Recommended Tires For Malone Microsport With Two Fishing Kayaks

Updated 02/13/2017 | Published 02/11/2017

Question:

I just replaced stock 4.80-12 tires on my kayak trailer with 5.30-12 Carlisle Sport Trail C load rated. They sent me out the door with the max. pressure of 80. When I got home, I looked to see how they were contacting the road. The inner three bands of the tires showed contact with the road, but none with the outer two bands. This on a 300 lb. Malone Microsport with two fishing kayaks. The entire rig could not weigh 500 lb. and each tire is rated for 1050. They looked over-inflated for the loa-d they were carrying. I brought the pressure down to above 60 psi, and the road contact improved significantly. I tow my trailer long distances at high speed on the Florida Interstate. Although I understand the reasoning for max. pressure, would it be reasonable in the case of my very light weight trailer, to keep it in the low 60s, for better tire shape and road contact? Naturally, I want to do what is safest. This is my first trailer, and I find that trailer tires are a different breed.

asked by: William S

Expert Reply:

Trailer tires should always be inflated to their max capacity. This helps with load carrying capability but also for heat dissipation and wear. With your tires at 60 lbs, you will have your tires getting too hot and wear too fast as well as decreased traction even with more road contact.

My recommendation is to go back to your 4.8-12 tires because you don't need the additional width. The load range isn't the issue, but you won't have any issue with that either for this application. I recommend going with the Kenda K353 Bias Trailer Tire - 4.80-12 - Load Range C # AM10062. This will have a section width of 4.9 inches and an outer diameter of 20.7 inches.

I've attached a few article on tires to help.

expert reply by: Jason S