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Al - K4GLU · 06-02-2008, 02:24 PM

Not quite but only because I caught it just in time. Was doing a general trailer inspection and one of the tires didn't look right - in fact it is a mess. Entire tread center is bulging out and there are several big chunks of rubber missing from the tread area. These are ST225 75R15 "E" load range tires. They are a bit over a year and a half old and have been run at 70 lbs. Mileage is between 15 and 20K. Messed up tire is on the road side. Don't know just what caused this as I've been paying pretty close attention to these tires. I think this is the same tire I got a screw in last July and it had to be plugged. Can't remember any serious holes or other road hazards I've run into lately. Or maybe it was just a defective tire. Or maybe there is some other reason I'm not aware of. So those of us who bought the stronger "E" rated Maxxis are not out of the woods as far as the tread separation problem goes. Sorry but I don't have any way of posting a picture - I'm probably the last person in the world who doesn't own a digital camera - or any camera for that matter.

Silvertwinkie · 06-02-2008, 02:36 PM

Not the best of news...but thanks for posting the info....

overlander63 · 06-02-2008, 02:51 PM

For future reference, a plug is considered a temporary repair, and should be replaced with a patch as soon as possible. The plug can force the steel belts apart, encouraging separation.

jayray5 · 06-02-2008, 02:52 PM

These tires need to be repaired with a patch on the inside. Even then there is a possibility for air to get in between the tread and the belts. This causes a bubble which then throws of chunks of tread off the tire. The worst part of this is the vibration which will shake your coach like crazy. Bias ply d rated tires don't do this and were the tires of choice for years. Much stronger sidewalls and long tread life to boot. Bias tires age and crack long before tread wears out.
I think your troubles started when you had the tire "plugged"

Al - K4GLU · 06-02-2008, 03:03 PM

It's possible I'm wrong about the plug. That may have been a slip. The tire was repaired at a tire shop and I assume they did it correctly. Pardon the possible slip. However if it was plugged and didn't have a patch applied guess that might have been the problem.

**jcanavera** · 06-02-2008, 03:24 PM

Did you get a chance to look inside the tire? Any sign of a patch? The fact that it was the one that had picked up the screw says that obviously there may have been more damage than you realized or the repair didn't make things right with the tire. If anything it's a smoking gun.

Jack

LoydBonifide · 06-02-2008, 03:40 PM

It figures. I just signed for the delivery of 4 Maxxis this afternoon, unwrapped them, checked out my free Maxxis sport water bottle, cracked open a cold one, and decided to check out the forums.
Now this thread.

My GY Marathons are 6 years old, and have never been a problem. But I am on the verge of a Boston to LA round trip, followed by a Boston to Florida rount trip. After reading the the plethora of threads on the tire failure subject, I determined that I would replace them with the Maxxis, which draw high praise on the forum. In all the discussions, I did have a nagging recurring thought. There is a vast population of GY marathons in use, are the failures statistically insignificant? I am sure that the population of Maxxis in use is far smaller, so does this failure negate the perceived better performance of the Maxxis?

I am not well schooled in statistics, I am sure someone out there is. Am I thinking too much? Is it time for another cold one?

Silvertwinkie · 06-02-2008, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoydBonifide

It figures. I just signed for the delivery of 4 Maxxis this afternoon, unwrapped them, checked out my free Maxxis sport water bottle, cracked open a cold one, and decided to check out the forums.
Now this thread.

Am I thinking too much? Is it time for another cold one?

I'm right there with you......

Just got my Maxxis water bottle with 4 tires about a month ago and have about 700 miles on mine.

Al - K4GLU · 06-02-2008, 04:01 PM

Well I haven't given up on Maxxis. The same place that answered my road service call didn't carry them but they could order Maxxis tires and I've got a new one on the way - should be here on Wed. But if I should have yet more problems - then where do I turn? I've only been RVing 8 years - first 6+ with a Casita and the AS going on 2 and I've had many tire problems - Carlisle, GY Marathons and Tow Master on the Casita and now Maxxis on the AS. I'll admit that before my first failure - which was a Carlisle - I didn't pay much attention to the tires beyond looking to see if they still had air in them but after the first tread peeled off I've kept pretty close track of things and even that doesn't seem to be doing any good. Am I snake-bit? About 5 weeks ago I picked up a nail in one of my truck tires. Fortunately it didn't lose much air and was able to get it to tire shop. Will it never end?

The damaged Maxxis is still on the rim - in fact it still has air in it. When it gets broken down on Wed I'll take a look at the inside and see what it looks like where the repair was.

Area63 · 06-03-2008, 01:36 PM

Thanks for sharing this.Please keep us informed on the defective tire.

Al - K4GLU · 06-04-2008, 02:41 PM

Got my new tires today. I ordered two new "E" Maxxis and I'm glad I did as the other tire on the trailer was also looking a bit worn. Sorry but I got in a hurry and completely forgot to look inside the badly damaged tire and see if it was the one that had been repaired. Didn't even think about until I was back at the campground.

Was told by the people who put the new tires on that the old ones appeared to have been very poorly balanced as both had 3 weights at different places on the rim. Not sure if this could have been a factor - a lot of people say it isn't necessary to balance trailer tires.

