Hot Tires?

[SweetLou]

Ok now I think this is odd. I was taking my boat up and over the mountain to get some maintenance done. I don't trailer this boat but 0.5 mi to the launch ramp twice a year and the mechanic. So I am 12 mi into a 35 mile trip and I pull over to check the bearings on the single axle boat trailer. They feel cool to touch, however the tires are hot. There are no trailer brakes and both sides felt the same. Why would tires only, not the rims or hubs be hot? I slowed way down the rest of the way. Tires are old won't lie, and for sure I am going to change them before they go on this trip again.

[Ron3rd]

routeforty wrote:

mkirsch wrote:
Yeah, probably overloaded. Often times you'll roll up on someone towing a boat on those spindly little 12" tires, and you can see they're clearly overtaxing the tires and axle, as the wheels are splayed out at a 15 degree angle to vertical.

What size tires? What is the weight rating? What boat?

Amen to that. I noticed our pontoon trailer tires wearing on the inside, then looked at the axle, which was bowed so badly it looked like it was smiling at me. Took it to a scale and the gross weight was 2950lbs on a 2500lb axle. Had it changed to a 3500lb axle and end of problem. This was a brand new boat & trailer with only 2 trips from Oh to Fl, and about 10 trips to the lake. Maybe 4000 miles(but probably less).Gary

Fwiw, trailer axles are supposed to be "bowed"

It produces camber

[richclover]

My guess is Load range C tires, max load pressure should be 50 psi.

When taking delivery of our brand new Coleman TT, a couple of months ago, the dealer (Camping World), handed me a sheet, 3 columns of items/systems they “checked”. One item was tire pressure and written in was “inflated to 65 psi”.

I towed it home, about 90 miles. Got to thinking about the tire/load sticker on the left front of the trailer. It states Load Range C tires, max load 50 psi. Confirmed by looking at the tires.

So I checked, looking for 65 psi. First tire read 35. The rest were between 35 and 40. Luckily the trailer wasn’t loaded. Had I not checked, loaded up and left on a trip... Probably not good.

I had a “chat” with the salesman concerning the issue.

[sgfrye]

valhalla360 wrote:
Were they fully inflated? Underinflated tires can overheat.

x2
the small 20.5x8.0-10 tires on our pontoon boat trailer have a recommended psi of 90

the previous owner we bought the boat from ran about 40psi because he thought 90 was too much

i run 90 psi

[CapriRacer]

Yeah, read the sidewall of the tire. What max pressure does it say? Use that, then get back to us.

Also, if the tire says 50 psi, those tires are toast and you should replace them right away.

[eHoefler]

SweetLou wrote:
Tire set up is how this has been rolling down the road since 2006. Single axle, not overloaded because it is designed for that boat. Nothing else was in the boat. [COLOR=]I inflated the tires to 30 lbs and they have always been jacked up off the ground for winter storage. I agree that I was close to tire failure but I just couldn't understand why they got so hot when the conditions were ideal and the load was normal.

Under inflated, If correct pressure, wrong tire, not a trailer tire.
If trailer tire, needs to 50 psi

[Ralph_Cramden]

SweetLou wrote:
Tire set up is how this has been rolling down the road since 2006. Single axle, not overloaded because it is designed for that boat. Nothing else was in the boat. I inflated the tires to 30 lbs and they have always been jacked up off the ground for winter storage. I agree that I was close to tire failure but I just couldn't understand why they got so hot when the conditions were ideal and the load was normal.

How hot was "hot"? Too hot to touch, lukewarm, melting into a gooey mess? 20 to 30 degrees above ambient?
Probably normal, unless the tread ran into the storm drain as a liquid when you pulled over.

By the time this runs it's course you'll need new tires, or an axle, or a new trailer. Possibly a new boat and a 1 ton diesel dually also. What's the payload of the TV? Have you been to the cat scale every time you throw an extra ultralight fishing rod in the boat and change your weight?

Get a TPMS regardless of my sarcasm.....cheap insurance. If I could lay my hand on them without getting a blister I wouldn't worry much. You should feel how hot the tires get on one of our 45' flats with about 48K lbs of concrete products loaded after 10 miles.

[SweetLou]

Tire set up is how this has been rolling down the road since 2006. Single axle, not overloaded because it is designed for that boat. Nothing else was in the boat. I inflated the tires to 30 lbs and they have always been jacked up off the ground for winter storage. I agree that I was close to tire failure but I just couldn't understand why they got so hot when the conditions were ideal and the load was normal.

[SweetLou]

nickthehunter wrote:
What was the temperature of the pavement the tires were running on?

It was only 60 degrees outside

[valhalla360]

Were they fully inflated? Underinflated tires can overheat.

[routeforty]

mkirsch wrote:
Yeah, probably overloaded. Often times you'll roll up on someone towing a boat on those spindly little 12" tires, and you can see they're clearly overtaxing the tires and axle, as the wheels are splayed out at a 15 degree angle to vertical.

What size tires? What is the weight rating? What boat?

Amen to that. I noticed our pontoon trailer tires wearing on the inside, then looked at the axle, which was bowed so badly it looked like it was smiling at me. Took it to a scale and the gross weight was 2950lbs on a 2500lb axle. Had it changed to a 3500lb axle and end of problem. This was a brand new boat & trailer with only 2 trips from Oh to Fl, and about 10 trips to the lake. Maybe 4000 miles(but probably less).Gary

[Lynnmor]

I heard a loud bang in front of my house, and saw that a boat trailer tire had blown. Hopped on my motorcycle to see if he needed help and maybe sell him one of my excess spares. Followed that rubber trail, turned scrape mark for ten miles and then turned back. See, you don't need no stinkin' tires.

[mkirsch]

Yeah, probably overloaded. Often times you'll roll up on someone towing a boat on those spindly little 12" tires, and you can see they're clearly overtaxing the tires and axle, as the wheels are splayed out at a 15 degree angle to vertical.

What size tires? What is the weight rating? What boat?

[jkwilson]

The tires on most single axle boat trailers are very close to overloaded even when fully inflated.

[eHoefler]

What is the tire pressure?? Tires get warm/hot from just rolling down the road, low pressure or load will cause them to heat up.

[lmpres]

High tire temp is one of the signs prior to a tire blowing. If you install TPMS on your setup, they will alert you to rising tire temp or PSI dropping. Both signs to pull over....