Goodyear China Bombs

[Little_Hand]

China Bombs again, known as Goodyear Marathons. Tires on two year old Montana, blow out on mountain outside of Gunnison, Co. Ripped up the side of my unit. Left us on the side of road till we could get spare in place. The Colorado Highway Patrol and Sheriff's dept. came by to see if they could help, nice folks. Had we made it to the road out of Ouray and the Bomb had blew down the side of the cliff we would have went. We are safe thanks be to our Lord. I will be contacting Goodyear to see what they will do without a lawyer being involved. My advice is if you have them on your rig, think about your family and get rid of the suckers before they kill you.

[FastEagle]

Little Hand wrote:
Fast eagle, the tire size I put on the Montana was 235/85r16 Lt E range

FastEagle

[Little_Hand]

Fast eagle, the tire size I put on the Montana was 235/85r16 Lt E range

[RVUSA]

azjeffh wrote:

RVUSA wrote:

Round Topper wrote:
RVUSA,
The TPMS saved the day by alerting me to the loss of pressure when the blowouts occurred and when the one tire was overheating so that I could slow down and pull over before tread started slinging-off and damaging my trailer.
RTer

ahhh makes sense, thanks for the clarification.

We all live in fear of the sling off.

Hmm, when I had a "blowout" my tire went boom, rubber ripped off my fender shirt, then my TPMS altered me. Now when I had tires losing air, my TPMS alerted me which prevented a blowout.

Sooo, by altered you mean it made you cuss? LOL sorry it's early.

[azjeffh]

RVUSA wrote:

Round Topper wrote:
RVUSA,
The TPMS saved the day by alerting me to the loss of pressure when the blowouts occurred and when the one tire was overheating so that I could slow down and pull over before tread started slinging-off and damaging my trailer.
RTer

ahhh makes sense, thanks for the clarification.

We all live in fear of the sling off.

Hmm, when I had a "blowout" my tire went boom, rubber ripped off my fender shirt, then my TPMS altered me. Now when I had tires losing air, my TPMS alerted me which prevented a blowout.

[RVUSA]

Round Topper wrote:
RVUSA,
The TPMS saved the day by alerting me to the loss of pressure when the blowouts occurred and when the one tire was overheating so that I could slow down and pull over before tread started slinging-off and damaging my trailer.
RTer

ahhh makes sense, thanks for the clarification.

We all live in fear of the sling off.

[FastEagle]

Me Again wrote:

FastEagle wrote:

Little Hand wrote:
rockhillmanor, I can assure you the proper inflation was maintained, I have all four tires, three that are still looking perfect and the one that is shreds. I have been pulling 5rs for 16 years and the only two failures were Goodyear tires, one in the yard before I got rolling and it was on a Mobile Scout. I replaced all four at BigO's in Montrose,Co. with Cooper Mesa LT E series. American made and with a guarantee. They said I was not the first victim of Goodyear tires they worked on.

Can you tell us what year and model Montana you have?

FastEagle

I made this post(forth post of the thread) after looking at OP other post.

"It appears that you have a 2011 Montana 3580rl. That would have 7K axles derated to 6750 pounds so they could they could install those Marathon's rated to 3420 each, allowing full 90 pounds of excess capacity per axle."

So it was yet another Keystone Montana under tired from the get go!

Chris

FastEagle

[Me_Again]

FastEagle wrote:

Little Hand wrote:
rockhillmanor, I can assure you the proper inflation was maintained, I have all four tires, three that are still looking perfect and the one that is shreds. I have been pulling 5rs for 16 years and the only two failures were Goodyear tires, one in the yard before I got rolling and it was on a Mobile Scout. I replaced all four at BigO's in Montrose,Co. with Cooper Mesa LT E series. American made and with a guarantee. They said I was not the first victim of Goodyear tires they worked on.

Can you tell us what year and model Montana you have?

FastEagle

I made this post(forth post of the thread) after looking at OP other post.

