How Good Are Castle Rock Trailer Tires? (Problems And Review)
If they are made to American specs or even European ones, chances are any tire brand will be a good tire. This is not to say they will be perfect or you won’t have a problem or two with them. But they should last longer than the cheaply made tires that do not meet those specs.
How good are Castle Rock trailer tires? Some people have had good experiences using this tire brand, while others have had nothing but bad. The reputation sides with those who have had bad experiences with their set of Castle Rock Tires
To learn more about this brand of tires, continue to read our article. It has the information you want to know about before you spend your money on new tires. Take a few minutes and get up to speed on the Castle Rock brand.
Castle Rock Tires 101
Who Makes Castle Rock Tires?
According to our sources, Castle Tires are made by Lionshead Specialty Tire & Wheel, and they seem to have commercial space in Goshen, Indiana, Mountain Home, Idaho, Waxahachie, Texas, and Denton, North Carolina.
However, the company’s website does not state if the tires are made in America or not. They seem to dance around that issue by saying they are a contract manufacturer. Most people we have read so far state the tires are actually produced in China then shipped to America.
The company is also supposed to be privately held and is owned by one family. The company has not been around for a very long time compared to the longevity of the major tire brands. They have only been in business since 1993.
While this company does offer warranties on all their tires, it seems that there are more problems than there are good experiences. You would have to judge the quality of tires as some people make sure to follow all the requirements to have these tires last, and they have not had a problem with them.
Many travel trailer owners remove this brand of tires and replace them with better brands based on reputation only.
Where are Castle Rock Tires Manufactured?
One source says that Lionshead makes their own tires, but that may simply be through contracting another manufacturer to make their tires for them. The company’s website did not state that their tires were American-made, just that they had industrial facilities in those cites previously mentioned.
We checked a list of American-made tires, and of all the brands listed there, not one was Castle Rock or Lionshead. That may put some truth to the rumors that the tires are made in China and shipped to America.
The company does distribute tires for West Lake, Michelin, and Goodyear, but that doesn’t mean that their own brand is American-made. To get more specific information about this brand of tire, you have to contact the company.
Since they are a contract tire company, it may be possible that they merely distribute the tires and do not make them themselves. It is hard to say as information is very sparse on this topic.
Right now, we are just giving the company the benefit of the doubt until more specific and verifiable information appears.
Are Castle Rock Tires Any Good?
The complaints seem to outnumber those who have had good experiences with their set of Castle Rock tires. Those in the latter group tend to blame owner neglect, but that argument only holds for a small minority of trailer owners. No evidence was presented to bolster that argument.
The members of the former group, the complaints, have produced real evidence that the tires were at fault when they blew. Many that blame the quality of tires instead of owner neglect were once ardent supporters of the owner neglect fault. Until they had their own blowout while properly maintaining their tires.
It will be a toss-up between the two arguments as to which side is right or not. But from the evidence that we have seen, charging owners with neglect seems too easy to do, especially when the accusers were not with those owners throughout their use of Castle Rock tires.
The tire’s reputation influences many owners to swap out their Castle Rock tires as quickly as possible. That bad reputation is backed by a lot of evidence pointing to the lack of quality of the tires themselves.
We will just say that the tires CAN be good, but you are taking your chances.
Problems With Castle Rock Tires
One major problem that these tires do have is that the treads can separate on you. What makes this a bad problem is that the tires do not have to be used for this situation to take place. One owner who liked the performance he was getting from his set until he found the unused spare having this issue.
He also provided pictures to back up his statement about switching brands and losing confidence in Castle Rock tires. Another common problem with this brand of tire is blowouts. It seems that many trailer owners do not get very far, usually around 1000 to 2000 miles of use, and their tires blow out.
This was not due to nails or other sharp objects on the road or campground. Cupping may be another common problem as one owner had maintained his set, yet when he stopped at a weigh station, he noticed this issue. He had also heard of others experiencing the same thing.
Bulging may be another issue you will have to deal with. While some may bulge within the first year, others may wait until year 3. This too seems to be an issue that arises a lot.
