Carlisle trailer tires now made on US soil?

[busterbrown]

A discussion on another internet forum has me believing that Carlstar Group has repositioned/relocated their manufacturing arm for the Carlisle Radial Trail HD brand to the United States (Tennessee I believe). A forum member recently bought a set that had "Made in the USA" stamped on the sidewall. Definitively, I'd like to see a plant code/site code. Just curious if this is something new for 2018. I've been reading that they recently invested millions in their Tennessee manufacturing site.

[Ken / Claudia]

I checked their web site about 1.5 years ago. Then it stated some tires made in US. The tires I needed where made in China, I never went through their products to learn which tires are made where. I wonder if they really are leaving their factory in China or just increasing their production.

[CWtheMan]

Originally Posted by Ken / Claudia

I checked their web site about 1.5 years ago. Then it stated some tires made in US. The tires I needed where made in China, I never went through their products to learn which tires are made where. I wonder if they really are leaving their factory in China or just increasing their production.

Tires have a lot of information about themselves printed right on their sidewalls, including the country where they were made and the actual manufacturing plant in that country. The underlined 8D in the picture below is the plant code for HANGZHOU GENERAL RUBBER FACTORY, Jiande, China which can be found in the plant code reference. That's a Westlake tire.

http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=29710
http://www.harriger.com/tires.htm

On Edit: The plant code on Every Carlisle ST tire I've personally inspected have had code "AQ"; CARLISLE TIRE & WHEEL CO. LTD. - MEIXIAN, GUANGDONG, China.

[AbbyinTN]

Yes, old thread but tires are always relevant. Carlisle has a manufacturing facility in Clinton, TN and a newer plant in Jackson, TN. But the "Trail" tire is still manufactured in China. Hankook has built a huge plant here in Clarksville, TN close to where I reside. Their tires have a minimum of 14 ply and a G rating. But I believe this tire is still manufactured in South Korea...at least it isn't the commies. Does anyone else run a G load rating or is this overkill?

[travelin texans]

Had GY 16" Gs & upgraded to Sailun 17.5" Hs, not overkill for me.
Also don't want to be part of the 100 page discussions of the best rv tire, I have what I want & am very happy with the choice.

[Old Mustanger]

Our Alpine came with G rated tires.

[CWtheMan]

Originally Posted by Old Mustanger

Our Alpine came with G rated tires.

You know, there can be a lot of differences in a statement like that. A LT235/85R16 LRG has a maximum load capacity of 3750# @ 110 PSI. The ST235/85R16 LRG has a maximum load capacity 4400# @ 110 PSI. Both are trailer tires and steel cased.

The Keystone specs show all Alpine models coming with the ST tires. However, GY has those LTs in just about all of their retail outlets and I'm pretty sure some of the earlier Alpine models were equipped with them or one of the knock-off brands.

[rsl]

I like tires, Tires are good

[flybouy]

Tires? Tires?, Tires?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-lJZiqZaGA

[itat]

Tires - or any product for that matter - made in the USA or Canada are not an automatic guarantee of good quality although they are good for the local economy. We can all think of domestic products that are inferior to the same product from oversees be it Asia or Europe. Cars are a perfect example. I refuse to buy another car from the Big 3 and I live in a community where GM and their feeder companies are a major employer. It all depends on what the company paying for the build wants to specify for quality. My Maxxis ST trailer tires are good quality and made in Thailand.

Edit: I’ve had Carlisle ST tires before and would buy them again.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by itat

Tires - or any product for that matter - made in the USA or Canada are not an automatic guarantee of good quality although they are good for the local economy. We can all think of domestic products that are inferior to the same product from oversees be it Asia or Europe. Cars are a perfect example. I refuse to buy another car from the Big 3 and I live in a community where GM and their feeder companies are a major employer. It all depends on what the company paying for the build wants to specify for quality. My Maxxis ST trailer tires are good quality and made in Thailand.

Edit: I’ve had Carlisle ST tires before and would buy them again.

