Unusual Sidewall Wear on Spare Tire

[grill-n-go]

Got my first tire failure on the way home from the Labor Day weekend. Changeing a tire on I-95 in the mid-afternoon Florida sun - What fun!!

Attached is a picture of what my spare tire looked like after riding around under our TM for three years. If you look carefully you'll notice that there are wear marks at four points on the tire sidewall. I wonder if this wear will render a tire useless and if we should put something between the tire support and the tire to keep it from wearing like that. I might add that it got home (250 miles) but no longer its safe to use it.

[Harry Womack]

When I took my tire out from the rack I thought it was worn in the four spots also. After a close look I noticed that they were just indentions. After the tire was out for a while the came out.

[grill-n-go]

These indententions are definite wear. The picture was taken a week and 250 miles later. They are not going away.

[B_and_D]

Did you read this thread?

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4706

[grill-n-go]

Harry,

I went over to a Goodyear dealer this morning and showed them the tire. They said the same thing you did. Its just an indentation and NOT wear, and it will dissappear with time. According to the dealer it is safe to continue using the tire as long as the tread is in good condition and the rubber does not show signs of "dry rot".

[Leslie & Nick]

Harry,

I went over to a Goodyear dealer this morning and showed them the tire. They said the same thing you did. Its just an indentation and NOT wear, and it will dissappear with time. According to the dealer it is safe to continue using the tire as long as the tread is in good condition and the rubber does not show signs of "dry rot".

By chance, did you happen to ask the Goodyear dealer how much a new Marathon trailer tire would be? Coincidentally I was checking prices at a couple of local Goodyear dealers this week and the 14" Load Range C tire is about $95 before balancing, new stem, and all those other charges they tack on. Tread on existing tires looks great, but they are getting close to 5 years old now.

[Harry Womack]

I went to the Good Year dealers for the Marathon tires and they were the highest price. If you have a Discount Tire or NTB store, they have better prices. I paid about $80.00 ea. for radial, 15", load range C

[grill-n-go]

My new Marathons -- $96 ea + $3.00 for the valveS + Tax ! + +. The dealer gave me serveral pages with different articles on tire wear and longevity. I confess I haven't read through the whole pile but It seems that five years from the date code on the tire is about all they are expected to live, and it's a "use it or loose it" thing. It's better if the tires are rolling regularly and out of the sun when not in use. My "ribbed" spare is 4 years old (date code) still appears to have plenty of elasticity (something I could use).

[pbuck1]

tirerack.com have the Marathon range C 14"/15" tires for $74/$76, and the 15" range D for $83. You get them shipped to your house. Costco ( a least my local store) will mount/balance/newvalve/disposal of old tire for $11 per wheel (includes lifetime rebalance and rotation).