Is Goodyear the only tire to use?

[Beausdad]

Hi everyone.

I've read some of the threads on tires but I need to know if the three tire brands I'm going to list are good tires.

I want to say that the 3 dealers I have got prices from on these tires I have been dealing with for 20+ years so they are good reputable dealers and are large dealers. 1 I use for auto and the other 2 I use for my tractor trailer and farm. The brands they have mentioned besides Goodyear are Comodore and Maxis from my auto dealer and Carlisle and Tire King from my commercial and farm dealers. All of the tires are 8 ply and I can also get a 10 ply in the Maxis. Also my Goodyear dealer can get me the Marathon cheaper than I can get it at WM.
Any help and or input would be greatly appriciated.

[overlander64]

Greetings Beausdad!

Welcome to the Forums!

Tires for our trailers is a continuing topic of discussion. To some degree, it is one of preference combined with being able to work with dealer in whom you have confidence and trust.

Recently, I had to purchase a set of tires for my Overlander. I have been well pleased with Good Year Marathon ST tires. My first set was OEM on my 1980 Nomad 17' -- and I have continued to use them until this year. I would have had another set, but my Good Year dealer advised me that the Marathons were on back-order and he had no idea when he would be able to get a set for me.

The situation with my long-time Good Year dealer pur me on the trail of a set of tires with a brand that I recognized. Unfortunately, my Good Year dealer didn't have any ST tires with a brand that I recognized. After hours on the phone, I found a dealer in a nearby town who handled Carlisle Radial Trail STs. His were the only tires that I could find in a three-county area with a recognizable brand so I purchaed a set. Overall, I am satisfied, but in the 2,000 miles that I have towed the coach since purchase I have noted the following:

• The tires, despite having the same size, are a bit wider than the Good Years that they replaced. The only way they would go into the wheel wells was in a deflated state.
• My perception is that they do not track as well as my Marathons. I have experienced sway that I never had with Marathons. The only way that I have achieved close to the stability that I had with my Marathons was to inflate to the maximum pressure listed on the sidewall.
• Based on my limited experience with the Radial Trail STs by Carlisle, they would be my second choice behind Marathons.

Good luck with your research!

Kevin

[wolverine]

We have a year and a half and over 7,000 miles on a set of Maxxis M8008 (8 ply) on our 31 foot AS and we have been delighted with them so far. We purhased them from a local tire dealer for slightly over $413 mounted, balanced, and out the door. They hold their pressure much better than Marathon and the tracking and ride seem to be fine for us. After three blowouts on our low mileage Marathon tires, we would highly recommend these for your consideration.

[Dwight]

I would only use the Goodyear Marathon or the Maxxis radial. I have recently heard that the Marathons are now US made.

[moosetags]

First off, welcome to the Forums. We're glad to have you with us.

As an aside, we have a close friend in Enid and visit there often. We always camp at the High Point RV Park on N. Van Buren. Their big circle site layout is most unusual, but we like it.

As far as Goodyear trailer tires go, I wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot pole. Lucy's original tires were Goodyear Marathons. Three of the four tires catastrophically failed on the highway within 12,000 miles. I replaced them with a set of Maxxis 8008's. I got 27,000 miles from these before I noticed tread separation. I recently replaced them with another set of Maxxis.

Brian

[bmk01]

I agree with Brian, I have changed to Maxxis tires, as I blew out 4 sets of Goodyears.

Bryon.

[Phoenix]

I run Maxxis, too. See volumes of other notes on Marathons elsewhere on this site.

[Airslide]

Im running the Carlisle ST's and have about 2500 miles on them. They are tracking fine for me and held up to extreme temps and load during our trip to AZ. I will keep an eye on them but so far im happy.

Vinnie

[COArgosy78]

Hello - we had the Goodyear Marathons on our 22' for a little over 5yrs with absolutely no problem here in Colorado. I have read on other posts that the heat on roads (like in Arizona) might have something to do w/them blowing out/shredding, but we didn'nt experience either. In fact, when we switched them out this year (we put on new axle and decided to do all at once) for the Maxxis 8008 - the guy changing them asked why as he said they looked practically brand new. We kept them to use as spares. Not having had the Maxxis for very long, can't comment - except to say we went w/them because of good reviews here by others and Marathons weren't available.

PS Hope ya'll are staying cool in Enid. I lived in Tulsa practically all my life!!

