Input Needed for this tire

[RLS]

OK, had the infamous Marathon BLOWOUT yesterday clipping along at a hefty 75 mph. Soooo, been surfing and trying to figure out just what to do. I guess the PO already had 2 of the Marathons go bad as I now have 1 Maxxis M8008, 1 Custom Trailer Plus, 1 Goodyear Marathon and the spare Goodyear Marathon!
Did a lot of surfing today and came up with the Pirelli Scorpion ATR 235/75R15 /D as a replacement tire for all 4. I have read all the pros and cons of using trailer tires compared to LT tires till it made my head spin. I tend to have a heavy foot when it come to cruising along and am leaning more towards the LT (which is what this Pirelli is) since it has a better speed rating

Any input?? Bob

[85MH325]

I have come to believe that many "blowout" failures on trailers are the result of rubber valve stem failure. Every time I have a tire worked on or replaced, I insist on replacing the rubber valve stems with steel stems. I have had several valve stems at or near failure when I replaced them.

I don't think that the brand of tire, provided that it's a quality tire, is as important as replacing the valve stems with steel stems in blowout prevention. We were inundated for years with cheap defective Chinese rubber valve stems... and no one knows how many remain on shelves just waiting to fail on YOUR tire.

Roger

[RLS]

Originally Posted by 85MH325

I have come to believe that many "blowout" failures on trailers are the result of rubber valve stem failure. Every time I have a tire worked on or replaced, I insist on replacing the rubber valve stems with steel stems. I have had several valve stems at or near failure when I replaced them.

I don't think that the brand of tire, provided that it's a quality tire, is as important as replacing the valve stems with steel stems in blowout prevention. We were inundated for years with cheap defective Chinese rubber valve stems... and no one knows how many remain on shelves just waiting to fail on YOUR tire.

Roger

Thanks for the input, but in this case it is not so since all four tires have steel stems. Now the spare does have a rubber one! I also check tire pressure every time before taking off. All 4 had 65 lbs. and I hardly ever have to add any air to bring them up. What is also weird, I had only traveled about 40 miles when it blew.

Bob

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, 75 MPH on a 65 MPH rated trailer tire?

[georgezink]

You are running faster than the tires speed rating. If you want a higher speed rating than the typical 65 mph of most Special Trailer tires you'll need to go the the Cooper Special Trailer Plus which is speed rated in excess of 100 mph. They only come is size 225/75 R15.

[georgezink]

Make that Cooper Custom Trailer Plus.

[RLS]

Originally Posted by georgezink

Make that Cooper Custom Trailer Plus.

The Cooper custom trailer plus tire would be ideal except that it is not available. It is more of a ghost tire! Believe me I have checked

Bob

[Lumatic]

I agree, your Marathons are not designed for that speed.

[markdoane]

Originally Posted by RLS

. . . I guess the PO already had 2 of the Marathons go bad as I now have 1 Maxxis M8008, 1 Custom Trailer Plus, 1 Goodyear Marathon and the spare Goodyear Marathon!

. . . Any input?? Bob

My 'guess' is the PO might have hit a curb and damaged a couple of wheels. Have the wheels checked for run-out before you spend any more money on new tires. A bent rim can cause more heat and might have contributed to the blow-out.

Good note on the tire stems, Roger.

[moosetags]

I, also, tow our 25FB a little on the fast side. I generally stay in the 65 mph range, but as conditions permit, I occasionally ease up into the 75 mph range.

We bought our 2005 25FB new, and we have towed it nearly 50,000 miles. The OEM Goodyear Marathons suffered three blowouts in the 12 to 15,000 mile range. I replaced all of them with Maxxis E's. One of these had a tread separation and loss of pressure (non catastrophic) at about 22,000 of use. The three remaining Maxxis E's showed evidence of tread separation at about 28,000 miles. I replaced them with a whole new set of Maxxis E's.

