Marathon, Towmax, or ? in 15"

[blickcd]

I bought some new aluminum wheels, same as used on the current Classic Limited edition, to give my trailer an updated look.

Having checked reviews on Goodyear Marathon ST225/75R15 and Power King Towmax in the same size, they both get fair to poor reviews. Evidently famous for failure and causing destruction to your trailer in the process. However, both of these are OEM equipment on modern Airstreams.

I'd be getting load range D and checking pressure, condition, etc on a regular basis, but are these tires really bad news? I know they've been around for years and would think that quality has to have improved to avoid legal action. Any other tires that are better quality in this size?

I'm not going to 16" having just dropped some bucks on the new 15" wheels.

Christopher

[flynmike]

Since you're going to stay with 15's you should get a tire pressure monitor. I had 15" marathons on my 30' and decided to go to 16's for more tire choices for the weight. When I took the 15's off to install the 16's three of my four tires had buldges/lumps and tread seperation. They were about to come apart...I was just lucky. Even though I had been very good about keeping the pressure up and even they still failed. They were 3 years old at the time and had ton of tread. I think there are just too many horor stories about blow outs causing trailer damage to consider marathons.

Have your trailer weighed with everything configured for a trip and get tires for the weight you haul but I'd shy away from marathons.

[Rebee]

I am in the process of changing over to Towmax, I put two on front axle, I went to E rated tires and Towmax had them in 15 inch.
I have been having problems with D rated tires in other brands.

[4RXLA]

I have Maxxis range D tires about 1 year old and they appear to be wearing just fine with 2000 miles on them. I'll know more a month from now after I complete a 3000 mile trip with them.

[Schu]

Originally Posted by blickcd

I bought some new aluminum wheels, same as used on the current Classic Limited edition, to give my trailer an updated look.

Having checked reviews on Goodyear Marathon ST225/75R15 and Power King Towmax in the same size, they both get fair to poor reviews. Evidently famous for failure and causing destruction to your trailer in the process. However, both of these are OEM equipment on modern Airstreams.

I'd be getting load range D and checking pressure, condition, etc on a regular basis, but are these tires really bad news? I know they've been around for years and would think that quality has to have improved to avoid legal action. Any other tires that are better quality in this size?

I'm not going to 16" having just dropped some bucks on the new 15" wheels.

Christopher

Airstream still uses Marathon tires because they have a track record of being the top of the line as far as ST tires go. Airstream Service Department carries 16 inch Goodyear and Michelin LTtires. They also carry the 15 inch Towmax E rated tire. Airstream Production does not use Tomax tires.

[sk8r29]

Last year I had to replace my Marathons on my 2008 AS after less than 20,000 miles. Belts had broken on three of the four tires and my trailer does not get abused in any way: no curbs, no low pressure, (I use a pressure monitor), no bad roads.

Needless to say I was less than pleased with the Marathons so after a lot of searches on the forum I decided to go with Maxxis load range E. I've been very pleased so far but the real test will be this summer when we have an 8000 mile trip planned. For now the Maxxis seem to ride smoother and the trailer even seems to sway less.

[Soyboy]

FWIW, I have run Maxxis M8008 ST tires on my previous Jayco and now on my Airstream. On aftermarket HWT Alum wheels on both trailers BTW. I have been very happy with them so far. Thousands of miles, up over curbs a couple of times (tight spots) into camp grounds with ruts and roots etc. I was really pleased the other week on the way to Assateague when I hit a murderious pothole pulling on to Rt. 50 near the Bay Bridge in MD with no tire damage. While some folks have had problems with them, there seem to be less complaints and more recommendations about these than other ST tires I have seen including Marathons (which I had as orig. equip. on my Jayco with no problems BTW, but they were made 10 years ago). I purchased mine from Discount Tire Direct, like the Tire Rack they give very good service.

Good luck with your choice.

[handn]

A lot depends on your planned use. Those of who use our Airstreams down south in the summer have serial problems with D rated ST (trailer service only) tires. Marathons and no names have the same poor performance record. Maxxis's may be somewhat better. If you are planning to long highway trips in very hot weather get LT (light truck) tires. A few are available in 15 inch sizes.
Even a load range C LT tire is much better than a D rated ST tire assuming the two C rated tires will carry 1/2 the gvw of your trailer less the hitch weight.

[Wingeezer]

I recently changed the five year old Marathon tires on our trailer to Towmax.

There was nothing evidently wrong with the tires, I simply changed them due to all the bad press, coupled with the fact that they were five years old.

I did have problems with Marathons on my last trailer - but I cannot blame that on the tires! At the time, I didn't realize the importance of changing them on a time basis I thought that as long as they had adequate tread and no cracked sidewalls they would be fine - not so! Three of four tires started flying apart at virtually the same time on a cross-country trip! Those tires were ten years old! I've learned my lesson!

So, on our present trailer, I decided at five years to renew them. Because of the weight of our trailer, I also decided to move up to an E rated tire on the assumption (maybe misguided) that its higher capacity would translate to greater reliability for me.

I was intending to get a set of Maxxis 15" E rated Tires this winter when in Arizona. (couldn't find them here in Canada)

But on the way to Arizona, we stopped in at Jackson Centre to have a few jobs done. I noticed that they were selling Towmax E rated tires and decided to give them a try.

Too early to yet but they carried us to Tucson and back home without problem. Reports I have read about them seem for the most part positive.

I did also install a tire pressure monitoring system. Not sure if it will ever save me from having the side of the trailer ripped up or not, but it certainly adds a little peace of mind! Also gives me anther toy to play with on long drives, checking each of my tire pressures/temperatures!


Brian

[AirsDream]

I just changed from 14" Marathons (no issues at all regarding wear, etc.) to 15" Michelin LTX LRC tires. This gets me a higher speed rating, and due to the larger tire, a somewhat reduced inflation for the same load carrying capacity (I'm hoping for / asusming, a slightly softer ride as a result). It also gets me about 1" more ground clearance, which though it raises the trailer's CG by that much, is a godsend when "off road." But: be careful about the increased diameter and clearance around the wheel wells. On my Safari, I'm down to less than 2" clearance fore and aft ... I think not a problem unless I have a blowout - but then again, no matter what the tire, if there's a blowout, I'm gonna have bent aluminum.

So I'm very persnickety about checking inflation several times a day and checking tire and wheel hub temperahures with an IR thermometer every time I stop for a rest break, potty call, fuel, etc. Never a problem yet (knock on wood!).

[kry226]

In a 15", I would look at Continental Vanco 2 in LR D. These are Eurovan-type tires designed with additional carrying capacity in mind for the heavy vans. I have a set of these on my flatbed utility trailer and have been very pleased, especially after one of my Marathons' sidewall blew out in the August heat one afternoon in Texas.

Continental USA Car / Light Truck / SUV -Vanco™2

[GCinSC2]

TPMS = 2 thumbs up and then some.

GYM = Nothing positive to say from my short time with AS.