Laughed when I said Marathon

[Splitrock]

I'm adjusting brakes, packing wheel bearings and ready to replace tires on my 1976 31' Sovereign. The tires currently on the trailer are Good Year Marathon ST225 / 75R15, Tread 4 ply, sidewall 2 ply, Max Load 2540 Lbs @ 65#, Load rating D. I called my favorite tire shop and asked for Good Year Marathon tires and he laughed at me. I called my second in line tire shop and asked for Good Year Marathon and he said, "Noooooooo!"

Why are Good Year Marathon tires favored by Airstream owners?

2540 Lbs can't be the right tire for this trailer.

On the brake cleaning, the drums and shoes look like new and I'd bet the farm they're OEM. I have two wheels apart and the inside seal is leaking on one wheel. The inside of the drum where the magnet runs was coated in grease. I'll replace the seal on the other two as well. This trailer has been sitting. It wasn't a trip trailer.

[ArtStream]

Hey Splitrock!

The subject of tires here on the forum is very contentious.

The threads will keep you reading/entertained for days.

(2air, where r u)

The reasons for Airstream owners choosing Goodyear Marathons is as clear to me as why people swear placing a bar of soap under the mattress prevents leg cramps.

Many owners have switched out to 16" rims and Michelin 16" LTX tires.

By the way, I'm headed to Sioux Falls next week, I would be happy to swing by and you can look at my 16" rims and tire install.

Best, Michael

[tkasten]

Originally Posted by Splitrock

I'm adjusting brakes, packing wheel bearings and ready to replace tires on my 1976 31' Sovereign. The tires currently on the trailer are Good Year Marathon ST225 / 75R15, Tread 4 ply, sidewall 2 ply, Max Load 2540 Lbs @ 65#, Load rating D. I called my favorite tire shop and asked for Good Year Marathon tires and he laughed at me. I called my second in line tire shop and asked for Good Year Marathon and he said, "Noooooooo!".

There are many threads on GYM tires both bad and good. 3 Goodyear Marathons failed, found before disaster. It seems that they had a real bad tread seperation problem with tires made in China. I won't buy anymore and the following was my experience.

04 Goodyear Marathons - a near disaster!
Just got back from a 1000 mile trip to southern KY and on the way south I had a tire blow up on my 65 vintage Safari. It was very scary when I looked in the side mirror and saw the tire go - smoke and all. They are 8 year old Goodyear Marathons load range D. The tread let loose from the tire. I was able to move to side of the xpress way just as the tire let go and dropped down to the skid rod. Wow! am I glad the skid rod is there. No damage ! Put on spare and made it into Dayton, Ohio and replace both tires with load range E and inflated (diferent brand) to 65 lbs. (max is 80). My recommendation is to update tires sooner than 8 years or you might have to go through my experience.

Tim

[Splitrock]

Originally Posted by ArtStream

Hey Splitrock!

The subject of tires here on the forum is very contentious.

The threads will keep you reading/entertained for days.

(2air, where r u)

The reasons for Airstream owners choosing Goodyear Marathons is as clear to me as why people swear placing a bar of soap under the mattress prevents leg cramps.

Many owners have switched out to 16" rims and Michelin 16" LTX tires.

By the way, I'm headed to Sioux Falls next week, I would be happy to swing by and you can look at my 16" rims and tire install.

Best, Michael

I'd love to meet up. I'll buy the coffee. I'll pm ya my info.

By the way, did they say what brand of soap under the mattress prevents them leg cramps?

Gary

[Splitrock]

Originally Posted by tkasten;876116There are many threads on GYM tires both bad and good. [URL="http://www.airforums.com/forums/f438/3-goodyear-marathons-failed-found-before-disaster-65178.html"

3 Goodyear Marathons failed, found before disaster.[/URL] It seems that they had a real bad tread seperation problem with tires made in China. I won't buy anymore and the following was my experience.

04 Goodyear Marathons - a near disaster!
Just got back from a 1000 mile trip to southern KY and on the way south I had a tire blow up on my 65 vintage Safari. It was very scary when I looked in the side mirror and saw the tire go - smoke and all. They are 8 year old Goodyear Marathons load range D. The tread let loose from the tire. I was able to move to side of the xpress way just as the tire let go and dropped down to the skid rod. Wow! am I glad the skid rod is there. No damage ! Put on spare and made it into Dayton, Ohio and replace both tires with load range E and inflated (diferent brand) to 65 lbs. (max is 80). My recommendation is to update tires sooner than 8 years or you might have to go through my experience.

