Goodyear Marathon Failures

[SRW]

Originally Posted by 2airishuman

sorry but this is incorrect information.

we've covered this issue in many threads, including links to the details, but the misunderstandings continue.

folks who WANT to match inflation pressure to loads CAN do so, but they need to keep on top of this and limit speed.

65 psi is the simplest inflation guide to follow and their own (gym) literature describes what to do IF towing at 65-75 mph.

as for the new bambi with a blowout, it could have been MANY issues, like a puncture or UNDER INFLATION...

i've checked air pressures on many trailers leaving the j/c lot and the tires are OFTEN under inflated, just as m'mate notes above.

and like m'mate i often TOW at 70-75 mph,

have over 350,000 miles on the 12 gyms, including summer towing at 90+ temps...

without a single belt issue, defect or tire failure...

cheers
2air'

2Air:

The sidewall load rating of the Marathons on my AS is listed at 65 psi.

Also, 65 psi is the pressure listed on the sticker pasted to the AS.

Max speed for the Marathons is 65 mph as it says in the PDF posting by AZFLYCASTER.

65 psi is the max tire pressure per a Goodyear rep during a tel conversation with me.

65 mph is the max speed recommended by Goodyear also per a Goodyear rep during a tel conversation with me.

I believe that at least that some Marathon issues are related to folks driving faster then 65 mph on under inflated tires (ie. less then 65 psi).

By the way are you at Bozeman?

SRW

[dpandorf]

Originally Posted by SRW

2Air:

The sidewall load rating of the Marathons on my AS is listed at 65 psi.

Also, 65 psi is the pressure listed on the sticker pasted to the AS.

Max speed for the Marathons is 65 mph as it says in the PDF posting by AZFLYCASTER.

65 psi is the max tire pressure per a Goodyear rep during a tel conversation with me.

65 mph is the max speed recommended by Goodyear also per a Goodyear rep during a tel conversation with me.

I believe that at least that some Marathon issues are related to folks driving faster then 65 mph on under inflated tires (ie. less then 65 psi).

By the way are you at Bozeman?

SRW

I would say the Goodyear rep hasn't read their own ST info:

"Based on industry standards, if tires with the ST designation are used at speeds between 66 and 75 mph, it is
necessary to increase the cold inflation pressures by 10 psi above the recommended pressure for the load.

• Do not exceed the maximum pressure for the wheel.
• If the maximum pressure for the wheel prohibits the increase of air pressure, then the maximum speed must be restricted to 65 mph.
• The cold inflation pressure must not exceed 10 psi beyond the inflation specified for the maximum load of the tire."

What this tells me is if the existing weight of your trailer does not exceed the weight carrying capacity of the tires at 55 PSI (2270 lbs for the ST225/75R15), you can then drive up to 75 mph if you inflate another 10 psi up to 65 PSI.

However, if each wheel is supporting more than 2270 pounds and up to 2540 pounds (the max at 65 PSI for the ST225/75R15) then you're limited to 65 mph.

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by SRW

...By the way are you at Bozeman?SRW

nope, but my good friend art'man is there (red1row1) with his white box van...

and having a free open beverage thing monday!

say hi to him and have a cool one.

i think u guys may have the same tire/wheel combos now...

cheers
2air'

[Ramble Can]

I could not get my Marathon tires past the balancing stage today. Three of the five were out of round. They said they would try new tires one more time, but they were not warrantied. After a lot of loud talkig in front of other customers, I got my money back. My new Carlisles will be here on Tuesday. Maybe they will work. Ramble Can

[SRW]

Originally Posted by 2airishuman

nope, but my good friend art'man is there (red1row1) with his white box van...

and having a free open beverage thing monday!

say hi to him and have a cool one.

i think u guys may have the same tire/wheel combos now...

cheers
2air'

2Air:

Spoke with him several times already.

He does great work and I enjoy owning and wearing the great shirts.

I can see his van from the window of our AS.

SRW

[Gene]

Has anyone with a catastrophic tire failure filed a complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Commission? I hope I have the name of the agency right, but you can Google it. Tire failure PR starts with agency complaints, then Consumer Reports picks it up (you can notify them when you file a complaint and give them this thread link), then the rest of the media finds out. It doesn't take a lot of complaints to get noticed—a few score certainly should make a dent.

Even if the agency drags its feet (and it probably will), it's about PR. The media is sensitive to tire problems after the Firestone recall.

If you file a complaint, let us know how to do it and I'm sure others will follow.

Gene

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

Has anyone ... filed a complaint with... let us know how to do it and I'm sure others will follow....Gene

hi gene

the process and links and agency info has been provided many times here...

http://www.airforums.com/forums/250391-post6.html

http://www.airforums.com/forums/269258-post3.html

http://www.airforums.com/forums/249836-post29.html

the power and reach and details ARE within the collective...

cheers
2air'

[Gene]

All good links, 2air. But… has anyone but Beginner filed a complaint?

Gene

[2airishuman]

i filed a complaint about beginner...

does that count?

cheers
2air'

[Gene]

Originally Posted by 2airishuman

does that count?

cheers
2air'

Here's the count:

Beginner: 1
Goodyear: 0
2air: -1

Zero sum game.

