Another Marathon Failure - Page 2 - Montana Owners Club

fauch · 07-02-2011, 12:23 PM

The key to tire safety is LOAD RATING and adhering to weight and speed limts!
We have blown Michelins, Goodyears, and others
Have used China tires with much success when they were in the right load and speed range

richfaa · 07-02-2011, 01:05 PM

We had the marathons on two of our previous TT campers of course they were not as big or as heavy as the 3400 montana and were well within tire load ratings. We had 10K miles on our Missions before we decided not to tempt fate any longer and change them out. They lived out there life on a smaller lighter boat trailer without issue.

Clemson1881 · 07-02-2011, 04:51 PM

I politely disagree about the load ratings post. Of course I agree you need to be within rated limits at all times. The point of difference I have is there is no way you can baby tires anymore than I did and the Marathons still failed. We travel with the trailer way below weight limits, had very low milage on the tires, maintained 80 PSI always, and stored the trailer indoors except for when in use. We use the trailer for about 5 weeks a year. 2 years and less than 5 thousand miles and they were about to blow. The E rated China tires are not good enough for the larger rigs period. Thumbs up to Good Year for making their failed tires good (including two that had not failed yet). Thumbs down for Keystone for continuing to put the E rated trailer tires on rigs that are too big and heavy for them.

Tiretesterman · 07-02-2011, 05:14 PM

Agree with what Fauch said. The Marathon is the finest trailer tire on the market. Running LT tires on a heavy trailer is asking for unsafe swaying and sidewall failure. If you take care of your tires and maintain air pressure you will have great results from your tires. Sadly many often want to blame neglect on their part on equipment. There is going to failures with any tire brand and models, and often due to human error and neglect.

HOOK · 07-02-2011, 06:05 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Tiretesterman

Agree with what Fauch said. The Marathon is the finest trailer tire on the market. Running LT tires on a heavy trailer is asking for unsafe swaying and sidewall failure. If you take care of your tires and maintain air pressure you will have great results from your tires. Sadly many often want to blame neglect on their part on equipment. There is going to failures with any tire brand and models, and often due to human error and neglect.

You must be joking....I maintained my Mbombs excellently and had 4 fail for broken belts. This occurred in about 10000 miles and less than 1 yr. from purchase. I owned a fleet of tow trucks for 35 yrs and know a small amount about tire maint. Saw too many accidents caused by tire failure.Goodyear must have thought there was a problem to be willing to reimburse me for all 5 and pay all out of pocket expense toward purchase of G614s. IMHO they are junk test or not. I also read other similar forums and am sure this is not a small problem.

BigAl52 · 07-02-2011, 07:20 PM

Chinnese tires suck. All of them. In my opinion there care not about the saftey of anyone of us in America. I won't buy one and I think anyone who does is crazy. Al

fauch · 07-03-2011, 02:23 AM

Montana 3455SA --15560 GVWR
235/80R16E weight rating 3400 at 65 mph X 4= 13600 lb. (OK at dry weight)
These are the tires that came on a 2010 3455SA
Keystone was pushing the limit.

Are your USA branded tires made in the USA? most aren't
Do your China branded tires (i.e. DURO) adhere to USADOT manufacturing rating guidelines as well as any other branded tire? probably so, especially now that they have been severely scrutinized following some of the failures they have seen
Are DOT regulations, especially those related to tire safety, a needed gov't. regulation? HELL YEH
Do RV manufacturers and RV owners expect more from tires than the DOT and tire manufacturers build in? because we are ignorant about the limits and capabilities, and RV builders are margin-focused......and we expect them to survive everything we dish out, ..Uhhh.. YEH
...so... if you have an RV pushing 13k+ lb. and you want to drive 70-80 mph, G rated tires are a minimum.
RV manufacturers believe that since ~15-20% of the trailer weight is on the tongue, less load is on the trailer tires. Trailer tire construction and weight ratings are designed to take the intermittent loads of trailer bounce, sway, porpoising, and lateral stress. After my experiences, reading the wealth of knowledge on this forum, and my own research, my current position is to be more focused on weight and speed ratings vs my trailer weight and driving habits. Now if Keystone had been using tires that were rated at or above the weights of their trailers, and my new truck capable of towing my trailer at 100+ mph had a 65 mph governor on it..... and THOSE tires were 'bombing', I would be more focused on the BRAND they were using.
here's some good poop about trailer tires:
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/inf...rTireFacts.dos

Clemson1881 · 07-03-2011, 02:36 AM

I maintained my tires, used them very little, stored them in a garage, and never drove them above 65mph. They are not heavy duty enough for these rigs. Roll on them at your own risk.

richfaa · 07-03-2011, 03:52 AM

I completly agree that if at all in doubt or if the opinion is that all Chinese tires are junk change them out...How about Japanese tires or tires from any other foreign country???

