Carlisle Tires

[grizmt]

We have a 2010 Big Sky that came with Carlisle tires. After owning it for just 6 weeks and having "maybe" 2500 miles on it we had multiple tire failure while driving down the freeway. Our drivers side front tire blew out while at 60 mph with such force it tore the fender skirt off and the second tire went 40 miles later. It seems the steel bead cord had seperated from the tire itself allowing the bead to blow over the wheel lip.
I've NEVER seen a tire fail this way in all my years and neither had the tire store but they did tell me to remove the carlisle tires ASAP as did the tow company and hwy patrolman since they said they've seen a high number of failures in this brand. Is this the new norm for Rv's? Place junk tires on an expensive coach?

[racerjoe]

It seems the manufacturers choice of quality tires has become questionable. I guess in their zeal to cut cost they seem to forget the safety.


On edit: were these tires chinese made?

[SlickWillie]

The tires are just like everything else; low bid.

[washley1]

Our story is almost exactly yours. Costly blow out with only 2000 miles on the tires. Keystone and Carlisle both ignored me. Replaced tiers and rims with G614's from Goodyear; not a problem since!

[Les and Julie]

Grizmt - glad you are okay --- what kind of replacement tires did you go with? I am currently looking for new tires - considering the Goodyear G614s --- how many other's of you have these kind and are you happy with them. My unit came with E rated tires, are G rated tires better and would I still use 80 psi inflation pressure? Where are these tires made?

Les

[jjackflash]

I have The G14's which are USA made and love them. I only have 10,000 on them but so far no problems. When you pick up the G14's off the rim you can tell the difference in quality.
We run 105 lbs air pressure.
Jack

[scattershot]

I have only one word when it comes to Carlisle tires... RUN!!!!!!

[grizmt]

quote:Originally posted by Les and Julie

Grizmt - glad you are okay --- what kind of replacement tires did you go with? I am currently looking for new tires - considering the Goodyear G614s --- how many other's of you have these kind and are you happy with them. My unit came with E rated tires, are G rated tires better and would I still use 80 psi inflation pressure? Where are these tires made?

Les

Thank you for the well wishes.... I didn't have much choice when it came to the replacements for a couple of reasons. We ended up with tires from Big O and they are high runs or high point, something like that. The issues were that Keystone replaced all 5 tires so they had a say but were willing to put on what I wanted as long as they were within spec. That leads to the second issue, for 2010 the tires are of a size that limits the choices to about 4 none of them what you'd consider "name" brands. The mechanic (who's been fantastic btw) wanted to put on goodyears but they don't make the correct size in a trailer tire. After doing a lot of talking to different sources it was "suggested" that we DO NOT put on LT tires since they have a flat tread instead of the crowned tread that trailer tires have putting a bigger tire foot print on the ground so when you turn the scuffing of the tires puts too much side pressure on the mor-ride rubber suspension and could damage it and would remove it from warranty.
The mechanic figured since we were limited to a couple of tires it was in my best interest to go with ones sold by a national chain in case I needed service in the future. According to a couple of tire mgrs the LT tires that people are using are basically giving them a false sense of security and could actually be worse for that reason.

[adelmoll]

We had the same problems with one of our Carlisle tires on the Big Sky. After a lot of study and discussion with several tire companies including Carlisle, we changed ours out for the "F" rated Carlisle tires that carry 3960 # at 95psi. They have been great. We have the Pressure Pro system and have not lost a # since nor do they overheat. We are real happy with these tires so far after traveling about 6,000 miles. I did talk to Arem about these F rated tires at the Fall Rally and he was quite interested. Wish we would have had toe option of the F rated when we bought our Big Sky. We would have gladly paid the difference in price which would have been a lot cheaper than all new ones a few months later.

Les, in response to your question, I believe you have the 6000# axles on your Montana so would check this out carefully before putting on the G-14's. I'm not sure but if I remember correctly but the 105psi might be too much. We also learned that you should never go under the recommended PSI because the tire needs that much air to stay on the rims correctly.

Helen

[SlickWillie]

I wasn't gonna get in another tire thread, but I don't think axle rating makes any difference in tire selection (you shouldn't go under in tire selection, but going above the rating won't hurt anything). You may have to go to higher pressure rated rims though.

On another point, here is Goodyears inflation/load chart. http://www.goodyear.com/rv/pdf/rv_inflation.pdf

[Delaine and Lindy]

We ran Goodyear G614's on three 5th wheels all were heavy 5th wheels. All were 16,000 and up. We never had a issue other than weather change, warm weather vs cool. Then it was just a matter of adding air. We always ran our G614's at 110 lbs and only checked the pressure when tire was cold. The pressure will go up after the tires have been on the road. You muct have a rim that will handle the additional air pressure. As SlickWille posted the Goodyear inflation load chart, you will notice the G614's pressure was 110 lbs tires will run cooler if you run the correct pressure. We have Goodyear G114's now and they run a 125 lbs of pressure. I highly recomend the Goodyear American made tires. As stated RV company's buy the low bid tires for most 5th wheels. Most manfactors will replace the tires and some will take care of the damage. But who pays for all the aggravation and down time. Make the decision up front and go with at least the Goodyear G614's. And if you have to buy new wheels, I recommend the Alcoa Aluminum wheels they are great wheels and will handle the pressure. Good Luck with you decision. GBY....

