About 4 years ago I read about every tire thread on these forums trying to decide on which tires to purchase. I found the good year marathons on sale and despite the mixed reviews went ahead and purchased them. The build date is 0212, I had them installed March 2012. I store my Toy Hauler indoors, it has never sat outside in the sun for more then a week long camping trip. I check my tire pressure before every trip, I drive 60 to 65 MPH always. I don't cover my tires because they are stored indoors and never thought it to be necessary. I went camping last week and had a blow out on my way. Called AAA, swapped it for a spare, hit the closest tire store and replaced it with a cheap tire until I got home. On my way back 3 days later blew another tire on the same side. Called AAA, headed to storage. Went to my storage yesterday and a 3rd tire was flat. In less then a week I lost 3 of these Goodyear Marathons. You would think goodyear would put out a top notch product. I use these for short trips 10 to 12 times a year. This time around I am going with the Carlisle Radial RH 12 Ply which I found on Amazon for 119.00 each. Does anyone know of a better deal or tire for that matter?

All ST tires are suspect 3 years after their MFR date, regardless of what the outside tread looks like. Most tire stores will tell you to replace them every 3 years (of course, they sell tires...). In my experience (I've had 6 blow outs in 10 years) they just don't last more than 4 years from the MFR date, I NEVER had one make it to 5 years.I have had the same experience with Carlisle and GreenBall (Transmaster). Yes, they are cheaper, but you will need to replace them more often. You probably should have replaced all 5 when you blew the first one.I'm now running Bridgestone Duravis R250's, they cost more, but I'm hoping to get more life from them (about 5 years would make it worth the cost). And of course, no more blow outs or trailer damage!Good luck with whatever decision you make.

I put these on my rig. I am really happy with them, they are the toughest commercial tires I could find.If you have any doubt, look at the specs, particularly the weight of each tire. Bridgestone R250

BigDogF250 wrote:All ST tires are suspect 3 years after their MFR date, regardless of what the outside tread looks like. Most tire stores will tell you to replace them every 3 years (of course, they sell tires...). In my experience (I've had 6 blow outs in 10 years) they just don't last more than 4 years from the MFR date, I NEVER had one make it to 5 years.I have had the same experience with Carlisle and GreenBall (Transmaster). Yes, they are cheaper, but you will need to replace them more often. You probably should have replaced all 5 when you blew the first one.I'm now running Bridgestone Duravis R250's, they cost more, but I'm hoping to get more life from them (about 5 years would make it worth the cost). And of course, no more blow outs or trailer damage!Good luck with whatever decision you make.3 years? Really? I appreciate the input.

Artum Snowbird wrote:I put these on my rig. I am really happy with them, they are the toughest commercial tires I could find.Bridgestone R250Thanks I will check these out.

When I purchased my FW in 2005 it had Marathons on it. They did great for five years and then I had three blowouts on one 600 mile trip. I bought new marathons and two of them lasted a year and less than 10,000 miles. I had covers on the tires, so I don't think it was caused by UV exposure. I suspect that the new Marathons aren't as good as the older ones and that storing the FW with the weight on the tires was what cause them to go bad. I plan on putting Michelins on before I take my next long trip.

Goodyear Marathons | Good Sam Community

44 Replies

iambigd
Explorer
May 06, 2016
schlep1967 wrote:
morley wrote:
I had Marathons on my 5er from the factory and for over 20,000 miles (almost 5 years) no problems except for the rear driver side tire wearing badly on the inside edge due to my rear axle being bent.
Replaced all 4 tires two years ago with 2 Crosswinds on the front axle and then 2 Maxxis 8008 on the rears.. Almost 8,000miles on these now with no problems as of yet.

I have no idea how many miles I had on my D rated Marathons. They were on the trailer when I bought it new. The date code on the tires was December 2007. I just replaced them last week with new Marathons. I did go up to the E rated tire as it only cost me $4 more per tire and my rims were rated for it. The old tires were 8.5 years old and just started to show signs of cracking. The trailer sits outside year round without the tires covered. Total cost for 4 E Rated Marathons mounted and out the door was $510. I took the rims to the garage.

How much does your 5th wheel weigh?
JIMNLIN
Explorer III
May 06, 2016
Your E rated Marathons were overloaded or very close to it. And once one blew the one next to it was at or near twice it's rating. This also would have added more weight to the opposing tire possibly putting it over the edge as well.

As has been posted many times before the flat tire is still holding most if not all its weight through the equalizer bar. Run the flat long enough and it will wear the rim away after the tire is gone.
Now years back before our trailers came with equalizer bars your scenario happened.......often.
The flat tire at some point down the road slings/shreds itself to pieces. I've had the steel belts from the shredded tread cut or bruise the tire next to it. This is common when running at nite.
iambigd
Explorer
May 06, 2016
iambigd wrote:
For as much as the XPS cost and everyone telling me I need to replace these every 3 to 4 years, plus they are the load rating I am looking for, I could buy new Carlisle every 2 years and still come out on top.

