Looking for Experience with Carlisle Tires on Fivers

[boatcat]

Has anyone had experience with 15" Carlisles on a fifth wheel and/or what has worked for them in 15" tires? I'm in the 10,000-10,200 range.
Several have made comments on 16". I'd like to stick with the 15".
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Life is Short, Eat Dessert First
Chuck & Gigi, King Cat
Dodge 2500 Weasel
Laredo 27' Fiver w/ 23' Ham Antenna on top
Hughes Internet Dish
Ham Call AH6NR

[bonnie3]

We had Carlisle on our 30-foot Sportsman fifth wheel and lost all of them to blowouts over two seasons. They were covered when parked and kept properly inflated (we had monitors on them at the last). We switched to Goodyear Marathons load range D. These were all 15 inch. Have been very happy so far with the Marathons. Overall proper inflation is the most important thing. Good luck. Bonnie
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Snowbirds--99 Dodge Ram Cummins, 2000Sportsman31ft fifthwheel, and Molly the wonder dog!!

[Motor31]

The critical factors are the load range of the tire and the actual real weight of the trailer. If you have not put the trailer on the scales (like a truck stop), you are only estimating the weight of the trailer. The weight stickers pasted inside of RVs are notoriously inaccurate. You need to get the rig to a scale and find out what it weighs, then compare the axle/tire loading to the load capacity of the tire. If the tires are not up to the load, even proper inflation won't keep them from failing no matter what size they are.

Take the rig to a truck stop scale. Weigh it with all the axles on the pads. Pull off them, drop the trailer in the lot and weigh the truck alone. Do the truck as you would be going down the road on a trip: loaded, fueled and with passengers. That will confirm the load capacity of the truck, and give you the pin weight as well when you subtract the rear axle weight of the unhooked truck from the hitched rear axle weight.
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Mike, Nancy and the Fuzzies
2005 MS 38 RL3
2001 Volvo MH (HDT)
2004 R1150RT (piggyback)
1996 Jeep Cherokee (toad)

[pawpawcharlie]

Just a little info: I have a 2007 Gulf Stream Sedona 34 ft. fifth wheel with 245/75R16 load range D tires. While checking the information panel on the trailer, I saw it called for a minimum load range E. I called it to the attention of my dealer who referred me to Gulf Stream. They said Gulf Stream and Carlisle had gotten together and decided the Ds were sufficient for my 14400 total weight (actual weight less than that loaded)and there was nothing they could do. On a trip this past weekend, I blew 2 tires. I went back to the dealer and he called Gulf Stream. They are going to replace the 2 tires (only with load range D tires) and fix the damage to the 5er. Well, that is fine but what happens when I blow 1 or 2 tires and an accident occurs and someone is injured or worse? I guess I'll have to ask my lawyer that. Charlie

[hartk]

We purchased a new Forest River 5th Wheel - 30 'Cedar Creek that came with 15 Carlisle tires. Over a 4-year period, we experienced 13 blowouts with those tires. Carlisle and/or Forest River always replaced them along with damaged fenders, etc., but with no explanations. We put the unit on the scales annually and were always weighing in at 8-9,000 lbs with an allowance of 11,000+. Not sure why the decision was made to put 15" wheels/tires on this trailer; however, once Forest River finally stepped up and replaced the 15s with 16" wheels/tires, we have not had a blowout or flat since. For a long time, we blamed Carlisle for bad tires, but now we realize that Forest River made a decision to put too small of tires/wheels on the unit for its weight. Our advice: spend the money and put the larger tires on your unit. It becomes too dangerous when the tires blow. We had it happen in city freeway traffic at rush hour, on winding mountain roads, even as we crossed railroad tracks. Your safety is not worth the expense.

[pawpawcharlie]

I've come to the conclusion that the only safe thing to do is like you said. Replace the tires with good 16 inch tires. My family is worth the extra money for sure. Charlie

[Dustytuu]

We had some experience with Carlisle tires. Had them on a previous 5th wheel. Going from Colorado to AZ, we had 3 blowouts. Finally bought 4 new tires on the road. No problem after that.
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D & D
2 Schnauzers & cat
2008 Carriage Carri lite 36SBQ,
W/D, dishW.
2008, 5500 Dodge, Laramie cab.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/Dustytuu/forwallpaper.jpg

"Criminals like gun control"
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[RV BYRON]

I had Carlisle tires and had blowouts with the 15". Get rid of them! I went to Goodyear Marathons and had no problems. Think of replacing your tires after 3-4 years old even if the tread looks good. The life of the tire is only good for that long. You increase the risk of tire failure. It is better to go to 16" tires if your tires will clear the wheel well.
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New to site,but not to Rving

[kensac]

I had new Nankings on my older Alfa 30' 5th wheel and they all failed. Replaced with 15" Goodyear Marathons and have had 2 fail with tread separation. When backing on hard top and swinging sharply, the scuffing seems to cause the tread separation. Possibly 16" would be the answer.
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2000 Dodge 1 ton dually w/Banks Stinger package. Alfa Gold 5th wheel
www.kensweblog.com

