Why trailer tires fail
A driver feels a steer tire going bad. A trailer tire gives no warning through the seat, so it fails with the first symptom being the failure itself. What gets it there is usually one of four things:
- Under-inflation. A soft trailer tire runs hot and builds damage invisibly over hundreds of miles.
- Age. Trailers often sit. A tire with full tread that has spent six years in a yard is an old tire.
- Scrub. Every tight turn drags trailer tires sideways across the pavement.
- Alignment. A trailer that tracks crooked eats tires on one side and pulls at the tractor's tires too.
That last one is why trailer alignment, offered at 36 Purcell locations, belongs in any serious conversation about trailer tire cost.
Two very different customers
Commercial trailers. Semi trailers, flatbeds, tankers, reefers. Bought on cost per mile, run on schedules, and worth retreading: six of Purcell's seven retread plants list trailer casings among what they retread or repair. Fleet services at 49 locations covers them alongside the tractors.
Everything else. Enclosed cargo trailers, utility trailers, boat trailers, gooseneck and equipment trailers, livestock trailers, travel trailers and the one in the driveway. These are bought rarely, used seasonally, and are the ones most often found with four year old rubber and 12 PSI in them.
Both are carried at the same stores, and both benefit from the same advice: check pressure before the trip rather than after the blowout.
What to tell the store
- The size from the sidewall, which on trailer tires often differs from anything else on the vehicle.
- The trailer type and what it carries at its heaviest.
- Whether the trailer sits for long periods.
- How it has been failing: shoulder wear, sidewall cracking, blowouts, or wear on one side only.
Stock varies by location.
Trailer tire brands Purcell carries
For trailers, Purcell carries Goodyear, Yokohama and Mastertrack, covering boat, enclosed, livestock, utility and highway trailers. Ask the store which sizes and load ranges it has on hand. All 14 brands Purcell works with are on the tire brands page.
Availability
Where Purcell carries trailer tires
56 of 64 locations, in 12 states: Missouri 10, Arizona 7, Utah 7, Colorado 5, Kentucky 5, Alaska 4, Arkansas 4, Idaho 4, Nevada 4, Washington 3, Montana 2 and New Mexico 1.
Eight locations do not carry them: the seven retread plants, which work on casings rather than selling tires, and the commercial store in Elko, NV, which is built around mining and OTR work.
That makes trailer tires one of the most widely stocked categories Purcell holds, behind only UTV and ATV tires at 57 locations. Both consumer stores carry them, as does every commercial and consumer location in the company.