high or low, and they're real stiff, making the lower axle take even more of the load.
Every tire on my 190 tandem trailer lasted about 5 years then they started coming apart, lotas mile on them. The very same week, the tires started coming apart on my 06X2 tandem trlr. COincidence? Tires were about the same age. No miles on the 06 trailer, but 4 yrs of dry rot, heavier load, torsion axles may have all contributed to those.
I don't think rotation matters on a trailer, no drive or steering axles, each wheel is subject to the same condition, if the trailer is level.
Bottom line GY Marathons are junk. In all the trailer tire blowouts I've had, which is many between sled trailers, 5 yrs at a landscape nursery, boats, util trailers, etc, ONLY the Marathons delaminated like a recap.

[thatsmrmastercraft]

I guess I have been pretty fortunate over the years to have only one trailer tire go down on the road. I was 5 miles from home on the return leg of a snowmobile trip from St. Paul to the U.P. when the 2 place snowmobile trailer tire went south. Put 700 miles on it but couldn't male it 705.

Tire age seems to be a significant factor. I suppose if I installed 4 Indy car like jacks to the frame of my trailer, and lifted it up to take the load off the trailer tires when not in use, perhaps they would last longer. Would be a nice feature when needing to change a tire.

I will just have to stick with preemptively changing out the tires so as to let someone else have the roadside fun.

[brucemac]

sorry for the rookie question, but what's it feel like to have one go on a DA on the interstate?

russlars, your glass wheel wells suffer any damage?

i suspect only a matter of time on mine as they're at least 7 years old and we trailer roughly 3 or 4K miles every summer.

really just curious what i can expect if/when it happens as the long trips, i'm loaded up with the wife and 3 little ones.

i am planning on replacing them this next off-season.

[Forrest-X45]

I have never bothered to rotate tandem trailer tires. I think as long as both trailer and load are level there is no benefit to rotating tires.

It would be interesting to take a poll of tandem tire blowouts and see which tire has blown out more. I would bet it is the front tire more often than the rear. I would also bet it is because the front tire is going to pickup any objects on the road surface being in front. Slowly loosing air pressure then overheating and destroying itself looking like it had structurely failed from being a crappy tire while it failed from picking up a screw or nail and lost air pressure/overheated.

Just a theory and no evidence to back it up......

[thatsmrmastercraft]

Thats a pretty realistic theory.

[Thrall]

sorry for the rookie question, but what's it feel like to have one go on a DA on the interstate?

russlars, your glass wheel wells suffer any damage?

i suspect only a matter of time on mine as they're at least 7 years old and we trailer roughly 3 or 4K miles every summer.

really just curious what i can expect if/when it happens as the long trips, i'm loaded up with the wife and 3 little ones.

i am planning on replacing them this next off-season.

brucemac,
I'd save your fenders and replace them now. My 190 trailer has 2 soft spots where the de-lam slapped the fender hard enough to peel some glass off. The new boat has a soft spot and mucho spider cracks from it's first de-lam blowout. At least none of the carnage got to the boat.
A tire going out on a tandem doesn't feel like much at 70 mph, you just start hearing a "thump thump" and by then the damage is done.
I found the service life to be OVER at 5yrs on the Marathons. If the tires had been replaced at 4 years I would have had no problems.
If you keep the tires this year, I'd think about 2 spares on long roadtrips, pack floor jack and remember if you're out of spares, you can "chain up" the axle with a couple decent ratchet straps and keep rolling to the next town.

[mccobmd]

I guess I have been pretty fortunate over the years to have only one trailer tire go down on the road. I was 5 miles from home on the return leg of a snowmobile trip from St. Paul to the U.P. when the 2 place snowmobile trailer tire went south. Put 700 miles on it but couldn't male it 705.

Tire age seems to be a significant factor. I suppose if I installed 4 Indy car like jacks to the frame of my trailer, and lifted it up to take the load off the trailer tires when not in use, perhaps they would last longer. Would be a nice feature when needing to change a tire.

I will just have to stick with preemptively changing out the tires so as to let someone else have the roadside fun.

