Positive: Carlisle 205 75 R14 Tires

[elchilero53]

I just traded out my Trail Express "china bombs" for Carlisles at Discount tire. My last trailer had Carlisles and they worked very well. We had 1400 miles on the Trail Express tires and they were losing air at a surprising rate (20# in two weeks sitting in the driveway). I noticed it while in Ruidoso in June; the tires had lost 10# in the 6 days we were there. That is unacceptable.

After installation, I rolled out and immediately noticed a difference in how the trailer towed: smooth and easy. It was noticeable. I was in Tow/Haul mode and rolling resistance seemed less than with the Trail Express. We will make a trip to see friends at Lake Towakoni over Labor Day, so we will see how they do!

[dannyabear]

Did you check the date code and country of manufacture for these tires?

[elchilero53]

The date codes all show 28th week 2014 up to 30th week 2015. All show China as country of origin.

On another thread on this forum, Carlisle tires are listed as all now being made in China. Mine are made in China.

[dannyabear]

So you traded one 'china bomb' for another?

[geeman53]

Maxxis is the best trailer tire made - period ! 30k on our fiver w/ no blow outs , on two different new sets. We took china bombs as soon as we got the fifth wheel home.

[lbrjet]

All ST tires are made in China except Maxxis which are made in Taiwan, China's close neighbor. I put 9000 miles of my first set of ST tires and 10,800 (and counting another 1400 miles until I get home) on my 2nd set. Both sets made in China. China bomb is a term thrown around on this forum and it is meaningless since almost every tire on almost every RV has tires made in China.


2010 F250 5.4L 3.73
2011 Flagstaff 831FKBSS
Equal-i-zer 4pt 12K

[elchilero53]

Originally Posted by dannyabear

So you traded one 'china bomb' for another?

I had trouble with American made Carlisles about 14 years ago (went through 2 sets). Turns out that they were wrong load rating (B instead of C). Replaced with the proper load rated Carliles and had more than 15,000 miles on them when we sold the trailer. I've had good experiences with Carlisle. Time will tell, but from what others have said and what I have read on this Forum, these are good tires. If they need replacing, Maxxis is on the list.

[Big Shoe]

I purchased a new Rockwood 8289ws fifth wheel in May 2015.
My trade-in travel trailer had Maxxis "E" class tires that I had purchased at the end of the 2014 camping season. I had the dealer swap the "c" class tires off the Rockwood for my "E" class tires. I have since traveled over 10k on those tires without a problem.

I will say this: Inspect your tires and check the tire pressure before you take off each time. If you haven't invested in a Tire Monitoring System....think strongly about it. It has already saved me a blow-out due to a leaky tire stem.

[geeman53]

Big difference between China made and Taiwan made. US INSPECTORS NOT ALLOWED IN CHINESE TIRE FACTORIES -but are allowed in Taiwanese factories . MAXXIS RULES !

[raytwntrvlr]

I was thinking about changing to Carlisle too. Noticed they claim a higher speed rating for the 205-75-R14 than all others.

[Grampa Jim]

A couple months after we got our Windjammer,,,,with 2000 miles on our Trail Express, I called FR and told them they should be ashamed. They gave me $75 a tire cash and I applied that $300 to 4 new Carlisle's with a higher load rating.

[pgandw]

Originally Posted by geeman53

Big difference between China made and Taiwan made. US INSPECTORS NOT ALLOWED IN CHINESE TIRE FACTORIES -but are allowed in Taiwanese factories . MAXXIS RULES !

Not true at all, and pure nonsense. What quality control is used and who performs it are a matter of contract. Many Chinese manufacturers do manufacture to and are subject to the quality control of the company they are producing for (Apple is one example, there are many others, including US tire brands). The Chinese manufacturer obviously charges extra to allow such oversight, and may resist putting it in the contract.

Trail Express and some of the other short-lived "brands" are US tire importers that have no interest in a long term business relationship with their customers. Hence, minimal quality control. Forest River shares some the responsibility for the crappy tires. In their rush to the bottom, they encourage fly-by-night tire "companies". And Forest River also sets up the RV owner by using tires barely sized to cover the expected load. So easily over-loaded, and under-inflated tires with initial quality problems - are you really surprised at the blowout numbers?

