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Old 08-20-2012, 01:41 PM   #1
Jack Dog in So Cal
 
2013 16' Sport
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Goodyear Marathons

I just took delivery a few weeks ago of my new 2013 16' Sport. I noticed that AS uses the 14" Goodyear Marathons on their units.

I was a previous Casita owner that had the same tires on the 14' rims delivered to me from the factory.

Question:

Casita owners refer to these tires as Goodyear "Explodithons"!! I myself had a side wall blow out on me on the street side while on my way back from the Monterey Jazz Festival going down I5. Lukily for me I tow with equalizer bars and sway control and the blow out was uneventful.

The Casita and tires at the time had 4,300 miles on it. I never overload the egg and always keep the tire pressure at the correct level and never go above 60 mph when towing.

I went out that week end and had a pair of Kuhmo's put on the trailer. I recently sold the Casita to some good friends of mine and never had a lick of trouble with the Khumo's. The trailer now has over 14K miles on it.

Casita now offers 15" tires and wheels as an option and the feedback from the Casita Club forums is this has seemed to solve the "problem".

Has anyone on the AS forums had issues with the 14" GY's and if so did you change out to another brand? Can you also share with me any tire blow out stories; how did your TV and AS react to the emergency, were you towing with a sway control and/or equalizer bars etc.

I'm thinking of having the Kuhmo's installed before our first trip out in October. I'm also wondering if 15" rims will fit on the Bambi?

Jack Dog
in So Cal
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Old 08-20-2012, 01:54 PM   #2
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I have 14" GYMs on my trailer and they are holding up and working just fine.
Stand by you are about to get blasted with negative responses by the "I hate GYM" crowd or use can use the search function and get dozens of threads about GYMs.
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Old 08-20-2012, 02:23 PM   #3
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Check the Running Gear Forum...

... and you will find hundreds of posts that support your point of view.
I have had good service from Goodyear Marathons on three Airstreams.
That said, it's easy to spot my Airstream at a rally by the fellows standing around outside my trailer, looking at my GYMs and shaking their heads.
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Old 08-20-2012, 03:57 PM   #4
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It is your choice. You can join the I hate GYM tires before or after they destroy your wheel well. But you will join at some point.
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Old 08-20-2012, 04:35 PM   #5
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"Explodithons" I like it!
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Old 08-20-2012, 04:48 PM   #6
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Welcome to the club. Already replaced the “Explodithons” with Michelins on my new 2012. Worth the peace of mind for me!
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Old 08-20-2012, 05:09 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JackDog View Post
I just took delivery a few weeks ago of my new 2013 16' Sport. I noticed that AS uses the 14" Goodyear Marathons on their units.

I was a previous Casita owner that had the same tires on the 14' rims delivered to me from the factory.

Question:

Has anyone on the AS forums had issues with the 14" GY's and if so did you change out to another brand? Can you also share with me any tire blow out stories; how did your TV and AS react to the emergency, were you towing with a sway control and/or equalizer bars etc.

I'm thinking of having the Kuhmo's installed before our first trip out in October. I'm also wondering if 15" rims will fit on the Bambi?

Jack Dog
in So Cal
Just do a search on GYM’s... this has been a hot topic for a long, long time and still no resolution on the AS forums. We’ve had ‘em on our International and Classic and never had any problems. I have known several folks who have had blowouts using them (as well as other brands).

When I replaced the tires on our classic, I did so with Michelins because I got a good deal doing the ‘Stream and truck at the same time. Again, do a search and you’ll find a whole lot of opinions armed with facts, figures and 8X10 color glossy photos...
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Old 08-20-2012, 05:12 PM   #8
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4 GYM's on my 25 Safari have blown out on various hot weather trips, along with three more no name ST tires. Fortunately no body damage, but lots of tire changes 0n 100 degree plus days. Finally I have gotten the point and am running Michelin 235 R 15 XL tires and not listening for that dreaded bang, flop, flop flop.
If 15 inch Gym are problematic, 14 inchers are more so--almost 7 % smaller diameter. 61 mph over the tread is the same speed as 65 mph in the 15 inchers.
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Old 08-21-2012, 02:23 PM   #9
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Tire Change Out

Well I'm going to stay with the Good Years for our first trip out in October to Yosemite.

I'll keep a close eye on tire pressure and of course stop to check the torque on the lug nuts.

I have my tire contact checking on the Michelins and will have them installed as soon as I can.

Thank you all for you're input concerning this "touchy" subject.

Jack Dog
in So Cal
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Old 08-21-2012, 03:10 PM   #10
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I believe that GYM Marathon concerns are old news now. They clearly had issues with production at some point and this is the fodder of the complaints you read about. My understanding is that the problems have been identified and corrected so you have no reason to worry about with new production tires....do what you need to do, watch inflation and inspect for road damage and you will be fine!
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Old 08-21-2012, 03:52 PM   #11
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I have had Carlisle's on my trailer for 5 years. No problems. My friend had GYM on his for 7 years then noticed tire separation. Got them replaced before they blew.

