Boating season is here and naturally the old acronym "Break Out Another Thousand" applies. 

I noticed the Goodyear trailer tires on my boat trailer had some major sidewall cracking going on, so I started researching some replacements. I've heard many, many first-hand accounts of Marathon tires delaminating and blowing up in hot weather. Since my trip to the river includes about 300-miles of highway driving through 120-degree temperatures I wasn't anxious to test the theory that since Goodyear moved its trailer tire production to China the quality hasn't been up to snuff. To further complicate the issue, my boat trailer has 14-inch wheels and pretty much every trailer tire made for a 14-inch rim is a Load Range C ST tire speed rated to only 65mph.

I looked and looked and finally found the Kumho 857 radial trailer tires. The Kumhos are a Load Range D tire, speed rated to 99mph. The only downside was somewhat limited availability and the fact that the tires were only offered in a slightly smaller size than what was originally on there. Regardless, the 215/75-14 Goodyears exhibited a noticeable sidewall bulge, so when I put on the 205/75-14 Kumhos with their stiffer sidewalls, the static load radius of both tires came out the same. I paid under $440 for the tires on www.tirerack.com shipped to my door, then took them down to TAG Motorsports, www.tagmotorsports.com to have 'em mounted. It does suck throwing money at something that doesn't exactly enhance your enjoyment on the water like a better stereo or a new wakeboard, but sometimes peace of mind is worth a few bucks.