Marathon and 614 - Montana Owners Club

captbanjo · 09-07-2015, 10:12 AM

So, my wife and I took a two-week trip to Maine and New Hampshire and on the way down we blew a Marathon tire out and on the way back we did the same.

For the record, yes, I read the warnings. Yes, I decided to risk not replacing them when we bought the fifth wheel two years ago. Finally, yes, I regret it.

I see a lot written about the 614's. Would this be a good tire for my 3750FL? Also, if I'm reading it right, it seems that these are inflated higher than the 80 psi that I was using for the marathons? I read somewhere that they are inflated at 110 PSI? Is this true and if so, why?

Thanks,

mlh · 09-07-2015, 10:27 AM

Good idea replace the Marathons. 110 PSI gives you the full weight rating of the tires. When you decrease the pressure you also decrease the weight rating of the tire.
Lynwood

rohrmann · 09-07-2015, 12:02 PM

According to the Goodyear charts, the G614, at 80 psi, is rated the same as the Marathon tire, 3042 lbs, but at 110 psi, the tire is rated 3750 lbs, which also seems to provide, at least what I've seen, better fuel mileage, and better handling. www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/tire-care-guide.pdf

On page 10 of this guide, the top chart shows LT 235/85R16, and looking at the S ratings, which indicates tires run as singles, you go over to 80 psi, and the chart shows the 3042 lbs, but if you go all the way to the right, 3750 lbs is shown for the G range tire. I don't worry about a few pounds of pressure, as long as I'm over 100 psi, I'm good to go.

captbanjo · 09-08-2015, 04:39 AM

The Marathons I have now are ST235/90R16. It looks like a LT 235/85R16 would be the correct replacement for the upgrade?

I did note the rear of my rims list 110 PSI so I'm guessing they're fine with the LT 235/85R16.

Here's the tire I'm looking at:

http://simpletire.com/goodyear-g614-...GI0aAn2_8P8HAQ

Doberman · 09-08-2015, 05:05 AM

captbanjo: If you kept the blown tires, contact Goodyear for an adjustment toward new G614s. They gave me a more than fair adjustment and paid for the damage to my RV that was caused by the blowout.

sambam · 09-08-2015, 05:09 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by captbanjo

The Marathons I have now are ST235/90R16. It looks like a LT 235/85R16 would be the correct replacement for the upgrade?

I did note the rear of my rims list 110 PSI so I'm guessing they're fine with the LT 235/85R16.

Here's the tire I'm looking at:

http://simpletire.com/goodyear-g614-...GI0aAn2_8P8HAQ

That's the one. And a good price, too.

**DQDick** · 09-08-2015, 10:58 AM

We have run ours between 105 and 110# and have felt we got better milage, better feel when towing and for sure a better ride than with the Marathons.

Mark N. · 09-09-2015, 07:40 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Doberman

captbanjo: If you kept the blown tires, contact Goodyear for an adjustment toward new G614s. They gave me a more than fair adjustment and paid for the damage to my RV that was caused by the blowout.

I love it. They pay a good price after the damage is done, but when I contacted them about trading my Marathons with only 700 miles on them to avoid trouble in the first place....They weren't interested whatsoever. Amazing consistency.

JandC · 09-10-2015, 03:44 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by captbanjo

So, my wife and I took a two-week trip to Maine and New Hampshire and on the way down we blew a Marathon tire out and on the way back we did the same.

For the record, yes, I read the warnings. Yes, I decided to risk not replacing them when we bought the fifth wheel two years ago. Finally, yes, I regret it.

The bad thing about blowing those junk tires is it can put you and your family in hazardous situations. Sitting on a shoulder with a flat tire with all the fast/distracted driver's out there is very dangerous.

Even though you ignored the previous advise about getting the properly rated/quality tires, do yourself a favor after replacing them now, get a TPMS to monitor them also.

captbanjo · 09-10-2015, 04:51 AM

Here's another question that just occurred to me: if I buy four of the new tires do I need to buy a fifth one as the spare or can I use one of the marathons as a spare even though it is a different tire?

sambam · 09-10-2015, 05:40 AM

I won't spend the extra money on a 5th G614. I use a Marathon. I figure it can get me to where I can repair or replace the G614. It's a lot of money to spend on a tire 'just in case'. My feelings, others may differ.

