Goodyear Marathon tires are not good tires

[belfert]

I bought Maxxis trailer tires in 2010 for my trailer. I even went with one load range higher to be safe. In 2012 I had two sidewall punctures in 150 miles and my only option for two new tires were Goodyear Marathons.

One of those Goodyear Marathon tires failed badly yesterday. The tread was worn all funny and the tire had a large hole in it with the steel belts exposed. I have TPMS on the trailer tires so they never ran low on pressure and I stopped right away when the TPMS went off. The tire only has like 12,000 miles on it so the tread shouldn't be so worn. The three remaining Maxxis tires still look practically like new with twice the miles on them. I don't see anything wrong like a bent spindle, bad suspension, or hot hub that would cause the tire to wear funny.

I may have hit something, but still, the tire shouldn't look like the tread is nearly gone with the relatively low miles. I'll see if my road hazard will cover a new tires. If not, I will be getting another Maxxis trailer tire.

[belfert]

This trailer took two trips in the past two weeks. One was 4,000 miles and the other 1,400 miles. I checked and set the the tire pressure at 65 PSI before each trip using a Milton tire gauge. The TPMS sensors are only installed during trips to save battery life. The tires have to be set at the correct pressure before putting the sensors on.

If it matters, this is an enclosed trailer pulled behind a diesel pusher and is not an RV trailer.

I took the tire to Walmart today and they are replacing the tire under the road hazard coverage. I will still need to pay half because of the tread wear. No, I don't normally buy tires at Walmart, but it was my only real choice at the time in the middle of nowhere.

[goatrancher]

I have Marathon tires on my TT. They were put on in 2014. They have been from Texas to Tennessee and back, to Niagara Falls, to New Brunswick and back, then to Colorado, Utah and back. So far so good.

[belfert]

smkettner wrote:
What is the Marathon date code?

2012. Tires purchased 9-24-2012. (I checked date code and didn't just go by date on receipt.)

[belfert]

westend wrote:
It takes a lot of miles to run the tread off until belts are exposed...just saying. I think this situation is aggravated by the TPMS systems. An owner doesn't have to look at the tires, just believe that the TPMS is going to save your bacon.
In this case it did but there is little to go on to diagnose why the tire failed or when the unusual wear started. I'd bet a buck that any new tire mounted in that position will experience the same wear.

It wasn't worn to the belts. The large hole in the tire exposed the belts. I took the tire back to Walmart and they said it had about half the tread left at best.

The trailer gets tons of maintenance done to it. The bearings are checked every year before going on a big trip. Before the next big trip the hub will be torn down to be sure nothing is going on that could be causing tire issues.

[dspencer]

I have had 2 sets of Goodyear Marathons and got 5 years out of each set. Now I am anal about checking tire pressure each time before the camper heads out on a trip and once I arrive at the destination. You can have a bad tire in any tire. Hopefully your not relying on your tpms to determine the tire pressure.

[myredracer]

Another ST tire quality thread. Oh joy...

Without knowing the true and accurate history of external damage, towing under-inflated, towing in excess of 65 mph, etc, which is essentially impossible, there is no point in blaming the brand or place of manufacture. One problem is, when someone buys an RV with ST tires on it, nobody explains to them how they really need to be treated and it may not be until they go onto an RV forum that they find out.

As mentioned above, it does sound like the tire was flat-spotted from locking up the brakes.

I wouldn't use a TPMS in lieu of a pressure gauge. You should be using an accurate gauge to regularly check psi.

We are on our 2nd season with Marathons and approaching 10K miles and have no concerns about inferior quality and expect to get a lot more service from them. I treat them with respect including religious checking of tire pressure before heading off on each leg of a trip. It's surprising how much pressure can change.

[gbopp]

The tire was worn all funny, had a hole in it and the steel belts exposed?

It sounds like a brake may have locked up and was dragging the tire.

