Free Country Trailer Tires Review (Are They Any Good?)
When you go shopping, you may be overwhelmed by the many no-name tire brands you have never heard of. Finding the best one for your driving situation may not be easy as most will not make the top best tire list or be reviewed by review websites.
Free Country is supposed to be innovative and design well-engineered tires that are very durable. They make tires in 6, 8, & 10-ply configurations so you can find a tire in the size and price range you need. The tire load range is between C & F.
To learn more about this tire brand and its tire products, just continue to read our article. It has the information you want to know about so you can decide if this brand is better than the more famous tire brands that have been around for over a century.
Is Free Country Tires Any Good?
They seem to be good tires, as one review website had them rated at 9.9 and 9.8 out of 10. They also made them the top two tire models on their list. The tires in question were the Premium Trailer Tires & the 4-piece trailer tires.
At Amazon, the tire brand got a 4.4 out of 5 stars rating, with only 82% giving the tires a 4 or 5-star rating. Some owners felt the 6-ply was not as thick as other 6-ply tires and that they were just okay. They would not trust these tires on long road trips.
Other than that, these premium trailer tires can come with an excellent load rating and are able to handle over 2800 pounds each at speeds of up to 81 mph. The 4-piece model does not come close to that rating but may still be excellent tires to use for different situations.
One thing you will notice is that this tire company does not always appear on the top 10 best tire lists. There is just too much competition for it to always break into the top ten tire brands.
This failure may or may not indicate that the tires are good. In addition to that, these tires are supposed to provide stability as well as a smooth ride as you tow your trailer.
Who Manufactures Free Country Trailer Tires?
While these tires are getting great ratings, their brand seems to be hidden from view. We checked a Wikipedia list that contains a very large number of tire brands and who makes them. Unfortunately, Free Country is not on that list.
We found and went through a more comprehensive list on this website, and Free Country is not listed on it either. Finally, we got an Alibaba result talking about this company.
It seems that it is a Chinese brand from the big Shandong Province that has easy access to all the raw materials needed to build tires. Alibaba did not name this manufacturer either.
What is even more amazing is that Wikipedia does not have a listing for Free Country within its web pages. While Cooper Tire makes off-brands for Pep Boys and Discount Tire outlets, Free Country is not listed in its many off-brand models.
Walmart sells this brand, yet even they do not list any more details than that it is made by Free Country.
Are Free Country Tires Made in The USA?
According to the Alibaba information we found, this brand of tire is manufactured in 3 countries. The first country they list is America, but the information sheet does not provide any more details than that.
This is all that website has to say about this manufacturing location- “The first location where free country tires are manufactured is in the United States.” It is not very helpful, we know, but information about this brand is sparse.
The second location or country in which this brand of tire is made in is China. Again, the only source for this information is Alibaba, and this is what that web page has to say about this location-
“In addition to the United States, Free Country tires are also manufactured in China. The Chinese manufacturing facility is located in the Shandong Province. This location was chosen because of its proximity to raw materials and its skilled workforce. The Chinese facility is able to produce a high volume of tires, which helps to meet the demand from customers in Asia.”
The third country or location the Alibaba fact sheet mentioned is India. This section of that same web page was about as informative as the previous two locations-
“The third location where free country tires are manufactured is in India. India has a large population and a growing economy, making it an attractive market for manufacturers. India also has a large pool of skilled labor, making it an attractive location for manufacturing. India has a number of advantages over other locations, including a lower cost of labor and a lower cost of raw materials.”
You can read the fact sheet at this link.
Where Are Free Country Trailer Tires Made?
We went to a top best review website that reviews tires for RVs and trailers. They listed the Free Country brand as #5 out of 10. However, that website shed even less information about where these tires are made and who owns the brand name. This is what is said about these tires:
“Free Country is also one of the most reliable brands on the market for its solid commitment to bringing innovation and performance on the road for its high-quality trailer tires.”
That may be so, but then why is the company such a deep, dark secret? Why does only one shopping marketplace only provide generic information about where these tires are made and who owns them?
And why is this brand not listed on those two tire brand lists? Most likely, the owner of this brand may be a small Chinese firm or the huge Shandong Linglong Tire company that has an American division.
But we cannot be sure as even Free Country is not listed under the various brands the company makes. Then, just so you know, what complicates this search is that there is an outerwear company called Free Country.
