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Old 04-03-2012, 02:10 PM   #1
1retired06
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Tire Blowouts/Operator headspace

Sitting here in the Wade KOA, in Fayettesville NC, traveling with the rest of the snowbirds heading north from Florida. Two Montanas and one Cedar Creek with blowouts and serious damage here in the park. Talked to all three. All have Goodyear Marathons. None had checked their air pressure in the past 3-4 days. All were "Going the speed limit", ie 70+ MPH when blowouts occurred. Don't like or run Marathon STs, but maybe a little caution is in order? Maybe a few folks, and maybe these three were just asking for tire trouble by pushing the common sense envelope?
 
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Old 04-03-2012, 02:23 PM   #2
Emmel
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Treadit cautioned us at the fall rally to watch the speed. St's are speed rated at 65mph.
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Old 04-03-2012, 02:37 PM   #3
CORattler
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You make an excellent point...there is definitely a responsibility to exercise due diligence in the operation and maintenance of your rig no matter what you own or what tires you have. STILL,... crappy tires increase the the odds of blowouts as well as rig damage (not to mention life &limb).
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Old 04-03-2012, 02:50 PM   #4
Bruce Jackson
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Are the Goodyear Marathons failing because of improper tire pressure and are they traveling above 65 miles per hour. When these tire fail we never her about the tire
pressure or at what speed they are traveling at. I have a 2011 Montana 3150RL. When
first herd of this problem, I went to Discount Tire to find out about these tires. The
salesman there told me that there are millions of Marathon tires out there. A they are
not the only tires made in China. He told me to check and make sure I have the proper
tire pressure in the tires. I also check with a local trailer service store and was told to
replace the valve stems. So I replaced the valve stems with the metal ones and had the
tires balanced at Discount Tire.
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Old 04-03-2012, 02:52 PM   #5
DQDick
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When we left the rally last fall we were passed at least 5 times by new Montana's being delivered (could tell by the signs on the pickups). None were going less than 70. Of course the damage they did to the tires were going to be someone else's problem.
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Old 04-03-2012, 02:54 PM   #6
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With Marabombs I was told by GoodYear that the heavy rigs' twisting on tight turns and while parking was the culprit with most of the belt failures they'd seen. The tire is just simply not strong or heavy duty enough to withstand it. Excessive speed would not help either, and air pressure shouldn't change that much unless the temperature drops/rises significantly or there is a problem with the tire/wheel. Checking air pressure should be done of course, and the speed limits on the tires adhered to. But in my opinion GoodYear's explanation to me makes a lot of sense. In any case the Marabombs are dangerous on these size trailers!
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Old 04-03-2012, 02:59 PM   #7
snfexpress
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I believe Keystone should step up and put G-rated tires on the rigs. Inflate them to about 105 PSI and then we might not be hearing about blowouts. If they do, however, costs will increase meaning prices will increase.
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Old 04-03-2012, 03:36 PM   #8
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It seems to me that there is no question about the danger associated with M'bombs. It is also obvious that there are a lot of "head space" cases . As for me, I'll check pressure regularly and run 55-60 most of the time with a rare but occasional 62 max, even with G614s. JMHO Larry
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Old 04-03-2012, 03:43 PM   #9
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There are two speed limits to know about.

First, the posted speed limit and in some states I've seen 80mph! In California, if you are towing it's 55mph, but no one follows it.

The second is the speed limit for Marathon tires which is 65mph no matter what is posted for a road. Doing this will put you on the owner abuse list, not their Marathon failure list. Some people change tires out to LTs which have a much higher speed limit.

I try to travel between 60 and 65, because towing a trailer at 55mph gives me horrible mpgs.

Like DQDick alludes, the deliveries are probably not done staying under 65mph, and this is probably much of the cause of infant mortality of tires. Then many owners not knowing of this limitation. I was ignorant to buy replacement Marathons for the Mission bombs and they are still holding up well. It might be because I learned about how to take care of tires and I try real hard not to abuse them (park straight, no curb jumping, stay under 65MPH, check the psi often). We shall see. Will I buy Marathons next time? Nope.
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Old 04-03-2012, 03:45 PM   #10
Bruce Jackson
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But air pressure does play a big part. The air pressure is what supports the weight of
trailer. I was told that a tire will run hotter if not properly inflated. The side walls flex
more and that will create more heat. With more heat causes the tire to break down. I
believe a 235-80-16 ST load range E at 80 PSI supports 3,400 LBS. Minus the pin weight the 4 tires should support a 12,000 pound trailer (GVW) with room to spare.



