Forum Discussion

2oldman's avatar
2oldman
Explorer II
Oct 15, 2016

Carlisle ST tire failure, or puncture damage? UPDATE

Had my first ever complete tire failure a few days ago. 6-months old Carlisle Radial Trail RH ST tires, 16". 5th wheel, 4 tires.

Here is what's left on the wheel, and the rest of the tire (which was rolling down the road) below. The tire was VERY hot when I was able to stop and get out and examine it, which means it was probably almost flat by the time it separated.





Now, before we go labeling this a China Bomb, please look at the evidence:

There are 3 distinct cuts or punctures on this tire, as shown here:






Is it reasonable to assume this tire had hit something and been damaged? I was driving for about 1/2 hour after leaving a city where I made a lot of turns in and out of parking lots. The tire in front of it has evidence of recent scuffing. I had to drive it maybe only 100' backwards and 100' forward on the tire carcass to get it safely off the road.

I'm going to be taking the carcass to several tire shops to see what they say. If this is evidence of damage, I'll just replace the one tire. If it's deemed China bomb, then I'll replace all 4 and have words with Les Schwab.

I just do not see how a tire could fail this catastrophically on a day where it wasn't very hot, and I rarely if ever go over 60mph.

Oh, and I've ordered a TMPS which should be here next week. I think I've learned my lesson. Fortunately this happened right next to an RV park on a lightly-traveled road.
  • CapriRacer wrote:
    If you are still around, please look for a puncture in the hoop of tread. Look from the inside as punctures are much, much easier to find on the relatively smooth surface of the innerliner, rather than from the outside with that tread pattern obscuring things. 90% probability you will find one.
    I will, and thank you. I've only looked at the sidewall so far.
  • I've had lots of blowouts and run flats on my equipment trailers when I was on the road.
    That many sidewall cuts can be made after the tire has lost its air and running flat. The sidewalls flex and distort especially as your bringing the rig to a stop or low speed. The wheel simply starts cutting into the sidewall at all angles and will cut the sidewall into pieces as your slowly rolling along trying to reach the exit on down the road.

    I wouldn't draw any conclusion to sidewall cuts when a Tire has been ran flat that long.

    Looking at .gov tire complaints website has a few Carlisle RH tire complaints however not much in the way of knowing what actually happened.

    The Carlisle RH haven't been out long enough to draw any long term service record
    This from Carlisle webpages;
    Carlisle RH production date..
    *Launched in early 2013, the Carlisle Radial Trail RH Radial Trailer Tire for Toy Haulers, Boat Trailers, Cargo Trailers, Utility Trailers, Stock Trailers and other towable applications. The new and improved second generation Radial Trail RH combines two new Carlisle technologies.*

    I would have a tire tech you trust remove the tire next to the flat tire for a look see inside/outside the tire for damage.
  • JIMNLIN wrote:
    I wouldn't draw any conclusion to sidewall cuts when a Tire has been ran flat that long.
    You're probably correct. I will inspect the tread carcass from the inside as another poster suggested.

    I'm hoping I can find a tire guy who will actually inspect it rather than dismiss it as a China bomb.
  • rhagfo's avatar
    rhagfo
    Explorer III
    I also agree with those that state loss of pressure, then run flat. That is likely what caused the gashes in the side wall!
  • rhagfo wrote:
    I also agree with those that state loss of pressure, then run flat. That is likely what caused the gashes in the side wall!
    Could be. Now if I just knew what caused the loss of pressure.

    I've contacted the Carlisle headquarters in TN. We'll see what they have to say.
  • UPDATE:

    At home I took the tire to Les Schwab as per instructions. Their opinion was the tire was punctured, suffered air loss, then was destroyed during travel.

    After a few emails, I finally found someone willing to reimburse me for the cost of replacement tire. So, Kudos to Carlisle tire for coming through for me!! (even though they really didn't have to)

    This experience made it clear to me I need a TPMS, which I now have.
  • Interesting, thanks very much for taking the time to post your experience and the result.