Are 10" wheels on a boat trailer safe.

Sorry guys,
A tilt trailer.

Brian,
Check the load rating on your tyres.
If the load rating is adequate then all you need to do is ensure that the tyres are run at the right pressure.
Low tyre pressure withe heavy load will cause the tyre walls to flex excessively , making the tyre run hot. If the pressures are set correctly you will avoid heat build up that destroys tyres and bearings.

regards
WYRSS

Hi Brian

How many Mini's, 850, Coopers etc did you ever see throwing treads or burning out bearings? They ran quite happily on 10" wheels.

WE used (still) them as jinker wheels on tow trucks until the advent of tilt tray trucks and they would carry a 4x4 if necessary though they are in tandem sets.

They will give you no problem on a boat trailer provided you give them the normal bearing maintenance they need, preferably fit bearing buddies of some type and give them a pump with your greasegun when you get to the water BEFORE you launch. This pressurises the hub to prevent water being sucked into the hot hub.

Regards

Neil.

You could also look at a drop axle if you really want to up the wheel size, this would still allow shallow launching. 10" wheels should be fine though, they just require a little more diligence with maintenance...

Hi Brian and Deb,
I have been in the same situation as you and put up with it for 20 years. Never had tyre trouble but got sick of continually checking and doing bearings. We use to do a 6 hour run to the snowy regularly. Boat bearings get a hard time. Eventaully swapped to torana rims and 165 by 13, never had any more trouble and tyres and bearings stay cool. Sold this boat 5 years ago to my brother and he is still running same tyres and bearings. Look at new boat trailers , if it is a decent size boat they all run 13in. rims. Swap rubber on supports to teflon available from marine dealers and you will not have trouble launching. I never put tyres in the water past hubs even though i have bearing buddies on new boat. If you stick with your 10in. do not put retreads on. Any quality radial will do
Cheers and tight lines Pete

I have 10 inch tyres on my tilt trailer for my 15ft 6in fibreglass half cabin with a 70hp yamaha.
Tyres would be at least 15 years old and look pretty good.
Travelled 350kms at 100-110kms/hr and bearings did not get hot, only a little warmish.
Just dont overload the boat while its on the trailer when travelling.

Gday Brian,

All good advice above - Personally I would upsize the wheels, but thats just me (and maybe a few others). If the road you are on is good tar, you will find few problems with the small wheels, but on rough roads (not necessarily gravel) the bigger the better. The larger diameter doesn't feel the bumps as much, and also allow you to run much lower pressures, which absorb a lot of the bumps as well. There has been a few boats virtually destroyed by a combination of high tyre pressures, rough roads, and a boat tied down too hard/not supported corectly.

If you are not going to do any off road towing, the axel can be as wide as legal (2.5?) so the boat can sit lower between the wheels. I chose to have the same track width as the Nissan for off road and sand work. This has made the boat quite high, but I can push it off rasonably easily, and usually drive it on the trailer so its not much of a problem. Plenty of keel rollers and thte skids only just touching the boat helps here as well. (see rig photo's)

Cheers Andrew