WalMart Carlisle tires W.T. Heck

[CrazyCain]

So we are up north at the trailer this weekend and i went to the Wally World here in town, stopped by the Trailer stuff area and spotted some carlisle tires on the rack. The first thing i looked at was the "Made in stamp. Made in China!!!!! EH???????? I did fail to look at the date made stamp though, and these are not the size I needed, but hey.....



Have a great weekend

[BuxCamper]

You can get quality stuff made in China but a company can't simply toss all production responsibility over there and expect to just get quality stuff cheap. QA needs to be done on the stuff coming onshore and the factory held accountable for problems. It appears to me from the comments here that Carlisle is properly doing this. Though I would be happier if they were made here in the USA!

-- Mark

[canesfan]

I think most of us know they are made in China. Where they are made is not the issue. The issue is HOW they are made and what quality standards they are made under.

[hankpage]

To my knowledge the only ST tire made in the US is the GY Endurance and they have not been around long enough to get any real reports on quality. Years ago I only used US made Marathons on my trailers and they always gave me great service. After they started making them off shore, their quality went down the tubes. JM2¢, Hank

[JRTJH]

Most ST tire importers simply contract with a tire plant in China to provide ST tires that "meet" the minimum standard.

On the other hand, Carlisle built their own tire plant in China (we won't get into the reasons, but price of labor/environmental costs come to mind). Carlisle supervises, manages and controls the manufacturing process. With this supervision, the tires produced are supposedly a higher quality than those with no supervision, management or quality control by the importer.

So, the reputation of Carlisle ST tires supports that they are a much stronger and much more reliable product. Maxxis (which is made in Thailand) is another "importer managed and controlled product" which has proven to be very reliable.

Historically, Goodyear Marathon ST tires were the "industry standard" when they were manufactured in the US. Then, in about 1993 Goodyear moved their ST tire manufacturing to China. Late in 1993 and early 1994, Goodyear had a 100% recall on all Marathon tires and replaced every one that was in the field with "improved tires". They found out, the costly way, that you can't rely on Chinese factories to produce a quality product without supervision and management involvement. If you do some research, you'll find that Goodyear has never recovered from that costly error and even their new "made in America" tire line is suspect based entirely on past reputation.

Carlisle is manufactured in China but in a "US owned and operated" facility. There is a difference....

And, if you consider the cost of the "US made Goodyear Endurance tire, the Thailand made Maxxis tire and the Chinese made Carlisle tire, all of which appear in owner reports to be very much equal in quality and reliability, they stack up with the Endurance 15" at about $135 per tire, Maxxis at about $120 per tire and Carlisle at about $70 per tire. From all indications, the tires appear to be very similar in reliability and reputation (although Endurance is a brand new tire line with little consumer history).

Where tires are made does make a difference, but that is not as important as HOW they are made that affects the reliability of your investment.

[CaptnJohn]

May find this interesting.
During a visit to China in April 2015, Van Ormer saw many new lines of ST products, but says he is aware of only one manufacturer that has “truly changed” the technology of the ST tires. That manufacturer is Carlstar Group LLC, formerly CTP Transportation Products and before that, Carlisle Transportation Products. “With the RH (radial) and LH (bias) trailer tires, they beefed up the bead and sidewall packages so that few others can compete quality-wise with them,” Van Ormer says.

http://www.moderntiredealer.com/arti...rying-capacity

[CrazyCain]

Ah, thanks for enlighting me futher on this TT and Tire business. Finally everything makes perfect sense to me. Best forum every!

[canesfan]

Originally Posted by CrazyCain

Ah, thanks for enlighting me futher on this TT and Tire business. Finally everything makes perfect sense to me. Best forum every!

Holy cow, I've never had that happen.

[CrazyCain]

Originally Posted by canesfan

Holy cow, I've never had that happen.

I'm sure that won't last long!!

[CrazyCain]

Well, pulled the trigger and ordered a set of Carlisle tires for the rig. Will be getting them installed on May 5th, when i pull my trailer out of the park for the summer...

[canesfan]

You'll be happy you did.

[CrazyCain]

Aready am Walt.

[BuxCamper]

You guys are making me nervous! I did replace the tires on the previous camper after a year. Of I replace the ones on the current 248RKS should I up from LRC to LRD?

-- Mark

[srvnt]

DT has rebates on the GY Endurance that evens the prices or better. I will spend a couple extra bucks on a safety item like this, not to mention it supports the USA!

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by srvnt

DT has rebates on the GY Endurance that evens the prices or better. I will spend a couple extra bucks on a safety item like this, not to mention it supports the USA!

The Endurance needs some time so that it can be evaluated. If it's like the last Goodyear trailer tires in the last decade or so it's no more than a China bomb. I'm hoping they've brought it home to be manufactured and will make it good but the clocks still out on that. Buying in the USA is what we all want to do.....but not to the detriment of the safety of my family. We'll see.

[srvnt]

Originally Posted by sourdough

The Endurance needs some time so that it can be evaluated. If it's like the last Goodyear trailer tires in the last decade or so it's no more than a China bomb. I'm hoping they've brought it home to be manufactured and will make it good but the clocks still out on that. Buying in the USA is what we all want to do.....but not to the detriment of the safety of my family. We'll see.

Like I said in another post, before they went overseas, Marathons were made in the USA and had great reliability. Because Marathons went offshore quality suffered, and GY suffered for it too. All those china bombs are as reliable as a North Korean Inter-ballistic skyrocket. So far I love these Endurance tires, the ONLY ones made in in USA, and it's because of safety I'm using them. You can wait, but America's coming back now!

[buffalobillh]

Originally Posted by srvnt

Like I said in another post, before they went overseas, Marathons were made in the USA and had great reliability. Because Marathons went offshore quality suffered, and GY suffered for it too. All those china bombs are as reliable as a North Korean Inter-ballistic skyrocket. So far I love these Endurance tires, the ONLY ones made in in USA, and it's because of safety I'm using them. You can wait, but America's coming back now!

What's the latest on your Endurance tires? I recently bought a 2016 Springdale Mini, and the Towmax are going to go before the year is out. Tire shopping seems to be more of a challenge for 14" tires compared to 15"+. No Marathons for me, but if the Endurance continues to get good reports, I'd likely try it over Carlisle or Maxxis. Like everyone else, I just want a tire that is as dependable and reliable as I can get. I only have to buy two, so it won't break the bank.

Thanks for the info!

[Desert185]

I have Maxxis now and am reaching replace age. Four years next summer with no issues to date. Next spring I plan to install Carlisle tires at DT.