[GONFSHN]

Wow! After reading all the horror stories about these tires on a 5er, I'd thought I'd put my 2 cents in. I have an 07 Flagstaff by Forest River with about 7k miles on it. Last month on the way to northern California, one of my tires went flat. I was on the highway, just north of Santa Barbara, I noticed the tire going down in my rear view mirror and pulled over. Lucky there was a turnout near. I took the tire off and put on the spare. Went to have it fixed and found out that it was coming apart. You could see the steel bands showing between the treads. As I mentioned, the tires aren't that old with few miles. The pressure was right at 50 psi when I left and I maintain that pressure according the manufacturer suggestions. Well, not only was THAT tire bad, but two of the other three were showing the same problem. I bought another tire of a different brand just to get me home in case of another flat. Contacted Carlisle and they asked me to send them the flat tire for evaluation. They agreed that it was a manufacturing defect and sent me 4 new tires. Had to pay for mounting, etc. Now I have 4 new Carlisles on my rig and not too comfortable with them. Reading the various posts on this site, I've come to the conclusion that Carlisles are not the best choice. I guess my only solution is to purchase 4 new tires of a different brand with a higher rating. The Carlisles are rated "C", 15-inch. My 5er weighs in at about 9k. I suppose by purchasing a different brand, Carlisle will be out of the picture and not have any obligation to reimburse me. Has anyone out there ever been in this situation?
Thanks in advance and happy camping.

[boatcat]

I'm not fully convinced it's all tire problems everyone is having. I posted in another thread about purchasing the Trail-Aire new rubberized yoke for between springs; also a kit for replacing all bolts with greasable ones and new brass inserts to replace plastic. When I did the work, I found the old link bolt holes oblong and most of plastic shims worn away. I think this led to my low mileage on a set of balonies. I priced changing to 16", but it was more expensive and more work than I wanted to do at the time. After dicussing with several manufacturers, I did go with 10-ply Carlisles, and after 4 months in Mexico with topes (speed bumps) and cobblestone roads, they are doing well.
If the rig is more than 3 years old, I would definitely check the spring links.
If less than two with lots of moving, I'd check also.
You sure do learn from experience.
_________________
Life is Short, Eat Dessert First
Chuck & Gigi, King Cat
Dodge 2500 Weasel
Laredo 27' Fiver w/ 23' Ham Antenna on top
Hughes Internet Dish
Ham Call AH6NR

[RV Mech Tech]

Hello everyone! Just read all the posts on tires and wanted to add my 2 cents. If there is one thing that's important on an RV, it's tires, and also in some cases the least understood. In working on RVs for a living, I would like to point out a few things: a) RV tires are NOT the same as auto or truck tires. Some uf us know this but a lot of people do not. I have many times removed auto tires from RVs. The difference for those who do not know is that the loads put upon an RV tire, especially trailers, is much more severe not only because of the weight, but of the side load placed on the tire. Ever watch a trailer turn a corner? Watch how the tires move in and out at the top. This extra side load places two to three times the normal load on the sidewall as opposed to regular car tires. That is why tires, wheel bearing adjustment, axle alignment, correct tire size and inflation, and as boatcat mentioned, condition of the suspension are all very important. An RV tire will have a heavy-duty sidewall that can withstand this extra load. A car tire or even a smaller (undersized for the RV weight) will cause tire failure. Agood place to check this is some of the tech info on tire manufacturer's websites. b) I have seen in the last few years some TT and 5th wheel chassis with bent and twisted frame rails. There are some trailer manufacturers dealing with this issue at this time (please see one of my posts under the TT section). This condition can cause misalignment of the suspension parts, and cause uneven tire wear and other problems. Something to check- also misaligned axles. If you look at an RV axle, it will appear to have a crown in the center, some more than others. This is done for alignment purposes at the factory- www.dexteraxle.com is a good source for info on this. c) weight ratings on RVs- as Motor31 said, have your trailer and tow vehicle weighed. One good tool that I have purchased is a trailer weigh scale made by Sherline-(www.sherline.com - they also have an excellent towing guide on their site). These little hydraulic scales will measure the trailer hitch weight so there is no mistake made by overloading the trailer, and they are reasonably priced. One of the things you have to take into account is because of the different floor plans between trailers, some are well balanced having good weight distribution over the axles and some are not . Locations and weights of slideouts, location of full kitchen sets (fridge, stove, counter top, sink: all add weight), location of holding tanks, can contribute to loads placed more on one side or more on the front or back of the RV. Bottom line? Have incorrect or underinflated tires on your RV and you have a problem waiting to happen. d) Manufacturers defects: there are several places you can check for this including RV Travel, NHTSA- USA - Ministry Transportation-Canada, manufacturer websites, and many other RV forums and sources of info. I hope this long post will help fellow RVers to avoid tire problems and prevent anyone from having a mishap!-

[Marmatt]

Don't even consider Carlisle unless you like to live dangerously.
Marmatt