[Grit_dog]

For those defending GY Marathon tires, you're solidly in the minority!
Marathons for some reason are about the shattiest tire you can put on your trailer. For years it was , age, dry rot, China bomb or us made, etc.
Turns out they just generally suck and are a good way to practice road side tire changes and trailer fender bodywork!
I've only had 5 de-lam on me to learn my lesson! I'm a quick learner though. 3 in the same week same trailer!
Same results with no less than 4 friends on their boat trailers too. More than a coincidence.
Odds are high that your Marathkn will de lam especially if it's a few years old, even if it's in otherwise new condition.

[time2roll]

What is the Marathon date code?

[goducks10]

My guess is you hit something when you punctured the sidewalls. You may have a slightly bend axle, causing the tire to wear prematurely. Also different tread compounds will wear differently.
FWIW I have GY Marathons on my 5th wheel. I too have around 12,000 on them. I had one tire go bad recently, but the others look just fine with plenty of tread left. I would get the axle looked at.

[4X4Dodger]

Sorry but the idea that Goodyears are bad tires is just unsupportable.

I have a set of Goodyears on my trailer. They were mfg in 2012. The previous owner put them on and they were in good shape when I bought the trailer. the previous owner traveled all over the east and the midwest with this trailer.

I have put over 7500 miles on this trailer with no tire problems except one rosd hazard in Spearfish SD which cut the inside tread at the sidewall.

These tires still have most of their tread and keep their pressure over time. They are very good tires...and yes they are ST tires.

There is altogether too much superstition, Myth, misinformation and personal bias to say nothing of the wild unsupportable anecdotal accusations like the OP's about ST tires.

[coolbreeze01]

Bought a new trailer in 1995 with made in the U.S.A. Goodyear Marathons.
Sold the trailer in 2003 with the original tires still on it. Not even a flat in 8 years.

[dapperdan]

djgarcia wrote:

belfert wrote:
I bought Maxxis trailer tires in 2010 for my trailer. I even went with one load range higher to be safe. In 2012 I had two sidewall punctures in 150 miles and my only option for two new tires were Goodyear Marathons.

One of those Goodyear Marathon tires failed badly yesterday. The tread was worn all funny and the tire had a large hole in it with the steel belts exposed. I have TPMS on the trailer tires so they never ran low on pressure and I stopped right away when the TPMS went off. The tire only has like 12,000 miles on it so the tread shouldn't be so worn. The three remaining Maxxis tires still look practically like new with twice the miles on them. I don't see anything wrong like a bent spindle, bad suspension, or hot hub that would cause the tire to wear funny.

I may have hit something, but still, the tire shouldn't look like the tread is nearly gone with the relatively low miles. I'll see if my road hazard will cover a new tires. If not, I will be getting another Maxxis trailer tire.

Switch to LT Goodyear tires:)

X 2 The "made in China" Marathons are not so good. We have Good Year LT tires on our RV now and they're made in USA. :E

Dan

[RedRocket204]

belfert wrote:
Goodyear Marathon tires are not good tires?

That is your experience.

My experience, however, is that I have not had 1 problem with the 4 Goodyear Marathon tires I had installed in 2011, granted I was able to confirm these are USA built tires (might have been some of the last USA made at the time). There is still a lot of tread left on all four tires. I have maintenance done on the wheel bearings, repack, and the brakes inspected and changed. I have about 8k miles on this set and they look almost new.

Moral of the story... my experience is very different from your experience with Goodyear Marathon tires.

[MarkTwain]

belfert wrote:
I bought Maxxis trailer tires in 2010 for my trailer. I even went with one load range higher to be safe. In 2012 I had two sidewall punctures in 150 miles and my only option for two new tires were Goodyear Marathons.

One of those Goodyear Marathon tires failed badly yesterday. The tread was worn all funny and the tire had a large hole in it with the steel belts exposed. I have TPMS on the trailer tires so they never ran low on pressure and I stopped right away when the TPMS went off. The tire only has like 12,000 miles on it so the tread shouldn't be so worn. The three remaining Maxxis tires still look practically like new with twice the miles on them. I don't see anything wrong like a bent spindle, bad suspension, or hot hub that would cause the tire to wear funny.

I may have hit something, but still, the tire shouldn't look like the tread is nearly gone with the relatively low miles. I'll see if my road hazard will cover a new tires. If not, I will be getting another Maxxis trailer tire.

Switch to LT Goodyear tires:)