My experience with the Mission tires was we run at 62/65MPH all the time. We stay withing tire load ratings. We have the TMPS and check the readings when in route often. We weigh the 3400 every year at rallies. We now have generals not Chinese tires but still foreign made and do the same with them.. Now the tire load ratings are to low for this 3400 and it is a struggle to keep the weight under the ratings. We will when the time comes purchase a quality tire with a higher tire load rating.The G614 is a E rated tire with the proper tire load ratings so they are high on our list.
We also agree that Keystone and others should have at least offered a option for better tires. Our OEM mission tires ran on a lighter boat trailer. for many more miles.

Tires can fail at any time for any reason G614 fail. We do not disagree with what anyone does here but we believe adhering to the rating and spec's is critical. Most folks who post their tire failure experience never state how fast they normally run.

BigAl52 · 07-03-2011, 04:51 AM

I have been around trucks for 40 plus years. We have tested many different brands of tires in those years. The one that always comes to the top Michelin. Sure theres alot tires made out of the states, some good some not so good. But there is not one that comes from china that will ever be on one of my rigs. After the Mission tire junk that I took off my 3485 which had never been driven over 65 and didnt have 10000 miles on the tires they can keep them. They were an E rated tire rated to carry 3500lbs each at 80psi. I doubt very seriously the RV manufactures even think about tonque weight bounce sidewall flex or anything else connected to those tires. They are more concerned about there bottom line. If that were the case why did Montana go from Mission junk to Marabombs. Al

Clemson1881 · 07-03-2011, 06:02 AM

I would like to say one more time more safety margin is needed when applying tires on these rigs. These things are heavy, and the tires get twisted and put in a bind often when turning sharply and parking. The G614 is a G rated tire not an E. And where I have heard of them failing is on rigs that should have been outfitted with a H rated tire to allow some safety margin. I would like to see the manaufacturers take safety more seriously and leave some ample load rating margin for safety with the tires they install. At the weight I travel the G rated tires accomplish this for me. I am hoping for better results with them.

richfaa · 07-03-2011, 06:16 AM

We also agree that the manufacturer is concerned with bottom line and cost effectiveness. Every manufacturer is. This is why I think upgrade options should be available on these rigs so we can fit the equipment to our individual use. I also do not believe that any manufacturer would leave themselves open to civil, Criminal or Federal lawsuits by not adhering to all Federal standards required on the tires even though they may be minimum.If these tires could be documented dangerous because they did not meet Federal standards we would know about it. That they may fail and many do not as we only hear of failures is true but IMO in many cases the real cause rarely stated..

I have never seen a post that said we ran 75/80 on our rated 65mph tires and ran way over the tire load rating and the tire failed....It is a junk tire.

We will change our tires out to a quality higher tire load rated tire in the future but we have not had a issue with any foreign made tires thus far.

our faimly was also in the "trucking" business back when there were no foreign tires on the market and we had good old American made tire fail all the time.. Firestone as I remember being the prime offender where my Dad would not buy that tire.

We also changed out our Missions at @ 10K miles although there was nothing wrong with them but I would haved changed out any OEM tire at about the same time. Note that @ 10K miles was done in a little over one year.

Bruce Lenhardt · 07-03-2011, 07:52 AM

I changed my Marathon tires for G614's after about 10K miles and after I had one with separation of the belts. Caught it before it blew. I don't pull over 65 MPH and have a TPM. There is just too much data about the Marathon tires blowing out to ignore. In my opinion, they are not good tires for use on this weight of trailer and I feel much better about not having them on my trailer. And yes, I also believe that tires coming from China are much more likely to be of lesser quality.

sreigle · 07-04-2011, 10:35 AM

Well, I guess this is one of those "to each his own" topics. As for me, I have considerable experience with Goodyear Marathon tires on our various trailers.