I put my trailer up on jack stands all winter, that was what started the question. We did this on our ranch. If we had trailers that weren't getting used for a while we lifted them wtih the tractor and blocked them. Same principle. I could easily change them around, was hoping someone had some insight.

[russlars]

sorry for the rookie question, but what's it feel like to have one go on a DA on the interstate?

russlars, your glass wheel wells suffer any damage?

i suspect only a matter of time on mine as they're at least 7 years old and we trailer roughly 3 or 4K miles every summer.

really just curious what i can expect if/when it happens as the long trips, i'm loaded up with the wife and 3 little ones.

i am planning on replacing them this next off-season.
Nothing too dramatic. On both of the tires I noticed that there was a lot of vibration on the tire that was getting ready to blow. I saw this on both tires in my rearview mirror just prior to them disintegrating. It didn't make the trailer sway or cause any drastic maneuvers. Fortunately for me, I have a DHM trailer which has metal fenders so it didn't cause any damage to the trailer at all.
The worst part was barely making it to a service station in Cle Elum that was getting ready to close and forking out an extra $100 or so to have them stay open late and replace all 4 tires.:( But it was worth it to get back on the road and for peace of mind.

[Miss Rita]

I would bet it is the front tire more often than the rear. I would also bet it is because the front tire is going to pickup any objects on the road surface being in front.

Not quite.

The right rear tire will usually go flat first, about 30-40% of the time. Someone did a survey on this. The RF tire kicks up some debris, then the RR tire picks it up and get punctured. It's usually a right side tire because that's where most of the debris is.

This theory doesn't hold for tire failure due to faulty construction.

The one time I had a blowout on the trailer it was the RR tire. Fortunately I haven't had a lot of experience with blowouts.

[93Prostar190]

Man as I read this thread I find myself wrestling with internal demons .... when I went from my 93 PS with a single axle trailer to my 214 with a tandem axle, I expected to get more peace of mind about the loading of my tires. I used to feel that the PS190 was close to the load limit of the single axle trailer with those tires .... I had a blowout once and replaced all the tires .... I also have pretty much resigned myself to the fact that every 4 years I will buy new trailer tires ... I don't care how good they look .... my boats are always garage kept but UV and internal rot are the biggest enemies of tires.

[thatsmrmastercraft]

I have a V/M tandem leaf spring trailer (mfg. in Fresno, CA) that came with my '77. With the boat weighing a mere 2200#, I feel pretty secure going down the road.

Try to ignore the fact that the PO put the tires on white wall out. Tires and wheels are towards the top of the To Do List.

[oldairboater]

I have two dual axle trailers right now and three single axle trailers. The dual axle trailers are hardest on tires when it comes to wear. You are always dragging an axle sideways turning. The problem I see the most with blow outs is low pressure and old tires. Cracks in the sidewalls along with any irregularities is a serious warning. I don't bother to rotate because when the tires start showing serious wear or cracking ---they get changed. Blowouts and changing tires on the side of a highway always suck. Three to five years is the normal life for me on trailer tires.

[Sodar]

Take all these tandem axle stories with a grain of salt. In the SW, you seldom, if ever see a single axle trailer. Some 21' boats run triple axles... granted, just for looks.

I'd estimate that I have approximately 15k of tow time on my '07 and probably had more than 30k on my '96 tandem without an issue.

You should absolutely feel safer towing a tandem. Just don't wrench the things into tight turns, care for the tires in terms of pressure, balancing and sun exposure and don't pop them over curbs and such... It'll be fine!

[vandit0022]

I have been looking at my tires with all the threads about trailer tire blowouts lately. When I take a sharp turn with my triple axle, especially at the ramp, those tires are getting pushed to the max. I don't see any cracks or anything along the sidewalls, but is it any different for 3 axle v 2? weight is distributed differently, but my boat also weighs more. She usually rides level between the auto leveler on my truck and the weight distribution hitch. Any thoughts? Yes they are Goodyear Marathons. The trailer is a SportBoat w/ electric over hydro brakes. I am probably about due to get them replaced just for the sake of time.

[Thrall]

You have an X80 with original (I presume) tires that are 6-7 years old?
I'd roll it straight over to the tire shop, maybe spring for D rated tires while you're at it, that boat's a beast!