We will state that there may be other legitimate sources for these issues other than poor tire quality. But from the records we read, those legitimate alternatives were not the case in these situations.
Castle Rock Tires Recall
As far as we can tell, there have been no recalls for Castle Rock tires. That does not mean there haven’t been in the past. It just means if there has, those recalls are not showing up anywhere.
We saw nothing on the company’s website mentioning any current recall notices or of past actions taken. We also checked Consumer Affairs’ website, and they had two pages of articles on tire recalls. Castle Rock was not mentioned in any of the headlines.
This link will take you to their second web page on tire recall. Then if you are still not sure or may have heard of a castle Rock tire recall but not sure when, then go to this link and look up your specific tire. You will need to know your tire identification number, and it goes in the DOT search space.
We have read on many occasions that the owners experiencing the problems we mentioned previously do not report their problems to Castle Rock or their sellers. This may be the reason why there has been no recall, as the company may not have all the data they need.
Castle Rock Tires Speed Rating
The Castle Rock ST235/80R16 Radial Trailer Tire has a speed rating of L. That letter translates into 75 mph, and that is the system the federal government uses. They use letters for speed ratings as well as load ratings. For this particular tire, the load rating is E.
We went to the company’s website and clicked on their Castle Rock link, and all we were able to find out was the ply number, the actual weight each tire can handle, and the PSI limit. They did not put a speed rating on their web page.
If you are not sure what the letter on your tires means, here is a link to Les Schwaab web page that has the right chart. That chart will help you find what you need to know as you search for any new tire, not just Castle Rock.
Just because a tire passes a certain speed rating does it mean there will not be any problems with the tire when you go that fast. The tests are done under ideal conditions, so it is best to go a little slower than the rating indicates to be on the safe side of things.
Castle Rock Warranty
From what we understand, the Castle Rock tires come with a very good warranty, up to 5 years on some tire sizes. Then there is supposed to be a 2-year roadside assistance warranty to help you if you have trouble when you are away from home.
From what we have read, many Castle Rock tire owners do not use their warranty protection as they either just buy new tires or get friends to bring them new ones. It is hard to say as our research has not turned up anyone talking about their warranty enforcement.
Their website states that they handle all warranty requests in-house, and you need to fill out a form before you get any review of your situation. There is a link on that web page you have to click on to get to the form.
We have heard that Lionshead will replace your tire if the tire damage falls under their warranty coverage. Just so you know, be careful as there is another Castle Rock company that deals in traditional home building.
Don’t confuse their warranty with the Lionshead Castle Rock warranty.
What do Other Castle Rock Tires Reviews Say?
The news is not good here, and you may be discouraged from buying this brand of tires. The complaints and dissatisfaction for this brand certainly outweigh and outnumber the many positive reviews we have seen.
Many people get rid of their factory-issued Castle Rock tires merely because of the bad reputation this brand suffers. There are many instances where these tires have proven to be low quality, and the owners have provided photo evidence to back up their negative reviews.
However, this does not mean that all Castle Rock tire owners have a bad experience. We saw quite a few owners sticking up for Castle Rock and saying their experience has been nothing but good.
They also go out of their way to say that if the tire is made to American Specs, then any brand of tire will be good. The problem is they do not provide any evidence, except their word, to back up their statements.
Without a doubt, there are some excellent Castle Rock tires, and the negative experiences may be due to other factors than poor tire quality. But that does not change the fact that most owners that we saw did not have positive experiences with their tires.
Who Sells Castle Rock Tires?
The leading company that sells this tire is Lionshead, and we have linked to their site previously. We have seen a discount tire location that also seems to sell them, but we cannot be sure of their reach, whether regional, local, or national.
We checked Simple Tire outlet, and they seem to list every tire brand that exists except for Castle Rock and Lionshead. You may have to go to your local tire dealers to find this brand in stock, as even Big O did not list them.
Some Final Words
While many people have a good experience with this tire brand, it may be better not to take your chances. If you do, make sure to do proper maintenance and drive at the correct speeds with the right load. Your set may last longer if you do.