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Old 04-03-2012, 03:54 PM   #11
Clemson1881
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You are correct Bruce. Marabomb failures are usually due to belts failing not sidewall failure. Art, I believe the best chance to get life out of the Marathons is to avoid twisting them too much. GoodYear has determined that that is where the majority of the belt failures they have looked at came from. I never abused mine, but I did have to park it in some tight spots. My belts broke in two tires. I always kept them at 80 PSI, and yes I did get over 65 MPH some.
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Old 04-03-2012, 03:54 PM   #12
Bruce Jackson
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Art, I was told that the Goodyear Marathons are rated for 65 miles per hour.




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Old 04-03-2012, 04:10 PM   #13
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Yes, that's correct. The speed limit is stamped right on the side of most STs and it's usually 65. I've heard that the Goodyear G614 limit is 70mph, but there is still a limit with those tires.

I don't ever go faster than 65, even downhill. I'll downshift, take my foot off the pedal, or just plain use the brakes. If I can't pass at a maximum of 65mph, then I don't pass. Sure it takes a little longer to get there, but then I know I'll be able to get home, too. I also don't want to impede traffic and will pull off more often than the law states (5 vehicles).

If the parking space is too tight, I don't park there! Have you seen what your tires look like on a tight turn, especially backing up? It's not pretty. The axles are straight across and there's NO differential. Even at my house where I store the rig, there's a pretty good turn but I will go forward and back at least a couple of times to ensure those tires are sitting straight up and down.

I'll keep doing this no matter what tires I end up with. It's just not worth the risk. Like someone mentioned, just consider that the only things your TV and trailer that sit on the road is with a palm size pad of tire tread. And there's a lot of weight, too.
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Old 04-03-2012, 04:56 PM   #14
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But the big question is, do you really want a tire that you would have to be that careful with on your trailer. Just seems a little ridiculous to have to be so careful to not go over 65, do not turn too tight, check your air pressure daily etc. I have always had LT tires on my rigs and do mostly 70 mph and check air from time to time usually once a month maybe but I do avoid really tight turns. I think twisting your trailer is no good for any tire and don't think it does any good for the frame either. Don't know just don't seem right to use something so borderline on something so expensive.
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Old 04-03-2012, 05:33 PM   #15
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by steelpony5555

Don't know just don't seem right to use something so borderline on something so expensive.
That's my problem with it too. Spending 60-70k and they can't include a decent tire. I would spend the extra $500-$800 or whatever even, if they would at least make it an upgrade option. But I think at the Montana level of Keystone it should include the G614s. Tires are such a critical item, and item of safety, that it should not be an area in which to cut costs in my opinion.
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Old 04-04-2012, 02:48 AM   #16
Pete Hanson
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Good discussion about tires but I haven't seen any mention about being overweight. It seems to me that being overweight with all the stuff we try to carry is also a huge contributer to tire failure. My father-in-law carried enough stuff to rebuild his whole rig and he went through a lot of tires in his cross country trips.
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Old 04-04-2012, 02:49 AM   #17
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As I age I am finding I am just not in that big of a hurry anymore...60 mph gets me there just fine. It goes without saying though, operating your equipment within it specifications will always yield the best results.
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Old 04-04-2012, 07:51 AM   #18
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When I had my first blowout with the Marathon's, the tire that blew had about 15,000 miles on it. The dealership replaced the front 2 tires and the axle because of tire wear due to alignment. It was still not aligned after installation of tires and axle so I had it aligned at a qualified shop. I switched the spare out which was brand new so the one tire that blew was the one with the most miles. After the flat I decided to replace ALL the tires with Michlens to feel safer. Had just left San Antonio and had to turn back to find a tire shop. Feel much better now.
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Old 04-04-2012, 08:30 AM   #19
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Goodyear G614RST tires are rated to 75 mph. Here is a spec sheet in case anyone is interested in getting to their camping destination really fast (Kidding!), not about the spec sheet, though:
G614RST Spec Sheet
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Old 04-04-2012, 10:56 AM   #20
1retired06
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We have never had G load tires yet. And by the way, NO blowouts. We run quality LT truck tires (firestone Transforce), maintain a decent speedlimit, and check air pressure every other day when on the road. PS pulling trailers since 1970, when the wife was barely old enough to order a drink! Only issue with the Marathons (a big one) was they got chewed up on our way to SD last summer. My fault for deciding to run them for a while. But, no blowouts.
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