Yet another Goodyear Marathon Failure

[allendp]

On our way to the Texas Boomer Memorial day rally, we stopped at a Walmart in El Campo, TX. After shopping we were pulling out of the parking lot and I glanced in the rear view mirror and saw that one of my tires had a huge knot on the side of it.


Stopped - put on the spare - discovered that there was a knot on both sides of the tire. Stopped at the Goodyear store in El Campo and they didn't have an ST235/80/R16 and did not seem to really be interested in helping me with my problem. Threw the tire in the truck and continued on to the rally. The knot continued to grow and finally blew.


After the rally, drove home without a spare and took the tire to the Goodyear store in Killeen where they dismounted it and determined that it was indeed tire failure. While the manager was willing to replace the tire "under warranty", they (you guessed it) did not have the tire in stock either but could get it in about a week.

At this point, I just took RustyJC's advice and went to Discount Tire and had 4 new LT235/85/R16 Michelin XPS Ribs mounted on the trailer. Towed it to the OK Boomer rally in Pawnee last weekend and they worked great with a whole lot less "pucker factor" on my part.

These Marathons came on the 2003 trailer and have less than 2000 miles on them.

[allendp]

On our way to the Texas Boomer Memorial day rally, we stopped at a Walmart in El Campo, TX. After shopping we were pulling out of the parking lot and I glanced in the rear view mirror and saw that one of my tires had a huge knot on the side of it.


Stopped - put on the spare - discovered that there was a knot on both sides of the tire. Stopped at the Goodyear store in El Campo and they didn't have an ST235/80/R16 and did not seem to really be interested in helping me with my problem. Threw the tire in the truck and continued on to the rally. The knot continued to grow and finally blew.


After the rally, drove home without a spare and took the tire to the Goodyear store in Killeen where they dismounted it and determined that it was indeed tire failure. While the manager was willing to replace the tire "under warranty", they (you guessed it) did not have the tire in stock either but could get it in about a week.

At this point, I just took RustyJC's advice and went to Discount Tire and had 4 new LT235/85/R16 Michelin XPS Ribs mounted on the trailer. Towed it to the OK Boomer rally in Pawnee last weekend and they worked great with a whole lot less "pucker factor" on my part.

These Marathons came on the 2003 trailer and have less than 2000 miles on them.

[Ken Lenger]

What did you end up paying for the Michein's? I had a blow-out on Monday and need to get rid of the Goodyears on mine.

[SuperGewl]

Get yourself some MAXXIS Tire
I just finished an 8k mile round trip from the West Coast to the East Coast and my tires still look brand new. Now of course yo must make sure thery are up to pressure at least every other day while traveling due t hte change in elevation.
These tires ran at 80+ mph when needed

[allendp]

Ken,

4 tires out the door at Discount Tires was $903.

I kept the goodyear on the spare as I figured I could use it to "limp" in if I had trouble.

One note: my old tires were 80 profile and the XPS only come in 85 profile in the 16 in tire. This makes the tires a little closer together on my 5ver but I still have about 1.5 inches of clearance between tires.

[Barney & Cheryl Fife]

This seems to be the best fix for the goodyears. I replaced mine with the michelins also. Didn't give them a chance to blow out, just got rid of them. I tried to go with goodyear g159's(I think thats right) but after talking with the Goodyear district rep decided that he knew less about RV tires than I did. love the michenins even if the are from France.
235/80 vs 235/85 si onlt about 10 mm overall diff.

[allendp]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by SuperGewl:
Get yourself some MAXXIS Tire
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

This company does not offer 16 Inch tires. At least I could not find them on the web site you furnished. I have already swithced to the Michelins but wanted to inform others.

[Hoverbug]

Barney, don't worry about giving France some sawbucks. The tires are probably made in Dothan, Al or Reno.

[RV Dude]

My brother just got back from a two week trip. Blew out 3 Marathons in 200 miles. He talked to the Goodyear dealer when he got home. The manager is out till Wednesday but the techs didn't seemed at all shocked and were pretty sure the manager would do something about it.

[Ray,IN]

Try this website for recalls and similar complaints: Recalls

[RKT88403]

I have been off the forum for awhile,and surprised to see that the Marathons are still junk. I must have a rare set on my TT. Still originals without a single problem.

[RustyJC]

For those that are looking for a direct replacement for a load range E 16" trailer tire, the all-steel construction, commercially rated Michelin XPS Rib is highly recommended. It can be used on the E-rated (80 psig) wheels. I changed out the OEM LT235/85R-16E fabric-and-steel construction Goodyear Wrangler HTs that came on our previous 5th wheel to the Michelin XPS Ribs and couldn't believe how much cooler the XPS Ribs ran.

For those who will be buying new 16" wheels, the all-steel construction, trailer specific Goodyear G614 RST is rated for load range G (3750 lbs @ 110 PSIG) but is available only in the common LT235/85R-16G size. Load range G wheels rated for the load and 110 PSIG inflation pressures are, of course, required. These tires came as OEM on our current 5th wheel and have provided excellent service so far, even towing at 70 MPH on the Interstate in 105 degF ambient temperatures. They appear to run as cool as the Michelin XPS Ribs.

With either tire, be sure the tire shop installs all-metal valve stems!

Rusty

[TQ 27]

Well guys it appears that my feelings that Marathons are still junk has been justified. last year I replaced the 205/70/15 Marathons that were coming apart, on my 24 ft enclosed car hauler with a set of Carlisle's. After three blowouts last year, I replaced the 225/75/15 Marathon's on my 30ft 5th wheel with a set of Carlisle's as well.
I know they have had trouble in the past, but seem to have the problem solved. I tow the race trailer about 10 thousand miles a year and this spring hauled the 5th wheel to Florida and back(3000 mile round trip) with no problems. I would like to be able to put a 16 inch tire and wheel combo on both my trailers, but they won't fit. If you are going to be using a 15 inch combo, the Carlisle's are a better choice than Marathons.

[Grandpaw]

I had tire failures using both Marathons and Carlisles. I switched to Coopers 3 years ago, and have had no problems whatsoever.......They are kind of pricey, but in my mind well worth it