More tire questons

In 11years of off-road camping in 3 different trailers, all with Marathons, only problem has been a small stick going through a sidewall when making a hard turn in a campsite doing a turn around. Of course, I had to replace the tire due to the puncture being in the sidwall near the tread.

Never had any cuts, tears, or tread separation due to off road. Never had any highway problems!! US Marathons, New Zealand Marathons, and now China Marathons. I should be hating these tires, right???

Bluebeard wrote:
Yeah, when I go out camping, my trailer has lots of empty cabinets in it. I cannot imagine I add more than 1000 lbs to it (water being the main load). And I will be taking the air conditioner and (most likely) the furnace to lighten it further (to be replaced with a cat heater). ...

I would not remove the A/C, it's hard wired in and connects to the A/C ducts. Removing the A/C would leave those duct connections open.

The same is true for the furnace, also the furnace is ducted in such a way that it's waste heat keeps the basement and water tanks from freezing.

If you want to add the Wave-Cat heater it's really easy, t-off the gas at the stove and mount the Wave on the wall next to the oven.

I had a 28ft tt. I drug it down numerous dirt/gravel roads. The oe tires were Duro st and i replaced with Maxxis M8008 E rated and never had a flat in the time i owned it. I would buy LT tires if they were readily available as thats what was always on our gooseneck trailers and zero issues with them. I also drive faster than whats acceptable to most on here.

Funny thing here. We bought our TT new this past May and it came with LT235/75/15's that are AT's? From the vast majority of responses on this thread I shouldn't have these tires on my trailer because they don't even exist.

LT 235's are very common, even today, as many of those "older" trucks that came with 15" rims are still on the road today.

To the OP, if you want to keep your rims but ditch the tires, look for the size I stated above. You'll be able to find many of them, even in LT's.

And to answer the one question you've asked more than a few times that has yet to be answered, yes, I've got rather aggressive M&S tires on my TT. When the times comes to change them out I'll put another set on there, too.

Yeah, when I go out camping, my trailer has lots of empty cabinets in it. I cannot imagine I add more than 1000 lbs to it (water being the main load). And I will be taking the air conditioner and (most likely) the furnace to lighten it further (to be replaced with a cat heater).

Maybe I will just keep the speed down and stick with what I've got to get a better feel for their durability. That would save me some $

As for Don's slam on ST tires, let's just say that his opinion is not supported by the facts. Yes you can buy really cheap Chinese made ST, and a lot of RV builders do. But you can also find good (more expensive) ST tires.

Looks like the ST vs LT argument begins
Agree with Don.
Sometimes what gets posted as facts isn't all the real facts.
If you want a quality tire/long service life at any speed on any terrain it will have to be a LT tire.

A google on the ST tires has hundreds of pages ....not a pretty picture.

The AF 24-5n looks to have a 10000 GVWR and comes OEM with ST225/75-15 D at 2540 lbs capacity.
There are no 15" LT tires with that capacity anymore as 1/2 ton trucks don't use 15" wheels or tires. Now at one time we had lots of 15" LT tires in several load ranges and sizes.

My 11200 lb 5er came with the same size 15" Marathon ST tires and wheels. I sold them to a lawn service contractor and bough four 16" steel modular wheels for 42 bucks each. Had one my trucktire dealers mount LT215/85-16 E at 2680 lb capacity. Ran them for 55k miles and now have 48-49k miles on the second set. No issues with either set. This trailer still has the OEM ST as a spare...its never rolled on the road.

You can buy trailer wheels online at http://www.southwestwheel.com/store/p-401-128702gcc.aspx like these. I run the silvers on all my boat/rv and heavy GN equipment/stock trailers.


Having towed commercially and going through dozens of ST tires on my trailer I don't use them nor do I recommend them on a heavy trailer regardless of brand. They simply do not stand up to long term use at those loads.

M&S tires ?
Some all season tires carry a M&S designation. Now if your looking a a full mud terrain tire (MT)IMO not the best idea.
I had a set on a tri axle equipment trailer that I bought used when I was on the road. The trailer simply would not track the truck going down the highway in a straight line. On curvy roads the tires tread would roll over on those large tread blocks and came close to jack knifing the rig several times. I dumped them when I came home for a reload.
I would stick with a AS type tread (Firestone Transforce H/T) or ribbed tire like the commercial grade all steel ply carcass Bridgestone R-250 on a highway trailer.

Bluebird, I had American made Marathons on my 24-5N, I had Chinese made on the 29-5E, over more then a decade (combined) I had zero problems.

But Northwoods doesn't overload their rigs, your's has a dry weight of around 6000 lbs and a max loaded weight of around 10000 lbs. I don't think I ever got mine past about 8000 lbs.

I also kept my speed between 60 and 65.

Discount tire (local) carries a Carlise ST tire that is speed rated for 75 and has the same load rating (E) as the old Marathons.
They also carry some cheaper ST tires, but will try to talk people out of using them.

OK, shoot me if so desired, but I think the Marathons are an OK tire for the right application. The problem arrises when these RV MFRer put on tires with just enough capacity for the Dry/Empty RV, so along comes the new owner who brings along everything including the kitchen sink, now add in those traveling at 75 to 80. Now those poor tires are grossly overloaded and prone to failure. Put those tires on a much lighter RV or Farm Wagon and they last almost for ever.
My opinion only, take it or leave it.

N7bsn- I've read that a lot of people don't like the marathon tires. The set I have on my AF seem to be in pretty good shape, so if I don't need to change them, that would be good. But if they are going to give me trouble when I am driving down rocky, dirt roads, I don't want to be stuck out in the wilderness with an arctic storm bearing down om me either.

I owned 24-5N for over a decade, I really liked that I could take it so many places.

You only need "drag chains" in rare conditions, IMO you would be wasting your money. If conditions are so bad that drag-chains are required, it's best to stay parked for a day or two and let conditions improve.

You also really don't need M&S's either. You aren't applying any torque to those tires. That is where they really shine. Check with commercial trailer folk, they don't put M&S (or snow) on trailers, even in Alaska and Canada.

As for sourcing Discount Tire get's my endorsement.

As for Don's slam on ST tires, let's just say that his opinion is not supported by the facts. Yes you can buy really cheap Chinese made ST, and a lot of RV builders do. But you can also find good (more expensive) ST tires.

Here is why you should buy good ST tires

The construction, design, materials and testing used in ST Special Trailer tires meet the higher load requirements, duty cycles and special demands of trailering.
* Polyester cords in an ST tire are bigger than in a comparable P or LT tire.
* Steel cords used in ST tires have a larger diameter and greater tensile strength to meet additional load requirements.
* ST tire rubber compounds contain chemicals to resist weather and ozone cracking, particularly conditions resulting from extended storage and the unusual duty cycles of trailer tires.
* The slightly shallower tread depth of a trailer tire reduces sway and rides cooler, which adds to tire longevity.
* ST tires feature stiffer sidewalls, especially in the lower section which:
– Reduces sidewall flexing causing the trailer to track straighter. – Diminishes the risk of trailer sway.
– Lessens the risk of sidewall puncture and blowout.
* ST tires generally offer approximately 10% percent more load
capacity than a similar LT tire and nearly 40% more than a P passenger tire.