PackerFan · 09-10-2015, 02:27 PM

I talked to a couple of Tire Repair guys about having G614's on the trailer and a Marathon as the spare. They all said if you called them to change your tire out on the road they would not do it because they are different sizes and you shouldn't put two different sized tires on the same axle.

I replaced all 5 of my Marathons with G614's for that reason.

captbanjo · 09-10-2015, 03:50 PM

OK, so they are actually different sizes? I didn't even think about that.

rohrmann · 09-10-2015, 07:09 PM

The diameters of the Marathon 235/80R16E and the G614 235/85R16G tires are both 30.7 inches in diameter. Even if they were slightly different, on a solid trailer axle, with no connecting shaft between the two wheels, it would make absolutely no difference to the tires, and probably wouldn't even be noticeable when towing.

**DQDick** · 09-11-2015, 01:32 AM

True, but it doesn't change the fact that you'll be changing it yourself.

JandC · 09-11-2015, 02:48 AM

I guess I always thought the G614 were generally an inch taller than the marabombs. It doesn't really matter though if Road Service responds and won't put your spare on.

If you blow a tire and are in town or right by a exit or rest area is one thing. Blow one during rush hour on a major interstate with traffic flying by at 70 to 90mph and you won't want to be out there with a jack and breaker bar.

These are big, long, heavy RV's. Safety should be our first concern. I agree with Scott, buy the 5th G614 for a spare.

Phil P · 09-11-2015, 09:02 AM

Hi

I would never call a tire service truck to change a flat or blown tire I carry everything with me to do this and other more difficult things.

As previously pointed out the difference in size will not cause any problem on a trailer axel, you will notice the new cars have a compact spare tire that is much smaller than the tires on the car. The reason for the mileage limitation in the car manual is because when put on the drive axel it causes the differential to worked excessively.

As for the difference in tire pressure I operate ours at 110 Psi cold. The OP’s trailer is a 2013 so it has the 110 Psi wheels.

As long as you are aware that the spare is not an extended use tire and you use it to get to a dealer that can replace or repair your G614 then there isn’t a problem with using the Marathon as a spare.

One thing to keep in mind is the age of the tire. Because it isn’t in the sun I still wouldn’t keep it longer than 7 years and that is 2 years longer than recommended.

Next year I will probably remove my Marathon spare and put the best one of the G614 I have on an equipment trailer that is only move twice a year.

Phil P

Olen1957 · 09-11-2015, 11:31 AM

I bought a Salian tire and rim to replace my spare. The rim for the spare was only rated at 80 psi. I bought it on E-bay for a pretty good price and I also bought and installed a tire monitoring system put one on the spare and 4 on the Monty.

Mark N. · 09-11-2015, 05:52 PM

The decision to replace a tire along side a road is a very serious decision. Many, many lives are lost each year along the highways in this fashion. Even the police, with their flashing strobes that can be seen 10 miles away, are struck regularly along highways. No matter how big and visible you might think you are, you are still a target for a 75mph daydreaming, distracted, sleepy driver. Maybe you've done it yourself for the past 50 years, but maybe also that next truck heading down the road at you is being steered by someone that is too busy texting his wife to be bothered by paying attention.
Think very carefully before you decide to do this by yourself.

Phil P · 09-12-2015, 01:10 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Mark N.

The decision to replace a tire along side a road is a very serious decision. Many, many lives are lost each year along the highways in this fashion. Even the police, with their flashing strobes that can be seen 10 miles away, are struck regularly along highways. No matter how big and visible you might think you are, you are still a target for a 75mph daydreaming, distracted, sleepy driver. Maybe you've done it yourself for the past 50 years, but maybe also that next truck heading down the road at you is being steered by someone that is too busy texting his wife to be bothered by paying attention.
Think very carefully before you decide to do this by yourself.

Hi

And maybe you could be struck by lighting, a train, a motor cycle ETC.

If you live in fear of doing for yourself then what good is living?

Phil P

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