Forum Discussion

cdlaine's avatar
cdlaine
Explorer
Mar 14, 2015

Not a tire rant.....

Recent return from Nogales (Patagonia Lake) towing the 5ver in the sig.. Passenger side front tire (Goodyear Marathon... 235 80 R 16E) got us all the way back to Chandler, Az. ...morning after return found the tire flat. Whew ! lucky break. Pulled the flat... found surface tread separation (under the tread) with extension into a leak on the inner sidewall seam. (tires new July of 2012...probably 3000 - 3500 total miles). Religious cold PSI checks at 80 psi.

Dropped by Discount tire (Sam's "doesn't carry trailer tires") and purchased a temporary replacement (as I'm not ready yet to change out all 4 ) ...Carlisle 235 80 R16 (specs seemed reasonable... load rating (I believe) same as Goodyear Marathon (3500'ish).

All in all ...just very thankful it did not blow on the road. As expected , lots of good tread left... I think the inner side wall may have been the origin of the fail.

Note to all... if you haven't done it lately, go thru the motions of changing a flat .... a long breaker bar for leverage (stored in the underneath compartment) and a higher rated jack (then needed) saved my butt. (couldn't break the lug nuts free with the tire iron !).

just for the sake of completion... $160.00. No damage to the rig.

Charles
  • Bar-OneRanch's avatar
    Bar-OneRanch
    Explorer
    Mar 17, 2015
    I have to chime in on this one, I put Goodyear Marathons on my previous trailer and got 4 years out of them with no problems. I just traded that one in and will need to replace the Towmax that came on my 2012 Laredo, I was planning on using the Goodyear tires on that one as well. I also bought the first set at Sam's, they ordered them for me and had them there in a couple of days. I was disappointed when I saw China on the sides of the tires, and until I joined some forums didn't know I was in the wrong towing at up to 75 mph for periods of time. Perhaps it was luck I never had a problem or I wasn't running close to the weight limits of the tires, I'm hoping to have similar results if I use them again.
    Chris
  • cdlaine's avatar
    cdlaine
    Explorer
    Mar 16, 2015
    Lyle,
    I agree...didn't want to go all in on the Carlisle tires just yet...
    will decide soon how I choose to proceed. I think I'm close to /pushing 30 k on the
    Marathons so I will be forced into a decision soon. Thanks for the input.

    BTW if you haven't been to Patagonia Lake...choose your site wisely, as they seem smaller
    then listed, and almost all will test your ability to level your rig. I would not want to make the
    drive in the dark as a first run as either route (10 - 82/83) or (10 to 19 to 83/82) is best executed
    during daylight hours... and Nogales requires correct lane knowledge or you might be headed into
    Mexico before you know it !

    See you on the road.

    Charles
  • laknox's avatar
    laknox
    Nomad
    Mar 16, 2015
    cdlaine wrote:
    Shoot ! I was feelin' good about meself until I reviewed the responses... own the wrong tires, bought the wrong tire, should of had TPMS, paid way too much....

    if it makes anyone feel any better.... I didn't catch a damn thing either !!! :B

    still enjoying the RV experience !

    Charles


    Charles, I have the 15" version of the Carlisle RH, as I couldn't get the Maxxis that I really wanted. Were it me, I'd do like the others have said and spring for the Michelins or, more likely, the Duravis 250. There are some other, non-Chinese, Asian brands that are getting good reviews, like Hankook and Sailun, though.

    Lyle

    p.s. I'm in Chandler, too.
  • Terryallan's avatar
    Terryallan
    Explorer II
    Mar 16, 2015
    cdlaine wrote:
    Terry..... wrote:
    Or he could have gotten me blems. Often he will. I encourage him to.
    ....:C

    ...reminds me of when I was kid... all my Dad would buy were re-treads... hmmm..... of course it was the era
    prior to the internet so what did we know ??? :B we just climbed in and held on... towing a 23 foot inboard wood boat !

    Charles


    A blemished tire is not damaged in any way. Something visual is missing, a letter or something like that. They are sold at a reduced price because of the blem.
  • Me_Again's avatar
    Me_Again
    Explorer III
    Mar 16, 2015
    smkettner wrote:


    Only anecdotal evidence but sure seems like the Marathon failure threads have significantly diminished in the past three years. Please also consider Goodyear is one of the largest suppliers of trailer tires so you would expect a few more issues.

    And yes my brother is a regional rep for GY ;)



  • time2roll's avatar
    time2roll
    Nomad
    Mar 15, 2015
    Dtank wrote:
    Michelle.S wrote:
    Where have you been hideing that you haven't read the thousands of threads on just about all the RV forums about the GY Marathons (aka Marabombs)??


