Goodyear Marathon Failures

[boatdoc]

Originally Posted by scottanlily

Surman1322,

I did forget to say yes on the maxxis as well ,Ive heard good things on those also ,seems people are happy with them too.


scott

Hi Scott; I had 5 Marathons on order from my distributor and after hearing all this, I have changed the order to Maxxis. My distributor Keller Marine Service of Port Treverton Pa, has been supplying tires to my business for past 35 years. In that period we sold many different brands. We sold a lot of Marathons as well on boat trailers, without many problems. Some of the issues stemmed from curbed, bent spindles or bowing axles. Last couple of years I have noticed a decline in requests for Marathons which I contributed to sticker shock. For this reason I cannot comment on problems past two years because I did not sell more than a hundred of them. However, Keller Marine Service went to Maxxis bringing enormous stock into their inventory for 2007 Dealer show. I was assured that they are top shelf tires and that warranty is very good. Keller Marine has always been very keen on solving dealers problems, so for that reason I have restocked my store with Maxxis for 2007. My 26' Arg will not be ready till probably May of 2007 because I have not had a chance to proceed with any work, due to boat winterizing season. This tire issue seems to be growing larger every day, so there must be a lot of truth to those statements. Thanks, "Boatdoc"

No doubt, time will tell the whole story.

[Silvertwinkie]

I'd heard about the strike. I am glad to see alternate tires brand being discussed giving everyone options to the Marathons.

[Goin camping]

I have been in contact with Maxxis and their speed and temp ratings are the same as Marathons. 65 mph @100 degrees.

[Silvertwinkie]

You know, the more and more I think about this, the more puzzling I find it. In one hand, you have what I would consider a fair number of people having issues. Statistically small given the number of tires out there, but concerning nonetheless. OTOH, there are folks like me that may just be lucky. I check the pressures all the time, load carefully and my Safari is nowhere near the max weight rating of the tires combined.

Then I read about speeds, weight distribution of load, etc and can't help but wonder if some folks that have had issues (not all) simply don't check the pressures and drive faster than 65, regadless of outside temps.

[ticki2]

It seems to me that any tire , whether for auto , truck , or trailer , that is going to be used on our interstate highways , and has a max speed rating of 65 mph , is utterly rediculous . Something is wrong with the regulators and industry that has allowed this . Rant over .

[Beginner]

No something is wrong with us.
We keep buying these tires.
Well, at least some of us do.

You've bought the best, most durable
piece of RV equipment available.
Why take a chance on tearing it up
with tires that do not have the capability
of withstanding our present driving habits?
The choice is ours.
Slow down or go to different tires.
Its that simple.
Beginner

[Silvertwinkie]

Some interstates have 70 and 75mph speed limits. IMHO, tires should be built to withstand speeds at or near allowable speed limits on the interstate system. I was in a 70mph area of interstate and found that the max I really wanted to go towing was 65mph.

[tpi]

Any other suggestions for tires that exceed the specs of the Marathons?

65 MPH, 100 degrees doesn't sound like a lot of margin in the desert southwest.

What differentiates the trailer tires from lets say a E range pickup tire? Would the pickup tire ride too harshly?

[scottanlily]

I agree with the tire temp and speed ratings as you guys have mentioned .
Definately need to get tires that you can go thru nevada in july at 65 mph
and hope they dont let go .I did have very good luck with my towmaster bias C range in august from nebraska thru nevada on to california ,had no heating or other tire problems ,they were warm but not hot ,Ill tell you I did think alot about them back there rolling along on that searing hot asphault ,whew

Scott

[Condoluminum]

There are a number of other threads you can search on using Goodyear or marathon or tire failure as search terms... This is not a new issue or subject...

Here is the deal...

