New tires and maybe rims

[4x15mph]

I am going to replace my tires with radials. I have galvanized rims now with wheel covers. I am considering new aluminum rims which would look better but wanted to see if these will hold up to salt water or brackish water. Thoughts? I was probably going to buy through etrailer. Any other places to look?

 

[PeterB]

Aluminum in salt water will likely oxidize - white powdery residue. Galvanized is the "practical" answer, but what is the trailer itself? If it is painted, it would eventually get rusty in salt water - likely inside the tubes. If painted, You could go for the better look of aluminum, and make sure you wash the trailer down regularly, and maybe get a corrosion protective rinse occasionally.
It really comes down to how many times you will launch in salt water, and how long you think you would keep this boat and trailer. I currently boat in fresh water, but used to be in NJ boating in salt water. Our last boat had a galvanized trailer and rims that still looked good (as good as galvanized can look) after 24 years of use. But no question that custom aluminum rims look a lot better. For me, I was more focused on the no worry maintenance of galvanized when faced with salt water boating. You may want to look at the posts and threads on tires. A few went with the Goodyear Endurance and had good comments on them. I have radials from a warranty upgrade - they are much better than the bias ply and we are getting better mileage as a benefit, along with a much more comfortable ride while towing.

 

[4x15mph]

Thank you; The trailer is galvanized and the current rims are galvanized. I will drop in brackish mostly so maybe I will just replace the tires since the current rims have held up well and with the wheel covers, is a practical attempt to make them look better.

 

[Wisefam22]

I have a galvanized mfi trailer previous owner painted black. I very rarely dump it into salt water. He upgraded the nicer rims, but def need to keep them washed off. If I was in brackish water all the time I wouldn't take the chance.

Make your maintenance easy so can e joy the boat more then working on it.