It is about page that shows up in almost all searches for the Free Country Tire company searches. It has nothing to do with making tires.
Free Country Trailer Tires Review
Almost everything that we have read about this tire brand and its tire products has been good. People who have bought this tire through Amazon have given it 4 and 5 stars for the majority.
Out of 654 ratings, it received 82% in those two categories. The other 3 garnered only 17%, with 1% missing. People like this tire for the most part, but the 1-star reviews are the most telling.
They are saying they do not buy these tires because they do not last, have too flexible sidewalls that make them hard to mount on your rims, and the majority of these 1-star reviews classify these tires as China bombs.
They had blow outs within 24 hours and 1 year. The 4-star reviews mentioned the same problems except for the blow outs. They were not gushing in their positive reviews and basically said they were okay. The 5-star reviews were just as mediocre as the 4-star ones.
The one review site that we mentioned that gave this tire brand 9.9 and 9.8 out of 10 ratings only had this to say about the tires:
“Trust in the premium quality of these tires, which have been wholesaled by large volume to trailer manufacturers and tire dealers nationwide.” It was not gushing or giving it a lot of praise.
Then the only website we came across that provided an in-depth review of these tires had this to say:
“Free Country knew what they were doing when manufacturing their Premium Trailer tires. With an emphasis on brilliant design, the tires turned up as durable and well-engineered as expected.
Load-bearing capacity, towing, and safety are the top priorities in the design process of trailer tires. Being one of the most reliable brands in the market, how could Free Country leave such traits out?” (source)
It is not a great review of this tire brand or its tires. The best thing it said was that these tires were affordable.
Free Country vs Carlisle Trailer Tires
The bad news is that no one is making this comparison. But we have written about Carlisle tires, and we can trace its history, when the company started, where its headquarters are, where its factories are, and so on.
We cannot do the same for Free Country Tires. But we will say that in looking at the different specs of both brands, Carlisle will be your better fit, not because of the anonymity of the Free Country brand but because Carlisle has its own specs and standards that they use when they have its tires manufactured overseas.
Judging from the reviews, Carlisle will be your better option, and they are about as affordable as the Free Country models. Many people complained about the flexibility of the sidewalls on the latter brand, something no one talked about when they were reviewing the Carlisle brand.
The reviews of the Free Country model left the impression that you are getting what you paid for and that they are not excellent tires, no matter how much good any reviewer says about them.
Carlisle is supposed to be in the top 3 for the best trailer tires, and Free Country is not even mentioned in the same sentence or review. There is a world of difference between these two tire brands, with Carlisle being the better brand to buy.
While all tire brands will experience some lemons in their production, and those tires may blow early, Free Country seems to have far more mentions of blow outs than those other tire brands.
Free Country vs Trailer King Tires
Trailer King Tires is made and owned by TBC Brands, which owns about 14 lesser-known tire brands. It is said that TBC, while headquartered in Florida, is jointly owned by Michelin North America and Sumitomo Corporation out of Japan.
This pedigree would have you think that Trailer King is an outstanding tire, but in reality, it may be on par with Free Country. The reviews are not good for the tires made by this brand.
Also, the manufacturing of Trailer King tires is said to be in America, but the company does not reveal where its manufacturing plants are located in that country.
In comparison to Free Country, this tire is usually a 10-ply model that can reach speeds up to 81 MPH. Like Free Country, it has its share of blow out horror stories and may not be the best quality tire you can buy.
Some of the drawbacks to this tire are the thin bead mounting surface and the sidewall will bubble if overloaded. It is a basic tire that gives a basic performance.
The Free Country 10-ply tire can match the Trailer King 10-ply, including its blow out record. Then Trailer King gets the same type of positive reviews that Free Country gets on the different review websites.
Both brands will be in the ‘you get what you paid for’ category, and while many reviewers say good things about both tire brands, you would be better off buying from one of the real top 10 tire companies.
Some Additional Words
When tire brands hide their company’s ownership details and locations, you know that is a red flag despite all the good that is said about those tires. If we are correct about its ownership, then you may be buying a China Bomb that is unreliable and puts your trailer and family at risk.
While affordable and many owners have had good experiences with this tire brand, their reviews leave a bad feeling after you read them.