[Beausdad]

I have decided after talking to my little brother who manages a Ted Wiens commercial/ RV store out west to buy the Maxxis M8008 10ply tires for my 88 Argosy 29er. I asked his opinion on what to get and he had 3 names Marathon, Maxxis, Carlisle and said that would be the only ones he would recommend on any RV to his customers and especially on a family members trailer. He said that the Goodyears were becoming hard to get because Goodyear is out of stock, and that they have been having problems with the workmanship on the Marathons. His 2nd choice were the Maxxis becuase they had a good product and had vertually no complaints on quality and they also have a 4yr workmanship defect warranty. His 3rd choice were the Carlisle tires. He does not recommend any of the cheaper Chinese tires you get what you pay for. He also highly recommends the 10 ply for todays speeds and road conditions.

I took his advice and bought 4 new Maxxis 10 plies for $110 mounted balanced metal valve stems and tax included.

[jcanavera]

We will be starting year 3 on my Maxxis tires (hard to believe) in November. I upgraded to the E rated M8008 models but only because I wanted a little more reserve capacity. My 30' slide out Classic is the heaviest trailer that Airstream produced on a tandem axle.

The biggest downfall I could see on the Maxxis is the dealer service. There is absolutely no one in the STL metro area who carries these tires and I would expect that on the road I would experience a similar issue. I got these from a tire dealer about 140 miles southwest of STL. My neighbor's home office is there so he was able to pick them up for me.

For most the D rated tires should provide adequate service.

Jack

[SilverRanger]

I just replaced my 5 year old Marathons with the same. The old ones performed great and look nearly as good as the new ones, which are made in the USA. I kept them for spares. After an exhaustive search for the right tire I decided to go with the Marathons because of their performance (in my experience), they are made in the USA, and they are still being used by Airstream on new trailers (I was at Jackson Center 3 days ago).

During the tire search I had one dealer tell me Goodyear didn't produce the Marathon any longer and tried to sell me another much cheaper tire that Goodyear (allegedly) made to replace the Marathon, another told me that he couldn't get them anymore, and yet another who said he could have USA made Marathons overnight (and he did).

I just returned from a 3,000+ mile road trip with no problems or pressure loss. I use a PressurePro, keep them inflated to 65 PSI, and give them a visual inspection and temperature check at every stop. If they don't perform, I'll be sure to report back.

[Beausdad]

JCANAVERA:

I have been told that both BigO and Discount tire handle Maxxis, infact BigO here in Enid is who is mounting and putting them on my Argosy. I actually bought them from BigO here because they were willing to meet my brothers price.

[53flyingcloud]

Originally Posted by vlamica

Im running the Carlisle ST's and have about 2500 miles on them. They are tracking fine for me and held up to extreme temps and load during our trip to AZ. I will keep an eye on them but so far im happy.

Vinnie

Same here and, so far they are looking great`!
Switched from TOYO only because, I couldn't get my hand on the brand new TOYO. Hands down, the TOYO were the best ever.. in my experiences..

[hampstead38]

I run Maxxis on our Overlander.

[Action]

Discount tire's website.

Tire Search by Brand - Discount Tire

Action

[robert claus]

My 8 year old A/S came to me on its original Goodyear Marathon tires last year. A bit of weather checking, but the previous owner had never had a problem. Due to their age, I replaced them with new Marathons. I did upgrade from load range D to E. I run them at 60 lbs, and they tow well and ride great. After sitting all last winter, they had not lost a pound of air, even on the original aluminum wheels. I was amazed.

[yakman]

Load range E? I was at NTB last week getting my flat Marathon plugged after a screw found it's way into my tire. The staff there did a search for me in an "E" load range tire that I could upgrade to and found nothing.

Some have mentioned E tires... are they still available?

I've been running Marathons on my bass boat trailer for 5 years and on Airstream for 2 years with no trouble.. Knock on wood.

My AS Marathons say: Made in China. Not sure about the tires on my boat trailer.

-yakman

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by yakman

Load range E? I was at NTB last week getting my flat Marathon plugged after a screw found it's way into my tire. The staff there did a search for me in an "E" load range tire that I could upgrade to and found nothing.

Some have mentioned E tires... are they still available?

I've been running Marathons on my bass boat trailer for 5 years and on Airstream for 2 years with no trouble.. Knock on wood.

My AS Marathons say: Made in China. Not sure about the tires on my boat trailer.

-yakman

235/80R16 is the only size rated E in the Marathon line (according to their web site). Maxxis has an E rated tire in 225/75R15

Jack

[JDL]

Running Maxxis year 2 on my 19' CCD. No issues so far.
Its the only one with a nylon cap on the belts I have found in this size.