Which trailer tire?

I discovered yesterday that 2 of the tires on my trailer, that are less than 18-months old and have way less than 1000-miles on them, are completely dry rotted. Granted, I was cheap & bought a wheel/tire package off eBay that was less than a set of tires from anywhere else.

Are there any trailer tires that seem to weather better, especially in an 100% outdoor environment?

I can't answer your question, but I can tell you that UV seems particularly hard on trailer tires. Whatever you buy, keep 'em covered when not in use. A set of trailer tire covers is cheaper than 1 new tire.

In reply to EvanR:

The odd thing is the 2 tires that cracked are mostly in the shade.

I put four Loadstar tires on about 4 years ago and they're still looking pretty good. Granted, the trailer is stored in a non-heated garage, so no sun to deal with. But they were cheap enough and easy to put on with a manual machine so maybe some of those plus a good cover?

Check the date codes on the tires. Maybe they sat around for a while before you got them.

Not sure any tires weather better than others. I bought tires from both etrailer.com and trailerpart.com with good luck. I prefer radial tires which are best on enclosed, but bias ones work well on lighter trailers.

I have Carlisles on both of my bigger trailers. Mostly because that's what was on sale at Discount Tire when I needed them. But I will heartily endorse putting some covers on them when not in use. The ones on my car hauler are getting pretty nasty, falling apart and such, and they are only 3 years old. Which is kind of disappointing, but just think if that were my tires getting all that UV abuse.

I've had good luck with trailer tires. Right now I have two LT tires and two "real" trailer tires on my open car hauler (7000# gross) Never had a tire failure while on the road and the current tires look good, no cracks, etc. I do treat them with a tire coating 1-2 times a year but I can't see how that would explain my good luck. I know that the ties do get a good bit of shade while in storage with one side always in the shade and the other side shaded by another trailer next to it. (An old boat)

I use 215/70X14 tires on Ford Ranger steel wheels. I used a Ranger PU to tow it when I first got it and did this so I could use the spare on the PU on the trailer if needed. Never did!

Lots of info/debate about this on the web, particularly the RV forums. UV will kill tires, but so will dampness. If you store it outside be sure to park it on something that will keep them out of the wet.

I bought Maxxis tires last time around. These are pretty much the only trailer tires I could find that didn't have a lot of negative comments.

I'm sure the short life has never to do with the manufacture being in China, eh?