Marathons made in USA

[memgrove2000]

deauxrite, Did you have to argue with walmart about the balancing? I have a set marathons ordered here and they say " we dont balance trailer tires" I said I would pay for it and they changed their tune. I will try to get it done free like a regular passengre car tire but I wonder if it is a local problem or if it is walmart as a whole?

[overlander63]

A very quick way to know if the tires are made here is to look for the scuff guard on the sidewalls. China-built ones all seem to have it, American made ones do not. It was a good idea that didn't compensate for the bad build quality.

[2airishuman]

MADE IN?

who REALLY made it is seldom clear cut.

the majority of problematic gyms were usa or CANADIAN made (traced to 1 plant in ontario)

and are PRE 2005 tires..

produced well before moving production east (or is it west?)

my canadian made gyms were good for 180,000 miles, while the chinese set have close to 240,000 miles and are still going...

but each country has different regs on what defines the "made in" label...

for example a product poured/cast/molded and made from raw materials in country X....

can be shipped to country Y for polishing/trim/inspection and legally be stamped...

made it Y...this is VERY common for many "made in" europe or canada products...
___________

Originally Posted by memgrove2000

deauxrite, Did you have to argue with walmart about the balancing?...

while you may have PAID for balancing, how/what was actually done?

almost ALL newer alloy auto wheels are HUB CENTRIC balanced (the hub fits onto the balancer and 'centers' the whole mess...

while MOST trailer wheels/tires are LUG CENTRIC....

basically a bigger center whole that's doesn't fit the balancer perfectly so a LUG adapter is used to center the mass for balancing....

IF the shop doesn't normally do trailer tires, they may NOT have the adapter/flange plate that's needed...

which means someone EYEBALLS mounting the wheel to the balancer, or GUESTIMATES the center...

so u may have PAID for balancing but NOT really gotten the proper service...

and the abnormal wear may not be obvioius for a year or 2 or a few thousand miles of towing...

cheers
2air'

[jnerges]

Hello all, What do you think I should do. My 28 foot INTL' has not moved in 7 months. It sits on a gravel pad near Seattle Washington. I had thought about just replacing the tires since we are moving to the South East. The tires look OK but we bought the trailer used. I have no idea what their history is.

Question, should I just re-inflate to full pressure and see how it goes or will it be safer to just start new. I am sure they don't have 20K miles.

Any thoughts would be most appreciated.

John

[silverleeper]

Welcome home! It would help to know the date of manufacture of the tires. Tire Tech Information - Determining the Age of a Tire.

[2airishuman]

hi john welcome back dude!

definitely check the 'born on' date codes IF they're 5+ years old, it's time for new and 20k over 5 years is reasonable service.
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Originally Posted by jnerges

...should I just re-inflate to full pressure and see how it goes...

just exactly how LOW are they after all this time?

IF they've been sitting at 65/70 psi, NOT rolling is less stressful.

but IF they've been at 30-50 psi (or less) there may be belt/wrap issues, sidewall cracks and so on.

most definitely REinflate them 65 now...
____________

i'm sure LOTS of new/used trailers SIT on dealer lots for 7 months without moving and without new tires at sale...
____________

there's no guarantee u won't have a flat en route, even with new tires...

but i'd be inclined to do replacements at a gy shop near HOME knowing the warranty can be serviced by ANY gy shop...

even in s'carolina.

and don't 4get the spare.

good to be back to playing with the trayla!

cheers
2air'

[jnerges]

Originally Posted by 2airishuman

hi john welcome back dude!

definitely check the 'born on' date codes IF they're 5+ years old, it's time for new and 20k over 5 years is reasonable service.
_________
They are greater than 5 YO old, err on the side of safety


just exactly how LOW are they after all this time?

Probably in the 50's, just got home a few days ago.
IF they've been sitting at 65/70 psi, NOT rolling is less stressful.

most definitely REinflate them 65 now...

will do

there's no guarantee u won't have a flat en route, even with new tires...

Les Schwab is about 4 miles away.

but i'd be inclined to do replacements at a gy shop near HOME knowing the warranty can be serviced by ANY gy shop...

and don't 4get the spare.

a Five Pack

good to be back to playing with the trayla!

cheers
2air'

Thanks for all the support. Glad I made it home safe.

