Trust

[Tom Hoffman]

Well, my day just went in the toilet. For some of you who don't know my story about my American, I bought her in Jan 2010 in Des Moines Ia after she had been in storage for some 24 years, the tires were shot, so because I live 110 miles away and did not plan to move her until Feb, I contacted a Tire Dealer that was only 2 miles away and he agreed to put new tires on the trailer which was buried in snow.

The job was completed in good time and I went and got the boat in Mid Feb during a break in the weather.

Today I find out from my mechanic who is doing a complete brake job on all four wheels and hubs that the tires that I was sold and that were mounted turned out to be TRAILER HOUSE TIRES.

He tells me that they have right on them NOT FOR HIGHWAY USE. These words were on the inside surface of the tire and cannot be seen from the exterior.

I thought I was buying 10 ply trailer tires for road use. I told him that I wanted good tires because I planned on towing the boat to sailing locations.

Right about now, I am feeling really ripped off.:cussing::cussing:

Don't know what to do about it at this late date except replace them. I did just try and call him, but today they are closed.::neutral:

 

[justsomeguy]

Get that darned ball rollin' on Monday, I guess. Can't wait for the update!

Good luck.

 

[centerline]

if the wheels/rims you have on your trailer are 14.5, then thats the tire that goes on them and nothing else will fit. they are usually the only tire in that general size range marked as "not for highway use".... if you have regullar 13, 14, 15 or 16 inch wheels, and you are installing trailer tires it will have a "ST" designation on the side of the tire.
you can mount regular car tires on them also, but as they usually dont have as high of a load range rating, a lot of shops wont put them on a trailer even though they may be fine for the application.

a lot of people use the "not for highway use" tires for highway use on implement/equipment trailers as they have a high load carrying capacity but are not rated for high speeds so they can not pass DOT certifcation for highway use.
if you do in fact have 14.5 rims on the trailer, then they probably assumed you knew it and installed the only type of tire available on them like they would any other customer that had 14.5 rims....

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

I would demand payment back. Suggest sending photos along with a copy of the bill of sale. IF no satisfaction, then you can take him to small claims court in the jurisdiction he is in and of course if you win, the court costs are generally included; however, you have to take the time off to file and then to return to small claims court and I am not sure if that is worth it.

However, many states have a consumer affairs division generally under the state attorney general' office and a nice letter to them along with proof usually gets them to respond to the person you dealt with. Most of the time you will get your money backi.

Once I dealt with a model train dealer who withheld my money for a while and did not send everything. He was prompted when the state attorney general's office was involved.

Crazy dave condon

 

[THECUSCUS]

Alot of people (not saying you are one of them) use mobile home axles for trailers (car, boat, landscape, etc) because they are readily avail and inexpensive. But as Centerline stated, they have their own rim/tire size and hubs, bearings and brakes are all non standard stuff. They are made with the cheapest stuff because they are "disposable" (used to get the trailer to its spot and left there).

 

[Tom Hoffman]

More info

Additional info: I talked to my local tire dealer and he reinforced the (no use on highway) statement on the tires, he said that those tires are for single use only.

My trailer is a 1978 heavy duty shore'lader and I remember the conversation very clearly. I am one of those people who will go out of my way to do it right the first time.

I was raised by my Grandpa, he was one of those who fixed most stuff with spit and baling wire and that was good enough until it broke again the next week.

I did call the dealer who I dealt with and he did at least at the outset semed to want to make things right, I just have to get all the particulars of the tires that are on the gtrailer and call him with them.

Main problem is that I am in South Carolina currently and the boat is being worked on in NE Iowa 130 miles from Des Moines.

Hope the mechanic calls soon.

Tom...

 

[Tom Hoffman]

Eating Crow

Time to eat some crow.

It seems that my mechanic mis read the tire. It said trailer tire o the side and he took it to mean house trailer and it did not have "not for highway use" on it that was just his interpretation. While the tire is a bias ply, it has ST designation on the side and that means that it is designed for the application that it is being use for.

They don't have the life of 10 ply radials, so I will need to change them sooner perhaps next year.

Sorry to cause a kerffuel in a tea pot.

Have a good evening.

Tom...

 

[centerline]

They don't have the life of 10 ply radials, so I will need to change them sooner perhaps next year.

glad to hear it was only a misunderstanding of what the tire actually said on it...

even though they are only bias tires, you will still get several thousand miles out of them. somewhat more than you will travel with it in the next few years, I would think.....

 

[DAVA390]

I`m guessing as with most trailer tires ,the sun will crack the sidewalls long before the tread is gone.

 

[tkanzler]

I`m guessing as with most trailer tires ,the sun will crack the sidewalls long before the tread is gone.

When I bought the X a couple of years ago, it had two axles on the original steel trailer. One was added a couple of years after it was made, and the date codes on the tires indicated one set as being original, and the other set, of different make and model, a couple of years newer. The sidewalls were pretty shot, especially on the older ones. They were 12 years old at the time. The tread looked just fine on all of them, and the PO's had dragged it to all five of the Great Lakes, or so she told me, and I believed her. Point being, the sidewalls will crack and come apart long before the tread wears out. I can't believe I got it home without blowing a tire, though. Smoked the frozen brakes, but the tires held. :dance:

 

[kenn]

Hey Tom,

Nothing classier than a guy who readily acknowledges a mistake.

best wishes for a great sailing season.

 

[Douglast]

there are ways to protect the sidewalls when the trailer is parked..

 

[finding41]

I take the new rims and tires off and put the old ones on while the trailer is sitting. Thus I only use the new tires and rims for travel. One of the old comes with for a spare.

 

[alexco38]

I had a Macgregor 26s. Always treat the tires with Armorall and put a tire bag over them when sitting at home. The bags are free from local tire shop.

 

[Douglast]

I had a Macgregor 26s. Always treat the tires with Armorall and put a tire bag over them when sitting at home. The bags are free from local tire shop.

bingo...yep, and the old folks used to use burlap to keep the sun off..

 

[StinkBug]

Actually Armorall is one of the worst products you can use. It's full of alcohol, and though it makes the rubber look nice and shiny, it actually dries it out and causes them to break down prematurely. If you're gonna use tire protectant, get one that's actually petroleum based, and that doesn't have alcohol in it.

Keeping the tires covered and out of the sun is the best thing you can do. Even at that simply exposing rubber to oxygen begins the breakdown cycle. There's nothing you can really do about it. Tires have a shelf life, and often it's a lot shorter than the treadlife for trailers that dont get a ton of miles.

 

[Justin_NSA]

I don't know if it's true or not , but if you Google "armor all rubber protectant" you mostly get naysayers. I personally stopped using ArmorAll decades ago. I do keep my trailer tires covered from the sun with Harbor Freight wheel covers.

 

[Big Windy]

Armorall should not be used since it has petroleum products in it. Aerospace 303 Protectant is okay.

 

[monkeybars]

Wooes me, been using armourall for thirty years on anything plastic-rubber with excellent results, nothing ever dried out or cracked. since its mostly silicone not alcholhol it does need to be cleaned off anything to be painted. has worked especially well on trailer tire sidewalls that are exposed to the AZ sun, no cracking and keeps them looking showroom new.. I guess I should stop using it now that I know how bad some website says it is. NOT

 

[walt]

Justin, how long do the HF covers last?

I went there looking for covers and the ones they have $10 for four covers and they were burlap cloth. I didnt buy them but maybe that is all I would need. My trailer only has two tires so even if they lasted only a couple years, that would still end up being four years from the set..