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Old 06-26-2011, 04:07 PM   #1
Clemson1881
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Another Marathon Failure

We use our Montana for vacations. I thought since we didn't take long trips and we only go 5 or 6 times per year we should get by on the China Bombs for a while. No such luck. The good news is while preparing to load up and head out to Myrtle Beach I noticed the tread separating while safely parked in my building. There's been plenty of threads about these tires, but here's another one. Even if you travel very little these tires will not hold up! They are only two years old and have less than 5000 miles on them. And they are stored indoors! What is it going to take to get them off of the new rigs? Keystone are you reading this?
 
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Old 06-26-2011, 05:08 PM   #2
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Yep! That's why several folks on the forum had them taken off before they rolled off the dealers lot when purchased new.
DW thought the same as you (and logically so) that seasonal low mileage use should equal at least 5 years of use. I was able to convince her otherwise. I replaced mine at 900 miles.
What is it going to take to get them off the Montanas??? ... Why, all you have to do is plunk down a few $$$ more and upgrade to the Big Sky package!
As a side note, I was at CW the other day and looked at a SOB 5th wheel on their showroom floor and it too had the Marabombs on it.
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Old 06-26-2011, 06:07 PM   #3
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It looks as if Keystone is waiting for a fatality and a subsequent lawsuit before it smartens up and replaces these ticking timebombs with a tire that isn't a threat to life and limb and floor and fender! C'mon Keystone ... what does it take to awake the sleeping giant?
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Old 06-26-2011, 08:51 PM   #4
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What I find interresting is other RVers say they are great, on this and other forums.
I had them on my terry and they blew, on my sisters trailer 2 time and she replaced all four of them two times they also seperated and blistered on the side wall.
I will never buy or use Marathone tires again, I use LT tires that Keystone put on my trailer and I got 4.5 years out of them before I replaced them with another set of LT tires, the new set have 2 years on them now and still look good.
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Old 06-27-2011, 12:57 AM   #5
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Greg,
I used my tires in the same manner as you and stored the trailer in my barn when not in use. 5000 miles and I had a blowout. It doesn't matter how they are used, they are dangerous pieces of crap.
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Old 06-27-2011, 02:06 AM   #6
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The thing that puts me off the most, is their attitude that all things are normal. I learned early on in business that when you recognise a problem, address it immediately or it will later eat you for lunch. Why should GY pay millions for Advertising and let a problem like this continue to lurk around the camp? I see a bad experience coming.
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Old 06-27-2011, 12:34 PM   #7
DonandJudy_12
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The China Bombs on todays trailers aren't much different than the ST Marathons we endured back in the late 90s- When we retired and went fulltime on July 1, 1999, we had Marathons on our Carrilite- During the first year on the road, we had 8 failures- Goodyear dealers all told me there was no adjustment on all of them- However, I had read in Highways that Goodyear was handling the "problem" as a customer service- Tire #8 was sent to Goodyear for analyis(sp)- I had to pay the dealer for the replacement tire but I got a check from Goodyear reimbursing me for that tire plus reimbursment for the physical damage done- I haven't had a Goodyear since, nor will I ever! Take that goodyear- Don
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Old 06-28-2011, 04:06 AM   #8
restez
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Good Year--------Good for a year thats what my tire guy told me!I dumped my marathons and put on Michelins----Love them!
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Old 06-28-2011, 04:26 AM   #9
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A good class action attorney and It might wake both Keystone and Goodyear up.
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Old 06-28-2011, 04:35 AM   #10
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Probably would be thrown out of Court, as every situation is just a little different.
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Old 06-28-2011, 10:49 AM   #11
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After closer inspection I found that two of the China Bombs were bad not just one. I took them to the GoodYear dealer today. They are replacing the tires for the G614s. I am paying the difference in cost of a new set of Marabombs versus the G tires. The guy looked at the Marabombs and said "This is very unusual as most people come here and get Marathons to replace their old trailer tires. We never have problems out of Marathons." I told him in my opinion the Marathons are poorly manufactured, and are overrated weight capacity wise. The 235/80/16 Marathons would probably be OK on a lighter trailer. A much lighter trailer. Anyway I should have the new tires tomorrow or Thursday. We leave for the beach next week, so all is good. I am just thankful I the tires gave me a warning, and did not go boom on the highway!
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Old 06-29-2011, 07:30 AM   #12
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Planning the first long distance trip next week, and just don't want to chance a blowout and trailer damage with the OEM Marathons. I will be replacing them on Friday morning with Goodyear 614RST. Got a fair deal from Discount Tire, and they called me today to verify the Manufacture Code (MJ - Topeka Kansas) and Date Code (511 and 611). Anybody interested in the Marathons, less than 100 miles, let me know.
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Old 06-29-2011, 08:24 AM   #13
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They make a nice tire fire.
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Old 06-29-2011, 08:30 AM   #14
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by NCFischers

They make a nice tire fire.
............or bumpers on a tug boat
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Old 06-29-2011, 09:02 AM   #15
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Tire swing??
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Old 06-29-2011, 09:18 AM   #16
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When I replaced my Marathons with 614's I got $200.00 for the Marathons on Craig's list!
Some guy wanted to use them to haul his race-car.
Jerry
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Old 06-29-2011, 11:18 AM   #17
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Sold mine on CL as well. Guy was going to use them for a utility trailer. Got $300 for them.
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Old 06-29-2011, 11:19 AM   #18
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I wonder if this problem might be from a certain manufacturing lot. I have never owned a set of Marathone tires. I have owned hundreds of tires on my cars, trucks trailers and ranch impliments over the years.

Only twice have I had a real problem and once the tire dealer and manufacturer took care of it.

Just a few years ago I lost 7 Michelin tires out of ten that came on a new truck, all from sidewall blowouts in the same place on each tire. The tire failures occured between 1000 and 5000 miles on the tires. Michelin refused to acknowlege any responsibility for the failures so I have never again bought a Michelin tire.

Earlier I bought ten Goodyear Unisteel Tires and those tires failed to get the mileage that had been normal for previous tires on the same truck. When I complained to the tire dealer, I was informed that Goodyear had notified dealers that ther rubber formula was faulty. The defective tires were replaced with a set of new Goodyear Unisteel II tires at no charge.
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Old 06-29-2011, 04:47 PM   #19
Clemson1881
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The Marathon problem is too long running and too wide spread to be a bad lot. In my opinion they simply will not take the weight of the larger rigs. That and the fact they are made in China is a recipe for disaster. The good news is Good Year has been really good to help with replacing the time bombs if you are willing to wait until you have a failure or two. The bad news is you run the risk of an accident, or trailer damage by running them. I was lucky. Mine failed, but didn't blow on me.
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Old 07-02-2011, 05:53 AM   #20
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Didn't know Gy would help. Replaced all four within first 12 months of traveling. Sides separated. THank goodness for our Pressure Pro system each time.
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