"It appears that you have a 2011 Montana 3580rl. That would have 7K axles derated to 6750 pounds so they could they could install those Marathon's rated to 3420 each, allowing full 90 pounds of excess capacity per axle."

So it was yet another Keystone Montana under tired from the get go!

Chris

[Round_Topper]

RVUSA,
The TPMS saved the day by alerting me to the loss of pressure when the blowouts occurred and when the one tire was overheating so that I could slow down and pull over before tread started slinging-off and damaging my trailer.
RTer

[FastEagle]

Little Hand wrote:
rockhillmanor, I can assure you the proper inflation was maintained, I have all four tires, three that are still looking perfect and the one that is shreds. I have been pulling 5rs for 16 years and the only two failures were Goodyear tires, one in the yard before I got rolling and it was on a Mobile Scout. I replaced all four at BigO's in Montrose,Co. with Cooper Mesa LT E series. American made and with a guarantee. They said I was not the first victim of Goodyear tires they worked on.

Can you tell us what year and model Montana you have?

FastEagle

[Atom_Ant]

wandering1 wrote:
RV Tire Problems

A lot of personal opinions and not facts are being posted on the forum about trailer tires. The majority of it is personal opinions that unfortunately a lot of people without the facts pay attention to, and, end up spending a lot of hard earned money on new tires because of the personal opinions that were posted on the forum by wannabe tire experts. Most people don’t have a clue as to what caused their tire failure all they really know is the tire failed.
Unfortunately newbie’s with little to no RV experience and others with little knowledge of tires are misled by these wannabes and end up with a lot of unfounded tire failure misconceptions causing them to worry and spend their hard earned money replacing perfectly good tires.

A lot of people have a bias against foreign made products. That’s too bad because more and more manufacturers are having their products made by foreign companies. I would prefer that all American sold products be made in this country but that is not the world we live in.

Before foreign companies started making the tires all the complaints about trailer tires were the same as they are now. American and foreign made tires all perform the same. If you don’t think foreign made tires meet DOT standards then do something about it like report it. If you want a tire that will solve your tire problems then think about getting larger stronger tires. Light truck tires appear to last longer than ST tires based on comments I have seen on the forum, not facts.

Things to avoid that can damage tires:

1. Extended storage. Side walls tend to break down.
2. Improper inflation. Keep the tires inflated to the proper level when in storage or in use, 24/7/365. Under/over inflation when in use causes the heat to build up higher than what the tire is rated for which damages the tire.
3. High speed. Limit your speed to the max the tire is rated for, most are 65mph. Traveling over the max causes heat buildup above what the tires are rated for which damages the tire.
4. Hitting potholes in our wonderful highways and roads, running off the edge of the road, hitting curbs, rubbing tires against the curb. All of these things damage the tires. Belts break down and tires throw the tread.
5. Extended driving on hot highways in hot weather can damage tires from overheating.
6. Overloaded trailers, this will cause your tires to overheat, get rid of the extra weight.
7. Environment – keep tires covered to protect against the weather and sunlight.
8. Age, check with the tire manufacturer to educate yourself about when tires should be replaced.
9. Dry rot, check with the tire manufacturer to educate yourself about dry rot.
10. Mechanical problems like brakes sticking, or bad wheel bearings can cause the wheel to overheat which will cause the tire to overheat which damages the tire.
11. Defects in materials and workmanship. Highly doubtful this causes all tire failures.

Tire Pressure

Check your tire pressure when the RV has not been driven for 3 - 4 hours. That is when the tire is "cold". Forget ambient temp, 80psi at 10 degrees F is the same as 80psi at 100 degrees F. If you over inflate or under inflate the tires this can cause the tires to run hotter than normal which can damage the tires and cause tire failure. Stick with the PSI on the side of the tires. No need to turn this into rocket science. Check with the tire manufacturers if you need an education on tire inflation. Tire pressure does rise as the tire temp rises after driving down the road just like it is supposed to which is why you are supposed to check the pressure when the tire is “cold”.

