www.iFourWinns.com

Arrived at the boat last weekend to find this:



Anyone ever see a Carlisle do this? Luckly it was just the spare.
I was checking for bullet holes in the boat at first but I think it just had enough sitting in the hot sun.
This confirmed my question as to whether or not to replace the 8 year old tires on my trailer. They look like new and don't have any miles on them. The previous owner only used the trailer as a storage stand and it only rolled a few hundred yards from the storage lot to the hoist every spring and fall.

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2004 248 Vista "Amante"
MC 5.0MPI/B3

Happened to me twice in less than 3 months (3 yrs ago) so I completely ditched the Carlisle tires altogether and went with Towmaster tires instead. Not a single problem since.... In my opinion, Carlisle tires are complete junk. My 2 cents...

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2008 H220 Frenzy - 5.7L VP SX Drive
2013 Tahoe LTZ Tow Vehicle (admiral's ride)
2011 Ford F150 XLT Ecoboost Tow Vehicle

If you do a seach on this forum for "Tires", you'll find many threads where different brands/models are discussed ad nauseum...

Some people hate Carlisle tires, some have never had any issues. In my opinion, any old tires sitting and rotting in the sun are prone to failure. You can't gauge trailer tires by wear - there usually isn't any.

If you're planning on using the trailer, replace all the tires and start fresh. Also, use tire covers to help protect them from the sun.

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2002 Funship 214
VP 5.7 GX Si
2003 Tahoe

Point well taken!

My father, now 92. At 85 I saw him yelling & screaming that his car needed new tires from the garage. He's gos off that the car ONLY has 14K miles on it!!! I said to him "Dad the car is 12 years old, the rubber has dried out." So new tires it was.....

Yeah that was going to be my next question. What should I replace them with?
Good thing it happened at the end of the season so I have all winter to research trailer tires.

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2004 248 Vista "Amante"
MC 5.0MPI/B3

Many people have seen the same thing. The original Carlisles were beyond terrible. However they brought out a new model in the last 2 years that people so far seem to like very much. I've bought two sets of them so far, one for the boat trailer and one for a utility trailer. Carlisle Radial Trail RH. The "RH" is important.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

My current set are also Carlisle Radial Trail RH. So far so good.

My originals were older Carlisles - not great, but not terrible. I had a set of no-names from my tire store in-between. I tried to use my road hazard warranty when one delaminated, but they weren't enthusiastic about that since the tires were 5 years old.....

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2002 Funship 214
VP 5.7 GX Si
2003 Tahoe

I had a set of Kenda Loadstar bias tires for 8 years on my single axle, I just replaced them with the same brand and upgraded to 15" rims with 225/75-15s... Z

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

I just had the same failure on my '69 Mustang while sitting in the drive. I'm sure rot, sun, etc. As far as Carlisle's are concerned, I've had them on both of my power boat trailers, so more than 10 years now, and not one issue. As you can see, others say otherwise.

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Walt B
"Debt-Charged"
Black '07 H210SS
6.2L Bravo One turning a 21P HIFive
Wakeboard Tower with Perfect Pass Stargazer version
Missouri River; Kansas City, Mo.

Since haul out will soon be upon us, I went to the yard today to give my tires a kick. One of my Goodyears looks exactly like the original posters picture. From everyones posts, it looks like 8 years or so and it's all over. I guess my next step will be to check the manufacture dates on all of them. Six new tires for the trip to winter storage could get real costly. What would you guys do.

I have never seen this in all of my years as a boater AND a mechanic

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07 Azure AZ200,
Previous boat,
95 278 Vista,
And a lot of others.

Ontario, Canada

To add insult to injury, I went back to check the manufacture dates and there's a bloody hornet nest in the tounge. I'm alergic!!!!!!!! Damn useless things!!!!

I also spotted one of the other tires is deteriorating and about to blow up as well. After I saw that, there's no need to check the maufacture dates. Time for 6 new tires for the trip to storage.

If you want to check your manufacture dates, look along the tire bead for the serial number. After that you'll see an oval with a 4 digit number stamped in it. For example it will show as 2205. This means the tire was manufactured in the 22nd week of the year 2005. If you can't find that 4 digit date code, the tire was made prior to that date code rule. Change-em.

John

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07 Azure AZ200,
Previous boat,
95 278 Vista,
And a lot of others.

Ontario, Canada

I have been looking around for higher capacity tires, and I wound up with another set of Load Stars, but while looking at off road tires for our Jeeps, I found this:

http://www.intercotire.com/tires.php?id=27&g=3

in the common 225/75-15 size, these tires (bias ply) must be E rated because they have a weight capacity of 2830 and max psi of 80. I've seen this size in a D rating but never before in an E rating. So for those of you with big boats that run 15" rims they might be worth a look, not sure if they are made here or not but next time I need tires I am going to look at them.....

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Do any of the tire treatments do any good protecting the tires from sun ? I just got new Carlisle radials ( I really like ), and trailer is outside during summer, inside during winter.

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1994 235 Sundowner w/351 Ford

UV 303 protectant works pretty good. I used this on my white lettered tires back in the day when I gave a crap what they looked like

Update: I priced around with my suppliers today. I landed 6 Hercules ST225/75R15 10 ply for $840 installed and balanced, tax included. Made in the good ole US of A

John

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07 Azure AZ200,
Previous boat,
95 278 Vista,
And a lot of others.

Ontario, Canada

I changed my 15" carlisle D's to E load range after the D's had wear patterns I did not like. I did this in spring and the E's are doing great. I was afraid the extra inflation of an E would cause bouncing or other issues, but they ride great! ask me in 4 more years if they wear any better.... :-/ however they look *much* more robust.

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2007 FW Horizon 200 5.0GXi/SX-A