[soonerhooligan]

I am very disapointed to know that Keystone has learned nothing from the "Mission" experiment. I guess the accountants are running the manufacturing. I've made this point many times, folks don't drive off the dealers lot with sub-standard tires. I know that Keystone doesn't listen to the consumers. Maybe they will listen to their dealers. Tell that dealer you will NOT buy their unit until it has high quality American made tires. And stick with it. Now you put it back on them. They will complain back the Keystone. If they know that we are not going to give in something will have to change. KEYSTONE are you listening? Give us good quality tires and we will pay the difference. We are tired of watching our rear view mirror for rubber flying.

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by soonerhooligan

I am very disapointed to know that Keystone has learned nothing from the "Mission" experiment. I guess the accountants are running the manufacturing. I've made this point many times, folks don't drive off the dealers lot with sub-standard tires. I know that Keystone doesn't listen to the consumers. Maybe they will listen to their dealers. Tell that dealer you will NOT buy their unit until it has high quality American made tires. And stick with it. Now you put it back on them. They will complain back the Keystone. If they know that we are not going to give in something will have to change. KEYSTONE are you listening? Give us good quality tires and we will pay the difference. We are tired of watching our rear view mirror for rubber flying.

I think Keystone is listening to consumers, but they have to do a balancing act between what we want and what we're willing to pay for. There is no doubt (in my mind) that anyone on this board would be willing pay extra, but we represent a small segment of RV shoppers/buyers. To be blunt, Keystone is in business to make money, and to do this, they have to walk a line between customer needs and profitability. If Keystone took every 'wish item' listed on this board, it would raise the cost of their trailers dramatically, and while some would not mind, many would and would buy something else. This was a lesson the American auto industry learned. Years ago, you could order an American car any way you wanted it. It was like the old Burger King advertisement: "have it your way", including engines/transmissions/axle ratios, as well as exterior/interior color combinations. Heck, if you willing to pay for it, you could even get it painted a non-standard color. Believe it or not, this is an extremely expensive way to run a company! That is why today your options are so limited, and the same thing applies to trailers as it does to cars.

Tires have an added issue though. There are only a few manufacturers who make tires strong enough for trailers, and nearly all of them are made in China, even if they do carry American names. Even Goodyear Marathons were until the middle part of this year. Not all "E" rated tires are rated the same. An "E" rated LT tire is rated at 3040 lbs while an "E" rated ST is rated about 500 lbs more.

[jjackflash]

I have my 614's mount on the stock wheels which Tredit Tire & Wheel Co. has
re certified. I have a letter from them notifying me of this fact.
If you need a copy of this letter PM me.
Jack

[exav8tr]

I have a similar letter that jjackflash has along with the stickers to place on the inside of the wheels. We are stable for the winter and I will be putting the G614's on before leaving here in March. BTW: I was told by a Keystone Rep (Charles Wade), that they had to put ST tires on their rigs to satisfy the RVIA specs. This was some time ago and maybe things have changed since then. Seems the only ST tires are being made in China. I may be wrong on this last statement, but that is what I have been told....Evidently the trailer tire business is too small a segment of the tire industry, hence the lack of an American made ST tire. soonerhooligan's statement about not buying a Montana unless the dealer or Keystone changes the tires is a good one, BUT it may mean you do not get a Montana. If I had to do it all over again, I would probably pay the dealer to put better tires on it from the get-go. I know I shouldn't have to but that would be my decision. My opinion, of course.....

[SlickWillie]

quote:Originally posted by exav8tr

BTW: I was told by a Keystone Rep (Charles Wade), that they had to put ST tires on their rigs to satisfy the RVIA specs. This was some time ago and maybe things have changed since then.

Makes one wonder about his honesty.....I know for a fact they put LT tires on Keystone products as late as the 2005 model year.

[Lambchop]

quote:Originally posted by SlickWillie

Makes one wonder about his honesty.....I know for a fact they put LT tires on Keystone products as late as the 2005 model year.

I have seen a lot of SOB's with Goodyear G614's from the factory...doesn't seem to bother them with the RIVA specs..

Roy & Kay

[Delaine and Lindy]

Our Cambridge had G614' from Keystone. We had two SOB's with G614's and we are riding on G114's now. I believe its the cost and China made tires are much, much cheaper. GBY......

[farmboy]

Just for what it is worth info my 2005 2955 Montana came with TACOMA AWT 235/85/16 LT
tires. Trailer gvw is 12,100#. After 16,000+ miles all is still well.

[TLightning]

I too have heard that NOW the requirement is for ST tires on all trailers. The problem is, I've been looking all over for some ST tires that are 235/80R16 made in the USA...can't find them. So I'm going with LT tires that ARE made in the USA.