Tire Temp

An Infra Red Thermometer can be a useful tool if you know how to use it. It will tell you the temp of the tire. You need to know the max temp for the tire if you are going to monitor it. If the temp of the tire is higher than the max temp the tire is rated for then you may have a problem (trailer is overloaded, improper inflation, or a mechanical problem). If you are checking to see if the tire is over the max rated temp and you don’t know what the max rated temp is, then you are wasting money for the thermometer and wasting time using it.

Replacing Failed Tires

The tire dealer will prorate your failed tire and sell you a new one. Do not let the tire dealer keep the failed tire when you have it replaced. Contact the tire manufacturer about the failure. The manufacturer will arrange for a local tire dealer to ship the failed tire to them and reimburse you for the price you paid for the new tire plus pay for any damages to the RV caused by the tire failure if you provide estimates of repair. This has been my experience with Goodyear and Carlisle.

This can be a very helpful forum if you forget the personal opinions and prejudices, get the facts, and communicate the facts to help others learn. Post useful information like what caused a tire failure.

Let the Engineers play in the sandbox and try to figure out why the Chinese ST tires continue to blow apart after so carefully reviewing the specs - in the meantime - if you just don't feel like being a tire forensics expert or spend as much time caring for your ST tires as you do tweaking the fuel injection on your '62 Jaguar just to get it to idle, do yourself a favor and look through the forum (or any fifth wheel forum) and look at the clear evidence that the ST tire has an unacceptable high failure rate, regardless of the prestige of the name on the sidewall, and go buy a more rugged tire. There are far more capable and forgiving tires out there - just look for the "USA" in the sidewall.

[Atom_Ant]

wandering1 wrote:

Atom Ant wrote:

wandering1 wrote:

Atom Ant wrote:
Oh how can that be?? JJ from Trailer Magazine says Goodyear and Michelin have trailer tires manufactured in China that are of a much higher quality than cheap Chinese tires because of the specs!! (I sure wish that guy would leave his keyboard every once in a while and get a clue)

If the tires are shipped to the US they have to meet US DOT specs. My experience over the last 20 years is to have US made trailer tires blow just as often as Chinese made trailer tires. I guess the Chinese manufacturers are building US standards into their tires. You will notice that no one ever explains what caused the tire failure, they just complain about a blowout.

Please list below at least 1 US made trailer tire as you have stated.

Goodyear Marathon and Carlisle before they were outsourced.

Today- 0

[LostinAZ]

bad99ram wrote:

wandering1 wrote:
RV Tire Problems

A lot of personal opinions and not facts are being posted on the forum about trailer tires. The majority of it is personal opinions that unfortunately a lot of people without the facts pay attention to, and, end up spending a lot of hard earned money on new tires because of the personal opinions that were posted on the forum by wannabe tire experts. Most people don’t have a clue as to what caused their tire failure all they really know is the tire failed.
Unfortunately newbie’s with little to no RV experience and others with little knowledge of tires are misled by these wannabes and end up with a lot of unfounded tire failure misconceptions causing them to worry and spend their hard earned money replacing perfectly good tires.

A lot of people have a bias against foreign made products. That’s too bad because more and more manufacturers are having their products made by foreign companies. I would prefer that all American sold products be made in this country but that is not the world we live ore foreign companies started making the tires all the complaints about trailer tires were the same as they are now. American and foreign made tires all perform the same. If you don’t think foreign made tires meet DOT standards then do something about it like report it to the DOT. Some people complain about foreign made tires having inferior rubber, they don’t have facts to back up their claim. If you want a tire that will solve your tire problems then think about getting larger stronger tires. Light truck tires appear to last longer than ST tires based on comments I have seen on the forum, not facts.

