back when i was younger and bought my first pickup (around 1990) i put recaps on all 4 wheels. i was just out of school and used to regularly pull people's take-offs out of the tire pile outside my family's garage because they were better than the skins i currently had (it wasn't uncommon for me to mount a couple new-to-me tires on my vehicle each month). i found four good looking recaps on the rack inside that came off some station wagon, so they went on my truck - the price was right. i had them on for a few months and one night i was getting a thwap-thwap-thwap noise as i went down the road. when i got home i found that one of the front caps had worn a hole through, and the inner bladder was protruding through a hole about the size of a half dollar and about a quarter inch in height. needless to say, i broke down and bought some better tires finally.
that wouldn't stop me from running them again, if the price was right. since it's hard to get a set of new truck tires for under $600 installed, they probably have their merits. i will say i haven't seen passenger vehicle recaps in years, though i also haven't looked. my experience always has been that only the best quality tires were capped, and the savings on small tires was barely worth it, but with tire prices upwards of $250 each, it's probably worth looking again.
in the last few years, i've bought a few sets of used tires on craigslist. it's common enough to find sets of four truck tires for $100 that still have a couple years of use in them. usually they are off trucks where someone "wants" new tires, as opposed to someone who "needs" new tires. i'd probably go that route over recaps.
that wouldn't stop me from running them again, if the price was right. since it's hard to get a set of new truck tires for under $600 installed, they probably have their merits. i will say i haven't seen passenger vehicle recaps in years, though i also haven't looked. my experience always has been that only the best quality tires were capped, and the savings on small tires was barely worth it, but with tire prices upwards of $250 each, it's probably worth looking again.
in the last few years, i've bought a few sets of used tires on craigslist. it's common enough to find sets of four truck tires for $100 that still have a couple years of use in them. usually they are off trucks where someone "wants" new tires, as opposed to someone who "needs" new tires. i'd probably go that route over recaps.
