Forum Discussion

1Adam12's avatar
1Adam12
Explorer
Jul 14, 2014

2 separate blow outs on I-75 S/B in Georgia (Fifth Wheel)

Not if but when! We have been towing various configurations of travel trailers and fifth wheels for a long time coupled with different trucks and large SUV's. We have had one blow out in that time until Sunday. Coming home from North Georgia we lost the first passenger side tire on the 5ER outside of Macon. A short time later the second tire blew on the same side just north of Valdosta. Now it's late and we don't have a second spare. Luckily we were near and exit during both incidents and able to pull safely off the road. Sunday morning we started the fun of finding a tire on Sunday morning. Two things I learned from previous incident were number 1 have an RV tow service coverage, we use AAA but any will I'm sure work. #2, you can be prepared as best as you can (tires checked and at 80 psi) and less than two years old and it can/will happen. The TV is a 2013 Ram 3500 dually with zero damage to tires. The RV is a covered stored 2013 Keystone Montana 3750. The tires are Goodyear Marathon ST 235/80 R 16 E . We have taken this coach to north GA twice and SC once as well as multiple trips around FL. There is extensive damage to the wheel well area, landing gear and under carriage from the tire(s) exploding. I'm not brand bashing or complaining about anything but I guess I will look at load range E or F tires to get that confidence back. By the way my top speed is 65. Sheesh. :S

22 Replies

  • So sorry to hear about your blow outs. Come over and join the Montana Owners forum. There is a whole section on tires there. We bought our Montana, joined the forum, read the tire sub forum and couldn't get rid of those Marathons fast enough. You'll find other bits of invaluable info there too. You won't be able to see much until you register, so don't let it throw you off if you go over to just "check it out" it looks like there are no posts for over a year till you join.
  • The Marathon is actually know as the Marabomb, not a good tire to be on a heavy trailer. A lot of us have went with a G rated tire, I am running the Geostar 574 found on Ebay for a great price, also another good tire is the Goodyear 614. Your rims should be rated for the 110 psi rating for these tires, check on the back side of your rims on one of the spokes, it is stamped there...