Castle Rock Tires

[cyberrick1]

I'm new to RVing with a travel trailer and I've seem some posts that the Castle Rock tires don't do well. I have a GeoPro G19FD and love the trailer. We have pulled it about 600 miles so far with no tire issues.



I'm just wondering if I should replace them before something happens in the middle of nowhere?

[jd50i]

How old are they? By the manufacture date, not your RV date.

[jaherbst]

Originally Posted by cyberrick1

I'm new to RVing with a travel trailer and I've seem some posts that the Castle Rock tires don't do well. I have a GeoPro G19FD and love the trailer. We have pulled it about 600 miles so far with no tire issues.



I'm just wondering if I should replace them before something happens in the middle of nowhere?

Keep the air at maximum cold pressure. (before use) Don't drive like a maniac and keep reasonable speed. I recommend 65-67 and you should get good service from these tires. A lot of unnecessary scare mongers here about "China Bombs".
Some real and some not so real.

Worry less, Slow down and enjoy more. I have been doing this for 50 years and have seen blowouts on every brand of tire there is. Most of these problems are self induced. i.e. Overloaded, too much speed and low tire pressure. Take care of your tires and they will take care of you.

You only hear about the bad things that happen here and that is a small percentage of the overall people towing trailers. Like Dad said, a"a little common sense goes a long way".

Jack

[babock]

Replaced my Castle Rocks right after I bought my trailer and replaced them with Maxxis. I sold the almost new Castle Rocks for $30 each.

Sorry, but I have had many Chinese tires fail on my boat trailers and I didn't want a blow out on my travel trailer where a lot of damage can occur to the under belly.

You will find people on both sides on whether the Chinese tires are good or not. For the small amount of money to replace the tires with a proven quality tire like Maxxis, to me it was a no brainer.

I decided against the Endurance tires because they are so new. Maxxis have been around for a long time and I have used them on my boat trailer with no issues at all.

I never drive faster than 60 with any of my trailers. Not worth the risk.

[polishdon]

Originally Posted by babock

Replaced my Castle Rocks right after I bought my trailer and replaced them with Maxxis. I sold the almost new Castle Rocks for $30 each.

Sorry, but I have had many Chinese tires fail on my boat trailers and I didn't want a blow out on my travel trailer where a lot of damage can occur to the under belly.

You will find people on both sides on whether the Chinese tires are good or not. For the small amount of money to replace the tires with a proven quality tire like Maxxis, to me it was a no brainer.

I decided against the Endurance tires because they are so new. Maxxis have been around for a long time and I have used them on my boat trailer with no issues at all.

I never drive faster than 60 with any of my trailers. Not worth the risk.

Same thing I did. Replaced the Castle Rocks with Maxxis 8008 and sold the Castle Rocks on Craigslist.

[SailorSam20500]

My view, if the load capacity of your tires is 20% or more above your trailers GVWR, the tires will probably treat you well. If your tires are closer to or below 10% over the GVWR, I would be looking to change to a tires with more capacity.

From what I have read, a big factor in trailer tire failure is inter ply shear. Inter ply shear occurs when the tire is exposed to twisting stress. All turning puts twisting stress on the tires and the tighter the turn the higher the stress. Trailer tires are especially susceptible to this damage because of how close the trailer axles are to each other. Tires with higher weight rating margins seem to resist this stress better.

Something to think about, if your trailer is unbalanced side to side, even if your total weights are okay, your weight margin on a single tire or tires on one side, may be at or below the 10% level. Making you more susceptible to problems. It is really best to get your rig weighed with individual wheel weights. This is generally not available at a CAT scale.

From the posts I've read. It seems that people who have had problems with "China Bombs" have replaced their tires with "better" manufacturers AND installed tires with higher weight ratings.

[cyberrick1]

So my tires are rated at 1760lbs. per tire. I'm assuming that means together they can support up to 3,520. My GeoPro G19FD has a Dry Weight of 2829lbs so loaded around 3000lbs I guess, maybe more. So I am pretty close to the max.

[SailorSam20500]

I should have checked your trailer. BECAUSE you have a single axle trailer, you have less of an issue. Multi-axle trailers force the tires to twist against each other during a turn, you don't have that issue.

I don't have enough information to have an opinion on how much margin is really needed on a single axle trailer. Maybe WMTIRE or others will make a suggestion. I do recommend you look up and read WMTIRE;s blog. Lots of good info.

[BandJCarm]

China Bombs is probably too vague.

Maxxis are made by Cheng Shin Rubber Co. Some China tires are good, mine are. Some are not.

[babock]

Originally Posted by BandJCarm

China Bombs is probably too vague.

Maxxis are made by Cheng Shin Rubber Co. Some China tires are good, mine are. Some are not.