And the bottom line is there will never, ever, ever again be a Goodyear Marathon tire on any trailer I own. Period. Too many failures having absolutely NO basis in bad maintenance and having everything to do with lack of quality in the tire. Period. To those who feel otherwise, do as you feel best. They'll never again be allowed on my trailers, though. I have some Marathon failure pictures I've displayed in this forum over the year if anyone wants to go back and look.

As for LT tires not be acceptable on trailer tires, a bit of research shows they're perfectly serviceable on trailers of any size SO LONG AS they are not overloaded according to the ratings. That's where people get in trouble with LT tires. LT tires often have a lower weight rating, maybe because of the sidewall differences. But, if the weight on the tire is within the ratings then they're fine, as many of us have seen, including me. I've put many thousands of miles on LT tires on a 2003 Montana 3295RK, heavily loaded. Nary a problem. That was BF Goodrich Commercial T/A.

We currently run Goodyear G614's in an LT size. Load Range G. And that tire is built specifically for trailer use. In fact, I think it says so right on the tire. I know it says so on the Goodyear website. We've run these tires for about 15 months with no problems whatsoever.

We never got anywhere close to that much time, or miles, out of the Chinese bombs. Chinese tires we've had on our trailers include Mission, FreeStar, and Goodyear Marathon (which have been made in China for many years).

What tires to use is a personal preference and I wish the best of tire luck to whatever others choose to use. But for me, well, the above says what I think as far as what will live on our trailers.

HOOK · 07-04-2011, 03:20 PM

My son recently bought an Air Nautique Ski boat on a tandem axle trailer. You got it 4 Mbombs. Whole rig weighs maybe 3500. First trip out 2 broken belts. I'm convinced that GY has loaded the market with this Chinese junk and is not quite sure what to do about this problem.

Clemson1881 · 07-04-2011, 04:59 PM

GoodYear may very well know they have a problem. They gave me zero trouble in giving me full credit for the Marabombs towards a new set of G614s. My Marabombs were 3 years old although my Montana is 2 years old. The Marabombs are not up to handling the loads they are rated for. They may work on a small Jonboat trailer or something if you leave the boat off of it at all times. I do not blame GoodYear at this point. Keystone has been getting called for years now about the junk tires they put on the new rigs. GoodYear needs to lower the ratings on the Marabombs to keep them off these heavy trailers. Then Keystone can go back to Missions?

Tiretesterman · 07-04-2011, 05:14 PM

Does anyone actually believe that all these namebrand (the best name brand in tires) Good Year tires are blowing out for no good reason? If a tire had the failure rate these guys in here say the manufactuer would be in court. There is too many law suit happy people today. The Marathon is a proven winner as is Good Year. This has gotten way out of hand. Post your pictures if you have them. Until then it is just gossip. I stand behind my Marathons that have yet to fail me once.

GaryM · 07-04-2011, 05:30 PM

Tiretesterman, I see you have a 3665RE. Give it time you will have tire problems. Trust me I know. And what others are saying on here about the Marathons is the truth. Dump them even before you take your rig off the dealers lot.

fauch · 07-04-2011, 09:34 PM

What was the load range of all these Marathon tires that bombed?
Keystone was installing 235/80R16E tires on 3665RE fifth wheels.
four E rated tires are good for ~12000 lb. .. at the edge for a 3665RE's DRY WEIGHT only
And speeds over 65mph would push that tight envelope even more
the most anal retentive care and maintenance in the world will not increase the load and speed ratings on a tire
They were installing D tires on the 2955RL, again just enough for the dry weight.
They were able to get away with this legally, because the tires were sufficient for the trailer as it was delivered.
When it comes right down to it, we as owners are responsible for either upgrading the tires or not adding any weight to the trailer.
they plied every angle possible to minimize cost to maximize margin.
Let's hope that this disingenuous practice has stopped. Tires, suspension and chassis should be protected as sacred when it comes to cutting cost.

HOOK · 07-05-2011, 12:41 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Tiretesterman

Does anyone actually believe that all these namebrand (the best name brand in tires) Good Year tires are blowing out for no good reason? If a tire had the failure rate these guys in here say the manufactuer would be in court. There is too many law suit happy people today. The Marathon is a proven winner as is Good Year. This has gotten way out of hand. Post your pictures if you have them. Until then it is just gossip. I stand behind my Marathons that have yet to fail me once.

Mickey Mantle was known for home runs, that rep. goes on today. Yet he struck out more than he got hits.

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