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Old 08-13-2006, 01:25 PM   #1
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Marathon tires and hot weather

Recently, had 2 blowouts in May's 100 degree plus weather on our Airstream Classic 2003 tires with low mileage wear. These tires have no guarantee per Goodyear dealer. I try to keep tire pressure at 65 psi. The speed limits on many interstate roads also is up to 80 mph.!! Also heard some RV rentals have a temperature sensor warning if Temp > 165 degrees. Does anyone know of such a method of monitoring heat in the tires? Is this a common problem in towing? We use Marathon load D? Thanks for ideas when towing in hot Texas/New Mexico weather when we oftentimes are trying to escape the heat. Thx
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Old 08-13-2006, 01:46 PM   #2
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Your original tires are at least 3 years old. Despite looking nearly new a 3 year old trailer is probably due for replacement.

Goodyear Marathons are rated for 65 MPH, I don't care what the speed limit is.
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Old 08-13-2006, 02:32 PM   #3
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Hi oxblood--Your 34'er is a heavy one, with 3-axles which have a difficult time equally sharing load. If you are traveling on a rolling, or bouncy road at high speed, your tires can end up with some very high impact loads which could easily result in a blow out. High heat is also tough on tires. If you can't touch the side wall of your tire with your hand, they are too hot. Although the speed limit may be 80mph, I believe that is too fast to tow any A/S safely. I cruse all day at 62mph in 3rd gear (1:1 ratio) which results in good handling and keeps me in the sweet spot of the torque curve (3000rpm) of my 5.3 ltr with a 4.10 rear.--Frank S
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Old 08-13-2006, 03:28 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Heywood

Goodyear Marathons are rated for 65 MPH, I don't care what the speed limit is.
I agree, if you are running over the 65 MPH that the tires are rated for, trouble may find you.

Is your trailer stored outside? Do you have tires covers to protect the tires from UV? UV degradation and Higher than recommended speeds will shorten the life of tires.
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Old 08-13-2006, 04:41 PM   #5
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Again, ST tires are only rated for 65 MPH, no matter what the speed limit is. If you go faster, your tires will disintegrate from within over time, and you will never know it until they blow out. The damage is cumulative, and occurs exponentially as speed increases.
No matter how tempting it is, you go over the speed rating at your peril. If you fell you absolutely, positively, must go faster toi keep from getting run over out there, LT tires in the same size and weight rating are speed rated for 75 mph, but will need to be replaced more often. A forum search of ST tires and replacement, will give you many hours of reading pleasure.
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Old 08-13-2006, 05:14 PM   #6
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Thanks for responses so far. I keep A/S in covered parking but do not cover the tires. Obviously I'm driving too fast 70mph. Do you use Temperature sensors on the tires?
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Old 08-13-2006, 06:25 PM   #7
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How are Airstreams delivered?

This thread got me to thinking - how does Airstream deliver trailers to the dealers? Are they shipped in by truck, or hauled in 1 at a time behind a tow vehcile?

Knowing about the 65 mph limit on these tires I can comply - but could our tires have been towed over this limit during delivery, and we don't know about it, so we could be sitting on tires that have been overstressed before we even take delivery?

Does anyone know how Airstreams are delivered?
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Old 08-13-2006, 07:29 PM   #8
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On my 2004 Bambi one of the Marathons developed a large bubble on the side wall. Took it to a Goodyear dealer and they pro rated a replacement for me. I was very fortunate that I saw the bubble before it blew.
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Old 08-13-2006, 07:32 PM   #9
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hi rdm16ccd and oxblood....

i wish they flatbedded em........
but no they are pulled just like we do...
but with no w/d or antisway...just on the ball...

i regularly tow 72...that is the sweet spot for my truck....
65-70 is very very common as a towing speed..

heat is an issue with tire decline?
ok, but who can tell me what temp...anyone....what temp is the critical point?

perhaps it is just a linear progression of decline related to temp...
or maybe it is exponential relatad to temp....
or perhaps there is a break point on the temp scale for deterioration ...
again i can find no real data about what is the critical temp....

not to encourage fast towing but....

yes the marathon rating is 65 mph..
however even goodyear knows folks tow faster than that....
as they have info for those planning to tow faster....
on their website....
the warnings here are invariably harsher than theirs...

using a infrared thermometer i've taken pages of tire temps...

at average speeds from 55 to 75.
in all sorts of warm weather...
on a trip axle loaded up
my marathons do not vary 3 degree....ever.

of course sometimes while parked.
the sun side tires read 130 degree f.
which is 40 degrees hotter
than i've ever tested while moving....

so perhaps it has nothing to do with movement or speed.
just being in the sun
always yields the highest and hottest temps in my experience...

i do favor keeping the tires at max psi for cold inflation...

my belief is that under inflation is the culprit....
and internal temps; sidewall breakdown come as a result of under inflation...

not 60 or 65 or 70 or even 75 mph....

admitting to speeds faster than 65 isn't popular here...
but i sure bet towing at speeds greater than 65 is...

cheers
2air'
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Old 08-13-2006, 07:41 PM   #10
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Marathon Tires and hot weather

What does it matter. If the units had durable tires it wouldn't matter.
Remember how the first set of tires on your new car used to go quickly?
They went quickly because the tractor trailer delivery drivers would drive the cars on the trailer set the emergency brake then let the air out of the tires then via chain dogs, chain the chassis, not the axle, to the frame of the car trailer then inflate the tires until the chains were tight. Sometimes inflating past 60 lbs. I have seen this first hand.
So even if there were trailered to the dealers, they were still chained down to a trailer and the securing chains were tighteded somehow. You figure it out.
You get what you pay for in tires. Poorly built tire, exciting trip, well built tire, boring trip.
Its your choice, as Mr Dirt in the old commercials used to say"pay me now, pay me later"
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Old 08-13-2006, 07:55 PM   #11
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hi beginner....

