[omc-boats] Tire saga

One of my frustrations since I bought my boat ('70 Evinrude Explorer 16)
has been the 9" tires installed on the original OMC trailer. Over the
course of 3 months or so of use, I've had to take tires in six times for
repairs. Three were because my neighbors had slashed them and three
were just unexplained flats. I think the main reason for the flats
is that I was running the tires at 50-60 psi, instead of the 100 psi that
it says on the tire sidewall. This was mainly because the guys at the
local tire shop refused to fill them beyond 50 psi and made me go outside
to fill them any higher. I noticed recently that, when I went over bumps
in the road, the the tires would be distorted nearly to the point of the
rim contacting the ground.

I've been wanting to replace the tires with larger ones for a while, but
hadn't found the time yet. Last weekend, I had a tube replaced, took it
home, pumped it up to 75 psi, and noticed that it was already leaking. That
was the final straw, and I found a local place that had some larger wheels
that would fit.

Yesterday afternoon I pumped up the low tire (from 30 psi to 55 psi) and
set out on the ~6 mile drive to the tire place. I was keeping a really
close eye on the tire the entire way - the last few weeks I've spent more
time looking in the side mirrors than in front of me. I'd just gotten off
the highway and was on the street with the shop, about a mile away, when
the tire blew out.

I didn't have a spare, so I just drove the last mile at 15-20 mph with my
flashers on, as the trailer clanked along on the rim, smoking and spewing
chunks of rubber. I figured the worst that would happen would be that the
tire would catch on fire, though I was a little afraid of breaking the
spindle or something like that.

Anyway, I made it to the tire place without breaking anything any further.
The rim actually looks fine - it appears that I didn't damage it at all.
Of course the wheels they had didn't fit - the center holes were slightly
too small. This is even after I repeatedly asked on the phone ("You're
sure they'll fit? My trailer needs a 3.25" center hole, not the usual
'large' 3.125". You're sure? You're sure?) Evidently they didn't bother
to measure them, because they were 1/8" too small. A few minutes with a
die grinder was all it took to modify each wheel to fit. Thanks to the
folks at Broadway Tire for staying late to get them on.

So my trailer now rides on a a set of 13" wheels with 185/80-13 tires, an
1480 lb @... 50 psi ST tire on one side and a 1310 lb @... 35 psi rated P tire on
the other. I'll hopefully get another ST tire in the next week or so and
then I'll use the P-rated one as a spare.

The trailer feels so much lighter now when I tow it. I didn't really
believe it at first, but it really feels like there is significantly less
drag - a few times I didn't even notice the trailer was there. It's hard
to believe so much power goes into the tires, but I guess that's while I
blew the old tire.

The next step for me is bearings - does anyone know which bearings I should
order? I've got the single axle trailer with disc brakes.

Ethan

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Received on Wednesday, 29 June 2005