Replacement Tire Recommendation for Pontoon Boat Trailer with 20.5x8-10 Tires

Question:

I had two blowouts on my pontoon trailer tires over the weekend. One was older and the other newer. Both were the 20.5 x 8 10s. I recently bought a new chevy silverado v8 4x4 to tow it with. Can I go to a little bit larger tire to go about 70 to 75 miles an hour or ???

asked by: David H

Helpful Expert Reply:

Pontoon boat trailers usually have the wide and short tires to cover more surface area on the ground while not being too tall to cause problems launching the boat. A better solution is to go to the same size tire in a higher load range. This way the tire will have a higher ply rating (stronger) and you won't have to sacrifice anything or have to purchase new wheels.

I recommend going with a 205/65-10 load range E tire, # AM1HP56. This tire is rated for 1,650 pounds at 90 psi. It has a ply rating of 10. In order to reach the maximum capacity of any trailer tire it will need to be inflated to the maximum psi indicated on the tire. This will also help to prevent excessive heat build up which can cause trailer tires to fail. This tire is rated for a maximum of 65 miles per hour.

In order to go up to a larger size and maintain the same width you would have to go to a 205/75-14 which is significantly taller than what you have and will likely cause clearance problems. If you have enough clearance and your existing wheels have the 5 on 4-1/2 bolt pattern then you could use # AM10235 which is rated for 81 miles per hour and add it to the # AM20352 wheel. However, since you are going up several sizes you may also need to replace the hubs. It would depend on what the existing axles are rated for.

expert reply by: Michael H