Carlisle Tires??

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sunnyorm

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Joined
Feb 15, 2012
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does anyone have any views on the quality, or lack there of, for Carlisle Tires?

Thanks
 
NHTSA tire complaints website show Carlisle are number one in trailer tire complaints. Do a google on Carlisle ST tires. Its not pretty.
 
They are a low priced tire, so expectations should not be high. But if you get a size and load rating that exceeds your trailer load requirements by a comfortable margin, you may be ok with them. Many trailer tire problems occur because the OEM tires were barely adequate for the weight they have to carry, so they die young. Especially because the typical RV trailer usage is pretty much the worst case scenario for a tire - sits around unused for months at a time, then gets dragged out on a blistering hot summer day. And maybe under-inflated as well.

Consider getting a larger size tire - they usually fit ok in trailer wheel wells - or a higher load range in the stock size. Tires are rated for the amount of weight they can carry - the max capacity numbers are embossed right on the side wall.
 
Then people don't relize that trailer tires are only rated for 65 MPH and then start towning at 75 MPH down the interstate and blow a tire and blame the tire for poor performance when the owner should relize to slow down and work the tire with its design limits.  ::)

I bust a lot of people for this one... Just talk to a friend that was lossing tires at 3K miles fairly consistantly. Sure enough pulling his 5th wheel at 70-80 MPH with a 65 MPH rated tire...
 
Yeap, most ST tires are rated for only 65. Some only 60. Another good reason to switch to LT (Light Truck) tires if they are made in the right size (LT's aren't generally available for 14" wheels and only a few sizes for 15").
 
Carlisle tires have a very short warranty - two years from date of purchase.

Carlisle only recommends 60 MPH trailer towing with their tires.

That information can be found in the reference below.

http://www.carlisletire.com/

FastEagle
 
I always though you could NOT put a truck / car tire on a trailer. I don't know why, it's just what i have heard.  Any input??

TED
 
Several years ago we bought a new Forest Junk 5ver,(another story on that one), that came with Carlisle tires.  Even though properly inflated and not overloaded, we had a blowout on (1) and the other (3) had large knots and tread separation showing.  These had around 2000 miles on the.  At that time there was one website in particular that had litterly 1000's of complaint about these tires.  Go with some other brand. ;)
 
I always though you could NOT put a truck / car tire on a trailer.
Click to expand...

The use of passenger car tires or "P-metric" tires is NOT recommended - the sidewalls tend to be too flexible for good handling characteristics. An LT (light truck) tire has a stiffer sidewall, so does not share that concern.  Larger trailers often come from the factory with LT tires

With so many tire liability lawsuits the last dozen years, many tire manufacturers and larger dealers refuse to recommend anything except an ST tire on a trailer. That's their lawyers talking - you can't easily get sued for putting a "Special Trailer" tire on a trailer.

There is also some confusion about the LT tire type. The same LT designation that means Light Truck is used on another type of tire called "High Flotation" and used on ATVs and such. Sometimes when you ask about LT tires, they may think you are referring to the High Floatation type. Those are definitely unsuitable (they are low pressure, soft and flexible).
 
I don't pull an RV trailer but I do pull my 12000lb horse trailer a lot. The first thing I do with a Horse trailer is get rid of the ST tires and replace them with LT tires.  I have never blown an LT tire but I sure have a lot of ST's.    LT tires are rated and inspected for wieight rating by DOT.  ST tires are not the manufacture can rate them at any rating they want to and the DOT does not monitor or check them for compliance.
 
LT tires have a higher speed rating than ST, so if you drive 65 or over you definitely want LT. ST tires are normally rated for a max speed of 65 mpg.

I don't think that the federal DOT actually inspects any tire before the DOT weight rating goes on. They just require the manufacturer to certify that it meets DOT standards for that size and type of tire, and that the manufacturer register with the DOT for their identification number.
 
My current 5'er came with Goodyear Wrangler LT tires when new. Getting ready for it's third set and never any problems. A few people that have had problems with tires (people I know personally) every tire was a chinese made ST tire. There's alot of money hooked to the back of the tow rig, and what little contact it has with the ground is precarious. Go with the best quality you can.
 
Like others have said, not a great tire, but manufacturers use some outlandish mathematics to determine tire ratings. They actually subtract the tongue weight to determine weight....like that weight doesn't exist. We had many blowouts with Carlisle on the RV, but we have had smaller diameter Carlisle tires on several boat trailers without problems. When I say "we had," I mean us....not something we heard about. 11 catastrophic tire failures. Now we just use tires rated way above what's required. Overkill has worked very well.
 
I had defended Carlisle tires earlier on iRV2 after owners complained of multiple failures.

My reasoning: if I aligned my Roadmaster dolly perfectly, checked that sidewall inflation was maintained (sidewall values are for trailers/dollies), monitored both tread wear and operating temperatures, and cruised under 70mph, all would be fine.

Boy, was I wrong...  I gave Chinese-made Carlisle the benefit of the doubt after the first catastrophic failure.  After all, witnesses reported that my wife had allowed the right dolly tire to fall off the pavement in a construction zone; I guessed that she'd hit a hard edge or maybe some debris.

Several days ago, the next tire blew out at 57mph, sitting in the slow lane of an Interstate.  It was the driver's side. 

Enough is enough.  Both have taken place before the tires accumulated 3,000 miles of use, which matches the experience of countless other owners.

I have filed a consumer debrief to the NHTSA, removed the remaining tire from service.  It is a spare for emergency use only.  Roadmaster's staff is meeting this week to determine if Carlisle needs to be abandoned as their OEM tire brand (apparently, other manufacturers have already begun installing safer tires on their dollies).

I've passed along my observation (link below) to the FMCA Forum, and it is being relayed to my friends at the mammoth iRV2 forum (I resigned as a Senior Member there after discovering moderator inconsistencies).

http://community.fmca.com/topic/4130-carlisle-tire-safety-advisory/
 
Just to add my$0.02, had a blowout with a Carlisle st tire, claim denied because they could find no defect in their workmanship. They DID find "evidence of overheating from low pressure or overloading" and the warranty period was exceeded by 5.5 months. My advice is to stay far-FAR away from any Carlisle product unless you want to replace your tires every 2 years. I checked the pressure that AM, never drive over 60 mph. 90 % of the tread came off and did about $2K worth of damage to my 5er. Lesson learned
 
In a 16" I highly recommend an XPS Michelin. We run them on our Teton 3 axle rv. Very robust tire.
 
I had a 12' pop up that came with Carlisle tires and after one trip to the Black Hills, 1200 miles round trip, they were shot. I had about 1/16" tread left.  My boat trailer also came with Carlisle tires and had side wall separation after 1000 miles.  Will never buy again!
 
How do you file an ''NHTSA debrief. I recently had 3 of 4 tire blow on a short camping trip, camper/tires only 16 months old, were Tow Master Load Range E that I had the dealer upgrade to from the OEM D range tires.

I also prior to this camper, had two blowouts on my TT with Carlisle tires. Was the reason  I traded up from TT to Fiver, unfortunately, I bought a fiver with 15'' tires and not 16''.
Any more tire problems and I'm trading this Fiver for one with 16'' tires and go to LT tires.
 
herd said:
Any more tire problems and I'm trading this Fiver for one with 16'' tires and go to LT tires.
Click to expand...

Check it out, you may be able to put 16" rims on your present trailer.  Could be a lot cheaper.
 
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