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Old 08-29-2007, 06:35 AM   #1
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China/Canadian Marathons ?

I have heard that the China made Marathons are the tires responsible for so many failures and that the ones made in Canada are fine. Is there any truth to this?
We are getting ready to take a 10 day trip and I have noticed a very slight bulge on the sidewall of my center Marathon. Its almost not noticable but it makes me nervouse. Could it be where the sidewall is put together? I am debating on replacing it but Id rather not because Im replacing all of them in the spring. The tires are only 2.5 years old. Is there a way to tell if it was made in China?
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Old 08-29-2007, 07:01 AM   #2
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It will say on the sidewall where the tire was made.
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Old 08-29-2007, 07:05 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Resorts
I have heard that the China made Marathons are the tires responsible for so many failures and that the ones made in Canada are fine. Is there any truth to this?
We are getting ready to take a 10 day trip and I have noticed a very slight bulge on the sidewall of my center Marathon. Its almost not noticable but it makes me nervouse. Could it be where the sidewall is put together? I am debating on replacing it but Id rather not because Im replacing all of them in the spring. The tires are only 2.5 years old. Is there a way to tell if it was made in China?
My Marathons show dents and bulges as well, and always have, since brand new.
It should be printed on the tires where they were made. I will have to check mine when I get to where the trailer is.
Check tire pressures, and look for uneven thread surface before leaving, that's about the best you can do short of replacing the tires.
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Old 08-29-2007, 07:29 AM   #4
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I think the Canadian manufactured Marathon's have also been involved with the reported failures. I don't believe you can arbitrarily say that it's just the Chinese manufactured tires. I've owned 3 trailers with Marathon's all having the bulge that you reported. If you look closely you should see this on every one of your Marathon's. Apparently it is there due to the manufacturing process. I think someone detailed as to what this is in another thread. I'll look and see if I can find it.

I went back and I remember we called it more of a wave than a bulge. The tire sidewall tends to dip inwards and then back out. It's part of the construction process used in building a radial tire. Normally the wave is fairly good size and stretches on the sidewall with one end pointing to the tread, and the other end of the wave pointed towards the wheel itself.

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Old 08-29-2007, 07:48 AM   #5
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All of the tires have the slight inward dent on the sidewall but the center tire has a slight outward bulge that I cant see on the others. HMMM
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Old 08-29-2007, 07:54 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Resorts
All of the tires have the slight inward dent on the sidewall but the center tire has a slight outward bulge that I cant see on the others. HMMM
I'd get it checked out then.

Jack
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Old 08-29-2007, 08:06 AM   #7
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I just checked my tires and mine were manufactured in Canada.
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Old 08-29-2007, 10:18 AM   #8
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I would agree with Jack.
The Marathon that blew out its sidewall on me back in June was made in Canada. Since all the tires were getting a bit "long in the tooth", I replaced the full set.
After reading lots of advice on the forum, I'm trying a set of Maxxis radial trailer tires. We'll see.
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Old 08-29-2007, 10:40 AM   #9
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If the tire in question has you concerned at all, rather than risk a an expensive misadventure that tests your driving and stopping skills significantly, or having to change it on a busy road, it might be worth your while to have a tire shop take a quick look at it and give you their opinion.

Personally, I would not chance it. If the tire guy tells me it's just the tire then fine, but otherwise it would bother me the whole trip. But that's just me.

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Old 08-29-2007, 01:18 PM   #10
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Full Replacement

Ok..... heres the scoop,
I just got back from the tire place where Ive been getting my tires for years. I had them look at the bulge and they said my sidewall is starting to separate. They say it could blow when it gets hot or if I hit a pot hole the wrong way. I was told indetations are fine but any bulge is bad. I decided to bring the rig home, pull the tire and take it back to them figuring I would replace the rest in the spring, Plus Id rather put the Lugs on myself.
Then I decided to run my hands around all the other tires just to see if I could feel anything weird. Three other tires have bulges, difficult to see but easy to feel. I called the tire shop and told them of the bulges that I felt. All need replacing. Im at four now so I may as well replace all 6. They sell Maxxis so thats what im going with. What a bummer! I was hoping to make it till spring. Sounds like Marathons are to be avoided and you should feel your tires as well as look at them.
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Old 08-29-2007, 02:03 PM   #11
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I'm feeling your pain today as I had a glance at my truck tires and one had a weird look to the tread. They were older tires, 5 years or so, and big gnarly tires for getting around regardless of how ugly the rocks and junk are. It would appear that the tread was coming apart.

I whizzed over to the tire shop a couple of minutes away and egad - a look on the inside showed the abuse had taken more of a toll than I'd thought. My buddy used the truck on Saturday to haul a big old 70 Ford station wagon on a trailer and I'm amazed he didn't have at least one tire on the truck blow.

So, a thousand bucks later, the truck is parked on the driveway with new shoes and I've got a smile on my face. We'll see what the love of my wife says when she gets home . I mean, I was forced to do this, right?

Glad you got your tires checked and found the problem now. It's a pain and it sure can bugger up the budget, but better this than finding out the hard way on the highway somewhere. I'll be interested to know what you think of the Maxxis tires after the trip.

