Trailer Tires

[MikeC]

Has anyone had any experience with Carlisle trailer tires, in particular the Carlisle Radial Trail? I currently have Goodyear Marathon tires and was going to replace them with the same, but the dealer says the Carlisle tires are just as good, plus they're quite a bit less expensive. Wondering if anyone had any opinions...

Thanks

[SNMike]

RE: Trailer Tires

Mike,

IMHO, while the Marathon is a great tire, when it was time to replace mine, my neighbor, who owns a tire shop, recommended Maxxis. $30.00 a tire cheaper than the Goodyear. I'm sure the Carlisle is just as good. As long as it's a "LOAD D" class, you're good to go.

Regards!!

Mike

[TRBenj]

RE: Trailer Tires

Check the net for reviews of the Carlisle... I have no experience with them but after doing a little research I probably never will either!

[AirTool]

RE: Trailer Tires

Two years ago I googled carlisle and found lots of complaints / bad experiences.

[MikeC]

Thanks for all the info. I've been doing some research on Carlisle and I've found some not so good reviews. I'm reading good things about Maxxis, so I guess I'll stick with the Goodyears or go with Maxxis. I've got too much money invested on top of the tires to worry about a few dollars to support it.

[DavidF]

I have had good luck with Greenball Tow Master II's. They seem hard to find now-a-days, but I found some here: www.trailertiresandwheels.com

Price was about $50/tire (bias ply, D load rating)

[east tx skier]

I know of three people, myself included that have had tread separation on Goodyear Marathon tires. Mine occurred on I-30 while I was delivering my old MC to its new owner in St. Louis. Fortnuately, I found a Goodyear shop in Texarkana. Good thing, too, because the other tire was about to separate as well. He told me that GY was having lots of trouble with this and changed their layup around 2006 or so. He also told me that they were recomending larger tires on the boat trailers.

New Marathons were part of the deal when I purchased my nautique. Per the shops advice, they ended up being a size larger than what I had on my old trailer.

[BT]

I had a Marathon separate on me a few years ago heading to the lake for 4th of July weekend. Was in a slight turn when I felt something funny, looked back and rubber was slapping my fender. Luckily, a tire shop was accross the highway that I borrowed a floor jack from. Of course I had no spare, the tire shop didn't have even a regular truck or car tire to replace it with, so off to Wallmart I went. After about 2 hours of watching oil changes I finally got my tire mounted and was on my way. Wife and dog were still babysitting the super sport on the side of the highway when I got back.

When I got back home 2 new Marathons for my single axel trailer. At least now I only have to tow bout half mile to the neighborhood ramp. : -)

Goodyear Marathons will separate just like any other tire given enough age or mileage!

[AirTool]

The bigger variable IMO is now the source of the tire....which is CHINA for most of them. Including the Marathons.

[Bimmerboyz]

Michelin tires > than all.

[igkya]

A buddy of mine tried Carlisle (a few years ago)... after a 2nd blowout in a week, he switched back to Goodyear.

[DavidF]

Michelin tires > than all.

I agree for cars and trucks, but please show me a Michelin trailer tire. I do not think they exist and IMHO using car tires on trailers is a mistake.

[Mikeski]

1. Tow Master
2. Goodyear Marathons
bottom of the list Carlisle

I have had better luck with my tow masters than I did with my Goodyears. On the drive to my lake there are a couple unavoidable pot holes and narrow curves where I cannot keep the inside tires on the pavement if there is traffic coming the other direction. I went through 3 Goodyear Marathons in 3 years, not a single issue with the Tow Masters, they handle the abuse better.

Some Costco's have Greenball Tow Masters, any decent tire shop can order them as they are widely distributed.

[CraigH]

Any other recommendations out there? After inspecting my tires closely, I have come to realize that the previous owner put on radial car tires on my tandem trailer. I have talked to the local chains such as Discount Tire, Colony Tire, etc and they all seem to have Carlisle. Carlisle doesnt have positive reviews, a little research on Tow Master also didnt show a whole lot of positive reviews and I had tread separation problems with Goodyear on my previous trailer.

Also, no one has raised white letter tires in 15 inch and even Goodyear doesnt appear to make Marathons in white letter above 14 inch anymore. I like the look of the white letter and would pay a little extra to get it if I could find something. Of course, I like actually getting to the lake without a blowout most of all.

[DavidF]

Bottom line IMHO is that any of the tires will perform fine if you take care of them. What that means is do not run them low on air. Inspect the tires often and if you see signs of failure replace them before you have a problem. Most blow outs are probably caused by neglect.