Gene

[tsunami]

While out west last month I had a goodyear Marathon go bad and replaced it with a Power King TowMax. Went over to the barn Friday and found another Goodyear going flat. I'll be replacing it with a TowMax. The TowMax looks to have a good rep.

[Beginner]

Here is the web site to file complaints on:


ODI - Office of Defects Investigation

No matter what is said here, the ST tire is still a 65 Mile Per Hour (MPH)tire.

[Chitown AirStreamers]

So MARATHONs are a no go........... WHat are good AS Tires? What does AS install on their trailers now?

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by Chitown AirStreamers

So MARATHONs are a no go........... WHat are good AS Tires? What does AS install on their trailers now?

Marathons.......

What are good???? If you are considering staying with ST's you will find lots of opinions on this thread. A few of us have moved to Maxxis, with Maxxis having an E rated ST tire offering. Dependent upon your trailer's weight an E might not really be something to consider. Now a heavy 30' slide out unit like mine, it's a great option.

The thing is we all started as Marathons when we bought these newer trailers. So there is a common connection there. After that point we have fractured to many different replacement brands and it's going to take a few more years for us to figure out whether jumping off the Marathon bandwagon was an improvement or not.

Jack

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Chitown AirStreamers

So MARATHONs are a no go........... WHat are good AS Tires? What does AS install on their trailers now?

Marathons had a problem a long time ago.

Some owners , cause the problems, even today.

Under inflated, over inflated, unbalanced are huge factors tossed in that "ARE" owners problems, not Goodyear.

But human nature says, NAH, it's never my problem, can't be, so I must blame somebody else. Hello Goodyear.

Got to put the blame on SOMEBODY, but "NEVER" ourselves.

Why so many gripes. Because all the trailers came with them for, at this point, for many years.

If Airstream used Firestone or whoever, then you would hear the same thing aboiut that manufacturer.

Airstream still uses Goodyear Marathons.

If you want to change to something else, that certainly is your choice. But if you do, you will not have any "REAL" source of reliability, except from a very small number of owners.

Then it becomes opinions of a short nature, instead of long term facts.

Any brand of tires "MISUSED" the way the Marathons have been misused, will like wise indicate that that brand has problems as well.

Anytime, that a product is put into the hands of the general public, misuse is never their falut, it's always the manufacturer.

Bah Humbug.

And so it is.

Andy

[ticki2]

If the same failure rate that the Marythons are having was happening in passenger vehicles they would have been recalled a looong time ago. Our government just doesn't seem to have the same concern for safety when it comes to trailer tires. It stands to reason that the same folks that are misusing their trailer tires are probably misusing their TV tires and not reporting the same problems .
If ST tires are " special " why aren't they designed for all the special forces that trailers exert on tires and have enough safety margin to not come apart if they are in less than perfect trim?

[utee94]

If the same failure rate that the Marythons are having was happening in passenger vehicles they would have been recalled a looong time ago.

Hi ticki-- I'm very interested in this. Could you please post your failure rate data and the source where you found it?

Thanks!

-Marcus

[BigAl]

Gee,
I bought my trailer used with a set of Marathons. The trailer was bought by me in 2004.
It has Marathons on it dated mid 2002.
The seller told me that after he bought the trailer used from a dealer several months after the sale he received a call informing him that the tires would be replaced free of charge by Goodyear. He went to the dealer and they installed these 2002 tires on his trailer.
Obviously he was impressed with the dealer and Goodyear.
It is now July 2008 and I am still running on these 2002 tires.
I keep them inflated at 50 PSI as recommended on the trailer and it corresponds correctly with the inflation chart posted on the Goodyear site.
I use Centramatic balancers which seem to work since stuff in the trailer stays in place better than it did without them.
These tires are six years old and I put about 4 thousand miles on them each year.
They don't show any cracks yet so I will keep using them.
Al

[BigAl]

Hi SRW,
My trailer plate calls for 50 PSI and that is what I have been using for 4 years. The tires are always cool to the touch even in hi outside temperatures. They never feel hotter than the tires on my van.
Al

[ticki2]

Originally Posted by utee94

Hi ticki-- I'm very interested in this. Could you please post your failure rate data and the source where you found it?

Thanks!

-Marcus

Unfortunately I have not been able to obtain hard data on failure rates . Tire companies are reluctant to give out that info . The reading that I have done here , at rv.net and speaking to campers that I know and have met leads me to that. From what I have glenned this is not marython specific , but rather ST specific . That is not to say that they will all fail or even most . My point was that it should not be a problem except very rarely . When the Firestone trouble happened it was all over the news and then , and only then , did it get resolved . Even then the problem did not exist for all LT tires , it was one specific model of one specific brand . This does not seem to be the case with ST tires. In the absence of the hard data what we are left with is our best judgement . In light of the reports from several sources of problems with ST tires it does not seem to be good judgement to blindly accept that if AS uses them they must be the best. I fully realize that this is my judgement and not everyones , as it should be