Tires Again (recommendations?)

[AirsDream]

I had good experiences with GYMs - many thousands of trouble free miles. BUT a.) I'm a lousy sample size, and there clearly have been lots of failures, and b.) I often (esp. in western states) want to run faster than 65 mph, and that's all that ST tires are rated for. So I switched to Michelin LT tires. I think it's pretty much standard lore that they have more flexible sidewalls than ST tires, so presumably they display more "squirm" and they no doubt don't have the same resistance to "curbing." So it's a tradeoff. I check inflation every day, check temperature at every stop, and I don't hit curbs with them. I also try hard to avoid very sharp, hard turns when backing into parking spots ... not always possible, however ... so as not to stress them more than I need to. So far so good. After several tens of thousands of miles, they display some tread wear (a few 32nds according to my trusty tread depth gauge), just as they should.

I suspect that for most folks, in most operational regimes, ST tires are the right answer. For higher temperatures and/or higher speeds, maybe not so much. I was happy with my GYMs, but feel more secure with my LTs, so long as I don't try to make them do the impossible. Good luck with your decision!

[r carl]

Originally Posted by Bruce B

I am not a popular voice on this subject but I will let you know my opinion...
I believe that Goodyear has corrected whatever issues plagued their Chinese manufactured Marathons. I have had conversations with people within the industry who's opinion I trust. Goodyear was aware of the issue and has acted to fix it! Airstreams largest US dealers service manager agrees with me and he sees more of these tires than any of us!
I believe that any tire can fail and in fact our trailer was delivered with a faulty Marathon that I discovered and had replaced.
I do this (auto repair) for a living and believe me it happens.....
I am leaving our Marathons on the trailer!
Bruce

In your conversations with people within the industry , did they tell you what was done to correct the tires????

[gandttimes]

I had one tire separation issue on my 2008 20 ft SE, Scary as I had to drive to drive about 200 kms on it as I had left my proper socket at home. Luckily it was raining all the way and kept the tire cool enough. When I took it to the GY dealer he said before he even saw it that it had probably been made in China and that it was pre 2007. I got a replacement GYM and it was American made. The other side was fine. I only usually cruise at about 90 to 95 km for mileage and will keep an eye out, but it does make me nervous.
George

[Bruce B]

Originally Posted by r carl

In your conversations with people within the industry , did they tell you what was done to correct the tires????

Only that Goodyear recognized that there was a serious issue with tires in certain production runs of Marathons made in China. Serious enough to move production back to the US until the issue could be isolated and resolved. Then they started the line back up in China. Not a trivial undertaking I am sure.

Nobody I have spoken to has said that they know what the "issue" was, just that it has been corrected. I bet that information is not for public consumption.

When I found an out of round tire on our new Airstream this spring my first call was to Goodyear. A "What's up?" kind of call. They readily admitted that there had been problems with earlier production tires and they also didn't argue about my request to replace the out of round tire. No problem! Bring it in....

My replacement tire and the original good tire are perfectly round and held balance after about 3000 miles. Usually a bad tire shows itself pretty quickly. I am cautiously optimistic my Marathons will be just fine....

Bruce

[c177tx]

My GYM's were doing great until I had the street side explode driving across New Mexico this past Saturday, made it in to Sante Fe on a spare and a prayer because the curb side tire had also separated. The tire guy at discount tire recommended Carlisle because the more expensive GYM have been coming back with belt separation. They do not recommend the GYM. Now I need to get the street side wheel well repaired. I was lucky that the GYM came apart so fast that it only damaged the trim piece and knocked off my sewer cap. So as the saying goes you are either going to or leaving the scene of a blow out on the GYM.

2008 19' Bambi. The GYM's were in great shape before leaving central Texas on Friday, pressure was checked and plenty of thread.

P.S. I can not say enough about the great service I received from the guys at Discount Tires in Sante Fe for getting me back on the road in record time

[mtntime]

Why risk $50 GYM's on a 60k+ plus investment. Airstream puts them on just like the rest of the industry because they are cheap cheap! If Airstream was serious about a premium product they would put 16" Michelins on period. I won't even sell my GYM's that I took off basicly new.

[05ModPod]

GYM's were on my 22' Int'l had been for 3 years. By fourth year - I had a tread trasher - the thread just ripped off. It was at the time of all the hoop ha - but the truth of the matter is the tire had dry rot from sitting. Looked great on the outside but you don't see the inside on routine walk arounds. The air held in the tires no problem.

I replaced them with GYM's and have since put 10K miles on this set.

Ha my frame broke before these tires even have a bit of wear on them.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, my trailer came with Goodyear Marathons. [made in Canada] The left side tires each developed a small sidewall bubble after about three years of use. I replaced those with Goodyear Marathons. [made in China] On my trip to Alaska, both right side tires [seven years old] started to separate. [not at the same time. I replaced one of those with another Goodyear Marathon. [made in China] The other tire was replaced with a Carlisle. [that was all I could buy in the town I was at in Alaska] My spare tire is the original Goodyear Marathon, [made in Canada] and it has never been used. At this rate, the Chinese made Marathons might be better than my original Canadian made Marathons.

[Steve & Mary]

We lost use of our trailer after a GYM blowout which did nearly $7k work of damage to the trailer. I filed a claim with GY and they found the tire to be faulty and paid for the damages. I was still out a lot of expense because of where I chose to take our trailer for repairs since the complete lower half of the left side had to be replaced. But we are now very happy with the repairs and in all fairness to Goodyear, they accepted the fact the tire was bad. My understanding is GY had a recall on a run of tires after our failure. We are back in business but I did replace all of my tires with a different brand.