didn't think a marathon thread would get past ya!

i agree about the towing vs flat bed...
my silly interest is that i'd like to be the first person to tow a new trailer...
sort of like buying a car with 20 miles vs 2000 on the odo....

but i'd also like to take delivery at the factory...

dealers need someone to put 2 k on em beforehand...
so they can find all the loose parts!

i know you are down on marathons...i like mine.

i might however, go with something else when it's time...

what do you like in the same size...

maxxis makes a good bike tire...toyo a good car/truck tire...
who makes the best trailer tire in our usual sizes?

cheers
2air'
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Old 08-13-2006, 08:09 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RDM16CCD
This thread got me to thinking - how does Airstream deliver trailers to the dealers? Are they shipped in by truck, or hauled in 1 at a time behind a tow vehcile?
The majority are towed, but I have seen some of the smaller units up on flat beds. Usually two to a flatbed.

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Old 08-13-2006, 09:03 PM   #13
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Maxxis

Maxxis ST tires are "N" rated for 87mph . Plus it seems three years is a short life for a tire. I'd hope to get at least 4-5 years out of a set of tires.
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Old 08-13-2006, 09:44 PM   #14
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Hi 2air
The subject of tire failures brings to mind an issue that I looked into several years ago, when I was a motorhome owner. There was a period where Firestone was having trouble with tire blow outs (the Ford Explorer made the most news, but similar reports were around about m/h tires)

The theory on m/h blowouts was that the chasis manufacturer set the TPs for the load of the basic chasis, and the m/h manufacturers were adding the entire weight of the coach, and not adjusting the TPs for the extra weight. Then when the m/h dealer did the pre-delivery check they would set the TPs right, but the tires had already been overstressed on the drive from the manufacturer, on under inflated tires. So, a blow out down the road was likely, and totally undetectable by the new owner.

Guess similar risks are present for trailers, even Airstreams. If most are towed to the dealers, are they done by drivers from the factory, or the dealer? Seems like the integrity of the tires is related to the integrity of the delivery driver, to keep the TPs and max speeds in line. Groan...another thing to worry about! At least with my single axle I could replace the tires for 1/3 of your bigger unit!

I also monitor tire and wheel temps with an infra red sensor during each road check, and confirm not that much difference in temps, except one time I had a nail/slow leak, and that tire was running hotter - a useful tool!

Good thread, useful discussion.
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Old 08-14-2006, 04:09 PM   #15
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Marathon Tires and hot weather

2airishhuman
I posted it on the thread Tires....Tires....Tires
and that was the Cooper Custom Trailer Plus.
I would have bought that on in a heart beat but Cooper Tires marketing structure made the tire almost impossible to get. Even if was a great tire, and I personally think it might have been, occasionally you whack something on the road and loose a tire. No fun waiting 3 days for an exact replacment to arrive. I carried a speedrating of S and was constructed much better than the GoodYears. They had extra glass belts to hold the thing together.
I now understand that that Cooper has discontinued the tire due to lack of sales. Thats a shame.
In conversations with commercial users of trailers, lawn companies, demolition companies constructions that used trailers that came with the Marathon, they all said that their trouble stopped when they went to 16 inch light truck tires of the same load rating (D) as the ST Marathons.
One such trailer manufacturer that used torsion axles supplied 5 new 16 wheels with Michelin LT tires to replace the 15 Marathons, they were cross terrain I think.
Any way, I did my research, talked to commercial users, canvassed this community and drew my own conclusions and bought what I think will give me many years of trouble free service.
All I ask now is that all failures be reported to the NHTSA at:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/
All these tire failures are not our fault or problem. It the tires fault and should be the manufacturers problem.
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Old 08-16-2006, 03:07 PM   #16
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One man's opinion

I also posted this in an earlier thread. My 24' Argosy came from farm land in Illinois. When I purchased it there were four brand new Primex HW 100 XT light truck tires. I have towed the trailer around Arizona a bit and the tires handle real well and show no signs of sidewall deterioration. If someone has some experience with these tires, I'd like to hear. These tires are from a Canadian affiliate of an US company (GPX) that is best known for industrial and long haul tires. Just thought I would put my two cents worth in...
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Old 09-29-2006, 03:52 PM   #17
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. . . and my trailer came from "farm land" in Wisconsin . . . with the same Primex HW 100 XT's (brand new). I found all the specs for them but no "feedback", anyone have any?
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Old 10-04-2006, 08:17 PM   #18
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The GoodYear Marathons are marginal; not enough rubber on them for exciting travels. I've had 7 die on me so far in my 98, not counting the additional 3 replaced by good year under warranty. 6 of them have been load range D:s. The failure rate is much higer than on my truck. I use smartire gen 1 to monitor pressure and temp in my tires. It has paid for itself in multiples since I have never damaged rims, wells or aluminum. I am considering alternatives with more rubber on them, to reduce risk of penetration. I'll really want 245s, for a bit more clearance, but I am hesitant to throw away 6 tires (4 on trailer and 2 spares). Has anyone looked at more beefy alternatives?

My experience with observed and acceptable temperature is a fairly consistent 40F plus ambient at around 65mph. Anything above that is often a sign of a bad bearing or tire that is no longer round. A bad bearing typically adds 10F or more, same with tires that are no longer round (due to internal structural problems).
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Old 11-25-2006, 07:30 AM   #19
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We also experienced a dual blowout. Check out the details and tire photos at thread http://www.airforums.com/forum...ay-15566.html?

73/gus
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Old 11-25-2006, 07:46 AM   #20
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According to the Cooper web page, the Cooper Custom Trailer Plus is discontinued.

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