Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

So...we finally picked up our tritoon yesterday. Some of you may recall my post a few weeks ago about the boat making it across the country on the delivery truck, only to hit a freakin’ tree limb backing into the dealers lot. Anyway, the fences on the starboard side were replaced and everything looks fine. There’s a couple things I’m not completely happy about, but we’ll sort it out with the dealer.

Got home and looked at the trailer tires, and saw that they are only rated for 55 MPH. What the heck!
They are Jet Star 175/80/R13c. Tandem axle. Is this common in the pontoon boat tires. I’ve never had one that was only speed rated for 55 MPH. I’ve already looked at other options. Thinking about going to a radial, I believe these current ones are bias ply. The ones I am looking at are rated for 81 MPH. May go up to a “D” from am”C” just to beef it up one notch. I’m aware that will make the ride a bit stiffer, but it’s done on rv’s all the time.

So, is the 55 normal...and any opinions on changing to a radial and maybe going to a “D” rating?

I'm not sure what the "normal" max speed is but I know I don't ever tow my boat over 60 mph... but then again I only tow about 10 miles each way. I can tell you that I had a blow out on my original trailer tires a few years back.. they were made by a company called "trail america". Turns out they're a pretty cheap tire madein China.. I replaced them with a set of Kenda Load Star ST175/80R-13 These are an 8 ply radial with a "D" load rating of 1610 lbs. My trailer is a single axle trailer and my boat is only a 20 footer. I've had the kenda's now for about 3 years and so far no issues.

Thanks for the reply Roland. I, like you, don’t tow very fast, but I will be traveling about six hours each way to a seasonal next year. I like to travel in the 60-62 range. I surely don’t want to worry about exceeding the 55 limit. Tires have always been my concern when towing. There’s a Carlisle HD tire I’m looking at, and possible a Maxxis if I find one that fits. Calling the tire shop this morning to see what’s available.

I highly recommend Good Year Endurance They are made in the USA. I ordered them on my30' travel trailer


https://www.goodyear.com/en-US/tires/endurance

Lakerunner, I haven’t found out yet if the Goodyear Endurance has tires in my size, but I will definitely check. I know many people are beginning to use them on their RV’s, and I plan on doing the same in a year or two when I need to change my RV tires.

Six hours is a long tow (even if it's a once a year event), and I wouldn't want to worry about tires. I'd upgrade to the best tires available and never look back. It's a cheap upgrade for the piece of mind you'll gain.

That’s what I’m gonna do. Looks like Goodyear Endurance doesn’t have my size, so it will likely be Carlisle HD or Maxxis. Thanks.

You should consider the Maxxks tires if Goodyear is not making an Endurance tire in 13 inch size. The rest are known as China Bombs in the ST tire world.

It is a shame the NHTSA has not been looking out form the welfare of U.S. Citizens requiring decent trailer tires.

I cannot find it now but in September some new guidelines or rules were put into effect that caused the RV industry to start putting heavier tires on 5th wheels. It caused them to move from E to G rated tires on the 5r we purchased. Moved the tires from 3,750 max to 4,080 max.

[quote="Drago"]I cannot find it now but in September some new guidelines or rules were put into effect that caused the RV industry to start putting heavier tires on 5th wheels. It caused them to move from E to G rated tires on the 5r we purchased. Moved the tires from 3,750 max to 4,080 max.[/quote]

Hi Kenneth (fellow GD forum member),

So I spoke with the trailer manufacturer. I explained that I would be trailering long distances. She said to replace the tires with radials. Great...more money. I’ll try to sell the steel belted on C.L. after I make the switchover.

Do they actually say 55mph limit or 55mph rated? Most trailer tires I’ve come across are rated at a fairly low speed but that speed can be exceeded if the load is max reduced. Most tables show a 10% derate for every 10mph over the “rated speed”. That said I automatically knock off 10% the factory load rating as a safety factor, especially on brands I’ve never heard of!

[quote="rancherlee"]Do they actually say 55mph limit or 55mph rated? Most trailer tires I’ve come across are rated at a fairly low speed but that speed can be exceeded if the load is max reduced. Most tables show a 10% derate for every 10mph over the “rated speed”. That said I automatically knock off 10% the factory load rating as a safety factor, especially on brands I’ve never heard of![/quote]

They state “55 mph max”. Hopefully someone will want them. I wouldn’t mind so much, but looking at new tires for rv and truck within next year also, maybe sooner. I know...whaa ...whaaa

[quote="Steve7"]That’s what I’m gonna do. Looks like Goodyear Endurance doesn’t have my size, so it will likely be Carlisle HD or Maxxis. Thanks.[/quote]

Hey Steve.. take it for what it's worth, but I have a friend who runs a large tire store and they sell Carlisle trailer tires. In a nutshell he said he wasn't really crazy about them.. I asked him about Maxxis and they don't handle those but he told me if I ordered them elsewhere, he would have them put on my trailer.. Just something to think about.

Thanks Roland.

Steve... if you haven't already decided on what tire you're going to use on your trailer, you might at least give these a look. Kenda Load Star ST175/80R-13 These are an 8 ply radial with a "D" load rating of 1610 lbs. I currrently have these tires on my trailer and I haven't had any issues.. When I bought these 5 and a half years ago, it was really hard to find an ST tire that wasn't made in china and didn't have a bad reputation... I do believe these are made in China but they got very good reviews and my experience has been good also. I bought them because the original tires were rated C load and had one blow out with less than 500 miles on it... I was able to get the Kenda in D load for more weight capacity.. I'm still looking at the maxxis ( korean made I believe ) but if I can't get it in a D load then I'll go back with another set of Kenda's.. Happy New Year.