The new Argo 24" Frontier tire

[SWAMP HAWG]

Goodyear tires are cheap... they've been around for years and they sell thousands of them. Argo custom designed this new tire for their vehicles. I've said it needed to be done for years. They did it right and it turned out great. I've sold a few sets and I charge $125 per tire, as stated in the parts manual. There is no other direct source... but why should there be? Argo spent big money designing these for a very limited market. I think $125 is a small price to pay for our very own amphibious ATV tire. If it was left up to Recreatives or another tire company, we wouldn't have the tire!

I really do not care how much money ODG spent with Carlisle increasing the lug depth of a goodyear runamuck so they could put their name on it.
I will agree that it was a step in the right direction, but from the feedback owners of this tire are giving they are not the perfect tire. Therefore I believe the opinion of most on here is that these tires in no way represent a $125 value.

[Mike]

Roger,

I have used those Carlisle tires for the past 4 years on my zero turn mower. I have gone through 4 sets. I used to cut a lot of yards too and would turn on pavement and concrete quite often but even so, they didn't seem to last long at all. Of course they might last forever on a 6x6, who knows.

Right before I tore my Max apart I threw them on to see if there was much difference size wise compared to my bald Goodyears.

[Roger S]

the swampfox plus

[jpswift1]

I know that they are a pretty hard tire that lasts a long time, but I couldnt tell you much more than that. I believe that REB181 has tires that are the same design, but made by Kenda on his Hustler.

[Roger S]

Anybody use these AT 101 carlisles? looks like a lightweight budget tire.

Now off to see Dan's video..

Carlisle Tire & Wheel Company

[mightymaxIV]

Guys watch the video I just posted. It will give you all the reasons to think about a set of Swamp Fox Plus tires and quit worring about the water speed of these argo tires.

[jpswift1]

I have never put a hole in any of the sets of Rawhide III's that have been on my machines (knock on wood), and they have about 1" deep lugs that really bite and dont clog up with mud very easily. I have also had very good luck with them in the snow as well. To each their own I suppose.
I have beat on these Rawhide III's at times, as many of my friends that go riding with me have seen, and I have yet to do any damage to them. I would agree with the statement saying that the durability of a tire does have a lot to do with the driver, but from what I have seen with the many machines I have worked on and owned, that these tires give you the absolute most bang for your buck. And if something does happen to them, they can be replaced fairly inexpensively too.

[hydromike]

I think the rawhide III has a weak sidewall, mediocre traction and swimming. But what else is there for the price.

Ahhh, there's the clincher. Rawhide IIIs certainly aren't the ultimate answer either, but for the price of one Argo tire (at $125) I can just about buy 3 of the Goodyears. For 3x the money, that Argo tire had better perform leaps and bounds better than my Goodyear in every single category, inclusive of the sidewall issue. $750 is a lot to wager that it does.

Roger, your point that it has a lot to do with the driver is exactly right. Anybody can destroy just about any tire if you're trying hard enough. Doing 20mph into a pile of rocks with 1 psi in a tire is going to thrash anything. I have to be careful just for this reason with the Nankang Chevrons on both race machines. I'm sure a pointy stick would go through them with the utmost of ease, but boy do they land nice from about 2 feet in the air.

~M

[Roger S]

Thanks for the negative report on the tires, as I have not seen those problems myself on the two weekends where frontiers were thrashed w/o regard for tire and wheel. The tire is carlisle and not goodyear runamuk although same tread design.

I think driver care, along with air pressure/aggressive driving have influence. I see rawhide III sidewall damage all over the place.. a dozen plugs sticking out the sides. Assume they are rim pinches, running low psi or hitting unseen stuff in ruts. Also seen a set of runamuks full of plugs, from a driver who was so careless and rough it took 8 psi to keep the wheels from being beat up. Myself, wore out a set of runamuks with only one thorn puncture in the tread, never any sidewall damage although I bent the rims a lot from low psi.

I think the rawhide III has a weak sidewall, mediocre traction and swimming. But what else is there for the price. They don't make the size I want so I have to look elsewhere.

[jpswift1]

I agree 100% with Mike. I have also seen these these new Argo tires (that have been on a machine for a very short period of time) get massive rips in the sidewalls. Perhaps there needed to be additional time spent on developing a more aggressive sidewall design. These tires seem to be a copy or scaled up version of the Goodyear Runamuck. Good ride and good water performance, but questionable durability. The Goodyear Rawhide III tires in my opinion, although not super fast in the water, provide the best traction and best ride for your 6x6. Hopefully with the interest that this site has generated we can encourage more R & D from all companies out there. I am almost certain that more companies would jump on board in developing new products (such as tires) if there is a larger market. It is a shame that the market is so small for such great machines, but who knows, that could change.......

[hydromike]

These tires have been out for a very short period of time, and I've already seen gaping holes ripped in the sidewalls on 3 or 4 machines. I don't have any reason to believe that these tires were used in a specifically harsh application or were abused beyond the expected conditions that an AATV would see. While Argo may have designed these tires for great water speed and ride quality, I certainly don't think they're the ultimate answer for an AATV.

I gladly trade top end water speed for durability. I only have one set of Rawhide III tires, and I really love the ride quality, the traction, the water speed, etc. Ahhh, good old cheap Goodyears...

I agree that it's good that ODG has taken the initiative to better the hobby. But at $125 per tire, regardless of how much R&D went into it, it had better hold up a lot better than what I've seen.

~m

[MaxRules]

Goodyear tires are cheap... they've been around for years and they sell thousands of them. Argo custom designed this new tire for their vehicles. I've said it needed to be done for years. They did it right and it turned out great. I've sold a few sets and I charge $125 per tire, as stated in the parts manual. There is no other direct source... but why should there be? Argo spent big money designing these for a very limited market. I think $125 is a small price to pay for our very own amphibious ATV tire. If it was left up to Recreatives or another tire company, we wouldn't have the tire!

[Mike]

Here's their dealer locater. Maybe try one of them?

Carlisle Tire & Wheel Company

[jpswift1]

I would guess that they're $120 just because they say "Argo" on them. I would have thought they would sell more tires if they were cheaper but for some reason they have to be exclusively for Argo.......probably for $$$$ in someones pocket that is high up in the company.

[SWAMP HAWG]

I saw that the tire has Carlisle 189 on it in addition to argo's name on it.
We need to find a distributor. I know these can be had for MUCH less than the $120 the dealer wants for them.