Hey guys, i inherited my grampas little boat when he passed away. i had to save and purchase a motor, good to go. the trailer is homemade, and i am going through tires at a ridiculous pace. i have had the boat for about a year, and put new tires on when i got it. maybe got 150 miles out of them. they were small 8" tires. so when they went bald, i bought tires on new rims at wally world. i went up to the 12" tires. i have gone maybe another 150 miles and they are bald already in the middle, and if i take it back out they will be threadbare in the middle again. it is a solid trailer built out of steel. and it has some weight to it with the boat on it. the boat is a 13 ft fiberglass v hull john boat. the trailer has one of those small 1" square axles that has a decent amount of rust on it, and leaf springs. i am wondering if the axle needs replaced, or if i need a new trailer. i tried to stop at a local boat dealer today to ask some questions, but they were closed. i go to TA Mahoneys usually for advice, but wanted some opinions from ya'll too. could a bum axle, or bad leaf spring be causing the tires to wear improperly, or do i need to step up to a 13" tire that has more meat to the tire?
well the trailer appears to track very straight behind me. i have been towing trailers for 22 years, the axle bearings were put on new before i put it on the road. maybe i will have somebody follow me a short distance and see if they notice something i cant. thanks Crock1
Your trailer is not tracking true. The tires are "sliding" instead of rolling straight. It could be one of many things. Axle bent, axle not straight, trailer bent, suspension out of kilter
well that sounds like 2 votes for the same type of problem. i think the axle is bent, i dont really have the knowledge to know if the other things are having a problem. would i be best off to buy a new trailer and sell this one, i dont have the best budget for these things, and i know an axle is cheaper than a trailer. thanks gents.