Don't you think any of the majors would be glad to have a contract to produce decent OEM tires for Forest River? But they can't produce as cheaply as a fly-by-night outfit that doesn't provide warranty or technical support for their product. And they would insist Forest River mount adequately sized tires, wheels, and axles so that there would not be a lot of warranty claims - especially after the Ford Explorer/Firestone fiasco.

A Taiwanese factory may be more accepting of the oversight (and charge less) because of less competition in Taiwan for "cheap" production. But Taiwanese labor and foreign living expenses tend to be higher than mainland Chinese.

Cheap production with zero quality control is not limited to China. If our China bomb tires had anywhere near the same defect rates as our Forest River RVs, we would fill forum after forum with the subject - oh wait, we already do.

Fred W
2014 Rockwood A122
2008 Hyundai Entourage (minivan)

FWIW - the Hyundai Entourage (Korean made) transmission failed at 97,000 miles (before I ever towed with the vehicle). Hyundai did replace the transmission and reimbursed some of our other expenses (car rental and some of our lodging) under the 100,000 mile warranty.

[rwmurphy]

I copied this off the Carlisle tire website and also sent them a email to verify where there TT tires are made.
Where are Carlisle tires made?
Depending upon which Carlisle tire you select, the tire could have been made in a U.S. factory or elsewhere. We are an American company committed to American manufacturing and standards

[spudston]

My recently purchased 205/75-14 ST tires are Maxxis 8008, made in Thailand. They have a 5 year warranty. I was considering the Carlisles but their warranty is only 2 years. That said, I have had good luck with U.S. made Goodyears and Chinese Carlisles in the past.

[MCTroy]

We are putting a set of Carlisle d load tires on our windjammer. They have come highly recommended by other rv owners we talk to and our service tech and are affordable.

[dannyabear]

Originally Posted by rwmurphy

I copied this off the Carlisle tire website and also sent them a email to verify where there TT tires are made.
Where are Carlisle tires made?
Depending upon which Carlisle tire you select, the tire could have been made in a U.S. factory or elsewhere. We are an American company committed to American manufacturing and standards

Did you really expect them to say 'We accept the lowest bid from China'?

Look on the sidewall for country of origin.

[speedozeke]

I just replaced the factory Chinese 225r75x 15 load range C tires on my 2015 831FKBSS Flagstaff Classic
The factory tires had 5,000 miles on them. They would lose 10 psi a week and side walls were starting to crack open. I am on a 15 week summer trip and have put 8,000 miles so far. Trailer is awesome, specially with the new Carliele tire's.
Definetly handles a bunch better with the new rubber. Went to LR D 8 ply rating.
Will be back in Florida in week or so. I don't want to stop!
Chev 2500 HD 4x4 crew cab diesel is the boss also! Life is good!

[Handydc]

I'm a big fan of Carlisle tires. Have had no issues on my tt and have run Carlisle's on my work cargo trailer for many years with no issues. I'm sold!

[elchilero53]

Originally Posted by Big Shoe

I purchased a new Rockwood 8289ws fifth wheel in May 2015.
My trade-in travel trailer had Maxxis "E" class tires that I had purchased at the end of the 2014 camping season. I had the dealer swap the "c" class tires off the Rockwood for my "E" class tires. I have since traveled over 10k on those tires without a problem.

I will say this: Inspect your tires and check the tire pressure before you take off each time. If you haven't invested in a Tire Monitoring System....think strongly about it. It has already saved me a blow-out due to a leaky tire stem.

Good advice! I went looking for a set back in June, but everyone was out of stock. That is on my list of things to buy ASAP. I also have a Furion Backup Camera on that list (my SolAire is hard wired for that particular camera with the pigtail connection already in place.)

[Grampa Jim]

My Carlisle's are made in China, but I did upgrade from a C to a D and am satisfied so far. Our first long distance trip will be next spring from Texas to North Carolina for our summer job. We'll see then.