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Old 08-29-2007, 03:58 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Resorts
Ok..... heres the scoop,
I just got back from the tire place where Ive been getting my tires for years. I had them look at the bulge and they said my sidewall is starting to separate. They say it could blow when it gets hot or if I hit a pot hole the wrong way. I was told indetations are fine but any bulge is bad. I decided to bring the rig home, pull the tire and take it back to them figuring I would replace the rest in the spring, Plus Id rather put the Lugs on myself.
Then I decided to run my hands around all the other tires just to see if I could feel anything weird. Three other tires have bulges, difficult to see but easy to feel. I called the tire shop and told them of the bulges that I felt. All need replacing. Im at four now so I may as well replace all 6. They sell Maxxis so thats what im going with. What a bummer! I was hoping to make it till spring. Sounds like Marathons are to be avoided and you should feel your tires as well as look at them.
Wow, I don't know your mileage or storage conditions but I would have thought you would have gotten one more year on them. My Marathon's will be 5 years old in November and are still going strong. Now I did keep them covered when I was in outside storage and I've been inside for a little less than a year. My plan was to replace prior to my first outing next spring. I sure wish I had a Maxxis dealer or someone who handled them locally.

I can have them shipped but I'd probably pay a king's ransom to have someone mount them for me.

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Old 08-29-2007, 04:39 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by jcanavera
I sure wish I had a Maxxis dealer or someone who handled them locally.

I can have them shipped but I'd probably pay a king's ransom to have someone mount them for me.

Jack
Jack, St, Louis Wholesale Tire sells Maxxis tires. I bought a set for a car hauler a while back.
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Old 08-29-2007, 04:41 PM   #14
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Wow, I don't know your mileage or storage conditions but I would have thought you would have gotten one more year on them. My Marathon's will be 5 years old in November and are still going strong. Now I did keep them covered when I was in outside storage and I've been inside for a little less than a year. My plan was to replace prior to my first outing next spring. I sure wish I had a Maxxis dealer or someone who handled them locally.

I can have them shipped but I'd probably pay a king's ransom to have someone mount them for me.

Jack
Well, maybe you could research dealers and stop by one who carries them on your next trip. Swap out on the road. Im curious about the 16 inch wheel stuff. I just dont want to spend the bucks now and I wonder how they ride?
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Old 08-29-2007, 04:43 PM   #15
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Wheew...... every time you turn around... $500 here ..... $1000 there....
Im hoping on that fri night Mega lotto!!!
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Old 08-29-2007, 06:18 PM   #16
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Quote:
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Jack, St, Louis Wholesale Tire sells Maxxis tires. I bought a set for a car hauler a while back.
Thank you! The Maxxis web site show no one in Missouri handling their tires. I will check with these folks next spring.

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Old 08-29-2007, 06:55 PM   #17
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I had a set of Mission tires. I had the right front blow going out to Palm Springs in April. Made in China
I replaced all 4 with Maxxis radials, made in India I believe.
The only thing I have noticed is that they look like they need air. They look like they are low but, I check the Pressure and they are at 50 PSI.
I have put about 3000 miles on them so far and they are doing fine.Only time will tell but, when I had a blow out and saw they were made in China, I got rid of them regardless of cost. I'm not made of money but, changing a flat on I-10 with truckers doing 70+ MPH, it was real scary.
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Old 08-30-2007, 01:00 PM   #18
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I had a set of Mission tires. I had the right front blow going out to Palm Springs in April. Made in China
I replaced all 4 with Maxxis radials, made in India I believe.
The only thing I have noticed is that they look like they need air. They look like they are low but, I check the Pressure and they are at 50 PSI.
I have put about 3000 miles on them so far and they are doing fine.Only time will tell but, when I had a blow out and saw they were made in China, I got rid of them regardless of cost. I'm not made of money but, changing a flat on I-10 with truckers doing 70+ MPH, it was real scary.
Got the new maxxis tires this morning. This will be my second set of Maxxis tires that I have owned. My first set was on an 8x24 enclosed car hauler. I went to Sturgis and back on those, plus FL a couple of times. Never had a problem. One characteristic I have noticed as you have, is that they look like they need air. I guess its just a sidewall design. Paid $580 for 6 mounted and balanced.
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Old 09-01-2007, 11:27 AM   #19
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Goodyear Marathon ST215 75R14 Tire Comment

2006 Safari 23 foot
My first trip in 2006 had a tire with a small bulge on the outside wall of tire that appeared to be air. Goodyear charged me about $60 to replace the tire with 3,000 miles or so on it. The original set of five tires were made in New Zealand and had a grey/black dull look to them. The Airstream dealer had them painted with some paint when I purchased the trailer new.

The replaced tire was from China, looked black and smelled like it actually was a tire. The replacement tire from China was center tread punctured with a stone. One New Zealand tire blew out on a dirt road. Another New Zealand tire punctured through center tread on gravel road. I replaced all four tires on the road at Les Schwab, Salt Lake City, Utah, not the spare, with Tow Max with 2 metal belts versus the single on the Marathons. So far... no problems.

No. I do not over load my trailer. I believe the 215/14 tire is too light a tire and the 14 inch wheel too small for the 23 foot Safari. I wanted a Load Range D tire replacement in a 14 inch size, but was lucky to find a set of four Load Range C's with two metal belts as an upgrade. You can find D load tires in 15 inch and larger wheel sizes, but try finding a 14 inch on the road.

Pulling the trailer also pushed me into D load Goodrich All Terrain T/A tires which are wonderful on my 2006 Toyota Tundra. I hope this cures the tire problem on the Airstream and extra weight on the truck's tires taken care of as well. Airstream may want to put the pressure transmitter's in their wheels, as you can be traveling on three tires and not notice until you pull off for the next gas station stop... Sure would take some of the worry of bad tires off the mental check list every minute.
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Old 09-13-2007, 08:11 AM   #20
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Just got back from a 10 day trip using the Maxxis tires. Pulled about 1200 miles. All went well. One thing I noticed was that the maxxis tires seemed to allow trailer sway slightly more on the highway and would bend sideways more on tight turns in parking lots. Marathons seem more ridgid.
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