Does anyone rotate trailer tires ?

[jmargo]

Just curious. Doing pre-season maintenance and pulling the rear wheels to check brakes and greasing the bushings. Is it worth it to move them around ?

 

[Ronnie]

I’ve never done it and this is the first time I know of that the topic was ever raised.

 

[suke]

I don't think it matters, but I do it. I have the tires off anyways checking brakes and cleaning the wheels front and back. Why not switch them up. Figure at best the ones on the brakes get more heat. I tow about 50 miles round trip each time out. A good mix of driving too, highway, stop and go, twisty back roads, etc.

 

[Tjw961]

Haven't rotated any yet. Not saying that's right though.

 

[HawaiiBreeze]

I have been through too many sets of tires in 4.5 years (I think 3), not to rotate also dropped the bias ply in favor of the steel belted and I think that was a good move. Showing no signs of wear like the bias used to. I got that tip from this forum.

 

[SDAnderson51]

Let the condition of your tires determine what you do. If everything is wearing evenly there is no reason to rotate. If you see specific tires are wearing differently it is time ot figure out why. Trailer tires are a different breed and trying to equate what you do with your vehicle with the way you treat your trailer is not the best move. Things like weight rating, side wall strength, and others are why they sell tires specifically made for trailers. One of the biggest problem with boat trailers is overloading. The boat trailer and tires are rated for a specific max weight, but when people go for that weekend or week long vacation they use the boat like it was a regular trailer. All of the food, drinks, beach stuff, etc. go into the boat, and then all of that stuff is not distributed the way it needs to be. Because of the overloading it doesn't matter what type of tires you use they will overheat and this causes a severe reduction in life. This is not only hard on the tires, but more importantly the trailer bearings. Anyone who has pulled trailers of any kind can appreciate what it is like to have a trailer bearing go out. This is especially true for boat trailers because the grease is exposed to water on a regular basis.

 

[adrianp89]

I have been through too many sets of tires in 4.5 years (I think 3), not to rotate also dropped the bias ply in favor of the steel belted and I think that was a good move. Showing no signs of wear like the bias used to. I got that tip from this forum.

What tires did you end up with?

 

[gt5pilot]

25+ years of towing trailers (not specifically boats though, but twin axle and one axle with brakes, the other not) - we rotated side to side and brake to non-brake axle every year with bearing repack/rebuild. Will continue to do the same on the boat trailer.

 

[SDAnderson51]

25+ years of towing trailers (not specifically boats though, but twin axle and one axle with brakes, the other not) - we rotated side to side and brake to non-brake axle every year with bearing repack/rebuild. Will continue to do the same on the boat trailer.

I have been diligent about rotating my trailer tires at points in my life and other times I haven't done it for years. I have been towing all types of trailers for about 50 years. This includes small two wheel utility trailers, 5th wheel trailers goosneck trailers and too many other types to list. I had a ranch for about 30 years so the trailers were used daily in one form or another. I don't think that I have ever been able to document that rotating the tires made a difference. I can say that I have had less problems when I use tires that are made for trailers vs. using automobile or truck tires. Most people will never put enough miles on their boat trailers to begin to wear them out. They will need to be replaced due to dry rot or aging long before the tread is gone. The bearing repack/rebuild is far more important than the tire rotation.

 

[Rockit69]

I dont really see a need to rotate tires unless you are doing laps around Daytona, then yes absolutely!