Carlisle USA Trail failed in 2,000mi

[austinado16]

Here's a nice surprize.  One of the Carlisle USA Trails that I bought back in June is beginning to grow a nice bubble in the sidewall.  Date stamp on them says they were build in the 29th week of '08.  I called the local tire store that sold them to me and asked them to get another pair in.

I'm glad I was hands-on with the tires yesterday installing the new electric brake assemblies.

[AustinBoston]

My first set of Duro tires were good for 25,000 miles and 6 years.  The Carlisles that replaced them didn't last 5,000 miles/2 years (cracking between treads and where sidewalls meet tread).  

Now I'm back to Duro (took some doing to find a local dealer that could get the Duros) and they're in great shape after about 6,000 miles and 2 years.

Austin

[wavery]

My first set of Duro tires were good for 25,000 miles and 6 years.  The Carlisles that replaced them didn't last 5,000 miles/2 years (cracking between treads and where sidewalls meet tread).  

Now I'm back to Duro (took some doing to find a local dealer that could get the Duros) and they're in great shape after about 6,000 miles and 2 years.

Austin

That makes me feel good....

I bought new Douro's this year and I'm getting ready to tow 700 miles over 7,000' in 110* weather this weekend. I'll certainly keep it under 60MPH.

Tires have been on my mind because (for some reason) these TrailManors have a bad track record for blow outs.

I wish that I could have upgraded to 15" tires but the 14" tires are only about 1/4" from the rear frame member :mad:.

[OC Campers]

We put 2 Carlisle tires on our popup and within 1000 miles one had blown out and the other had a bubble.  Returned them both to America's Tire.  

Jacqui

[austinado16]

Great, now you guys hit me with your Carlisle disaster stories.

Got the new pair mounted/balanced today and had the shop install a set of steel valve stems that I bought at NAPA.

[wavery]

Great, now you guys hit me with your Carlisle disaster stories.

Got the new pair mounted/balanced today and had the shop install a set of steel valve stems that I bought at NAPA.

I don't think that you have an issue, due to the weight of your trailer.

The people that tend to have issues seem to be the ones that are border line on the max rating of the tires. I think that's why TrailManors have tire problems. The max rating of the tires is actually lower than the GWR of the trailer. I'm not really sure how they get away with that. I guess they subtract the tongue weight but that's drawing the line pretty thin IMHO....

[austinado16]

Starcraft is playing the same weight game.  Mine maxes out at about 2,100lbs and the tires are Load Range C's at 1,025lbs each.  So with the tongue weighing about 190lb, that's how they're pulling it off.

[flyfisherman]

I had a Carlisle tire go bad about three years ago - it was seperating right in the middle of the tread. AND .... it was caught while re-packing the bearings!
Anyway, I called Carlisle (tire was maybe a year old) and they had UPS stop at the house and pick the tire up at no cost to me. Sure enough, in about three days they called and said indeed the tire was defective. Since I was in the process of making a fishing trip when it was discovered, I had replaced the tire. Carlisle paid for the replacement tire plus the labor involved.

For the most part I've had good service from Carlisle tires, and was very pleased the way they stood behind the defective tire. Carlisles have also been living on my boat trailer since 1987 and never a problem there, although the boat & trailer rarely travels over 30 miles!

A fishing buddy has a SIL who is the general manager of a large tire distrubtor in this area and has been a source of information for me on tires and tire manufacturers; and he says the tire industry has been in the midst of a lot of manufacting upheval.




Fly

[AustinBoston]

The max rating of the tires is actually lower than the GWR of the trailer. I'm not really sure how they get away with that. I guess they subtract the tongue weight but that's drawing the line pretty thin IMHO....

Every trailer manufacturer plays this game.

If you want to see games, check out what happens with small planes...before filling the tank, you calculate how much fuel you can carry based on the weight of pilot, passengers, and cargo...demonstrating that you can do it right is part of the license test. :eyecrazy:

Austin

[springer02]

We had a Carlisle tire that was less than two years old blow out last weekend. It hadn't lasted half as long as an aging Duro on the other side. Problem seems to be that Duros are very tough to find and I don't like the idea of buying tires online.

So we're going with another brand, but have had the local shop look at it and clear it for one load range heavier a tire. The wear indicated that we were probably close to the capacity of the tire, and this seemed like the most reasonable solution, because I believe we're still below the trailer's max weight. If nothing else, more plys and a margin for safety.