Recaps, re-treads or what ever you call them for a JKU

[flyfisheraa573]

to the mods, my apologies if I landed this in the wrong place...was debating exactly where to put it, but since it is a specific question concerning a Jeep...

The question on deck is about re-caps or re-treads, or whatever you personally call them.

What is your opinion of them. I average about 25-35K miles per year, and I have found myself having to purchase a set of tires yearly, which gets expensive. In a conversation with another dad at our daughter's soccer game the other evening, he mentioned that he runs recaps on his XJ, and loves them. He spent about $100 per tire on a mud terrain and has had very good luck with them. After all, semi's run them.

I know that there are several different mindsets on here...some go all out, barring no expense, others buy what they need and can afford, others look for diy solutuions...im not criticizing anyone, and I respect all opinions...with that said, what is your opinion of them? btw, for the record, I am not talking the jack leg recaps/retreads...im talking a quality product.

 

[(none)]

I personally have never run them, but have only heard good things about them from people who have. That being said, i've had bad luck with regular cheap tires in the past. I can see trying these out for your beater rig that you don't NEED to drive, but i don't think i'd try them on a daily driver. Try them out and let us know!

 

[paroxysym]

im on the fence with them. theyre hit or miss from all the reviews I see, youll luck out and get a great set or get a set with one that wont balance or takes a ton of weight to balance. luck of the draw

 

[tarditi]

I had luck with them on a Hummer H1 (37x12.50x16) but tires were usually ~ $350 each plus a lot more (~$100) to balance due to the oversize and amount of time to do it.
Retreads (very high quality) were about $200 each. At the time I owned my H1, the 37x12.50 size were not nearly as popular and only a few manufacturers offered them. You were at their mercy as there was no market pressure to keep prices down.

Frankly, I wouldn't do it if good alternatives were available.

I'm not sure what size you're referring to, but you can get Rubicon take-offs all day long (very low miles) on many forums.

 

[BEG]

Treadwright tires seem to get mostly positive reviews. They have a two year 20k mile warranty with their retreads and the typical overland sizes are in the $100 range. I don't think the retread procedure is the same for semi tires versus light truck/passenger retreads. Semi retreads are pre-cured treads applied to the casing with cement while Treadwrights are mold-cured where raw rubber is applied to the tire (either the tread or bead-to-bead, depending on the model) and the tread is formed in a mold. I have no experience with any retreads, but I've been doing some research for a possible future purchase.

 

[MTSN]

Frankly, I wouldn't do it if good alternatives were available.

I'm not sure what size you're referring to, but you can get Rubicon take-offs all day long (very low miles) on many forums.

Totally agree here. Look on craigslist for new or almost new take offs for super cheap. I used to hear decent things about retreads from places like Treadwright, but I've read so many horror stories over the last few years I would never, ever consider them for my own vehicle. I just looked at the Treadwright website and found their all terrain tire sells for $145, but at Discount you can get the Pathfinder AT (with awesome reviews and 60,000 mile treadwear) for $139 and Cooper Discoverer ATP (great reviews and 55,000 mile treadwear) for $162 a piece. Tires, brakes and steering components are never something you cheap out on in my opinion. Saving a couple of bucks (which it appears they're not even cheaper) isn't worth having a blowout on the freeway.

 

[comptiger5000]

I've heard tons of good things about the Treadwright retreads / remolds. Personally, if the vehicle didn't see much highway time or was mostly used on non-paved surfaces, I'd have no hesitation. For a DD, especially if it sees lots of highway use, I'd be a little more hesitant to run them.

 

[MTSN]

I've heard tons of good things about the Treadwright retreads / remolds. Personally, if the vehicle didn't see much highway time or was mostly used on non-paved surfaces, I'd have no hesitation. For a DD, especially if it sees lots of highway use, I'd be a little more hesitant to run them.

Many, many documented horror stories. It's simply not worth it especially when you can get a much better new tire from a local shop for cheaper. How they're still in business is shocking to me.

http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/treadwright-nightmare.824461/
http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/tre...s-their-tires-arent-doing-much-better.808862/
http://www.eriejeeppeople.com/ejpforums/index.php?showtopic=16273
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1075531
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/99459-treadwright-sucks.html

 

[Joe917]

As far as running them on big rigs it is against the law to run retreads on the front axle.

 

[WininUtah]

I'm in the tire business and would not run light truck recaps. My only real world experience is a friend that bought Treadrights, they were awful. There are some really decent Chinese tires in the marketplace and the recommendation for take offs is spot on. Treadrights may be OK for an off road rig, not for a DD.

