Brand:Carlisle> Tire Line:Carlisle> Components:Carlisle> choose "tread" or "tires" and "Select this check box for summary" for details).I don't see other tire brands mentioned as predominantly as Carlisle, a few noted problems with Marathons, Nanco's, Mastercraft. In one post a tire dealer guy said ST tires fail so much "because trailer tires suck." One forum discussed using regular radials instead of ST's as they seem to have much better quality, even with the possible sway problem. If trailer tires in general have so many bulges, blowouts and tread separations, would using regular radials, even with the weaker sidewalls, be safe if the weight was well within the rating? Compared to having a blowout on the freeway? (and for lower usage like once a month local 2 hour drives?). Many of these posts reported severe damage to brakes, axles, wiring and frames, dangerous stuff that would end up in big vet bills for us with live cargo. Many also reported they had checked the tires before the trip and found no evidence of a problem. Anyone know the percentages of "tire failures" that might make all this a little less scary? I don't want to overreact and throw away new tires, but also don't want to ignore a valid threat. Thanks for any input you guys have!"/>
Posted 2006-09-13 4:24 AM (#48430) Subject: Tire tread problems?
Location: Del Mar, CA
I've read the past threads here on trailer tires and still have questions, wonder what you guys think.I just got Carlisle tires on the trailer this year, and really can't afford to buy another new set, but.....I started looking up Carlisle on the web, discovered many forums with people relating severe damage due to tread separation and blowouts with this tire, even several blowouts in one trip. Sites such as rv.net/forums, epinions.com/Carlisle, thedieselstop.com/archives, and others, and now have found the Office of Defects Investigation site: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov (Search Complaints-ck circle for "tires"> Brand:Carlisle> Tire Line:Carlisle> Components:Carlisle> choose "tread" or "tires" and "Select this check box for summary" for details).I don't see other tire brands mentioned as predominantly as Carlisle, a few noted problems with Marathons, Nanco's, Mastercraft. In one post a tire dealer guy said ST tires fail so much "because trailer tires suck." One forum discussed using regular radials instead of ST's as they seem to have much better quality, even with the possible sway problem. If trailer tires in general have so many bulges, blowouts and tread separations, would using regular radials, even with the weaker sidewalls, be safe if the weight was well within the rating? Compared to having a blowout on the freeway? (and for lower usage like once a month local 2 hour drives?). Many of these posts reported severe damage to brakes, axles, wiring and frames, dangerous stuff that would end up in big vet bills for us with live cargo. Many also reported they had checked the tires before the trip and found no evidence of a problem. Anyone know the percentages of "tire failures" that might make all this a little less scary? I don't want to overreact and throw away new tires, but also don't want to ignore a valid threat. Thanks for any input you guys have!
Posted 2006-09-13 7:16 AM (#48439 - in reply to #48430) Subject: RE: Tire tread problems?
Elite Veteran
Posts: 954 Location: Hagerstown, MD
There are a lot of variables that affect tire performance. Trailer tires have been a topic of interest on this forum before and probably will be again after this one. Two things that REALLY affect trailer tires are heat and load. I know everyone is ready to pounce on this, but heat can be affected by inflation, there I said it. If the tire is inflated to max load pressure for what it says on the side of the tire, the tire should perform realatively well. Carlisle might be the exception, but let's given them the benefit of the doubt first and assume they are innocent until proven guilty. I use radials on EVERYTHING I own, except the lawnmower and the Harley. My heavy work truck has radials on it and it carries some nasty loads at times. I HIGHLY recommend using a minimum of an 8 ply tire and get a 10 ply for your horse trailer when you can or you think you need to. By example, I use the same size tire on all my trucks and trailers. It's a P235/85R16LT and normally comes in 8 ply and with a "load range E" stamped right into the side of the tire. I don't have tread seperation, bulges, blowouts or catostrophic tire failures. I pay good money for my tires and try to stick with a particular brand for the most part. The one thing I won't do is buy tires any where in town. I have a tire dealer that gets an exclusive from me on tires. He takes care of me by taking care of my tires. I wanted to put a particular style of tire of with a very aggresive tread on one of my trucks, and he wouldn't do it! He said the truck would eat the tread right off the tires because of the weight of the truck and the loads it carries. I followed his recommendations and I'm still happy.