1. ANY "ST" rated (Special Trailer") rated tire will max out at 65 mph and 100 degrees... That is all the tire companies feel they need to be designed for.
2. You can run anything you want on your trailer, from LT tires to 20" rims and little skinny donut tires. Your mileage may vary.. LT Tires are stiffer, and will cause a rough ride for trailer and contents, though many are designed for higher speeds and temps and load.
3. I know of few states that have speed limits of 70 or 75 mph for trucks and cars towing trailers.. Most speed limit signs have fine print at bottom limiting these two groups to 10 mph less than the autos... Many members (according to poll data) feel OK going faster, but the speed limits don't reflect that.
4. If blowouts and failures seem inevitable, I'm thinking a few less mph would make the inevitable event less exciting and easier to recover from..

Having experienced my first last month, my new learning is to carry a spare mounted, even if it has to go inside tow vehicle... Emergency Road Service can't help you on a Sunday eve when nearest tire stores are closed, and you might not enjoy spending the night where the tire failed, as they recommended that I should do...

John McG

[68 Overlander]

We have the Bridgestone, Michelin, and Goodyear inflation tables on our website but you can get them from their sites as well. The manufacture is not quite as important as the load ratings, designation, and proper inflation but naturally people have favorites. Don't rule out Toyo either, they make good RV tires too.
Running load range E will not make it ride harsh if the inflation is correct but I understand the "industry" has a caution about changing from load D to E on some rims.

[68 Overlander]

Originally Posted by Silvertwinkie

Some interstates have 70 and 75mph speed limits. IMHO, tires should be built to withstand speeds at or near allowable speed limits on the interstate system. I was in a 70mph area of interstate and found that the max I really wanted to go towing was 65mph.

Not a bad point at all but who sets the standards? 20 years ago there was not much leg to stand on when the speed limit was 55. Tires ARE made to withstand highway speeds, you just have to buy them or insist your dealer supplies them on your vehicle.

[2airishuman]

it would be great if a professional from the rubber manufacturers association...

would clear up the speed rating issue...

this is my understanding until then.

passenger car/truck tire speed ratings do not compare with ST tire speed ratings.

a passenger car tire that is 'y' rated...for example,

will perform at 186 mph for 10 minutes before failure...

a 'w' rated car tire will perform at 168 mph for 10 minutes before failure.

at lesser speeds they both will go much longer....thousands of miles.

so the alphabetic speed rating for passenger car/truck tires is...

the speed at which the tire is tested to failure after 10 minutes...

now

ST tires are LOAD rated....c and d and so on....

they are tested/rated to carry a given load at a given air pressure....

by convention at 65 mph....and at 100 degrees f. EVERY ST tire from any maker....

so for example, if one carries a load of 80% of a 'd' rated marathon at the pressure required for that load (55psi?)

the tire is rated to support that load/pressure up to 65 mph....

the tire will not fail after 10 minutes at 65 mph...

when traveling faster than 65 mph........

goodyear's own guide suggests 'for those towing at 70mph' inflate tire 10psi more than the load adjusted inflation, up to the max cold inflation pressure.

so clearly marathons can and will travel at speeds greater than 65 mph...

but carrying capacity and psi then become issues...

so IF the tires are properly inflated and IF the load is under the max rating...

traveling faster than 65 mph doesn't result in instant failure....

increased heat perhaps and wear and vibration but not failure.

anyone?

2air'

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, THIS IS ONLY MY OPINION. I think these trailer tires are partially rated at 65 MPH only to encourage you to keep at a safe speed. I personally don't think it's safe to tow a trailer much faster anyway. I think these tires are capable of going much faster without failure, maybe like 85 MPH? I think the major causes of failure are overloaded, underinflated, or somehow damaged. But not just speed by itself. 65 MPH rated tires are not going to blow up at 66 MPH. There has to be a safety margin. U-Haul trailers [some] have markings on them stateing not to tow faster than 45 MPH. Some motorhomes are electronically limited to 75 MPH.
I guess the moral of this story is, be safe and good luck.

Bob