Bottom line is you don't here about separation on LT tires. . They are no more expensive so why would you stay with an ST tire? I'm switching next week. I never had a problem with my Carlisle's but others have. I need to replace them and I'm putting on Michelins, I don't want to risk my newly remodeled 68'.
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Old 08-21-2012, 04:13 PM   #12
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Just replaced one month old 15" GYM's with Michelins. Down here in the Northern reaches of Hades, where 110 degrees is common, I don't want to worry about tire separation and subsequent damage and headaches.
Now I just drive and watch out for the dangers on the road I CAN"T control!
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Old 08-21-2012, 05:05 PM   #13
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Just went 2400 miles, up around Lake Superior with 14" GYMs. We bought our trailer this spring, so they obviously are pretty new.
I watched the pressures. They stayed at 50 the whole week.. No problems.
I'd like to run them a little higher, but it says 50 on the sidewall.
I'm keeping them for a few years. Yellowstone next summer..
Then I'll switch to something else, I still haven't decided to go to 15" wheels.

Jeff
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Old 08-21-2012, 05:23 PM   #14
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We bought our 20 ft in May and have taken trips to the beach. We just got back from the Mammoth area driving through Bishop at about 100 degrees. GYM felt hot but the Bridgestones on our Tahoe felt hotter. They ran fine without problems. 15 inch and 65lbs. By the way, Goodyear went back to making these in China. Our trailer has a built stamp of April 2012
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Old 08-21-2012, 05:33 PM   #15
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Thumbs up

I have just under 50,000 miles on my Bambi, all on 2 sets of GYM tires. I use a Tire Pressure Monitor, keep a real good eye on them while traveling, and they're changed every 4 years, regardless of appearance.

I'm still open to something better, though. I like the idea of 16" tires.
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Old 08-21-2012, 06:38 PM   #16
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I put a set of ST 205 / 14 D kumho 857 on my 1999 25ft safari before my trip from NOVA to yellowstone last month. I have newer rim and did not want to make the $ leap to new rims and i could not find LT 's in 14 so i figure based on specs it was a step up. The 857 are rate as q speed 99mph which is far above the 65mph of most ST's speed rating and I also picked up some weight capacity going from c to d load range.

Always seemed odd that ST are rated so close to typically hwy speeds so that you are always pushing the upper end of their performance rating.

Glad to hear that someone has had good luck with kumho's since you don't hear much about the brand.

Next purchase is a tps
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Old 08-22-2012, 05:07 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jackstincan View Post
I put a set of ST 205 / 14 D kumho 857 on my 1999 25ft safari before my trip from NOVA to yellowstone last month. I have newer rim and did not want to make the $ leap to new rims and i could not find LT 's in 14 so i figure based on specs it was a step up. The 857 are rate as q speed 99mph which is far above the 65mph of most ST's speed rating and I also picked up some weight capacity
Good info, thanks.. Wasn't sure what tire to go to when I replaced the 14" GYMs.
These sound perfect..
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Old 08-22-2012, 08:09 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GettinAway View Post
Good info, thanks.. Wasn't sure what tire to go to when I replaced the 14" GYMs.
These sound perfect..
I am understanding this correctly that Airstream makes trailers as long as 23 feet with 14 inch tires?

Ken
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Old 08-22-2012, 08:11 AM   #19
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We have a 2005 25FB that we have used a lot. We will top 100,000 miles on the trip that we are now on. We tow hard and fast. On the highway, we are usually at 70 MPH. Our experience with various ST tires has been less than acceptable. Of the four OEM Marathons, three suffered catastrophic failure (blowouts) on the highway within the first 10,000 miles of use. Fortunately, we only suffered minor body damage. We then went with the Maxxis E's. The first set went about 25,000 miles before tread separation did them in. We went with a second set of Maxxis E's. They did not do as well, and suffered tread separation at around 15,000 miles. On this occasion, we were camped in rural northern Maine and had to lay over for three days to wait for ST tires to be shipped in from New York.

It seemed like we were always dealing with trailer tire issues. That is why we finally decided to spend money and go with the 16" wheels and Michelin LT tires. We are now approaching 40,000 miles on the LT's, and are very satisfied with their performance. They show very minimal tread wear. They maintain tire pressure very well. We have hardly ever had to add any air. We run with Centramatic wheel balancers. We have not rotated the tires, and do not plan to do so.

If we were ever to replace our Airstream with a new one. It would be another 25FB, except it would have 16" LT Michelins from day one.

Brian
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Old 08-22-2012, 08:24 AM   #20
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Brian, did you replace your wheels with 16" aluminum ones? If so, do you remember what they cost?

Thanks - Pat
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