Interestingly enough the total cost of tires/installation/balance/new valve stems was less than the cost of the first set of tires alone that I ordered direct from Maxxis and had shipped to me UPS - and I then had to pay someone else to mount. Probably explains why Maxxis can afford to give away their little gifts with the tires they sell direct.

GStephens · 06-04-2008, 03:02 PM

One of my good friends, a long time Airstreamer who is meticulous in checking his tires runs Maxxis @ 70 lbs. pressure on his newer 30' Limited. He had one blow and do extensive damage to his trailer's road side. He went back to the factory to have his trailer repaired a few weeks ago. I don't know what tires are the best. I've always ran Goodyear Marathons and so far haven't had any problems though I've read of all the problems others have encountered and am in no way touting one brand over another. We put on over 15,000 miles last year with the Marathons. I worry every time I hook up that this will be the trip, but so far trouble free.
GStephens

**jcanavera** · 06-04-2008, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al - K4GLU

Interestingly enough the total cost of tires/installation/balance/new valve stems was less than the cost of the first set of tires alone that I ordered direct from Maxxis and had shipped to me UPS - and I then had to pay someone else to mount. Probably explains why Maxxis can afford to give away their little gifts with the tires they sell direct.

They need to be balanced...no doubt on that. Not all manufacturers balance their tires though. I bought from a rural dealer about 140 miles from here since there was no dealer in the metro St. Louis area that I could find, that handled them. My neighbor who was in the area at the time picked them up for me. The cost for 4 E's was around $380 or so with tax. I paid $15 a wheel locally for mounting, balancing and disposal of the old tires.

Jack

Minnie's Mate · 06-04-2008, 03:31 PM

I thought one of the factors in the Marathon issue was the date of manufacture and more importantly, country of origin...I thought the bad ones came from China and the good ones were made in Canada and U.S. No, nothing political in this post, just memory which can be flawed at times.

Al - K4GLU · 06-04-2008, 03:43 PM

The Marathon's I had problems with on another brand of trailer about 4 years ago were made in Canada.

**jcanavera** · 06-04-2008, 03:46 PM

The one that failed on me was Canadian built.

Jack

**jcanavera** · 06-04-2008, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GStephens

One of my good friends, a long time Airstreamer who is meticulous in checking his tires runs Maxxis @ 70 lbs. pressure on his newer 30' Limited.

I'm curious whether he was running the E rated tires. At 70 psi, he's within the operating limits of the E's. I'm running my E's at 75 psi.

Jack

Minnie's Mate · 06-05-2008, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al - K4GLU

The Marathon's I had problems with on another brand of trailer about 4 years ago were made in Canada.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcanavera

The one that failed on me was Canadian built.

Jack

OK, my bad. I remembered they came from a country that started with a "C".

It also seemed that they were made during a certain time frame, but that may be my misconstruing the facts again.

My Marathons may go on the next trip, but I've put over 12K miles on mine with 65 PSI without any problems so far. I do plan on replacing them around 15K-18K miles or probably at the beginning of next season. I have the coach stored near the destinations for this season's camping so this year's mileage should be pretty low. I stop about every 3 hours and check the temp with an infrared thermometer to make sure that they aren't overheating and they always seem to have consistent temps on the same side (sunny side a little higher) and seem to be in line with the temps of the tow vehicle's tire temps (always lower than the truck's). I keep the torque on the lugs at the factory specs and strike the tires with a mallet at each stop to check for unusual sounds. Not sure what else to do.

GStephens · 06-05-2008, 09:46 AM

jcanavera, Yes, he had (has) the E rated Maxxis. This is the second time he has destroyed the street side of his trailer with a tire failure. I'm not sure what brand he was running when he experienced the first tire failure, but I know that the first failure was the reason he put on the Maxxis. Again, he is religious about checking his pressures each day. He runs centramatics to help insure that everything is in balance. The only place he may be at fault is that according to his traveling buddies, he tends to drive well over 65 whenever he feels like it. Are the Maxxis rated for only 65 mph like all the other trailer tires? Could routine excess speed in the 70 to 75 mph range be causing his problems?
GStephens

**jcanavera** · 06-05-2008, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GStephens

The only place he may be at fault is that according to his traveling buddies, he tends to drive well over 65 whenever he feels like it. Are the Maxxis rated for only 65 mph like all the other trailer tires? Could routine excess speed in the 70 to 75 mph range be causing his problems?
GStephens

GStephens,

The Maxxis are ST tires and they are speed rated to 65 mph. I don't know what the tolerance level is but higher speeds can cause the tires to run hotter. Speed and pressure are contributing factors in the life of a tire. Unfortunately it's hard to find a load rating chart that has speed factors built in to it. I have seen one in the past from Michelin and there is no doubt that the load capacity of a tire decreases once you go over the max speed rating of the tire. When you note he drives "well over 65 mph", I see a smoking gun.

One of the best examples is the fact that you can tow a tandem axled Airstream with one tire missing. Did you notice that they warn you to keep the speed to 45 mph or less? Part of that is the fact that based on load rating charts that show the speed factor, the load bearing capacity of the single tire actually increases as the tire speed is reduced.

Jack