Trailer TPMS and tires.

[Bugs]

I'm still relatively new to long-distance trailer towing. I have about 12K miles on my 2019 24' ATC trailer. A few weeks back, I pulled into a paddock parking slot at a Laguna Seca track day. As I exited my truck, my neighbor said Hello and then asked me if I have a spare.

"A spare what?", I asked.

"Tire. For your trailer." He pointed to my left side tires. I was a little shocked at what I saw.







I hadn't felt any problems with the trailer during the tow. I use a 2017 Ram 2500 diesel tow rig. I had obviously been cruising on this failure for quite a while. The flailing rubber slightly "reshaped" my aluminum fender giving it a small bulge. It also reduced my "between-the-tire step" into road debris somewhere enroute. At each stop during the trip, I do a walk-around to check the trailer and step inside to check the tie-downs. My last leg was about 150 miles and everything was copacetic at that penultimate stop.

Fortunately, I did have a spare tire. After the track day, the nice folks at America's Tire (aka, "Discount Tire") in Salinas CA edumacated me regarding trailer tire quality. As a start, I learned there is a considerable difference in quality among the "trailer tire" companies. I also learned that there is a tire lifetime to be considered, rather than just mileage and tread wear. Fortunately, my aluminum wheel was fine. I came out of there with a Goodyear Endurance trailer tire and the inclination to replace my 5-year-old tires all around. I also believe a trailer TPMS is in my future. The question is, which one.

There are a ton of TPMS options. I have pretty much eliminated the prolific budget Chinese offerings due to worries about reliability. That still leaves a lot of choices. I'd like to hear what systems others have used and how they have worked out. What do you like and dislike? I am leaning toward offerings from companies like TireMinder, Tuson and Tyredog in the $350 to $500 range. Assuming I get new tires, this would be a good time to get internal sensors if that is the way to go. Any problems with external sensors on metal valve stems? (Theft?). I am assuming I should get a signal booster for the trailer. I'm a bit skeptical of using my phone as a receiver vs a dash-top monitor as I might have my phone notifications inadvertently turned OFF at an inopportune time, or not hear/feel the warning going off in my pocket.

Regarding tires, the Goodyear Endurance (225/75R-15) seems to be well recommended. Any other good ones?

I'm open to advice on other relevant trailer tire topics for which I'm still too ignorant to form a decent question.

I owe a debt of gratitude to that remaining Westlake tire on the front left side of my trailer. It soldiered on carrying the load solo for who-knows-how long.

 

[Mjschneidy]

I think the Hankook Vantra trailer tire is worth a look and on par with the Goodyear. Per a Hankook rep that I interacted with before retiring from Ford Hankook got into the market because they saw an opportunity to offer a better alternative to all the subpar Chinese trailer tires at a slightly lower price point to the GY. GY was the only alternative for an informed consumer not trying to be cheap. Yes the Hankook is Korean. I tried them on my last trailer and they were great, no issues. I’ll be putting them on my new trailer soon.

https://www.hankooktire.com/us/en/tire/vantra/trailer-st01.html

Update: I just noticed China is listed as country of origin now on the Hankook website. Mine said Korea on the tire, and TireRack still lists Korea as country of origin. I don’t know….form your own opinion I guess as to what that means.

 

[PatrickStapler]

I drove for three hours early one morning like this. Had no idea until I stopped for fuel when the sun came up. Absolutely no indication or difference in towing feel.


Of course the trailer was old enough that the axle assemblies were no longer in production. So I upgraded to new 7500lb assemblies.



Relative to tires, I have always used Costco trailer tires with not one single issue to date.

 

[DaveW]

I use the Hankooks in my load range G stuff and like them. Much cheaper than Goodyear. I have a tireminder TPMS and it works fine and is nice to monitor pressure and heat. My only complaint is that the safe range seems pretty narrow. My monsters take 110psi. If I set the pressure at 105 in the app, it goes off when cool out and they drop to 95. And if I lower the setting, then when they heat to 120, it also goes off.

Several things I have learned about trailer tires towing 15-30k miles per year for work and play...

-They kinda all suck. They are getting better, and are usually speed rated.
-On most enclosed trailers, they are usually woefully under sized for capacity when the trailer is loaded. With 225's you might be OK, but check the load capacity of the tires and then get a *real* weight on the trailer and you might be surprised.
-They age - 3 seasons is all I ever go regardless of tread remaining.
-Run them at max pressure on the sidewall. Period.
-Those black half rubber half metal "high pressure" stems are absolute piles of garbage. I do race tires at events, but we do a decent amount of trailer tires because we are there. I would bet somewhere over 90% of failures people bring me have those stupid stems. Metal stem and be done with it.

DaveW

 

[Bill Pemberton]

...........simple little deal, but when you replace steel valve stems are great idea. Only trailer tire I had them on never had a flat.

 

[Dave_W]

Realize that the "good" tire was carrying the whole load on that side of the trailer for quite a distance. Check closely for signs of internal damage, like a blister in the sidewall. You might not tow the same annual distance, but from what the other Dave says, it sounds like you should replace the rest of the tires ASAP.

 

[DaveW]

Realize that the "good" tire was carrying the whole load on that side of the trailer for quite a distance. Check closely for signs of internal damage, like a blister in the sidewall. You might not tow the same annual distance, but from what the other Dave says, it sounds like you should replace the rest of the tires ASAP.

Good point, whenever I have a blowout, the other one of that side gets replaced regardless. Overkill in many cases if you don't go that long with the flat, but in the past when I didn't replace the other, it failed next trip.

One has to keep in mind that sometimes when the tires blow out, they take the side of the trailer/fender/car on the trailer out with them. A panel and fender replacement on an enclosed is at least $1k - ask me how I know.

DaveW

 

[1 old racer]

How do you know? Sorry Dave just being a smart #$$. Back when I had a trailer I would replace one side per year starting at the start of the 3rd season (assuming you bought the trailer new). It made sure I always had somewhat fresh tires on it and helped with reducing the all at once cash dump.

 

[honeybadger]

I run Goodyears and get Discount's "warranty" or whatever they call it. I rarely have to pay out of pocket again since the warranty covers replacements from anything but major mileage-related wear. Ive gotten my money back on the investment the 3 last sets. And trust me - this is the ONLY thing I buy warranties on. But I do a lot of cross-country towing and Texas roads cause more flats than any other state I've seen.

Also - carry two spares. Trailer tires like to fail in groups. I agree with the above - replace those other tires now. I've had a trailer tire blow, we got out and replaced it. Not 10 miles down the road, another blew. Had to limp it 45 miles to an open tire shop. I now carry two spares and prefer trailers with triple axels. No fun dealing with a situation like @PatrickStapler. I've been there too

 

[RinerAuto]

As far as TPMS, I've been using a cheap amazon unit with no problems. It's external and measures pressure and temperature (obviously not actual tire temperature). I'm not concerned with theft as there is a jam nut and it would be difficult to remove without loosening up the jam nut which would need a special wrench. There is a delay in the signal, but that is common on most TPMS. However, it would have alerted you before you got to the track. I'm not sure of the range but I have no issue with a 24' trailer. It's USB and solar powered, so with it on the dash I never have to worry about it. Plus the high/low alerts are adjustable.

Not too bad for $30. I'm not sure what features make those ones 10x more expensive. Maybe it only lasts 1 year but for $30 I'll buy another one no problem.