Brian

[thecatsandi]

Unless you inflated the tires over pressure, which is allowed, over 65 is asking for problems. Which you had. Switching to LT tires your best bet if you intend to tow above 65. Go up one load range. If you had C put LT D tires on. You may have to go with a lower profile to get to fit inside the wheel well.

[Mexray]

Never have heard of a 'blowout' being caused by a rubber valve stem...sure, you could have a 'leak' in the valve stem, and if you don't check your tires before some hi-speed interstate running, the leaky stem would lower the pressure, that could cause a 'blowout'...

Wow...If I'm running up close to the tire's rated 'speed'...I would sure be checking the tire pressures OFTEN!

As it is now, and I don't run much over 55 in California, I always lay a hand on all the tires whenever I stop just to see if one feels hotter than the others...just for peace of mind...

Don't know about you, but I've got too much invested back there to screw around with marginal tires, and a 'hook it and go' attitude before checking tire pressures and hitting the road...

I'm running some new, imported '7.00-15LT' bias ply trailer tires with the name 'Heartland' 'EXP Hghway' on them, load range D...my tire guy says he's used them for a couple of years without any major complaints...hope he's right! These tires actually handle quite well. I'm a believer in bias ply for better tracking, and fewer 'sway' characteristics ...I've only got about 500 miles on em' so far, but I'm leaving on a trip with some twisty, mountain roads this weekend, so they'll be getting another workout soon!

[85MH325]

Originally Posted by Mexray

Never have heard of a 'blowout' being caused by a rubber valve stem...sure, you could have a 'leak' in the valve stem, and if you don't check your tires before some hi-speed interstate running, the leaky stem would lower the pressure, that could cause a 'blowout'...

That's exactly what happens... the valve stem has a crack, lets air leak out, the tire overheats and either blows out or just comes apart as a high-speed flat. Unfortunately, there's usually not enough left of the tire to tell what actually occurred... and when they replace the tire, the tire buster just pulls the old stem and pitches it... so very few of them are diagnosed.

Bob... thanks for the info that you already had the metal stems installed... that does remove the stems from your incident.

Roger

[Beginner]

I still have the ST tire that failed on I64. I had steel valve stems and checked the tire pressure prior to leaving the campground. The tire has steel belt protruding between to tread lugs in the senter of the tread area.
Not much chance of a valve failure there.
The other ST had the belts let go sitting at a campground. The tread became non-symetrical. Nope not a valve failure either.
Lets face it folks, you are getting what you pay for.
ST tires are a gamble. Walk away from the gaming table. Get tires with a Speed Rating of at least 99 MPH and your troubles will go away.
A number of us already have and our tire problems have gone away.
Beginner

[SilverRanger]

Originally Posted by 85MH325

That's exactly what happens... the valve stem has a crack, lets air leak out, the tire overheats and either blows out or just comes apart as a high-speed flat. Unfortunately, there's usually not enough left of the tire to tell what actually occurred... and when they replace the tire, the tire buster just pulls the old stem and pitches it... so very few of them are diagnosed.

Roger

That's what happened to me, except for the blowout part (thanks to the PressurePro tire monitor), on a recent trip to Florida. I was doing under 55 MPH when the monitor alerted. I pulled over and confirmed the pressure drop, which had dropped to 36 PSI, with a tire gauge. After I got it changed, I noticed the tire had stopped deflating at 27 PSI. After inspecting the valve stem, I found it was cracked at the base, and audibly leaked when flexed. Easy fix... this time.

I plan to replace the 4 year old tires and get metal valve stems all around. After reading some of the horror stories on some of the tire threads, I'm still pondering which tires to buy. Since I'm only riding on two, I'd like them to be the best available.

BTW- Congrats on your Airstream, Chief.

[RLS]

This tire has a date of 16/06, Bob

[bmk01]

I have blown out two sets of Goodyears on my trailer, I have now got Maxxis M8008 ST225/75R-15/E1's Had them for two years and no problems. But they have a speed limit of 65 mph as all trailer tires do, I run them at 85 psi.