[Kamiak]

Is there a time frame associated with the manufacturing “problems”, “bad batches”, etc? Have there been multiple bad batches over the years?

[crisen]

I have GYM on a Toyhauler and a boat trailer and have no problems but I don't tow faster than about 62. The GYM (and I believe all trailer tires) are rated for a maximum of 65 at recommended inflation pressures. Goodyears product bulletin 2011-13 requires the tires to be inflated to 10 psi over the recommended pressure for use between 66 and 75 mph.

Just curious if any of you with reports of failures complied with this requirement?

Rick

[BeachHouse]

With a google search I found a tire complaint web site.

Goodyear Marathon Tire Consumer Complaints

There are quite a few 2010 and 2011 complaints about Marathons, but all of them are for the 16" version. All the 15" complaints go back to 2006 and 2007 (and earlier).

Again, not very scientific. I sure wish there were good options. While I have no issue with Michelin tires, I don't like the idea of using tires not rated for trailer use. Many posters have had success, but there must be many more with GYM success as well. If there really are no failures of Michelin tires in a trailer application (even without being rated for it), it does mean something. Um... what to do...

[toastie]

Originally Posted by jcanavera

At this point after belt separations on 2 of my 4 E rated Maxxis tires, I'm not convinced that many of the issues we are dealing with aren't related to ST tires regardless of manufacturer rather than any of the current specific brands. In both my failure situations, the tires failed at the end of year 3 or within year 3. Pressures are maintained and the trailer is stored indoors. It's not used frequently so maybe lack of use also caused premature failure. Whatever it is, I'm one who made the jump to 16" LT tires and wheels. Just got the wheels and tires on over the weekend and hoping that this is the answer. I have to consider myself fortunate in in both cases I caught the failures while in the driveway at home and not on the road.

Attached is an example of my current failure. Note the taller tire which is next to a tire that hasn't failed.

Jack

Bought Maxxis last year, researched the forum big time and found nothing wrong until now........OH! well...........

[Phoenix]

ST tires seldom make the news, because their failures are mostly just an inconvenience to trailer owners. If tires on passenger-carrying vehicles failed at the same rate, and people were periodically injured and/or killed, Goodyear Marathon Tire failures would be a regular feature on the evening news, or on 20/20, Dateline and/or 60 Minutes. (Remember Firestone tires on Ford Explorers?) If ST tire failures ever come to the fore, that entire class of tires might be eliminated, with LT tires taking their place.

However, it's all about money. All trailer manufacturers need a basic tire that's cheap and relatively reliable, that can be installed as original equipment. Like auto manufacturers, they know that many owners will buy better tires when the first set wears out. For new cars that come with low-end, "basic" tires, how many people purchase the same brand and model tire to replace the worn out originals? Just guessing, but probably very few.

The main problem for trailer owners, is that there are very few non-ST, load range D and E tire options available for 15-inch rims; and one must switch to 16-inch wheels to get more reliable LT tires in an equivalent size. The extra cost of replacing all of the wheels, in addition to the tires, is what causes the most consternation. Again, just guessing, but most of us would probably, gladly pay a few dollars more to get LT replacement tires, without even grumbling about it. Like a new car, one just figures it costs a little more to get better tires when replacements are needed. In fact, if LT tires in load range D and E were available in size 225/75x15, a significant number of posts on this site would disappear.

On the other hand, if the quality/reliability of Goodyear Marathons was just a tiny-bit worse, and they failed at the factory or while being transported to dealers, we would all have 16-inch wheels and LT tires as standard equipment on our Airstreams.

[Bruce B]

Originally Posted by Phoenix

..... In fact, if LT tires in load range D and E were available in size 225/75x15, a significant number of posts on this site would disappear.

On the other hand, if the quality/reliability of Goodyear Marathons was just a tiny-bit worse, and they failed at the factory or while being transported to dealers, we would all have 16-inch wheels and LT tires as standard equipment on our Airstreams.

While at Alumapalooza an Airstream representative said that in fact 16" wheels with Michelins are being added to the line. They are testing the waters on the Eddie Bauer trailers first. If all goes well you will see them on more models.

Bruce

[bovk]

I just took off GYM tires for what I thought was a routine replacement at 30,000 MI. One had thread separated so badly that you could see the bubble and worn out part of the tire was about 8" long. It did not fully separated by pure luck only! The tire was made in 2010, made in China.
No, the problem with GYM is not solved.
The bigger problem is that in 15", single axle tires there is no replacement with a good history. (single axle 20' trailers need higher load rating compared to Michelins mentioned above)

[SteveH]

I own two travel trailers, three boat trailers, and a utility trailer. I have long ago purchased my last "ST" tire.

[hellsbay]

I just had a catastrophic blowout on I-40 outside of Oklahoma City. Before leaving for my trip I replaced both tires on my 2008 Bambi with Marathon ST's and had the bearings repacked. There is some damage to the wheel well but it doesn't look too bad. Tire pressure was 65psi and I was doing about 65 or 70 mph. Needless to say, I no longer have confidence in the GYM tires.

Now I will have to spend a day getting a new tire mounted and will have to look into getting the wheel well repaired. I may even need a new wheel. I have a TV that goes off road and I have been over very rough terrain with it and never had an issue with the tires. I have been getting 45,000 to 50,000 miles on these tires. I can cruise at 80mph all day and know with confidence that the tires can handle it. It doesn't seem right that with all the money we, as AS owners, have invested in our trailers that we should have to worry about new tires exploding!

[xrvr]

Max speed rating on st tires is 65mph, jim

[mtntime]

All the more reason to replace them.