Carlisle

[Tarnished]

Does anyone have experience or knowledge of Carlisle Radial Trail tires?
Very reasonably priced from Amazon.

[Razorback]

If we had a million members, you would get a million and one opinions on this.

I have seen positive and negative comments about Carlisle, just like every other tire out there.

My current tires on the Avion are Commodore brand from Big-O Tires. They have been just fine now for 4 years, no complaints. I take good care of them, keep them covered when parked, and am meticulous about watching the pressures. I had good experience with Goodyear Marathons. also.

Even with that good experience, my next set of tires will be the Goodyear Endurance.

Looking forward to hearing more input on this.

[silverloaf]

Does anyone have experience or knowledge of Carlisle Radial Trail tires?
Very reasonably priced from Amazon.

I purchased a set of Carlisle Radial Trail tires (225/75 R15) from my local Discount Tire store last August. I paid $518 less a $50 mail-in rebate. The price included mounting, balancing, nationwide road hazard protection, and tax. That's $117 per tire.

I told Discount the tires on the trailer were load range D. They recommended load range E and gave them to me at the same price.

Regarding on-line purchasing, I did price-checking there. Yes, the tires were cheaper in some cases. However, they did not include valve stems, mounting and balancing costs.

I purchased some tires for my utility trailer on-line. They sent me the wrong tires. What a hassle getting the right ones.

More importantly, the tires from Discount were fresh. The road hazard protection (about $13 per tire) covers any structural damage (no-cost replacement), lifetime balance and rotation. I can pull into any Discount Tire store and get it taken care of.

I have no experience with the Carlisles...yet. However, I feel well-protected when we hit the road this summer. Like Razorback said, its all about the maintenance.

Bob

[KYAvion]

No experience with Carlisle tires, but personally I won't run anything but LT tires.

[silverloaf]

No experience with Carlisle tires, but personally I won't run anything but LT tires.

I suppose everyone has their comfort zone on tires. But it's important to match the tire to its application.

I have attached an article that compares ST and LT tires for trailer use. Heat is the Achilles heel of tire load capacity, particularly in the ability of the sidewall to dissipate it.This is one of several articles I have read on this subject.

https://rvingwithmarkpolk.com/2012/11/0 ... -lt-tires/

[KYAvion]

Silverloaf- I hear what you're saying and I'm sure there are good ST tires out there, and Carlisle may be one of the better companies.

After a bad experience with an ST tire that was only about a year old, I decided to make the switch. I spent awhile reading numerous threads on Airforums, which included comments from tire engineers. I guess I am also inclined to believe that LT tires are made to stricter standards than ST tires since LT tires are designed to transport people.

When I made the switch to LT tires, I also increased my rim size to a 16" so I'd have more options if needed when on the road. Additionally, I run a tire pressure monitoring system, which also provides a temperature reading. I highly recommend a tire pressure monitoring system to everyone, since the damage to a travel trailer can be quite significant if not caught early enough. In my case, I never would have known my ST tire was beginning to destroy the side of my trailer if another driver on the highway hadn't gotten my attention.

The tires I opted for are a rib tire in size 225 75 R16 by Cooper (made in the USA, which I like too). They have plenty of load carrying capacity for my 30R.

http://us.coopertire.com/tires/discoverer-ht3.aspx

[silverloaf]

KY -
I'm not questioning your logic or your due diligence in doing the research. I looked at LT tires initially but didn't have enough history to look at something different than ST radial.

When I look at the wheel wells on an Avion (and Airstream), the tires are encapsulated in a semi-closed environment. I don't think they see a lot of airflow ( especially the inside) that might scavenge the heat off the tire sidewall in motion. I would be curious as to how/where a tire begins to break apart.

Btw - our trailer came with OEM (I think) 15" aluminum wheels. I couldn't justify new rims for larger tires right now.

Tell me more about the tire monitoring system. Where did you purchase it? How do you receive signals as you are driving?

Interesting it monitors both pressure and heat.

[KYAvion]

Silverloaf - I'm going to start a new thread on TPMS in case others have some input too.

[Tarnished]

Thanks for the responses. I've gone with Endurance ST load range E. so far excellent. Will put about 3 or 4K on them this winter.