Shredded 2nd tire in two trips

[Schlickenmeyer]

This is getting kinda spendy. . Thought the first one may have been a valve stem. Wanted to get the tire pressure/temp gauge from Dakota Digital.

Could not afford it, on the way back shredded another one, same position, oddly. This time the valve stem was like a hanging chad. a very light touch, and

it pulled right off. Going to put in all metal stems before she moves again.

Be forewarned. You get what you pay for, and when looking down and seeing smoke in the mirror at 70mph is a matter of $4... ...

 

[Todd T]

what did you shred a tire on the TV or trailer and what brand tire was it?

 

[Schlickenmeyer]

Oops. . It was the driver's side rear trailer tire.

The first one was changed out at the racetrack by a pal who is a tire vendor.

He thought the valve stem went, but was destoryed enuf to not be 100% sure.

This one I know for sure was the valve stem.

Since you asked, goodyear marathons, but I do not believe it was the tires. .

Spendy little buggers.

 

[jelag]

I found that my rv had new tires... . but they were under rated... btw only found this out after I had the same problem... we pulled all 4 off and replaced them with tires that will handle at least 500 lbs more per tire.....



Since I pull a trailer all the time... . I've found that a point to shoot temp gauge is very important... I walk around the trailer at every stop... if any tire is more that 20 *F. over any other tire I find out why... . If any hub is hotter than any other I find out why and if you hit either the disc brake rotors or brake drums. . which ever you have, you know if you have equal braking... . all this takes less than 2 or 3 minutes... .



Safety is a real issue with me. .

 

[Regcabguy]

Tire life expectancy

My brother in law experienced two blowouts on his recent trip towing a 22ft. travel trailer. Tires tread-wise were like new but over five years old. He replaced them with well-rated brand new ones. Age is certainly a factor.

 

[Todd T]

All excellent points there Jim, thanks.



BTW: I just got off the phone with Carlisle over my trailer tires on the toy hauler. First they tried to deny the warranty for it being out of date so i had to fax them my cert of sale. Then she says (in the same breath), "well they showed signs of an impact". I took a deep breath and proclaimed they both failed at the same time on one trip. One on front and one on rear of the other side. So that blows all thoeries of impact, improper loading or road debris. I then mentioned a google search that revealed several bad things about their ST tires and that I pulled all four off and wanted reimbursed for their cost as they are not safe.



She called back and said the check is in the mail. I put on 4 Maxxis.

 

[Buffalo]

Schlickenmeyer,



If you want to stick with the Goodyear Marathons but, don't like the price, look for Towmasters (from Greenball). They are much cheaper & are made by Goodyear. They go down the same assembly line as the Marathons. The only difference is the logo on the sides of the tire. Everything else is the same.



Check your area for the Towmaster Distributor. Here in Phoenix, the Towmasters were MUCH cheaper.



My trailer had 205/75/15-C's, on it. I went up 2 sizes to the 225/75/15-D's. They are not that much larger & fit in the tirewells very nicely. The extra weight rating can't hurt, either.



Hope this helps.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[GaryCarter]

Bought five Marathons for my trailer two years ago.

One blew on the interstate- tread separation the first trip. Valve core OK.

#2 tread separation. Noticed the distorted tire and changed it in the campground. This was only the second trip.

#3 found tread separation and distortion on this one at home after returning from the same trip.

These were brand new and properly inflated.

The previous set of Marathons were trouble free for 30k miles.



Replaced them all with Michelin LT's.



Gary

 

[J&LRam]

from Goodyear Marathon ST tires web states these tires are only 65 mph rated have a narrow tread design with a thinner tread depth and is only ten percent greater load capacity than a "P" tire and is a "economical" [COST] tire. Its been my experience ST tires ,any brand ain't up to heavy loads and interstate speeds. Lighter weight trailers, any type, may get by using ST tires but are speed sensitive. If your towing heavy and at interstate speeds, going to 16" wheels and 16" LT "E" type tire can stop your tire shreading probs. Michelin XPS Rib LTs/B F Goodrich Commercial LTs/Uniroyal HD-H LT are recommended by their manufactors for trailer tire use. Some with lighter trailers are getting by with ST type tires. Weight and speed is critical for a good trailer tire... ... ... ... ... JIM

 

[MMeier]

Marathons... another POS tire from GY... Along with the GSA's they put on the 3rd gen trucks... the RSA's that came with my 97... need I continue!!?? #@$%!

 

[jelag]

A couple more things I have to add... . 1 - tires shouldn't have a problem during their first 5 years of service due to weather checking or ozone... . they have chemicals in the compound that resist that... . especially the trailer tires... . 2 - I've seen some of the Greenball products come from China... . are you sure the Greenball trailer tires aren't from there... . the code on the tire will identify the vendor... and if made in China they have to have that molded into the tire..... or the country where they were made... . 3 - on all my trailers... we have upgraded to good radial tires... . with at least 500 lbs per tire of safety margin... . on my work trailers we've had great luck with BFG's both from a cost stand point and tire life... . 4 - However my BIL pulled 4 tires off his trailer before a trip to Alaska... . they had 40% tread or so... . I put them on one of my work trailers they have out lived anything we have used..... I tried to find them, and was told they were out of production..... they are a G rated tire... . and sitting on the floor, you can't stand on the side of the tire and flex the tread or sidewall... they are at least 20 lbs heavier than the BFG's we use... .



Jim

 

[Buffalo]

TOWMASTERS (Greenball)

I have to agree with most of the comments made regarding the Towmasters, Goodyear Marathons, Carlisles, etc. All of these leave a lot of room for improvement.



