Thread: it all starts here

Well never mind. starting out for toledo bend at the same place.

I've been pulling a boat since the early 70's and I blew my first trailer tire in May less than five miles from the house. I had a spare. Put it on, got to Rayburn and back just fine. Reinforced exactly what we have always heard: never combine a bias ply tire with a radial. That radial worked the brand-new bias ply spare like a rented mule. In less than 100 miles its stiff sidewall flexed the bias-ply's more flexible sidewall back and forth and scrubbed more than half of the tread off the tire from the middle of it to the inside radius. It would not have gone another thirty miles I don't think. I put the remaining radial on its wheel and bought two new radials for the boat. A WORD OF CAUTION: Guys, check your spare tire carrier's welds before you pull away each trip. I had one crack in the mounting plate weld. It was mounted under the bow of my old Skeeter BayPro. When it and the spare tire went under the boat trailer it catapulted it so high that I was looking down inside my boat at its deck through my rearview mirror. No boat damage by the grace of God, but bent both trailer axles. I took the opportunity to replace those cheap McClain axles with ones I spec'd ordered from Ranger Trail. Oil bath hubs. Never had a axle or bearing failure, or even had to PM the bearings after that.