 

[Binksman]

I'll speak from my own first- hand experience running Treadrights. I've had a set on my "mostly-work" Ram 2500 for 4 years now. I have the Guardian-style (I think, it's the BFG AT style tread) without the Kedge-grip in a 285/75/16 with D weight rating. Short summary- I like them, A LOT. They have lasted longer than all the other truck tires I've ever had. They have great traction in every weather condition I've subjected them too (everything but sand). In fact, I just bookmarked the set on Treadrights website that I am going to buy for our ZJ in a few months.

Setup- All four tires took the same amount of weight for balancing and were similar weights to other tires I've used. Since I've had them on, I've put 3k- 10k miles a year on them, and have around 25k total on these tires. 70% of the time I have a load of 200-2000lbs in the back of the truck. The other 30% of the time it has 200-1000lbs in the back of the truck and we are running it on the interstate.

This truck is the "reliable" vehicle, so I save it for work duty and long-distance trips.

Traction- Great, especially in snow.

Wear- honestly, was rotating them a few months ago and though the were getting low, but they are only down to about 1/3 tread from what was new. That was when I did the math in my maintenance log and realized how long I had them. Considering I've never had a tire last longer than 30k miles, I am impressed with the wear seeing how much this truck works.

Ride- It's a 15 year old 3/4 ton Dodge... It's hard to tell what is the truck and what is the tire But the wife and kids have never complained about the ride being too rough...

Noise- They are on par with every AT tire I've ever had.

Reliability- 25k miles and no blow outs, no sign of tread seperation, no sign of sidewall fatique. I've got patches (the most recent was a year ago) in a couple of the tires from picking up screws.

Now I am thinking I'll move these tires over to the ZJ (which has 255k and is getting limited repairs as it nears it's end of life) and just getting a new set of Treadrights for the truck in a larger size...

 

[brianjwilson]

Tires are the single most important safety and performance item on a vehicle. Spend all the money you want on suspension, horsepower mods, brakes etc, none of it is good if the tires suck or come apart on the freeway and put your family and others at risk.

Not worth the gamble to me. Just my opinion.

 

[HAFICON]

Well treadright was bought out not to long ago and quality went down the drain.. I bought a set for my trailer 315/70/17 took right at a pound of weight per tire to balance. I had the tires installed on 100% new aluminum wheels. I would not have a problem running re-treads on a daily driver. Just want something that will function as advertised.

 

[summerprophet]

From my experience, it seems like there are as many horror stories as there are success stories when it comes to treadright. Locally, a guy here had a front tire delaminate at 75 mph, with a trailer full of tubing, and his wife and kids on board. He didn't wreck, but it was damn close. The story is posted on off-camber.com.

I love the idea of retreads, as 90 percent of a tire gets tossed into waste..... With no real purpose. It would be great if there was a way to reuse those tires, particulaly safe reliable retreads. That being said, the current products still have plenty of horror stories, and I personally wouldn't purchase any.

Here is what I know about retreads:
They don't like heat. If you live in a hot state, or your tires are a little off balance, or if your steering is out of alignment, or if you are towing, or if you run lowered tire pressures, I would avoid retreads.

If I were you, and averaged 100 miles/day in driving, I would do one of two things:
1. Shell out for a new set of mt or at tires (whatever you currently burn through in a year), as well as a set of high milage highway tires (I really like my Michelin LTX). Really, with as much driving as you do, by the time your jeep goes adventuring, you are likely due for a tire rotation anyways.
OR
2. Seeing as you spend $1000 on tires, $300 on oil, and $5000 on fuel in a year, I would be tempted to get a nice economical commuter car, and keep the jeep for fun. In a few years (depending on insurance) you could break even. It would be better to have a nice jeep and a miled out Sentra or Corolla in a few years, rather than a worthless jeep with 200k on the odometer.

 

[trust]

FWIW, I have had a couple sets of Treadwright retreads, some 12.5x33 on my 89MJ were ok, behaved very well, no issues. The first set on my 01 Dodge 2500 CTD (285x75x16) were replaced by Treadwright in a couple thousand miles when they started cracking in the tread. The next set that they sent were ok until one blew out on I40 while towing a car on a dolly which sent me into the ditch. They replaced that one as a fluke failure. Then another one started to separate but held together as long as I kept the speed under 55. I foolishly replaced that one and propmtly had another front blow out on the interstate. I replaced all four of them as soon as I got to a tire store and havent considered them again. Maybe it ws the weight of the Cummins but I'm not going to risk them again

MAYBE, in the rear on a lightly loaded truck they would be ok in a pinch, but not up front for more than a minute.