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Old 08-19-2010, 04:32 AM   #1
jimmarf
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Montana tire safety concern

I have a 2009 3665 RE GVW is 15,655 fully loaded. The ST235/80R16E Marathon tires Montana puts on this unit are rated at a max. of 3,420#. 3,420 X 4 = 13,680#. Has anyone else done the math. It looks to me that Montana is not putting on a strong enough tire to meet their max. load capacity. PS I just had my first blow-out after only 6K on the tires. Anybody have any suggestions on how to approach this issue with Montana?
 
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Old 08-19-2010, 04:56 AM   #2
8.1al
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Not all of that weight sits on the tires, some of it is on the truck or on the front landing gear
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Old 08-19-2010, 05:00 AM   #3
akf15e
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Like 8.1 said - subtract 2500+ lbs for what's sitting on your truck.

Not sure what to do about the lousy tires they use. I also just suffered a failure at about 6K on one year old tires. I just bought new BFG Commercial TAs and will be tossing the old Marathons this week. I've had one or more tire failures on cheap Chinese tires on my last 3 campers. I won't leave the dealer's lot next time rolling on Chinese tires.
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Old 08-19-2010, 05:00 AM   #4
Lambchop
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by jimmarf

I have a 2009 3665 RE GVW is 15,655 fully loaded. The ST235/80R16E Marathon tires Montana puts on this unit are rated at a max. of 3,420#. 3,420 X 4 = 13,680#. Has anyone else done the math. It looks to me that Montana is not putting on a strong enough tire to meet their max. load capacity. PS I just had my first blow-out after only 6K on the tires. Anybody have any suggestions on how to approach this issue with Montana?
I called Montana about my famous Mission tires & they told me they don't handle warranty on tires. When I bought my 08 last fall(left over on dealers lot)I wanted the dealer to change out the mission's. He told me that he would put on Marathons from the GY dealer. I checked with the GY dealer & wouldn't you know they were all made in China! I said forget it..I bit the bullet & purchased all new Goodyear G614's!
Let us know what Montana says about your tire issue....

Roy
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Old 08-19-2010, 05:05 AM   #5
PapaBeav
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If you want to know the weight that sits on the tires take your rig to a truck scale and weigh just the weight of the four tires on the scale and then divide that by four. And while you are at it you can weigh your entire rig including the front and rear axles of your TV while hooked up.
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Old 08-19-2010, 05:09 AM   #6
BB_TX
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That model had a shipping weight of 12,695 and a pin weight of 2,155, or 17%. By that rule of thumb, fully loaded to the GVWR rating of 15,655 should give a pin weight of 2661. Leaving 12,994 on the tires, or 3248 per tire fully loaded. Not likely you would have the full 3,000 lbs of stuff loaded in it.
The Chinese tires have a well discussed history of blowouts. Switch to a better tire. I got rid of mine (Missions) at about 6,000 miles before I had a blowout, but did have some slight bubbling on a couple of them. Still had a lot of tread on them, but did not want to take the chance.
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Old 08-19-2010, 05:21 AM   #7
NCFischers
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Read my current ongoing thread titled Marathon Tires. I'm switching to BFG Commercial tires today and sending the chinese tires back to Good Year.
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Old 08-19-2010, 06:46 AM   #8
RCN.Stoker
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I was told by my dealer's head tech that 5th wheels are often are balanced a bit aft when dry to allow for all the cargo etc. that primarily sits forward of the wheels. This means they have a lower percentage of the trailer in pin weight when dry. The exception is toy haulers which are weighted forward to allow for the heavy cargo carried in the rear bay. They tend to have a higher percentage on the pin when dry. He said the final pin weight should be between 20-25% of the total trailer weight. His rule was true for my 3585 but it has a rear kitchen which may explain why its compliance. Any one have any knowledge or experience to verify his information.
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Old 08-19-2010, 08:29 AM   #9
Art-n-Marge
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The head tech is pretty correct about his numbers. He is right on about the 20-25% (most say 18%-25%) for the anticipated weight at the pin. I can verity RCN.Soker's challenge to verify his information.

My trailer weighs 13,600# (GTWR is 14030#). The weight at the axles is 10,940#, which leaves 2,660 at the pin or 19.5%. I never weighed it dry but it was documented the trailer weighed 1,855 at the pin with a 11,650 GVW (16%). As soon as I drove it off the lot and put anything in the bedroom, the front storage areas and the kitchen in front of the wheels, I would never be at that weight again or pin weight percentage and experience more of what the head tech explains. It's too bad that RV salesmen don't know this - they probably wouldn't make as many sales if head tech's were brought in initially before the sale.

As for the original poster's observation, just keep in mind that the trailer's axles, wheels and tires will NOT be carrying the gross weight of the trailer because the TV will be carrying the pin weight when hitched, or the front landing gear will be carrying the pin weight when unhitched. The manufacturers try to calculate the weight of the trailer only at the axles, then install tires to meet that specification (not the GTWR).

There are several potential causes of tire failures including age, tire pressure, weight per tire, curb jumping, curb cutting, turn stress, exposure to elements, driving too fast, premature aging, poor quality of tire, exposure, sitting too much, etc. With the tire failures I have had I have tried to treat my trailer tires a lot better than I used to. I'll leave it at that.

And good luck with your claim and new tires!
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Old 08-19-2010, 09:28 AM   #10
tjuhl
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On my 2008 3000RK loaded for vacation with empty tanks, the pin weight is 2420# and weight on wheels is 8700#. That's just 8700# on 12000# capacity for the axles and higher for the Mission tires. Yet I still had a blowout at 7000 miles, pure junk tires. Haven't has a hint of a problem with 9000 miles on the new Michelins.
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Old 08-19-2010, 11:08 AM   #11
richfaa
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My actual pin weight was 22% of camper weight as weighed at the last fall rally. Remember that the pin weight is in the truck as part of the trucks cargo capacity and not on the Rv axles or tires..

The Chinese do make cheap tires and the Rv manufacturer's buy about everyone of them. I am old enough to remember when the USA made cheap tires. My Mission tires ran 10K miles with no problems but I chickened out and bought better tires. The Missions are still running on a boat trailer pulling a heavy boat..
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Old 08-20-2010, 09:12 AM   #12
soonerhooligan
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jimmarf I wouldn't use the words Montana and safety in the same sentence. No telling how many complaints they have had on the China bombs. But the bottom line (money) comes first.
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