    Well .....ya know - there are "believers" out there, LOL!
    (It's Cool Aide - it *MUST* be good!!)

    And - on *these* forums tire threads are usually closed "early-on",
    PLUS (hint) CW sells GY Marathons..:W

    However, some forums "let-em run" - like this trailer forum -

    AirForums: "Goodyear Marathon Failures"

    Started 11-29-06.....and still going
    (Although the thread re-started after a poll at post #678).

    BTW - same old story - whether mfg in the USA or China..:(

    .
    Note the last post is May 2011. This is about the time Goodyear moved back to China in a NEW factory with direct Goodyear employees to QC the materials and build process.

    Only anecdotal evidence but sure seems like the Marathon failure threads have significantly diminished in the past three years. Please also consider Goodyear is one of the largest suppliers of trailer tires so you would expect a few more issues.

    And yes my brother is a regional rep for GY ;)
  • cdlaine's avatar
    cdlaine
    Explorer
    Mar 15, 2015
    Terry..... wrote:
    Or he could have gotten me blems. Often he will. I encourage him to.
    ....:C

    ...reminds me of when I was kid... all my Dad would buy were re-treads... hmmm..... of course it was the era
    prior to the internet so what did we know ??? :B we just climbed in and held on... towing a 23 foot inboard wood boat !

    Charles
  • Terryallan's avatar
    Terryallan
    Explorer II
    Mar 15, 2015
    cdlaine wrote:
    Terry....

    you got me wondering if I got fleeced at the Discount Tire store (based on your response).... I hate paying too much !

    so, my on-line research indicates....

    Carlisle Radial Trail RH
    ST 235/80 R16 , load rating E (3520) , speed rate J1 (62 mph).
    (not an issue as I set the speed control at 55mph and camp out in the middle lane... works for me. :B

    5 on-line locations:
    Petes Tire Barn $169 + ship
    EBAY $169 + ship
    Carl's Tire store $142 + $32 ship
    Tread Depot $133 + $30 ship
    Amazon $171 free ship

    For my $160 bucks...I did also purchase the certificate for repair, refund, replace. They did not have any
    coupons or promos for discounts. I did ask if they gave a retired military discount, he said "no"
    (but then discounted me labor charges).

    So , maybe it has been a bit since you purchased trailer tires ? Looks like I paid fair market value, and, that is with mounting and balancing. I don't ever buy any version of extended warranty, but all the gurus here have tickled my "nervous Nellie reflex", so I thought, "they must be right, er, surely they can't be wrong" and paid to get some form of coverage. (I'm easily swayed, it's only money ;)).

    Charles


    Could be the location as well. It seems tires in this area are less expensive than many other places. I get my tire from a local private dealer. Not a national chain. I just go in and tell him what I want, and it shows up the next day. It has been a couple years since I bought tires for the TT. But the last Maxxis I bought were $70.00 each. Marabombs from the Good Year dealer were MUCH more expensive, like $120. so yeah it could be they have doubled in price since I bought. Or he could have gotten me blems. Often he will. I encourage him to.
  • cdlaine's avatar
    cdlaine
    Explorer
    Mar 15, 2015
    Terry....

    you got me wondering if I got fleeced at the Discount Tire store (based on your response).... I hate paying too much !

    so, my on-line research indicates....

    Carlisle Radial Trail RH
    ST 235/80 R16 , load rating E (3520) , speed rate J1 (62 mph).
    (not an issue as I set the speed control at 55mph and camp out in the middle lane... works for me. :B

    5 on-line locations:
    Petes Tire Barn $169 + ship
    EBAY $169 + ship
    Carl's Tire store $142 + $32 ship
    Tread Depot $133 + $30 ship
    Amazon $171 free ship

    For my $160 bucks...I did also purchase the certificate for repair, refund, replace. They did not have any
    coupons or promos for discounts. I did ask if they gave a retired military discount, he said "no"
    (but then discounted me labor charges).

    So , maybe it has been a bit since you purchased trailer tires ? Looks like I paid fair market value, and, that is with mounting and balancing. I don't ever buy any version of extended warranty, but all the gurus here have tickled my "nervous Nellie reflex", so I thought, "they must be right, er, surely they can't be wrong" and paid to get some form of coverage. (I'm easily swayed, it's only money ;)).

    Charles
  • 3oaks's avatar
    3oaks
    Explorer
    Mar 15, 2015
    I often wonder how many of the "China tire bomb" ranters pass me on the highway almost like I was standing still while I was traveling at 60-65 MPH? The original Mission ST tires on my TT were 5 1/2 years old before I replaced them because of their age. Not one blow out!

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