I need to know about Carlisle tires for 5th wheels. Since I have the new 6.7L engine I can tow a lot faster and want some tires that can stand up to it. I've posted a long question down in the Camping section if anybody has experience with them can you please check it out?

 

I can tell you that Michelin Marathon tires are a much better tire in my experience and since replacing all 6 of my Carlisle tires I haven't had any issues over the last ten thousand miles. I was losing a Carlisle tire every two thousand miles towing a Raptor 3712 loaded with a total weight of 15,000 k. I did go from a 15" tire and rim e rated at 2820lbs to a 16"rim and tire e rated at 3420lbs.

 

So you greatly increase the capacity of the tire yet you still credit better service life to the different brand tire? Doesn't seem like a fair assessment to me. I have run Carlisle on equipment trailers with great success, but at the same time I have read plenty of failure stories on RV.net. I always felt that most of the failures were related to having an insufficient load range tire on the RV. It seems that many RV manufactures only put the bare minimum tire on the heavy trailers. Why run a tire that is at max load all the time?

When I bought my fifth wheel used it already had a Chinese brand tire that many people complain about. On top of that, the tires are at absolute maximum load all the time. I have no idea how many miles they had on them when I bought it 4 years ago, but I know I have put close to 5,000 miles on them with absolutely no problems. I make sure that they are always at max inflation and I don't run 80 mph in the heat of the Summer on tires that are rated for 65 mph. Maybe I am just lucky, I have no idea. What I do know is next Spring they are getting replaced with Carlisle tires.

The moral of the story is Carlisle is as good as any tire. Just make sure that the tire you buy is rated for at least the load you are going to put on it plus a safety margin and you should be fine.

 

I swapped all six triangles to Towmax tires from Les schwab. This after losing 3 and a big bubble in the 4th. Only had 6000 mi on the trailer. Raptor 3814 l now have the 3400 lb tires. Much less bounce too. Pulling with a 6.7 shortbed with 35" km2s.

 

If you want the best, get Michelin XPS Ribs LRE.
Exspensive, but worth it if you tow a lot and don't want to be speed restricted.
I've had many tire failures on trailers. None since switching to the Michelins 6 years ago. I also tow at high speeds in Arizona in the summer. Probably the hardest test of a tire.

 

I have ST225/75/ 15 D load Goodyear Marathon's (Michelin doesn't make a Marathon name tire that I know of). I have run Marathon's for 15 years, one set ran 10 YEARS until the first flat, and it wasn't a blowout or dry rot issue ... the tread started peeling off. I have found out that they are the China made tires now and have blown 2 and just changed another before failure.

The ONLY tire I can find in load range E on a 15" rim, trailer tire or not, is the Carlisle. The dealer, the distributor and Carlisle's website says they are highway speed rated; 65 mph is not any restriction at all.

I will say the current D load range tires are 2540 each (11,160 rating for the axles) and I weighted my trailer after 2 tires blew on a one way trip of 400 miles. The CAT scales showed 8,620 for the trailer axles and that's over 20% safety factor. I really think it's just crappy tires.

I have priced 16" rims for about $75 each, so I'd need an extra $425 or so by the time I add taxes. I will go with the safest path even if it means spending 600-700 more, by the time I add in higher tire price as well. I would like to hear enough about Carlisle being reliable. I live near the largest inland marina in the US outside Atlanta, and a lot of speed boats, deep sea boats and monster cruisers are being built and supplied with Carlisle's.

I was mostly sold on them, but I may spring for some sporty 16" aluminum rims and be done. I'll just have to tell the Wife "that's all they had, it wasn't what I really wanted". LOL

 

ST tires are all rated max 65 MPH. If you are going to tow faster you need LT tires. Carlisle tires do not have a good reputation on camping trailers. Nearly any LT tire will give good service if it is rated high enough to carry the load..

 

I had issues with Carlisle tires:
Carlisle rant - The Garage Journal Board

 

Sorry you are corract they are Goodyear Marathon's I put on. Part of the reason I went to the larger tire was because I couldn't get the Goodyear E rated in a 15" tire. I have always had good luck with Goodyear trailers tires and the stock 15" E rated Carlisle tires were not doing the job very well. The trailer should have come with a 16" tire to start with I believe the 2007 model did. I Have a heat gauge that I check the tires and brake drums with when I stop for fuel and the larger tires run 35f cooler usually betweem 100f-110f.

 

I have to agree whole heartedly the Michelin XPS Ribs are an excellent tire. Got rid of the Chinese junk that came with my RV after a baseball sized bubble appeared on the sidewall. It was so big it was rubbing the shock and glad another truck owner pulled up alongside and warned me about the bubble. The tires were less than a year old and less than 2000 miles on them. Bought the Michelin tires and I feel a whole lot safer. Did a search on the RV forum site and the Mich. XPS Ribs were very high on many RV'ers shopping list.