Marathon Tire up-date

[vernj4]

Just bought 4 new Goodyear Marathon tires for our TT. All four tires made the 27th week of 2009....and they were made in the USA!

[Yukon6.2]

Hi
Just curious,what size were they?
Thanks Thomas

[MacDR50]

My Marathons are made in China 235\80 R16 E.

[convert2diesel]

They caught alot of flack when they got the "HU Flung Dung, rubber tire, lead paint and kids toy" company to make their tires. Have seen that the Marathons are now made in the USA or New Zealand except for the smaller sizes that are still being made in China.

Still prefer to convert over to the LT rib type tires for the RV. Tired of chasing the manufacturers for their "S" (RV trailer) tires failing. Getting warrantee replacement is getting harder, not to mention the inconvenience of addressing the problem 1,000 miles from home.

Bill

[vernj4]

Hope GY had learned from the China experience. Got the tires at Camping World: They screwed up when they quoted the tires and honored the quote of $495, out the door. Maybe not a bargin but I feel good about it!

[JohnC]

Well, in the course of adjusting the brakes and repacking the bearings on Miss Charlotte's horsey trailer, I discovered one tire about to throw the tread. Can't imagine why, they only have (gasp) 17 years on them...

They are US made Goodyear Marathons in the ST225/75R15 Load range C size.

Now, it seems that the "C" tires still come from China, but the "D" tires are made in the good ol' US of A, for now. D tires can go to 65#, but I don't know if my wheels can handle more than the 50# of the C tires, so, what to do? As I see it I have the following options:

Buy the "D" tires and run them at 50# where I should be able to get about 75% of the D rating (about 1900#, which should be enough)

Buy the "C" Marathons tires and cross my fingers,

Buy some other (Carlisle, Kenda, etc) Chinese tire or

Spend the big bucks for a real specialty tire from Titan or Denmam.

What is the collective wisdom of the group?

(BTW, the country of origin for each size is shown on this page: Goodyear Marathon Tires (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.jsp?make=Goodyear&model=Marathon+Radial&tirePageLocQty=) )

News flash! According to Goodyear, the D tire has the same weight capacity as the C tire at pressures of 50# and less. See this page. (http://www.goodyear.com/rv/pdf/rv_inflation.pdf)

TIA

[tpitt]

My travel trailer came with 225/75/15 "C" tires. Upgraded to 225/75/15 "D" and so far haven't had any problems. Went with Goodyear Marathons, because they were'nt made in China. Same wheels. If I do start having problems, I am going to buy 16" 6 lug wheels, and use LT tires.

[Mark Rinker]

My 36' marine transport trailer has LT235 85/16 E rubber on three Dexter 7K# axles. Boats average 12-14K#, trailer suspension and tires hardly break a sweat.

I have been replacing in pairs - i.e. one axle at a time, usually on the road somewhere so brands are mixed from front to back. Got some high temperature 'MESA AP's in Arizona last spring, they have deep mud/snow type tread and are holding up like iron on the rear axle. Other four are road/rib tread pattern - all are Chinese stuff but they seem to be lasting well under this duty anyway.

Its really nice to have plenty of tire underneath the load so on hot days in remote locations you can breathe easier. Roadside tire changes are just plain hazardous.

[DickWells]

Just for WIW, I went to 16" Ameican Eagle 6 lug wheels and 225 BFG Commersial Hiway LT's on our 33' travel trailer this spring. Was totally sick of flaking paint and rust on the factory steel wheels, 15 inch, and had gone through two sets of trailer tires in two years and 30k~ miles. The orriginals were LR D's, so I changed to E's for those two sets. The first set were Titans, and I would have my trailer lifted and towed before I would buy another set! Junk. The second set were Carlisles, and not a whole lot better, but I have two of them strapped under the trailer for spares. I understand that Titan is a Chinee division of Goodyear???? Too bad, I had always liked GY tires. Well, until I got the set of Tracker II's that are on the GMC now. Dang things aren't round! Oh well, they'll be worn out by the time I get back to Brownsville, next month, so I'll get myself back into a set of Michellins, then, by golly. The BFGs are doing real well, so far. With something over 5k on them, they look like they're not wearing at all.
Dick Wells.:)

[JohnC]

Well, I went with the Marathon "D" tires. Says "Made in USA" on the sidewall. (Under that it says "Printed in China"...) Just kidding...

They look like a solid set of tires. Time will tell. I will report back in 17 years.

[JohnC]

Update:

One year later I decided it was time to replace the other two tires. Bought the same things, now made in China...:(

[DickWells]

From my experience? Anything but Titans, or Carlisles. One set of each, shot, or blown, in less than 2 years! ALL load range "E". The Titans were the worst! Pure junk, from day one. Little tread to start with, and they absolutely grenade at the drop of a pin, no pun intended. I think that Titan is a" Riceland" division of Good Year. ???? I've talked to a lot of people who have used Marathons with good results, the close-by post, not withstanding. But for me, my decision to go with the BFG Commercials was a sound one. These tires are showing me nothing but good signs in the first 20K miles of towing. The other two, mentioned above, would have been 2/3 gone, or blown, by now. Hardly a sign of wear on the BFGs, at this point. Still, even though I complain about the other tires, the fact remains that the trailer factories put the cheapest, most minimal axles and tires on these rigs that they can get away with, right up to the point of risking litigation.:mad: Makes me so mad, when I see a young couple, at an RV show, looking for their first trailer, and the only info they're going to get from a salesperson, or brochure, will only be the "Eye Candy". Nothing about the hidden, sloppy, workmanship, or the marginal underpinnings of the unit. If your tow vehicle was put together with the same lack of quality as a trailer, you couldn't get out of your home state with it. Oh yeah, and the worst thing you have to deal with, is the fact that some 90+% of new trailers come equiped with axles that are slapped onto the unit with spring blocks welded on so out of location that the allignment is way off! Don't believe it? Just take a ball of string, and get your "horse" lined up straight with the trailer you just got home with, and stretch it on past each set of tires, and see just how much the dang thing needs the axles bent to get them running true. AND, on a flat surface, take a look at how much the camber varies, while you're about it. Not a precise operation, but good enough to get the blood flowing in a hurry.

[Inspector]

Tell me I'm wrong but aren't BFGs now owned by Michelen and are built to the Michelen specs? I have a set on my toad and they don't show any signs of wear.
Denny

[DickWells]

I think you're right. I've either heard this, or read it, somewhere. Either way, I'm pretty pleased with my BFG's, and the set of Michelen's that I had put on the Sierra, back in Jan., in Texas.

[Yukon6.2]

Hi Michelin owning BFG,they also own Uniroyal.
Bridgstone owns Firestone
Goodyear owns Dunlop and Continental i believe.
They all probly have some other brands as well
Thomas