Trading Marathons for G614s

[Virginia Young]

I called the Goodyear customer service line and spoke with a really nice lady. She put me in touch with a Goodyear dealer here in Little Rock, AR. I have to have the Marathons inspected and they will let me know what the credit will be on them. So, at this point, we won't know how we will come out, but it's worth trying. I'll keep you posted.

[NCFischers]

Good move!

[DQDick]

It has worked well for us and several others. What we found out that lowered our deal was that the tires were a year old when Keystone put them on a new Montana. Still got a good deal, however.

[Irlpguy]

Your tires are basically brand new, mine had 10,000 miles on them and after checking them out the Goodyear dealer gave me $100.00 each for them. If you don't get that or close to it I would sell them on Craigslist yourself.

I am sure you will be happy with the G614's.

[bigskyjimmy]

Les Schwab out here on the west coast gave me 70 bucks ea for the marathons and I got Geostar Lt g574 for 900 bucks out the door And I have 3k on them and they have been great and piece of mind!!!! FYI there are other options besides Goodyear G614's that work great for less cash

[napria]

When I called Goodyear they pretty much said tough luck. No help at all. I had told the woman that the coach was brand new and we drove it from the dealer in VA to Hilton Head. My husband checked the tires when we stopped for gas and they were HOT... Much hotter than his truck tires. All she did was take my name and give me a case number. Didn't refer me or offer any help with trad-in.

I'm waiting right now to save up to buy the G14s, but I've called the local Goodyear dealer and he said he doesn't have that tire. He told me he couldn't/wouldn't order it. I will get this resolved and get the Marathons swapped out. It's just frustrating that Goodyear seems willing to help some people but not others.

[Irlpguy]

I did not call "Goodyear" I dealt with the local Goodyear tire store and while they did not have them in stock they ordered them from their warehouse and had them the next day.

I would try a different Goodyear dealer, if they want your business they should offer some trade in. Best to deal with a dealer who sells truck tires.

As BigSkyJimmy says there are other options depending on where you live, we could not get his tires locally and wanted local service in case of any issues. My tires were all made the same week of 2012, check that if you do manage to get a deal on some.

[richfaa]

We had goodyear marathons on a lighter TT and had no problems. We have members in our local camping group with much lighter 5th wheels and have no problem. They are low end users compared to many here. I think that IF I was a weekend camper I might not change out the marathons. 40 or 80 days a year use is far different that the use and millage many of us put on these things. I mean we did 80 days use in the first 80 days we had the 3402 and do at least 250 day a year and 7 K miles or more every year. Full-timers are24/7/365

[Virginia Young]

napria - Take that case number to a Goodyear store. (A main one, not an independent who carries Goodyear. The place they sent us was a truck tire place.) They will measure the tread depth on your tires and, using your case number, will contact Goodyear with the measurement and find out how much credit you will get. In my case, the Customer service lady actually contacted the Goodyear store and gave them the case number.

I can't believe they wouldn't order them for you! Every place we contacted, said they could get them for us in less than a week. Nobody said they wouldn't do it.

We tried looking for other options, but weren't having much luck in our area. Couldn't find anybody who could get the Sailuns for us and other recommendations didn't spec out as high as the G614s. There was one that was rated at 3900 lbs, but it was a name we had never heard of and were afraid we wouldn't be able to get replacements if we had problems on the road.

Iripguy - I'm hoping for good news, as we have only pulled the fiver 50 miles since we purchased it in October. We are living in it, but haven't gone anywhere. Still waiting for hubby's retirement. I checked the manufacture date and they are only a year old. Hope our luck is as good as yours.

richfaa - If we weren't getting ready to head out for our full-timing adventure, we might not be changing the tires. Since we are going to be traveling all over the country, we decided it was worth the peace of mind. I agree that it would be an awfully expensive upgrade if we were just occasional weekend campers.

[napria]

Virginia, thank you for the tip. I'm hoping to have the money for the G14s in the next couple of days and then the following week we're headed to Florida. We may be in the "weekend camper" category, but I don't want to travel hundreds of miles more on the Marathons. As a matter of fact, I was hesitant about putting all our stuff back from our previous fifth wheel into this one before heading our on our current trip. I don't want an ounce of weight more on these wheels than necessary.

[Virginia Young]

napria - I certainly agree. I was thinking of the weekend camper who runs up to the local lake for a couple of days. Not the cross country traveler. G614 price is hard to swallow, but much better than sitting on the side of the road and/or paying hundreds of dollars for repairs . . .

[8.1al]

quote:Originally posted by napria

When I called Goodyear they pretty much said tough luck. No help at all. I had told the woman that the coach was brand new and we drove it from the dealer in VA to Hilton Head. My husband checked the tires when we stopped for gas and they were HOT... Much hotter than his truck tires. All she did was take my name and give me a case number. Didn't refer me or offer any help with trad-in.
willing to help some people but not others.

Goodyear has been good to the people that have had problems with their Marathons, however you can't expect them to exchange your tires because you don't like them. As others have said I would find another Goodyear dealer yours is obviously not interested in your business

[richfaa]

G614's were a must on this 13 3402. IMO another must for the high end user in the Mor Ryde IS system. It is a very pricy option but the system reduces the stress on the 5th wheel and IMO reduces the probability of failures. We had it on out 06 3400 and if we keep this 13 3402 we will have it installed.

[sambam]

I'm one of those "weekend warrior" campers and I still don't want Marathons on my rig. I had an issue with a bubble on one of my few weekends last year and that was enough for me. Goodyear did work with me and came through with about $120 each for my tires. They were new, though the date of manufacture for them was 2008. My dealer didn't carry G614's either, but when he got my ref# from GY in his hand, he was more than happy to order them.

[Virginia Young]

It is sad that Keystone isn't listening to its customers and using appropriate tires. I'm just glad I joined this forum and found out about this problem. Wonder how many Montana owners don't know . . .

[richfaa]

You find those marathons on all brands of 5th wheels. Apparently the manufacturers are getting good deals on them. It was the same when keystone was using the Missions.. The missions were on many brands.

[scott-pati]

quote:Originally posted by Virginia Young

It is sad that Keystone isn't listening to its customers and using appropriate tires. I'm just glad I joined this forum and found out about this problem. Wonder how many Montana owners don't know . . .

Same here... We love this forum too!

[sambam]

A little credit where credit is due; Keystone does put 110 psi rated rims on these Montanas. So, they know what we're doing. At least they're sparing us the cost of rims when we upgrade the tires (tongue firmly in cheek)!

[JandC]

quote:Originally posted by sambam

I'm one of those "weekend warrior" campers and I still don't want Marathons on my rig. I had an issue with a bubble on one of my few weekends last year and that was enough for me. Goodyear did work with me and came through with about $120 each for my tires. They were new, though the date of manufacture for them was 2008. My dealer didn't carry G614's either, but when he got my ref# from GY in his hand, he was more than happy to order them.

I don't think it matters if you are full time or pull your Montana a couple hundred miles every other year, you should have the best tires on it to support the weight. This past week coming up Rt. 101 through California there have been some places where if a tire would have blown out we would have been in serious trouble....no shoulders....on a steep grade.....around a curve....not a good place to be with semis roaring up behind you.

[drsmart]

Mobile Suites which are much heavier than Montanas used to come with G614s. They now come with Goodyear 17 1/2" H-Rated.
For the Montana weight class, Keystone should follow by stepping up to the G614 as standard.
This has been a Montana owner's issue for years. Within two weeks of getting our 2011 new, I replaced the Marathons with G614s.

Dave