I'm just not sure, this is the comparison I came up with.

Michelin XPS 235 85 16 10 Ply
PRICE- 272.00 (source, Walmart)
Treadwear Warranty- 60,000 miles
Tire Type- Light Truck-
Sidewall- Black Sidewall
Speed Rating- Q
Load Index- 120
Speed Rating Translation- 100 mph
Load Index Translation- 3086 lbs.
Weight- 56lbs
Made in China
This is unclear on there website and they make it real hard to find however if you dig you can find it. I wasn't 100 percent sure so I called and verified. They official answer was Yes they are made in China at a Michelin owned facility in Shenyang however you may get a different answer from another person.

Carlisle Radial Trail RH Trailer Tire - ST235 85 R16 F 12 Ply
PRICE- 119.99 (source, Amazon)
Treadwear Warranty- 2 years
Tire Type- Special Trailer
Sidewall- Black Sidewall
Speed Rating- R
Load Index- 128
Speed Rating Translation- 106 mph
Load Index Translation- 3960 lbs.
Weight- 50lbs
Made in China
schlep1967
Nomad
May 06, 2016
nayther wrote:
change to LT tires

I went to a Firestone, similar to the Bridgestone's mentioned. Had Marathon's originally and they were OK, lost a couple but they were a bit old, no damage. Last one I lost took out a fender flare, etc. so went to all Firestones at the suggestion of my friends at Western Tire in Burbank (HIGHLY recommend these guys, been buying tires from them for 35 years).

The following info is from the linked site.
Trailer Tire Facts

Why Use An "ST" Tire
"ST" tires feature materials and construction to meet the higher load requirements and demands of trailering.
The polyester cords are bigger than they would be for a comparable "P" or "LT" tire.
The steel cords have a larger diameter and greater tensile strength to meet the additional load requirements.
"ST" tire rubber compounds contain more chemicals to resist weather and ozone cracking.

Also
If a tire fails on a tandem axle trailer, you should replace both tires on that side. The remaining tire is likely to have been subjected to excessive loading.
schlep1967
Nomad
May 06, 2016
morley wrote:
I had Marathons on my 5er from the factory and for over 20,000 miles (almost 5 years) no problems except for the rear driver side tire wearing badly on the inside edge due to my rear axle being bent.
Replaced all 4 tires two years ago with 2 Crosswinds on the front axle and then 2 Maxxis 8008 on the rears.. Almost 8,000miles on these now with no problems as of yet.

I have no idea how many miles I had on my D rated Marathons. They were on the trailer when I bought it new. The date code on the tires was December 2007. I just replaced them last week with new Marathons. I did go up to the E rated tire as it only cost me $4 more per tire and my rims were rated for it. The old tires were 8.5 years old and just started to show signs of cracking. The trailer sits outside year round without the tires covered. Total cost for 4 E Rated Marathons mounted and out the door was $510. I took the rims to the garage.
nayther
Explorer
May 06, 2016
change to LT tires

I went to a Firestone, similar to the Bridgestone's mentioned. Had Marathon's originally and they were OK, lost a couple but they were a bit old, no damage. Last one I lost took out a fender flare, etc. so went to all Firestones at the suggestion of my friends at Western Tire in Burbank (HIGHLY recommend these guys, been buying tires from them for 35 years).
schlep1967
Nomad
May 06, 2016
iambigd wrote:
I checked these out, they are E rated. I don't think they are strong enough for my Toy Hauler. Loaded I am around 15k to 15.5k with a Dual Axle trailer.

The Marathons get blamed again for a problem they didn't cause.

So the Marathons that you had on there that were E rated blew out and now you want to change to a higher rated tire. I see no reason not to stick with a higher rated Marathon tire. Your E rated Marathons were overloaded or very close to it. And once one blew the one next to it was at or near twice it's rating. This also would have added more weight to the opposing tire possibly putting it over the edge as well.
morley
Explorer
May 06, 2016
I had Marathons on my 5er from the factory and for over 20,000 miles (almost 5 years) no problems except for the rear driver side tire wearing badly on the inside edge due to my rear axle being bent.
Replaced all 4 tires two years ago with 2 Crosswinds on the front axle and then 2 Maxxis 8008 on the rears.. Almost 8,000miles on these now with no problems as of yet.
iambigd
Explorer
May 06, 2016
For as much as the XPS cost and everyone telling me I need to replace these every 3 to 4 years, plus they are the load rating I am looking for, I could buy new Carlisle every 2 years and still come out on top.

I'm just not sure, this is the comparison I came up with.
Blackdiamond
Explorer
May 05, 2016
Carlisle, Trail USA, is a really good trailer tire, made in USA. They are bias ply which I really like for trailer tires.

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