Just joined the Marabomb club

[Rosstok]

Southbound on 99 just north of Bakersfield. Saw lots of Montys northbound.

4000 or so Easy on the tires miles, 4.5 yrs old by the code on the tire. Should have listened to jjackflash, Steve Reigle, my DW and lots of others.

One piece of advice, two to dos, and one question:
1. Get a TPMS - saved us from a lot of damage.
2. Get rid of the Marabombs!
3. Get flowers or something for DW who didn't say "I told you so (too many times).
4. Are the Goodyear 614s a good replacement? Have to buy 5 of something tomorrow.

Thanks!

 

[CORattler]

614's are a good tire but high $$$$$
I feel confident having Bridgestone Duravis 250's on mine for less $$$$.
Best of luck with whatever you choose.

 

[Irlpguy]

You would be hard pressed to find a worse piece of highway anywhere in America than 99. Lots of tires are damaged on this highway and far more of them are SOB than Marathons. I will not drive that highway again because of it's condition and the possibility of damaging my tires. Mine are still Marathons by the way.

Some swear by Goodyear G614's and others would not have them, some use LT's and others will not. I have made my thoughts known in another thread on that subject, it is up to the individual to know what their unit weighs and what capacity they require to accommodate that weight with some to spare.

I believe that if every Montana that left the factory had a SOB on it, those on this forum would be cursing the SOBbombs and not the Marabombs, but that is just MHO.

 

[Rainer-MOC]

quote:Originally posted by Irlpguy
You would be hard pressed to find a worse piece of highway anywhere in America than 99. Lots of tires are damaged on this highway and far more of them are SOB than Marathons. I will not drive that highway again because of it's condition and the possibility of damaging my tires. Mine are still Marathons by the way.

Wow, I just drove the 99 from the I-5/99 split to Sacramento last weekend. The road was fine, much more scenic than the I-5, but more traffic, too. Went to Sacramento to pick-up our new Monte! Averaged 18.90mpg on the way up there, empty, with my 2012 F-250 diesel 4x4.

We took the I-5 southbound with the new Monte and averaged 11.91mpg. Both mileages were spreadsheet calculated (yeah, I'm anal that way )

 

[DQDick]

614's are high dollar, but I drove 90 miles on just one tire last summer (suspension failure) in 100 degree heat and that one tire held up just fine. To me they're worth the money.

 

[HOOK-MOC]

Have had 614s over a year and they still look new. I'm with DQDick.

 

[NCFischers]

Michelin LTXs on the truck and trailer and am happy with both.

 

[1retired06]

We have always run good quality LT tires (Firestone TransForce last several years) without any problems.

 

[Clemson1881]

Weight is not the only issue with Marabombs. It is the poor manufacturing quality standards that obviously exist in their plant in China. Their failure rate is unprecedented in an OEM tire as far as anything I have seen. For those that have not had one or more blow up on you count your blessings.

 

[restez]

Running Michelin's on mine too, dumped the Marathons as soon as I got the rig home from the dealer. Still have one underneath for a spare and that one is going this week.

 

[bigred715]

Running Michelin LTX M/S2 LT235/85R16 including spare after we had blowout with one of the Marathon tires. $1290 for all 5.

 

[WeBeFulltime-MOC]

My Michelin LTXs are doing just fine.

 

[Irlpguy]

Rainer wrote:

quote:Wow, I just drove the 99 from the I-5/99 split to Sacramento last weekend. The road was fine, much more scenic than the I-5, but more traffic, too. Went to Sacramento to pick-up our new Monte! Averaged 18.90mpg on the way up there, empty, with my 2012 F-250 diesel 4x4.

We took the I-5 southbound with the new Monte and averaged 11.91mpg. Both mileages were spreadsheet calculated (yeah, I'm anal that way

I agree the road is much more scenic and perhaps without the fiver on behind I might not have found it so bad three years ago. I see you did not pull your new fiver over it upon return.

I have traveled from South Western BC to Yuma every year for the past four but won't pull my unit over that road and it would not matter if I had tires other than Marathons. Some parts of the I5 in CA are bad as well and all of this has an effect on the life of any tire.

If you are replacing your OE tires and are concerned with what you have, then buy the best you can afford or what makes you feel comfortable on the road. JMHO

 

[LuckyNichol]

Hello, We own a 2011 Montana High Country. More features less weight. We have about 10,000 miles on this coach. Today we pick up 4 Michelin XPS RIB LT235/85R16E tires. About 1000.00 $,s. Good Luck.