here is the story. when I got my new 27" Mudlite Bigfoot kit from lester's they were already mounted on the type 6 wheels but when delivered they had over 20psi in them so I dropped them down to about 7psi. Both front tires were severely bulged in between the tread lugs and had cracks next to the tread lugs. Ever since I got them I have had problems with the tires going flat within several hours and/or over night. I am going on the Hatfield McCoy trip this monday through friday so I wanted to get the tires looked at for reassurance. I took them to my local discount tire store to find that the bulges were/are caused by the tires being over inflated during the mounting process and the belts were broken. Makes sense to me since I have seen the same thing happen with car/truck tires. I am going to have to put the stock rims/tires back on during this trip which really sucks but what else am I going to do right. I contacted Lesters when I first got the tires and noticed the bulges but never really pursued it any further till now. I sent them an email to let them know the problem/situation but they weren't open today so I will talk to them monday. hopefully they have good customer service when it comes to problems like this. what do you guys think of this? have you ever seen this before?

 

When I mounted my 26" Mudlites I inflated them to around 25lbs let them set for a few hours and mine don't leak or have any defects. Hopfully Lester will take care of you but it sucks not to be able to take them on your trip.

 

Well you could spray some tire sealant or some Slime in there for a temporary fix, but Lester's probably wouldnt like that if you were going to send them back because it makes a mess inside the tires. I have the kind that comes in an aerosol can (inflates tire and fills with sealant) and it has fixed any slow leaks I have had. Only thing is that that stuff dries and does not provide protection from future punctures, where Slime stays wet and seals all future leaks. Also, some people say it un-balances the tires, but I havent had this problem, as long as you drive for awhile after you put it in.

So if you really want to use your 27's, some tire sealant would probably keep them full of air, but will make a mess inside them.

 

Like you said, hopefully they have good customer service, if not, you can go to small claims court and try and get your money back. You better have a tire expert that can explain why the tires are no good.

I don't understand why people feel the need to leave the tires overinflated. Once the tire pops into the rim, the bead is set. Leaving it sit with the preasure high is not going to make it set any better.

 

I agree with all of the above statements and comments. If I have to send the tires/rims back then Lester's probably isn't going to want any tire sealer such as fix a flat in them but at the same time they should not have sent those tires out to me with the bulges in them and 20psi in the first place. one of the major reasons I bought the tires was because we have been planning this Hatfield trip for several months and I wanted the larger more aggressive tires along with the extra ground clearance. I am pretty sure Lester's will take good care of me so hopefully it would never have to come down to small claims court but I would go there If forced to. I even got a written/typed statement from the manager at discount tire in regards to the tire damage/bulging and sent a copy to Lester's. I am not going to bad mouth Lester's because so far I have not had any problems with them and in fact they have been totally awesome so far as sales and shipping goes. I am debating whether to just put the stock tires back on or to leave the Mudlites on but and bring the stock tires for backup. I don't want to spend the money on the tire slime for tires I am going to have to ship back but my local dollar store sells the fix a flat brand of tire sealer for $1 so I may buy a few of them, put one in the tire and put a couple of spares in the rear storage bag. what do you guys think?

 

I'd slap the stock tires back on in a heartbeat. It would be nice to have your new tires, but if you're going to travel that distance you just as soon enjoy yourself and not worry about holding air or how your going to get back to your vehicle to get your stock tires. But that's just me. Let me know how you like the trails at Hatfield McCoy. Sounds like a place I'll end up one day.

 

I think that is the right way to go silver. Buy the fix a flat and bring the stock tires with you if you have the room. Better safe than sorry when it comes to a planned quad ride. Good luck and have fun at Hatfield and McCoy

 

I wouldn't use the new tires just so they can't say you ruined them. don't give them a reason to doubt your claim by having wear on them.

 

Well I ended up taking the 27's off and putting the stock 25's back on for the trip. It would have been nice to of had the Mudlites for the very very rocky trails but the carlisle badlands came home without a scratch so overall I am satisfied.

Melanie from Lesteratv.com called me after we hit the WV border and said she had the new tires being mounted and would be shipped out as soon as possible. I didn't even have to explain my story or nothing, I sent the email with the pictures and that was good for her. I am very happy with Lester's and there awesome sales team, she said they had a guy in the back that didn't know what he was doing and had messed up a few orders so they had to release him. Actually the situation worked out good because I had her ship me the 27-10-12's for the back instead of the 27-12-12's and then the 9's for the front. hopefully the 10's look better and don't stick out so far. this is one of the good things that came out of having to put the stock tires back on for the HM trip because the 27-12-12's would have hit like every tree in sight going through some of the trails. I would recommend Lesteratv.com again in a heartbeat.

 

Glad to hear everything worked out for the good [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img].