Some of the Towmasters are made in China. Mostly, the bias plyed tires. The radials are made "In Canada" (stamped on the sidewalls of my tires) in the Goodyear plant. I got this information both from Goodyear & Greenball. It took many phone calls & finding the right person that was willing to divulge the information that I was looking for.



In my circumstance, I went up 2 sizes & 1 load range, on my replacement tires & have had no problems. My trailer is 25' & weighs in the vicinity of 7000 lbs. I never had any problems with the original 205/75/15 Marathons, which, were the old design that was much more prone to "coming apart".



The old design Marathons had steel & polyster in the tread plies. When they got hot, the plies would expand & contract. Many with that design detonated, prematurely.



The new design incorporates steel & polyster but, they have added an outer ply of nylon, now. The nylon does not expand when it gets hot & acts like a girdle, holding the steel & polyester plies in place when they get hot. The result has been less explosive tires.



One of my friends had an "old design" Marathon blow on a trip. He replaced all the tires with the "new design" Marathons. However, he kept "the best" of the old tires, for a spare. When he got home, the spare had blown & it wasn't even on the ground.



The 65 mph speed limit on these tires, is true. I asked Goodyear about that limit & the Rep. said that that's what they had been tested to. On my trip back to Phoenix from Thunder in Muncie (2004), with the new tires, I hit 85 mph, for about 2-3 hours, chasing a Ford with a horse trailer, in So. Colorado & No. N. Mex. I had no problems & still have the same tires on the trailer.



I know it seems like I'm trying to build a defense for Towmasters but, I'm not. I think I've just been lucky. I agree that the quality of trailer tires is just plain lousy. I seem to see more problems with Carlisles, at this time. Guess it's their turn in " the basement of the outhouse".



Eventually, I think I may go the the heaviest LT tire I can find in my size.



Joe

f. (Buffalo)

 

[Schlickenmeyer]

Well, this is interesting. . For something as critical as tires, there seems to be more problems with many brands than I expected. .



I will likely replace this one with another marathon, and before she rolls again she gets all metal valve stems. I examined the stem I pulled off the blowout, and

it let go. So I cannot blame the tires for the blowouts, with zero pressure, they all heat up and shred, So let this be a warning to all. With something as inexpensive as valve stems, you get what you pay for is a cheap rule.

 

[JHardwick]

I do 10,000 thousand or more miles a month hauling horses. My Exiss came with GY Marathons and I never had anything but trouble with those tires



Switched to Hankooks and never had another tire failure up until I traded it on my 4-Star, it came with a LR-E Uniroyal something or other, no problems with these tires either.

 

[champspa]

I used to have problems with tires , rear axles had 11000 lbs on them and 4 e rated tires = 12000 and better ratings . so I went to 3 axles = less that 2000 per tire . it worked super,no blowouts this year.

 

[brods]

Weird. Why would a valve stem fail? Was it impact damage? If not, maybe you should check the hole in the rim for burrs and measure it see if it is the correct diameter.

 

[radyvolk]

Check this post from RV.net



Maybe this applies to you, maybe not. Axles could have been damaged from potholes & curbs. Just something else to consider.



Randy

 

[Matt42]

from Goodyear Marathon ST tires web states these tires are only 65 mph rated have a narrow tread design with a thinner tread depth and is only ten percent greater load capacity than a "P" tire and is a "economical" [COST] tire. Its been my experience ST tires ,any brand ain't up to heavy loads and interstate speeds. Lighter weight trailers, any type, may get by using ST tires but are speed sensitive. If your towing heavy and at interstate speeds, going to 16" wheels and 16" LT "E" type tire can stop your tire shreading probs. Michelin XPS Rib LTs/B F Goodrich Commercial LTs/Uniroyal HD-H LT are recommended by their manufactors for trailer tire use. Some with lighter trailers are getting by with ST type tires. Weight and speed is critical for a good trailer tire... ... ... ... ... JIM

I agree completely. I use Michelin XPS Rib tires on a work trailer, and Michelin LTX 15 inch truck tires on my TT. A huge difference over the ST tires.

 

[Texas Ted]

I've been using Goodyear G614RST tires on our trailer, 14,000 lbs. , and nary a problem in two years. I've used the Michelin XPS Ribs also, from Costco and they are very good too. No problems. Ted

 

[Matt42]

from Goodyear Marathon ST tires web states these tires are only 65 mph rated have a narrow tread design with a thinner tread depth and is only ten percent greater load capacity than a "P" tire and is a "economical" [COST] tire. Its been my experience ST tires ,any brand ain't up to heavy loads and interstate speeds. Lighter weight trailers, any type, may get by using ST tires but are speed sensitive. If your towing heavy and at interstate speeds, going to 16" wheels and 16" LT "E" type tire can stop your tire shreading probs. Michelin XPS Rib LTs/B F Goodrich Commercial LTs/Uniroyal HD-H LT are recommended by their manufactors for trailer tire use. Some with lighter trailers are getting by with ST type tires. Weight and speed is critical for a good trailer tire... ... ... ... ... JIM

I neglected to mention . . . If my memory is correct, tire temperature and speed ratings are based on operating at 70 degrees F. (Someone correct me if I am wrong here. ) So a tire rated at 65 MPG should be used at lower speeds when temperatures are higher. Here in Arizona, air temperatures routinely exceed 119 F, and the road surface is much hotter than that. A tire rated for 65 MPG at 70F is a joke.