Let's disect Carlisle tires for a moment. If you are using Carlisle tires on your trailer and they are not at least an 8 ply tire, you are already at a disadvantage. If you are towing a GN trailer with two axles and 4 tires, you need at least 2500 pounds load capacity/tire. I want at least +25% load capacity on my tires for the weight I'm carrying. My trailer tires are rated at almost 3000 pounds/tire and I'm loading under 10,000 most of the time. That puts me at least 2000 pounds under capacity. I like that cushion/safety factor.
Let's talk about radials on trailers. I use radials on all my trailers and they perfrom just fine. Please remember that I'm usually inflating them to maximum pressure, so I'm not getting much of a bulge at the bottom of the tire and no perceptable sway at any time. Depending on what I'm doing, I might play with the air pressure a little to soften the ride some, but not all the time.
Posted 2006-09-13 11:31 AM (#48452 - in reply to #48430) Subject: RE: Tire tread problems?
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 366 Location: Albany, Oregon
Appyrider....What size tire are you running on the trailer?....I'll bet it is 15"..? I have heard the same complaint on the Carlise tires..I have a set on my 10,000lb equipment trailer and always fret the rumors...they are 15" load range "D". I always use max psi...I overload it twice a year in the summer to get hay and haul it 200 miles..No problems so far...I have even heard goodyear makes them.. so go figure!
Posted 2006-09-14 2:09 AM (#48512 - in reply to #48430) Subject: RE: Tire tread problems?
Location: Del Mar, CA
Hi, my tires are Carlisle Radial Trail ST225/75R-15/C, 50psi, 2150 lbs. I can't find the ply listed anywhere. My 2H Str. trailer and one horse is about 4000 lbs (I never haul two horses), well under the 8600 lbs tires are rated for, the tire dealer set them at 45 psi. Do trailer radials also have stronger sidewalls? The reason I got concerned is that a friend had the tread come off her 225/75R-15/D Carlisle tire on the freeway hauling two horses, she'd only been driving 20 min when she heard it blow. It seems the load on mine shouldn't stress them, but I worry because many of the people posting their problems with blowouts said they'd checked the tires and found nothing wrong before they blew. Thanks for your input, k :)
Posted 2006-09-14 9:02 AM (#48529 - in reply to #48430) Subject: RE: Tire tread problems?
Elite Veteran
Posts: 794 Location: Tenn/Ala.
For what it is worth, Carlisle readily admits that there were some 13-15" tires built a few years ago for them by another manufacturer that gave lots of problems. If you have any questions about yours, I'd suggest getting the size, Load range, Model name, & full DOT number together & call them. 1-800-260-7959
RTSmith
www.SelectTrailer.com
Posted 2006-09-14 10:45 AM (#48537 - in reply to #48533) Subject: RE: Tire tread problems?
Expert
Posts: 2953 Location: North Carolina
Originally written by afkatrina on 2006-09-14 9:10 AM
What causes the small bulges on the sides of the tires? I noticed a couple on my GY Wranglers. Is it a sign they need to be changed out *now*?
Brenda
There may be a small bulge on each side of a tire. It's from the plies being overlapped in the tire build process. Each ply is a piece of rubber coated fabric wrapped around a mandrel. The whole assembly when the mandrel is removed, is cured in a press that fuses all the plies together. If the bump is close to another bump on the opposite side it's an overlap. IF you see a bulge develop or it appears soft like a bubble. THEN be concerned the plies are separating. THIS is TROUBLE.
Tire tread problems?
