We just completed a 4000 mile round trip to Bar Harbor, Maine and our Duros are none the worse for the trip. They show no sign of cracks, checks, or uneven tread wear. I kept them inflated to the maximum pressure and they performed well. Probably won't buy more Duros just because of the reputation, but these are doing well.
After reading on this site I have now determined all brands of ST tires are junk. All brands have failed and it is no fault of the owner.
In all seriousness I put over 5,000 miles on Carlisles with no issues, just kept them inflated to max psi per the sticker on the TT. I don't expect problems with the Duro's on the new TT either if I follow the guidline provided.
Duros used to be great, now they seem to be junk too. I have a 5 year-old set on one of my trailers, and had a second, 2 year-old set of the same model and size on my box trailer. Well, the older ones still look great and the newer were just replaced! I am trying to recoup from Duro's 4 year/50% retail warranty for dry rot!
Anyway, after doing much research to replace my 1 year-old Carlisles on my less than 1 year-old HTT because the sidewalls crazed and one had cracks to belting, I learned WAYYYYYY too much. See this post and this one.
I ended up with Maxxis M8008s on my HTT because I could not get ahold of Denman, which later turned out to be a snafu on their part and would have changed my choice of tire on the HTT. Don't get me wrong, the Maxxis are a "beefy" ST and seem to be well built but they are still Chinese. Plus, I had to order them from SelectTire, which is really just an internet retail site for a BIG tire wholesale distributor. That was a fine experience, but then I had to arrange for seperate installation.
Now on my box trailer, I did go with Denman Express radials, and they are the last STs made in North America! The bias tires are made right in Ohio at Denman and the radial are made in a Mexican plant, but it's the same plant they have always been made at with Denman's compound and specifications since Denman introduced them. I was able to get them at my local NTB for a one-step process. The castings were cleaner than the Maxxis, and the runout tighter. I've put 1300 miles on the Denmans and the trailer towed great, haven't put any road miles on the Maxxis yet but that's coming up fast.
I had Duros on my pop-up. Lasted a full 5 years with no problem.
There are problem threads here for EVERY brand of tire, Chinese and American.
Personally, I think the biggest problems are overloading, underinflation, and bruising from hitting curbs and such. People just plain aren't as good drivers and don't REALLY maintain their rigs as meticulously as the claim.
Remember, surveys have shown that 90% of drivers think they are "above average" (average being 50%) drivers!
Paul (Mouse)
2007 Flagstaff Shamrock 17 Hybrid (heavily modified for boondocking and winter camping).
2007 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab 4x4, 4.7L HO, factory tow, 3.92 gears.
Equil-i-zer Hitch, Prodigy.
Yamaha EF2400 Generator (quiet, cause I care!)
Gary 'n Vicky - check the date codes on the sidewalls to make sure your manufacturer didn't stick old rubber on a new trailer. Maybe the chassis was sitting unused for a long period.
My Duro's are 3-4 months old. 2 trips and 1100 miles later, they still look like new. Keep the sun off them, the pressure at max (50psi for mine), and spray them with a protectant every now and then. Should last for years.
I have a problem with all the tire complaints. I suspect for every defective tire, there are 5 failures due to other reasons. The last campground we were in was a horror story of neglected or poorly set-up rigs. You think these owners are going to check lug nut tightness and tire pressure every trip out? Not very likely.
I wrote: I had Duros on my TT. They did fine for two years, including a marathon trip from Atlanta to Utah and back last August. But this spring, when I came out of storage and started inspecting stuff, I saw some cracking starting on the sidewalls.
Having read "on the intarweb" that other folks had the same issues with Duros, I decided to go with a different tire. Decided on Maxxis, we'll see how it goes.
I will say this, however: I didn't bother calling Duro or my dealer to complain about the tires. Because I know that I drove them over 70mph at times, and some of those times were in Utah or New Mexico or Florida in August. They've also been subjected to Atlanta-area heat, pollution, (and drought) and they sat from Nov to May without covers on them this past year. So, I take some responsibility for their shortened life, and I'll try to take better care of the Maxxis tires and get more life out of them.
2006 Maxlite 30BHS Maxlite Photos
Large: 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 Quadcab 4x4 V-10 5spd manual 3.73
Equal-i-zer, Prodigy
Medium: '03 MPV ES
Small: '91 Miata Pad the walls, we got 8-yr-old twins in here!
well, I think I jinxed myself when I posted the other week about not having any issues with my Duros. I woke up Sunday morning to find a flat. I know it wasn't flat when I pulled in because I use the Bal wheel chocks and the tire was fully inflated. Not fun changing a tire on wet uneven grass. After removing the tire I expected to find a nail or something sticking out of the tire but found nothing. I had posted my valve stems had cracking so maybe that's the issue. I hoping to fill and test the tire this this week.
The biggest problem with these OEM Duro's is that they are bias-ply, not radials. I got a set of these on my '08 Terry TT, they are sitting out behind my shed right now....I replaced with radials before the first trip and have no regrets.
Filled the flat tire today and it seems to be holding air. I tried the soapy water trick but no leaks. What I did find was a missing TPMS sender (external screw on type) from the tire next to the one that had the flat. I didn't notice it missing when changing the tire but I did notice not getting a reading. By the time I got home I forgot all about it until today. If the air holds my working theory will be someone was trying to remove them in the night and managed to get one but only got as far as loosening the other which allowed the air to leak out.
Offline
Online
