I have Towmaster bias tires on my one year old car hauler and I noticed after sitting all winter that two of the tires have cracks all around in the center of the sidewall and along the edge of the tread. Is this common for bias plys and/or Towmasters? I can't believe after one year and only 3500 miles I need to replace them but they don't look safe.
Also, should I get radials and if I replace them with radials should I also get a radial spare? My current spare is a bias ply.

 

You don't want to mix bias and radial tires on the same axle.If you go to radials you'll want to get a radial spare as well.

As far as bias tires cracking,its probably not that their bias,but some other reason. I try not to let my tires just sit there all winter. I try to tow the trailer every once in awhile. Another thing that helps in not to let them weather all winter either. UV rays are hard on tires. Its not good to keep the tires parked on the grass or dirt,and stay wet all winter.

I keep mine covered,and up off the ground (typically parked on 2x10s),and have good life with my trailer tires (bias ply included)

Forgot to add,the trailer might be a year old,but the tires may be much older. You might have tires 3-4 years older than the trailer. You can check the date code on the sidewall.

 

I tried one set of bias tires. I think they were Towmasters. They were on the RV less than a year and had a number of surface sidewall cracks. They got about 10K miles before a couple were badly worn on the edges. I also used a little bit more fuel with them compared to radials.

Dan

 

Personally I wouldn't worry about have a bias spare for a trailer. I do make sure I have good tires on my trailers, then a spare is not really ever needed. If I did need it, it would only be to get somewhere I could fix the flat.

 

My Chinese made tires cracked after one year but wouldnt think Towmasters would. Were both of the tires on the same side?

 

If your parking your trailer for extended periods, park it on some wood, just lke sundaymoney stated. The bare ground is just as bad for tires as it is batteries.

 

The recommendations by the tire manufacturers include keeping pressure to max, out of the sun (covered) and towed often enough to keep the potential flat-spotting away, and to flex the tires so that this cracking either doesn't occur or is minimized. Some minor cracking isn't worrisome, some is, there are guidelines. See Goodyear and others for more info on their corporate sites.

 

Well, I replaced the tires with Denman radials. I've read more good things about them than Goodyear and Carlisle and they were available locally. the rubber feels softer (like normal) compared to the old tires, they were hard as a rock.
I am going to put tire covers on these when not in use and hopefully they will last much longer.

 

Where I park my trailer, one side gets beat on by the sun all day. Those two tires are doing the same thing while the two on the other side are like new. Until I can get them replaced I just put some Black trash bags over them to help keep the sun off of them. I also made some plywood strips that the tires sit on instead of letting them sit in the grass......

 

Yea the goodyears and carlise are made in china. My next set will probably be maxxis.

 

From what I've been hearing, ALL the trailer tires are now made in the Orient. Towmasters used to be made by Goodyear in Ontario, Canada. Even the Goodyear Marathon's are made overseas, now.

The recommendation, now, is to replace trailer tires after three years service according to the date code stamped on the sidewalls.

Personally, in the future, I will try to buy a trailer with 16" wheels that can use 235/85/16-E truck tires. They are tough & last longer than trailer tires.

Joe F.(Buffalo)

 

I keep the GN parked on wood and cover the tires. Mine are about five years old now and look good.