Maxxis trailer tires are made in Thailand.

[5picker]

I started the original Castle Rock thread here in 2015.

We were able to milk about 18 months and approximately 8000 miles on them before they started to separate. I've seen others suggest the same.

You will notice the tread is concave and they are built this way. (not saying good or bad, just saying)

Keep them aired to the max PSI on the sidewall and you'll get some use out of them but they will fail.

Replaced ours with Goodyear Endurance. No further issues to date.

[jk510]

Does anyone else see Castle Rock and immediately think Stephen King?

[Fundy]

No matter what brand of tire you buy they are most likely made somewhere in Asia.

"Other companies that supply ST trailer tires are Goodyear, Titan International Inc., Maxxis International Inc., Carlisle Tire & Wheel Co. and American Kenda Rubber Industries Co. Ltd. Of those firms, Goodyear and Maxxis both said they manufacture their trailer tires in Asia, but neither would say at which plants."

http://www.rubbernews.com/article/20...-trailer-tires

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by Fundy

No matter what brand of tire you buy they are most likely made somewhere in Asia.

"Other companies that supply ST trailer tires are Goodyear, Titan International Inc., Maxxis International Inc., Carlisle Tire & Wheel Co. and American Kenda Rubber Industries Co. Ltd. Of those firms, Goodyear and Maxxis both said they manufacture their trailer tires in Asia, but neither would say at which plants."

'Made in USA' not the norm for trailer tires | Rubber and Plastics News

GY Endurance tires are made in the US of A!

[Flightmike]

Originally Posted by cyberrick1

So my tires are rated at 1760lbs. per tire. I'm assuming that means together they can support up to 3,520. My GeoPro G19FD has a Dry Weight of 2829lbs so loaded around 3000lbs I guess, maybe more. So I am pretty close to the max.

My Geo Pro 17PR said dry weight of 3161 but when it arrived the weight on the tag was 3900 and didn’t have water or anything in it. You have to remember dry weight is without batteries or propane and the Geo’s have 2 of each. I have been told the tongue weight has to come off the total weight of the load so I figure 3900 minus around 600 tongue puts me back at 3300 still without water or gear. They built them to be right on the border of the weight. That’s why it’s said on here to check when fully loaded.
My Castle Rock were manufactured 46/17 so they are pretty new and I plan on using them for a while on the short trips but will keep a close eye on pressure and temp and change before my long trip in August.
I only have 1 axle and if I lose 1 tire...ouch.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by Flightmike

My Geo Pro 17PR said dry weight of 3161 but when it arrived the weight on the tag was 3900 and didn’t have water or anything in it. You have to remember dry weight is without batteries or propane and the Geo’s have 2 of each. I have been told the tongue weight has to come off the total weight of the load so I figure 3900 minus around 600 tongue puts me back at 3300 still without water or gear. They built them to be right on the border of the weight. That’s why it’s said on here to check when fully loaded.
My Castle Rock were manufactured 46/17 so they are pretty new and I plan on using them for a while on the short trips but will keep a close eye on pressure and temp and change before my long trip in August.
I only have 1 axle and if I lose 1 tire...ouch.

Slight correction - from FR site:

UVW (Unloaded Vehicle Weight)* (aka dry weight)

The typical weight of the unit as manufactured at the factory. It includes all weight at the unit’s axle(s), including full fuel, all fluids and LP Gas. The UVW does not include cargo, fresh potable water, additional optional equipment or dealer installed accessories.

*Estimated Average based on standard build optional equipment.

RV Glossary by Forest River RV

[ProAngler]

By 2018 geo pro 19FD came with 2945 on tag and written on tongue, looks like they scaled it when set it up.

[Freedom1955]

Originally Posted by jaherbst

Keep the air at maximum cold pressure. (before use) Don't drive like a maniac and keep reasonable speed. I recommend 65-67 and you should get good service from these tires. A lot of unnecessary scare mongers here about "China Bombs".
Some real and some not so real.

Worry less, Slow down and enjoy more. I have been doing this for 50 years and have seen blowouts on every brand of tire there is. Most of these problems are self induced. i.e. Overloaded, too much speed and low tire pressure. Take care of your tires and they will take care of you.

You only hear about the bad things that happen here and that is a small percentage of the overall people towing trailers. Like Dad said, a"a little common sense goes a long way".

Jack

Ditto!

[Alberta8311ss]

I own a 2014 rockwood. Noticed side walls cracking on all four tires at the end of the season in 2016. Purchased replacements in the spring of 2017 and when I went to take the tires off after putting air in them they were leaking air out the side walls.



Bought replacement Carlisle tires

[stephndudb]

Originally Posted by jk510

Does anyone else see Castle Rock and immediately think Stephen King?

X2