[mccobmd]

Just came back from my storage shed. Put an new set of marathons on 2 years ago. Front tires are more worn than back. Trailer has springs and my vehicle is auto leveling. That's what I remembered and why I will probably rotate them. Any thoughts on uneven wear.

[vandit0022]

Yeah I just got the boat back from the dealership after they had it for 6 months. So before it gets much warmer I'll take it to the tire place and see what they say just to be sure.

[JohnE]

Take all these tandem axle stories with a grain of salt. In the SW, you seldom, if ever see a single axle trailer. Some 21' boats run triple axles... granted, just for looks.

I'd estimate that I have approximately 15k of tow time on my '07 and probably had more than 30k on my '96 tandem without an issue.

You should absolutely feel safer towing a tandem. Just don't wrench the things into tight turns, care for the tires in terms of pressure, balancing and sun exposure and don't pop them over curbs and such... It'll be fine!

I wouldn't take the tandem thing too lightly. How many stories of newer single torsion axle trailers have had blowouts with the new layup marathons? There's too many of those stories about the tandems. And one of our members here who knows these products real well says that it is because the torsions on a tandem puts an uneven load on the tires. There may only be one of a hundred ( or 1 of 1000) who have this problem, but it'd still concern me.

Plus the 197 isn't putting as much load on the tires as a larger model.

Personally I wouldn't be overly concerned, but I'd keep a spare plus the tools on hand and keep the thought in the back of my mind that it could happen.

FWIW I have about 10K miles on my SA without issue. I'll try to run 70 mph, but one trip I was 75 mph strong the entire 900 miles.

[Sodar]

I wouldn't take the tandem thing too lightly. How many stories of newer single torsion axle trailers have had blowouts with the new layup marathons? There's too many of those stories about the tandems. And one of our members here who knows these products real well says that it is because the torsions on a tandem puts an uneven load on the tires. There may only be one of a hundred ( or 1 of 1000) who have this problem, but it'd still concern me.

Plus the 197 isn't putting as much load on the tires as a larger model.

Personally I wouldn't be overly concerned, but I'd keep a spare plus the tools on hand and keep the thought in the back of my mind that it could happen.

FWIW I have about 10K miles on my SA without issue. I'll try to run 70 mph, but one trip I was 75 mph strong the entire 900 miles.

It's not an issue if you have your trailer set to dead level. If you think my only experience with multi-axle torsion trailers is with my 197, you are incorrect. I know of several friends' boats of every brand that use torsion axle tandems and have never had an issue. If you think it is an issue of weight, that would be false too. I know of a certain 11,000# Jupiter Center Console that sits on a triple axle torsion trailer. This boat/trailer has been pulled from Florida to California and back on it's own axles twice now.... not one blow out. I also know that this same trailer has been treated like absolute crap... it's been left outside and used in salt 20+ weekends a year.

I stand by that multi-axle torsion trailer issues will disappear if the trailer sits level, the tires are balance and pressurized correctly and they are not torqued as far as they can go by tight, tight turning.

John, how many trailers do you see on here where people go to Pep-Boys, buy any old drop hitch and let it fly? I'd say about 1/4 of the trailers I see on here are set-up improperly. In the next breathe I'd say that about 1/100th of the trailers on here have issues. Correlation? YES!

[Thrall]

I stand by that multi-axle torsion trailer issues will disappear if the trailer sits level, the tires are balance and pressurized correctly and they are not torqued as far as they can go by tight, tight turning.

John, how many trailers do you see on here where people go to Pep-Boys, buy any old drop hitch and let it fly? I'd say about 1/4 of the trailers I see on here are set-up improperly. In the next breathe I'd say that about 1/100th of the trailers on here have issues. Correlation? YES!


You're dead-on. Tandem Torsion axles are just less dummy proof than leaf spring axles.
It's real easy to see the add'l load placed on one axle or the other if not level. Yes proper maint and air pressure will help the tires, even Marathons as well.

Part of my problem is every time I take the boat in or out of the garage I have to damn near twist the wheels off jack-knifing the trailer so as not to end up in my neighbors yard with it!
Wasn't any better with a leaf spring axle either.