Goodyear Marathon tire problems

[rzafire]

I purchased my 07 X45 in March of 08. Since then, most of my towing has been local in Big Bear, 3-5 miles with a max speed of about 45mph. I do like to go to Lake Havasu several times during the summer also. Here lies the problem. On my second trip out last year, less than twenty minutes on the road home, I blow a trailer tire. I would say less than a few thousand miles on the tires from the factory. I was concerned, but it does happen occasionally. Last week as I am returning from Havasu after a great Mothers Day in the son, POW!!! a second tire blows. They are the stock Goodyear Marathon's. Yes I check my pressure, no I didn't hit anything. What gives? Anyone else had these problems? I think I may just replace them all.

[X-5 Driver]

Is your trailer level? I was having the same problems years ago when I started using the same tow bar when I threw my camper in the truck. What was once level was now not due to the weight of the camper. I use an 8" drop without the camper and 4" drop with.

[rzafire]

Yea its level. My first blowout was a front, the second a rear.

[Bellinghamster]

Yer supposed ta dump the ballast tanks before you trailer it...

[ChrisConn Inc.]

I to had the same exact problem last year. I also have an x45. First blowout on my way out to Havasu and on my way home I had another blowout. I brought it back to the dealer and they replaced the tire and were supposed to refund my replacement but never did. When I spoke to a tire shop they told me the goodyears are crap and Michelins are much better.

By the way, we probably bought our boat from the same dealer.

Tony

[dummy]

I agree Michelins are great tires. I've put 'em on every vehicle my wife has owned. However, I don't think they make a trailer tire.

When you say you check the pressure, you're inflating to max pressure COLD, right? Morning is the best time to check since the tires haven't been sitting in the sun all day (or your garage hasn't heated up). I've got over 50K miles towing on a couple different sets of Goodyear Marathons with zero problems. I've never rotated any of them and the tread wear characteristics are far superior to the Carson or Carlisle brands I've run in the past. However, here's the thing: I bought my last set of Marathons back in '06 or '05.

Beginning sometime in '07, Goodyear brought all of its Marathon production over to China and since then I've been hearing more and more reports of blowouts and other catastrophic failures. I think if you're gonna replace them the best thing to do is to hop onto a few RV sites and see what guys are running on their 40-ft toyhaulers 'cause those things pop tires like fireworks on the 4th. I haven't tried them personally, but I hear good things about Titan and Denman. Maxxis also makes some tires, but I've heard of some blowouts on those as well (not sure if the guys were overloading, but knowing them they probably were). I'd also see if you can find a Load Range "D" or "E" in your tire size, as the ones on your trailer may be Load Range "C".

[coz]

Originally Posted by rzafire

I purchased my 07 X45 in March of 08. Since then, most of my towing has been local in Big Bear, 3-5 miles with a max speed of about 45mph. I do like to go to Lake Havasu several times during the summer also. Here lies the problem. On my second trip out last year, less than twenty minutes on the road home, I blow a trailer tire. I would say less than a few thousand miles on the tires from the factory. I was concerned, but it does happen occasionally. Last week as I am returning from Havasu after a great Mothers Day in the son, POW!!! a second tire blows. They are the stock Goodyear Marathon's. Yes I check my pressure, no I didn't hit anything. What gives? Anyone else had these problems? I think I may just replace them all.

You say you use it in Big Bear, I wonder if the altitude drop has anything to do with it when you come down and go up the hill?

[scott023]

Google Good Year Marathons and you will find a plethora of bad reviews and issues with them. They are, at best, a marginal tire.

[east tx skier]

I had tread separation with mine after about four years of reasonably light towing. Was told they changed the layup in 05 and were recommending larger tires on trailers. The layup shouldn't be the issue for you. What size tires were they?

[rzafire]

Thanks for all the info. My local tire guy also said that the marathons are crap. He said the only one worse is carlisle. He did mention the denmans are good and they offer to pay for any trailer damage should you have a blowout.

The marathons are a load C. As far as the altitude with Big Bear, we lose about 4-5 lbs coming off the mountain.
The goodyear rep looked at my tire that blew and just shrugged his shoulders. Won't be buying those again.

The guys over at California Skier tried to help me out but goodyear dropped the ball.