Needing to replace our Goodyear 614s. 4 new 614s= $1600. If replace with 17.5s with steel rims=$1715 or aluminum=$2500 (with spare in both cases). Will have to replace 9/16" lug bolts to 5/8" if go steel as can't find steel with 9/16" holes. 

We are seriously thinking about trading this trailer so does anyone think we will get our money back if we put either above new tires on it? Is one better than the other when traded? Any dealers opinions would be great.

 Old ones still have decent trade (30k miles), but wear is fairly uneven due to running at max weight most of the time. I have a home for the old tires on my stock trailer. If I keep trailer, I would go 17.5.

Or don't worry about it??

  I have looked all over HE** and half of Georgia for a steel 17.5 wheel with a 9/16" lug hole and I haven't found one yet. The aluminum wheels in the RV world have become quite popular but I'd rather have steel on the horse trailers.... So, I keep running the G614's. I had one let go/explode this summer after wrecker driver pinched it on a curb. Tire was seven years old though, so it was time...!!

Aluminum wheel vendor.... http://www.trailertiresandwheels.com/17.5-Aluminum-Trailer-Wheels

 I bought five of these G614's this past summer for $293.00 each (on sale), mounted, balanced, properly inflated... Freight was a bit much, but still alot cheaper than buying local and watching a tire jockey/monkey partially destroy a tire while mounting it....

  http://www.easternmarine.com/goodyear-lt235-85r-16-radial-tire-sil-modular-rim-8-lug-lr-g

They have steel 17.5's ready to go also, last I checked they had 5/8" holes...

http://www.easternmarine.com/goodyear-lt215-75r-175-radial-tire-white-modular-rim-8-lug

Local tire dealer looked all morning and he said what we said. No steel rim made with 9/16 holes. Said they would be happy to switch lug bolts out to 5/8" as they have bolts that you do not have to enlarge the hole on the hub. But that might create another problem that if I ever trade, I would swap out the 16" tires on the new trailer for the 17.5 on this trailer but would have to change the lug bolts again...no easy answer.

Thanks

On sale for $293.00  http://www.easternmarine.com/goodyear-lt235-85r-16-radial-tire-painted-rim-8-lug-lr-g

thanks everyone for the replys. My deal with replacing them before trade is that one dealer looked at them and cut the trade in $4k as he thought the axles where bent. I explained that we run 85%+ capacity of the axles and tires wear on the inside more. Last spring I rotated the tires and had them remounted inside to outside. Now it looks like they ran underinflated. I told him that and he just kind of staired into space....needless to say, we will not be back to him.

Need to decide if trading or not. If not, will give that link a try. THANKS AGAIN!!!

I replaced two G614 tires this year that threw the entire tread off on two different trips several months apart. I was fortunate enough to get an adjustment on both of them as they had more than 85% of the tread left on them. Don't have a clue why that happened and don't care at this point, haven't had any more problems.

But before anyone buys any more G614's take a look at the Carlisle trailer tires. They have a F load range tire that is rated to carry 3960lbs per tire for a single wheel rating. Thats 210lbs more than the G614 which is a G load range tire. And they cost alot less than the $370 each that I paid for the G614's this summer.

http://www.carlisletransportationproducts.com/product/tires/trailers-toy-haulers-towables/tires43

We have friends who replaced all of the tires on their trailer with the Carlisle tires and have had no problems with them. I think they paid around $250 each for the Carlisle tires.

As for the 17.5 tires I think you will find they come in a higher load rating but they can be even more expensive than the G614's. My brother has the 17.5 tires on his Eby 28' stock trailer and they do hold up well. They can also be recaped if you run enough miles to wear them out before they age too much.

Hope this helps, Paul

I'll pass on the, Carlisles... 

Rather buy one set of the G614's than 3 sets of the China built Carlisles along with the downtime beside the road. How long have your friends been running the Carlisles?? That tire you show is 14# lighter than the G614, got to be something missing....

A little something from Carlisle Tire through the Discount Tire website.....  http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTrailerTireFacts.dos

Thanks everyone for your opinion. I will probably do like most, just wait until they blow up, take the fender off and blame the tire company.

I still say put a 22.5 semi tire with an air ride, dual wheeled, single axle under these dang trailers and that would solve all the problems. Mentioned that to a major manufacturer's shop manager and he said they could never sell them....I asked if we could special order that and he said we couldn't afford it due to the engineering they would have to do..oh well....

What 19.5 rims are you using?

Got 19.5s on my 4500 Chevy. Have 48k on back tires pulling ~18k 99% of the time. Still 50% left I would say.....interesting....thanks. Will sure look into.

Could find the 17.5 in aluminum rims with the 9/16" holes, but not steel rims. I don't trust the aluminum rims on a trailer. Just a personal problem..long story. Thanks again!

Well I am not aware of the Carlisle tires being made in China, I dislike that more than most. I checked and our friends have had no issues with the Carlisle tires after two full years of use. We will see how they get along this year, they have both retired and I think the tires will get a few more miles now.

I noticed the comment about the load ratings on the Carlisle. I wonder how many of us are aware the G614's need to be over inflated (that is over 110psi) if you are exceeding 65mph(from memory???) as stated on the Goodyear website. I personally hate Goodyear tires, had too many problems in the past. I was also tempted to go to 19.5 wheels on our trailer so I could run the same size Michelins on the truck and the trailer. Opted to stay with the Goodyears because I will probably trade for a 4 horse with a slide out sometime in the next year.

Paul D.,  I think you are thinking of the Goodyear Marathon tire.. They recommend running the pressure up an extra 10 psi if you plan to run a maximum load over 65 mph....   The G614 states a straight 110 psi at 3750#, max. speed 75 mph.

In 1994, Carlisle expanded manufacturing operations into the Asia Pacific region, acquiring a tire factory in Buji, China. In 2007, a second Asian tire manufacturing facility commenced operations in Meizhou, China.  That's where the highway tires are built.

We've been running 120 psi in the our Goodyears for 2 years. I know over the rim and tire max, but it has seemed to even out the wear issues a little.

Going to do some measuring, research and pricing this weekend on the 19.5s to see if they will fit/work. I wonder what Dexter would say about switching to 19.5s? Or trailer warrenty issues? My guess is that they would have issues with any warranty work due to the tires having more capacity than the axles and say you overloaded it. Doubt it would matter as would guess they would claim abuse anyway.

My experience, years ago, when trailers had 15" tires, when we switched to 16", it sure improved surviviablity. But those trailers only weighed 7-8k loaded.