Ironic you don't consider made in USA superior but do believe in the reverse of that blanket statement. Like it or not it's a global economy. Many "foreign cars" are made in the states. A LOT of the components in the "big 3" (which by the way only Ford is owned by an American company) are produced outside of the states. The only guaranteed ""Made in the USA" product is a local artisan using local materials only. JMHO

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by flybouy

(which by the way only Ford is owned by an American company) MJMHO

And about 1/2 are assembled north & south of the borders.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by flybouy

Ironic you don't consider made in USA superior but do believe in the reverse of that blanket statement. Like it or not it's a global economy. Many "foreign cars" are made in the states. A LOT of the components in the "big 3" (which by the way only Ford is owned by an American company) are produced outside of the states. The only guaranteed ""Made in the USA" product is a local artisan using local materials only. JMHO

Whooooaaa!! Are you telling me that those beautiful eggs my neighbor's hen keeps popping out, and given to me, isn't "Made in the USA"?? It IS a product...right? Then again, like Danny observed, maybe "1/2" of their origin is north or south of the border???

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Whooooaaa!! Are you telling me that those beautiful eggs my neighbor's hen keeps popping out, and given to me, isn't "Made in the USA"?? It IS a product...right? Then again, like Danny observed, maybe "1/2" of their origin is north or south of the border???

I think the hens are local artisans and the food they eat is US grown.

[itat]

Originally Posted by flybouy

Ironic you don't consider made in USA superior but do believe in the reverse of that blanket statement. Like it or not it's a global economy. Many "foreign cars" are made in the states. A LOT of the components in the "big 3" (which by the way only Ford is owned by an American company) are produced outside of the states. The only guaranteed ""Made in the USA" product is a local artisan using local materials only. JMHO

I think if you re-read my post you’ll realize that’s not what I said at all. I never said that I think foreign-made products are a guarantee either. I’ve consistently said on this and other forums that the quality of a product is dependent entirely on what the company paying for the manufacture demands. It does’t matter where the product was made - USA, Canada, China, Thailand, wherever - its the design and the quality standards used in the manufacture.

Our Toyota RAV4 is made here in Ontario and is a good quality vehicle. My Maxxis ST trailer tires are made in Thailand and are a good quality product. You can easily find domestic and foreign made products that are crap.

I said I won’t buy another domestic car (and I mean cars, not trucks - I own a F-250) because my experience has been that the Toyota and Nissan cars I’ve owned have been far superior to the Big 3’s cars I’ve owned. (I owned a Honda once and it was good but cost of ownership was similar to a GM.) Plus domestic car dealerships have been far inferior to Toyota and Nissan dealerships I my experience.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by itat

I think if you re-read my post you’ll realize that’s not what I said at all. I never said that I think foreign-made products are a guarantee either. I’ve consistently said on this and other forums that the quality of a product is dependent entirely on what the company paying for the manufacture demands. It does’t matter where the product was made - USA, Canada, China, Thailand, wherever - its the design and the quality standards used in the manufacture.

Our Toyota RAV4 is made here in Ontario and is a good quality vehicle. My Maxxis ST trailer tires are made in Thailand and are a good quality product. You can easily find domestic and foreign made products that are crap.

I said I won’t buy another domestic car (and I mean cars, not trucks - I own a F-250) because my experience has been that the Toyota and Nissan cars I’ve owned have been far superior to the Big 3’s cars I’ve owned. (I owned a Honda once and it was good but cost of ownership was similar to a GM.) Plus domestic car dealerships have been far inferior to Toyota and Nissan dealerships I my experience.

"Methinks" there's a bit of "doublespeak" in the bolded part. By "doublespeak" I mean to say "what you consider a domestic car".... Take a look at this "easy to view (lots of pictures) article. While not a "peer reviewed article" it demonstrates that Toyota, Nissan, Honda and some Acura cars (not trucks) are made exclusively in the US and Canada. Additionally, some BMW models are produced exclusively in the Spartansburg, TN plant and are exported to Germany (and other overseas points) where they are sold as "imports". In the US, they aren't "imports" and they are "purely domestic produced cars" (although all the money goes to Japan or Germany). I found it interesting that the article states, "The Camry is one of the most domestic of all cars with 80% of its contents being of US origin"... Take your pick on where your Camry is built, there are two US assembly plants, one in Kentucky and one in Indiana...
https://www.odometer.com/rides/23245...ngly-domestic/

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by itat

I think if you re-read my post you’ll realize that’s not what I said at all. I never said that I think foreign-made products are a guarantee either. I’ve consistently said on this and other forums that the quality of a product is dependent entirely on what the company paying for the manufacture demands. It does’t matter where the product was made - USA, Canada, China, Thailand, wherever - its the design and the quality standards used in the manufacture.