Tim

Hi Tim,

Thanks for the post. I thought a 8 ply tire would be more appropriate for this trailer. Maybe I'm wrong. I've got 6 ply on my Haulmark enclosed trailer with a third the weight. I haven't settled on a brand yet but I definitely want a heavier tire. Everything is pretty heavy duty until I got to the tires. The wheels are solid, and the brake drums must weigh 50 pounds apiece.

What tire did you buy?

Gary

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Splitrock

Hi Tim,

Thanks for the post. I thought a 8 ply tire would be more appropriate for this trailer. Maybe I'm wrong. I've got 6 ply on my Haulmark enclosed trailer with a third the weight. I haven't settled on a brand yet but I definitely want a heavier tire. Everything is pretty heavy duty until I got to the tires. The wheels are solid, and the brake drums must weigh 50 pounds apiece.

What tire did you buy?

Gary

Gary.

If your present wheels have been equipped with 6 ply tires, for many years, you should not increase the tire rating to an 8 ply.

To do so, will cause the wheels to split around the circumferance, as per most wheel manufacturers.

Also. when a torsion axle trailer has been parked for a long time, usually, but not always, the rubber rods fail.

You can easily check that out yourself, by reading the axle article in the Airstream Central portion of this web site.

Rubber must be exercised to stay alive.

If not, the rubber can solidify or get gummy.

Andy

[Splitrock]

Hi Andy,

The current tires are 4 ply on the tread and two ply on the sidewalls. That just seems lite to me. They're going to be changed because they're checked and two of them don't hold air for more than a week. I wouldn't take em on the road. I plan to remove the rims from the trailer and take them to town for new rubber. But what rubber? That's my question:-)

Gary

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Splitrock

Hi Andy,

The current tires are 4 ply on the tread and two ply on the sidewalls. That just seems lite to me. They're going to be changed because they're checked and two of them don't hold air for more than a week. I wouldn't take em on the road. I plan to remove the rims from the trailer and take them to town for new rubber. But what rubber? That's my question:-)

Gary

We recommend what the Airstream factory uses.

For a 31 foot Airstream, Goodyear Marathons load range "D".

You may have to change the wheels., because of the upgraded load range.

Andy

[2airishuman]

hey 'rock...

modern trailer tires (and most radial tires for that matter) do NOT rely on the "ply system' for construction or capacity.

PLYs are a vestige of bias tires where 8 ply really does EQUAL 8 ply.

radial tires are "ply equivalents" meaning the load at max pressure is EQUAL to bias tires made from 6, 8 or 10 ply.

radial st tires are C, D, or E rated and these load tiers CORRESPOND to bias tires that are 6, 8 or 10 ply.
__________

CHECK ALL of the common st tires or LT tires,

NONE of them are actually MADE from 8 or 10 PLYs...

almost ALL of them are exactly as you noted, with tread at 4 and side walls at 2...

some E rated (10 ply equivalent) have 1 more layer, but nowhere near 10

that D rated tire you have is EQUIVALENT in load capacity to an 8 ply bias tire.

but FAR MORE SUPPLE, which is a good thing.

the individual ply or LAYERS may be constructed of THICKER cords or DENSER ply,

rather than relying on baklava like layering.

one thing u are CORRECT about is the 2540 lb per tire NOT being right for that trailer...

it is FAR MORE capacity that the oem tires used in 1976.

4x2540=10160 lbs of load capacity, nearly 4,000 lbs MORE than the tires/axles carry.
__________

hi michael!

south dakota is a mighty fine place to FLY a kite...

cheers
2air'

[tkasten]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

Gary.

Also. when a torsion axle trailer has been parked for a long time, usually, but not always, the rubber rods fail.

You can easily check that out yourself, by reading the axle article in the Airstream Central portion of this web site.

Rubber must be exercised to stay alive.

If not, the rubber can solidify or get gummy.

Andy

Andy is correct here. We just got home from our first trip with our new rims, tires and most important new axle (purchased from Inland RV) and the results are like night and day. We did not realize how poor the old axle work if at all. Now it's like we are floating on air. Wow! Check those axles.....Tim

[COUNTRYSONG]

After a blowout and 3 other belt separations (all on different wheels) on goodyear marathons we did switch to Sendel 16 inch wheels and Michelin 225-75-16 XPS Ribs...(Light Truck Tires) .I'm trying to forget how much it cost, but they definately run cooler on Florida highways and if anything ride better and I think they may give me some peace of mind... I don't have a lot of clearance front and back, but we have enough...around 3/4 inch... The Goodyear factory representative told me that the Airstream Factory didn't weigh the trailer right and I may have overloaded it...(I have 3300 and change on each side ---) The wheels look really good... As for 16" load range E tires The Airstream Factory is selling a good year tire mounted on a Greenball wheel...I'm running 70PSI --- so Far so good...

