15" tire replacement with Carlisles

nwhouston · 01-31-2017, 01:11 PM

Some may have noticed my parts drama with changing the brakes and hub/ bearings on our '07 3124. As part of that work scope I pulled the tires and found pretty significant blemishes on both. These were a knock-off brand installed by The Car Show in 2013 (DOT code was 2213) when we bought the trailer as the second owners.

One tire had a failure just off the tread surface at the top of the sidewall. About 8 or 9 inches of cave-in was starting to show. The other was developing a delam under the tread layer, evidenced by a noticeable bump. So I went to Discount Tire (my normal shop) with both tires and the spare. The rep confirmed what I was seeing in the two tires were delam issues. The tires had about 42 months service and 12k miles. Always stored in a closed garage, so little sun exposure.

We also looked at the spare I had carried in to the shop. The original Goodyear Marathon from the factory! DOT code 2306! An 11 year old spare. Never had seen a drop of sun shine. There were notable indention in the sidewall on the side of the tire that presses onto the spare tire frame. So that got replaced as well.

Used steel valve stems as my TPMS vendor recommends them. Normally an upcharge but the lads gave me three for free (after I gave them $476, so free is a relative term).

Many recommend and buy the Maxxis tire, which Discount Tire (at least my shop here in Houston) can special order. But I needed something ready to put on when my brake / hub job is done at the end of the week.

Comments welcome but mostly just posting to highlight the spare tire aging risk.

Shane826 · 01-31-2017, 01:39 PM

What tires did you wind up getting?

nwhouston · 01-31-2017, 02:57 PM

Sorry, should have been more clear. Carlisle sidewall label: ST225/75R15. Nominally a radial tire, though with trailer tires you probably find a low pass mark for what that really means. I did go with E load range tires, so 10 ply, but only inflated to 65 psi as 1) that is all the trailer weight demands, 2) that is what the rim is rated for (weight, not pressure) and 3) any more than that and I have a lot of loose screws and broken eggs inside.

Hope above helps. Larry

Gapopper · 01-31-2017, 03:33 PM

I had bad luck with Carlisle tires. I had 3 blowouts on one trip with two year old Carlisle tires. They sent me new ones after I had already purchased 4 new tires on my trip. I have the Carlisle tires away. I wouldn't run them on my wheelbarrow. As luck would have it , my ntm TrailManor came with Carlisle tires that are three years old. I am replacing with Maxxis tires from Amazon. There are several horror stories on the web about Carlisle tires.

Gapopper · 01-31-2017, 03:37 PM

To be fair , this happened to me 14 years ago. Hopefully now they are manufacturing better tires.

tentcamper · 01-31-2017, 07:17 PM

14 years ago, I bet they were bias ply not radial. Bias ply were alway a hit or miss.

Gapopper · 01-31-2017, 09:23 PM

I don't remember if it was a radial. They came stock on my 2002 Starcraft Hybrid camper. It was a double axle. What is strange is I towed that camper a 1000 miles to Niagara Falls and back with no problems. Nine months later we take a 300 mile trip to Myrtle Beach. I had the first blowout about 150 miles. No problem , I replaced it with the spare. Fifty miles later , another tire blows. Now I have to leave the camper on the side of the road while I hunt for tires. I go about fifty more miles and another tire blows. I replaced all the tires on this trip. I called Carlisle and they wouldn't reimburse me. Instead they gave me 4 tires that I didn't need since I just purchased 4. I gave the tires away. The blown tire broke through the floor and broke a pipe. I didn't know this until I tried to take a shower. I just don't trust Carlisle since my bad experience.

Padgett · 02-01-2017, 09:10 AM

Think all of us have experienced blowouts, just less this century. TPMS on a trailer tire is almost mandatory if you don't check the trailer tires at every stop.

Anyone know how long nylon overlays (caps) have been common ? (Seem rare on LRC tires) Suspect those control blowouts to slow and manageable.

**Bill** · 02-01-2017, 09:31 AM

Just as a point of interest - when this forum was formed, back in 2000 or 2001, TM had just given up on Carlisles. They had been TM's OEM tires for some years, but the forum was littered with a non-stop string of complaints about Carlisles on TMs. Eventually, there were so many complaints about failures and lack of warranty service that TM switched to Goodyear Marathons. At the time, it was a good move.

Apparently many tire brands suffered from similar problems in that time frame. Most are doing a bit better now (including Carlisle, from what I read), though today's trailer tires are still far from perfect.

Bill

nwhouston · 02-01-2017, 10:23 AM

I agree that the only good trailer tire seems to be the one on someone else's camper. Carlisles are just in the pack as far as I can tell from recent reviews; nothing to distinguish them one way or the other.

I have a TPMS that I monitor closely, so I do have the benefit of real time monitoring.

My current thinking is three years then switch regardless of mileage. This mainly comes from 1) my current experience where 42 months in to my last tires they both were having delams, and 2) the Discount Tire warranty is only for three years, which they claim is due to sun exposure and long periods of sitting idle. So about $100 per year for tires. Not lovely, but manageable.