John

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by memgrove2000

deauxrite, Did you have to argue with walmart about the balancing? I have a set marathons ordered here and they say " we dont balance trailer tires" I said I would pay for it and they changed their tune. I will try to get it done free like a regular passengre car tire but I wonder if it is a local problem or if it is walmart as a whole?

Did they balance just the tires, or the complete running gear.

If they did just the tires, in spite of the fact that you paid for it, they didn't do you any favors.

Balancing the complete running gear is very important.

However, if only the tires were balanced, you can add after market balancers to the drums, that keep everything in balance once you hit 25 mph. Nothing to wear, nothing to adjust, and they last forever, no matter how many new tires you may install.

There are several brands that are available, but Centramatic seems to be the most popular one.

Andy

[jnerges]

Hi Andy, What does balance the running gear entail?

John

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

Did they balance just the tires, or the complete running gear.

If they did just the tires, in spite of the fact that you paid for it, they didn't do you any favors.

Balancing the complete running gear is very important.

However, if only the tires were balanced, you can add after market balancers to the drums, that keep everything in balance once you hit 25 mph. Nothing to wear, nothing to adjust, and they last forever, no matter how many new tires you may install.

There are several brands that are available, but Centramatic seems to be the most popular one.

Andy

[ROBERT CROSS]

23yrs of Marathon Streaming with no failures.

People tend to blame the vehicle when a breakdown occurs, a good percentage of which could have been prevented with proper maintainence, tires are not much different.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by jnerges

Hi Andy, What does balance the running gear entail?

John

John.

The running gear on the trailer, is everything that rotates on the pavement when the trailer is in motion.

That means the tire and wheel, hub and drum, all as one assembly.

But today, it's rare to find a shop that can do that.

But as long as you can have the tire and wheel balanced, you can then add automatic balancers to the hub and drum, such as Centramatic balancers, as many Airsteam owners have already done. They last forever, and they zero maintenance. All you need to do, is take the tire and wheel off, slip the balancers on the drum studs, and then reinstall the tire and wheel.

From then on, the running gear is properly balanced from about 25 mph and higher.

They are also very reasonable.

Andy

[oxblood]

Never ever buy Goodyear Marathons! Unless you want trouble. I'm betting on Carlisle E-rated ST tires. I wish Michelin would build an ST tire.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

23yrs of Marathon Streaming with no failures.

People tend to blame the vehicle when a breakdown occurs, a good percentage of which could have been prevented with proper maintainence, tires are not much different.

I completely agree with my last post .

[Larry C]

Originally Posted by StingrayL82

Until I read good reviews about the Goodyear Marathon for the next two years, I'll stick to my Carlisle Radial Trail tires.

I have a 2000, 30' AS Excella, after replacing 3 sets of Goodyear Marathon ("D" rated) in 3 years, I finally found a set of Carlisle "E" rated last summer.

I finally got around to weighing the AS, and found that the actual weight was 9,000#. The Goodyear Marathons were at their max capacity, constantly, so no wonder they were not standing up to the task at hand.

Airstream can say what they want about design and engineering, but obviously, they can't calculate tire loading....in addition to that the original Alcoa aluminum wheels were not rated properly for the load they were carrying. 3 of the 4 wheels that were original to the trailer were cracked, neither AS, nor Alcoa would admit to liability for that problem.
A new set of aluminum wheels, (not Alcoa) solved that problem.

I'm not sure if Carlisle are made in the U.S., or Canada, but so far, in the past 5,000 miles, I've had no problems.

Bottom line on all this......check for yourself on weight, don't believe any manufacturer's claims, they all try to get by as cheaply as they can.

Larry C

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by Larry C

Airstream can say what they want about design and engineering, but obviously, they can't calculate tire loading.....

Not only tires...check your axle ratings, very likely they are overloaded also.
Ours 7300gvwr on 7000lb axles.

[wildwoodrver]

Our 2005 OEM Canadian Goodyears all suffered tread separation. Replaced them gradually with Chinese Goodyears, which seemed to be holding up. Finally in December the first one separated and it was replaced with a USA version. Thanks to the duty on Asian tires, we can now buy USA Goodyears! Let's hope they hang together. I'd LOVE to say I actually wore out a trailer tire one of these years. I'll only buy tires from America Discount Tire Store because of their fabulous warranty. Replacement for under $20, no questions asked.
I'd also be afraid to travel on any of these tires without tire pressure monitors in place.