Things to avoid that can damage tires:

1. Extended storage. Side walls tend to break down.
2. Improper inflation. Keep the tires inflated to the proper level when in storage or in use, 24/7/365. Under/over inflation when in use causes the heat to build up higher than what the tire is rated for which damages the tire.
3. High speed. Limit your speed to the max the tire is rated for, most are 65mph. Traveling over the max causes heat buildup above what the tires are rated for which damages the tire.
4. Hitting potholes in our wonderful highways and roads, running off the edge of the road, hitting curbs, rubbing tires against the curb. All of these things damage the tires. Belts break down and tires throw the tread.
5. Extended driving on hot highways in hot weather can damage tires from overheating.
6. Overloaded trailers, this will cause your tires to overheat, get rid of the extra weight.
7. Environment – keep tires covered to protect against the weather and sunlight.
8. Age, check with the tire manufacturer to educate yourself about when tires should be replaced.
9. Dry rot, check with the tire manufacturer to educate yourself about dry rot.
10. Mechanical problems like brakes sticking, or bad wheel bearings can cause the wheel to overheat which will cause the tire to overheat which damages the tire.
11. Defects in materials and workmanship. Highly doubtful this causes all tire failures.

Tire Pressure

Check your tire pressure when the RV has not been driven for 3 - 4 hours. That is when the tire is "cold". Forget ambient temp, 80psi at 10 degrees F is the same as 80psi at 100 degrees F. If you over inflate or under inflate the tires this can cause the tires to run hotter than normal which can damage the tires and cause tire failure. Stick with the PSI on the side of the tires. No need to turn this into rocket science. Check with the tire manufacturers if you need an education on tire inflation. Tire pressure does rise as the tire temp rises after driving down the road just like it is supposed to which is why you are supposed to check the pressure when the tire is “cold”.

Tire Temp

An Infra Red Thermometer can be a useful tool if you know how to use it. It will tell you the temp of the tire. You need to know the max temp for the tire if you are going to monitor it. If the temp of the tire is higher than the max temp the tire is rated for then you may have a problem (trailer is overloaded, improper inflation, or a mechanical problem). If you are checking to see if the tire is over the max rated temp and you don’t know what the max rated temp is, then you are wasting money for the thermometer and wasting time using it.

Replacing Failed Tires

The tire dealer will prorate your failed tire and sell you a new one. Do not let the tire dealer keep the failed tire when you have it replaced. Contact the tire manufacturer about the failure. The manufacturer will arrange for a local tire dealer to ship the failed tire to them and reimburse you for the price you paid for the new tire plus pay for any damages to the RV caused by the tire failure if you provide estimates of repair. This has been my experience with Goodyear and Carlisle.

This can be a very helpful forum if you forget the personal opinions and prejudices, get the facts, and communicate the facts to help others learn.

Well stated!!!!

Unfortunately you forgot the most important parameter. Bad design!

[RVUSA]

Me Again wrote:
Flex in a sidewall is what builds heat, not the other way around.

You misunderstood my post.

The ST is built stiffer so it resists lateral movement, sway not flex. It is because of that construction buildup that causes it to get hotter and to do it faster especially when it's underinflated.

[time2roll]

Me Again wrote:

smkettner wrote:
Sounds like another set from the first go around in China where it was just build to spec. Maybe a road hazard and by the time you get pulled off the tire is shreaded.

The newest Marathons built in China the past year or so should prove better.

Otherwise get a set of LT rated to cover the full trailer GVWR for best results.

Guess you did not read and/or believe Jimnlin's post above! Nothing has really changed for years regarding these tires.

Goodyear never has acknowledged any production issues with the Marathon after the Circle S tires came out in the late 90's. Which is when most believe that Goodyear added the Nylon overlay to the Marathon.

Goodyear claims that they make one or two Marathon runs a year at a factory that has capacity at the time. Saying that is why they bounced back and forth to china.

Chris

GY's first shot in China was just build to spec. These are the tires the OP has AFAIK. Second move to China about 18 months ago was a new factory with GY employees on site to QC the materials and build process. I would trust the newest version but the old stuff from China not so much.

GY gets more press on the the message board because they sell more tires.

And I also believe most of these oem tires are overloaded.

I agree LT with a rating to cover the entire GVWR is the best way to go if possible.