[COUNTRYSONG]

PS - The comment about the Factory rep I ment as sarcasm..We were running 65PSI in the goodyears and the Airstream was riding almost level... (He absolutely knew we were'nt over loaded or tipped nose down or up)) With the 16s we are about 1/2 inch higher and almost exactly level with a different tow vechicle....

[crispyboy]

I just completed a tire purchase yesterday - I ended up with Carlisle's - "D" rating - identical specs as the GYM's.. Everyone wanted a premium for the Good Year Marathons. I wasn't real crazy about Chinese Carlisle's but my last Good Year Marathon's on a smaller trailer "C" rated were also Chinese. I assumed the "D" rated GYM were also Chinese - I could be wrong.
I've had good luck in the past with Carlisle's on a tandem axle utility trailer and couldn't pass up the price.
Carlisles m/b - $75 each, GYM's - m/b $120 each.

[RLS]

I've been running the 225/70R15 Continental Vanco 2 tires for almost a yr. now. Sears has them listed as LT tires. I run on the Florida highways at about 75 MPH and have had no problems (Knock on Wood!) The trailer does sit 1/2" lower with these. Have put about 4,000 miles on them

[dstalzer]

It looks like Goodyear has maybe learned a lesson about having tires manufactured in China. Yesterday I checked with Discount Tire here in Austin and they confirmed that Goodyear is now manufacturing their Marathon tires in the USA. I hope they have resolved the tread separation issue. I plan to put a set of the new Marathons on my 2005 Classic next week.

Dennis

[Splitrock]

I'm gonna keep my 15" wheels. I just talked to the Good Year sales guy. He didn't know the tires were ever made in China and he doesn't have a clue where they're made now. He says he has like 38 Good Year Marathon tires in my size in an 8 ply "D" rating. He says they're not just 8 ply rated but they're an actual 8 ply tire. $150 each mounted, balanced and taxed. He says he just put 4 on a trailer headed to Oklahoma and they made it to Kansas before one of em blew. Great sales guy! Hahaha!

[mello mike]

Of course when you get new tires make sure you check the manufacture date before you pay for them. Lots of 2-3 year old tires out there.

[crispyboy]

My Carlisles were dated 1810.
Question: So how do bias ply tires fare in comparison to the radials? Do they blow out as much?
Here is a quick informational document I found on Carlisles website.


trailer_tires_101.pdf

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by Splitrock

...he doesn't have a clue where they're made now. He says he has like 38 Good Year Marathon tires in my size in an 8 ply "D" rating. He says they're not just 8 ply rated but they're an actual 8 ply tire...

clearly this guy is missing a LOT of cluez...

gyms were made in china from ~late 06 through late 09.

NONE of these radial tires are 'actual 8 ply'



go check the manufacturers info.

v12i2 ask the doctor



cheers
2air'

[Gene]

Originally Posted by ArtStream

The subject of tires here on the forum is very contentious.

The threads will keep you reading/entertained for days.

So true.

I went to 16" wheels and Michelin LTX M&S tires. I did not chose the Rib tire because it's a commercial truck tire. It's meant to be used for high mileage local trucks and to be retreaded a couple of times before it's too old. The LTX is an excellent tire and will probably last to about the right time to change tires because of age.

Some Airstreams will not fit a 16" tire—depends on the wheel cutout and measurement must be done very carefully, over and over. The reason some of us have gone to 16" is because Michelin no longer makes the right tire size in 15".

Michelins cost more but they last longer and ride better so they are actually cheaper. They don't lose air like Marathons do.

They have between 13,000 and 14,000 miles on them and at the rate they are wearing I think they will last at least 55,000 miles.

I believe Airstream stopped buying wheels from Greenball in 2008 and has another supplier now. I got mine through Airstream after we made a deal. The clearcoat on my original wheels (probably from Greenball) was coming off and they looked pretty bad.

Some replace Marathons with Maxxis ST tires and seem happier. The discussion over ST vs. LT tires is endless.

Gene