Our Toyota RAV4 is made here in Ontario and is a good quality vehicle. My Maxxis ST trailer tires are made in Thailand and are a good quality product. You can easily find domestic and foreign made products that are crap.

I said I won’t buy another domestic car (and I mean cars, not trucks - I own a F-250) because my experience has been that the Toyota and Nissan cars I’ve owned have been far superior to the Big 3’s cars I’ve owned. (I owned a Honda once and it was good but cost of ownership was similar to a GM.) Plus domestic car dealerships have been far inferior to Toyota and Nissan dealerships I my experience.

Sorry, I know this is about tires but just have to throw this out since it's been thrown out.

I've owned LOTS of new cars in my day, foreign and domestic. I will say that several years back it was a given that a Japanese vehicle was better built; years before that they were built like little playtoys (1973 Toyota Celica comes to mind) made for 4' midgets. The one thing you could count on was the engine was going to be tight with no leaks and no oil usage. Fast forward to today -

The U.S. companies have got the message. The current crop of autos will compare with most anything from Japan. The Japanese still make a very tight engine....just no power. The US engines have gotten to be very tight and trouble free as well. My Ram has 69000 on it and the oil is still just barely light brown and doesn't use a drop in the every 5k I change it. Huge difference over the old days. The Japanese used to build a tighter body with more attention paid to details - the U.S. vehicles by and large are comparable (dollar for dollar). I traded a 17 Ford Explorer in for a 17 Toyota 4runner (I had had a previous '10 4runner). Comparison? The Explorer was built just as well as the 4runner; it ran much better (more power); the U.S. electronics is head and shoulders above the Japanese nowadays (used to be the reverse); Explorer would have been quieter if it hadn't had cheap Hankook tires on it; and, US autos use MUCH better glass on their vehicles. In all my U.S. vehicles it would take a sizable rock to chip a windshield - they usually just bounce off. Toyota glass must be tissue thin. On my last 2 4runners the glass was chipped within 7 days of purchase. The 2010 got a hole so deep you could stick your finger in it - same on the 17 but not quite as deep. The 17 has about 15k on it now and it has 6 dings in the windshield already; if you STARE at it for more than a minute it cracks.

Anyway, just wanted to throw that out there as we discuss "tires". Oh, did you ever notice how a Japanese vehicle designed the driver layout...?? Sort of like built for that odd shaped person that doesn't exist and needs a steering wheel off center from the driver seat? Ha! Just received a survey from Toyota on the 17 Wednesday and one of the questions is if I had a complaint about the off center steering wheel!

Edit: Forgot about the dealerships. Toyota has good dealerships in general (I've used them all across the S and SW), they are better if they also sell Lexus. On the other hand the U.S. dealerships have gotten much better than they used to be - I think because the bar had been raised.

Bottom line IMO is that it would be a mistake to write off the Big 3 vehicles because of a misperception that the Japanese make the best vehicles out there bar none - they don't. Like anything else, do your due diligence, look, poke, prod, test drive and pick what fits for you....mechanically all of the vehicles have moved light years ahead of what "they used to be".

[CWtheMan]

Originally Posted by itat

Tires - or any product for that matter - made in the USA or Canada are not an automatic guarantee of good quality although they are good for the local economy. We can all think of domestic products that are inferior to the same product from oversees be it Asia or Europe. Cars are a perfect example. I refuse to buy another car from the Big 3 and I live in a community where GM and their feeder companies are a major employer. It all depends on what the company paying for the build wants to specify for quality. My Maxxis ST trailer tires are good quality and made in Thailand.

Edit: I’ve had Carlisle ST tires before and would buy them again.

The only way to verify where a specific tire is/was manufactured is to read the plant code from the sidewall of your tires.

I take a lot of tire pictures. I don't often post plant code pictures because the next batch of their tires may come from a completely different plant.

http://www.maxxisglobal.com/mg1/techcenters.html

[Javi]

As a designer in an American owned manufacturing plant I must say that pretty much all of y'all would be surprised at what we ship to other countries that come back to the USA as assembled goods... ie… imports

[flybouy]

For msny decades Warehouser has been shipping NP timber to Japan where it's made into plywood and shipped back tp the states. Back in the late 60's Ford was builing cars in Canada (anyone remember the 351 c.i. Windsor and Cleveland?) It's been a global economy every since the first foreign invaders stepped foot in North America.