More Marathon tire failures

I am cross-posting a discussion going on in another forum. Frenchy told me something, that I didn't even think of looking at, for sizing differences. I truly believe he has found just about the best solution there is for everyone wanting to keep 14 inch tire. I copied and pasted it to this topic. Would our 2 guinea pigs, using 14 inch tires be willing to try them?

Originally Posted by Frenchy

I have used light truck tires on my TM for the last four years. I had two blowouts with ST tires before I changed. You can get 14 inch tires with higher load rating. I bought Cooper tires last time. The dealer said they were a commercial type light truck tire. They were 195R14C, Load Range D 106/104Q with a load rating of 2095 lbs at 65 PSIG. I keep them at 65 PSIG. They are not TT tires however but I have had no problem with them. Ive had them for four years.

Hey hey Hey!!!! Frenchy may have found the answer for us. These 195's he is talking about are in what's called a European Metric tire sizing. They work out to be close to what would be a 195/80/14 if that size was made in a P-metric size.

Looking at Cooper/Mastercraft charts, this tire works out to be 26.20 inches, compared to a 215/75R14 which is 26.60 inches. Half of that works out to be .20 inch difference. A little shorter but not much.

http://www.mastercrafttires.com/us/e...ht+Truck+Tires

They are an 8 ply tire, and carry over 2000 pounds apiece, like Frenchy said. I can get these tires in the MCraft brand for the 195/14, but not in a 225/75/15. I think this would be something good to test, and Frenchy is already doing it.

Thanks for the info Frenchy.

[Bill]

Sounds interesting. Frenchy, what size TM do you have? Can you comment on whether a tire carrying 65 psi is so hard that it pounds the TM? Do the cabinet doors open while driving? Does the refrig open? Does the stove grate fall on the floor? And so forth?

Bill

Since Frenchy shared the info on the European metric size tires, I have been burning up the phones, checking distributors, manufacturers, etc. There are several manufacturers that DO produce them.

Now to the next quandary. If we find a tire that holds up well, then my thinking is, it needs to be something that everyone has access to easily. Certain brands aren't carried everywhere, and may make a TM owner either have to drive far or pay high dollar shipping from individual dealers to get them.

That got me to thinking about Tire Rack, so I checked with them. They have a warehouse near me, that I pick up tires from weekly. Tire Rack sells to retail and dealers like me. They're shipping rates are excellent for tires. They carry a Kumho Radial 857 trailer/LT tire in the European Metric sizing. I don't have ANY experience with Kumho's to offer any kind of advice. You will also have to pay a local tire shop to mount and balance the tires, unless you buy a wheel/tire assembly complete from Tire Rack. You also can't check the DOT numbers if buying mail order.

Here is what I found from Kumho on the 857. Since EVERYONE can get easily get these from Tire Rack, should this tire be considered. Anyone had any experiences with Kumho's? Remember, I'm just sharing information I have found, feel free to hate it.

http://www.kumhousa.com/print_specs.jsp?pid=857

I am also including Tire Racks page on the 857. They have a shipping estimator on this page. Just select quantity and hit the shipping quote button.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes....partnum=9R4857

[Frenchy]

My TM is a 98 3023. As long as I keep the tires balanced, I don't have a problem. I usually do take the stove grate off and put it on the floor but some times I forget and I haven't noticed any problem. My problem always came when the tires had not been balanced.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Frenchy

As long as I keep the tires balanced, I don't have a problem. I usually do take the stove grate off and put it on the floor but some times I forget and I haven't noticed any problem. My problem always came when the tires had not been balanced.

That's good info, Frenchy, thanks. It eases some of my concerns. Although the tires may be rock-hard, apparently the 3500-pound axle soaks up the shocks pretty well.

Like you, I started noticing that things were better once I started replacing tires, since I have always had new tires balanced at the same time they are mounted.

Bill

[kempert]

My 14" Marathons (from the TM assembly line) have about 25,000 miles on them. The TM is stored outside with no covers on the tires. The tires were manufactured "4801", have good tread left, and I cannot find any sign (not one crack) of weathering. I did have all 3 tires balanced when I first got the TM and have rotated them once which means that 1 tire has always been on the road. With all the recent problems, something must have changed at GY. I'm very tempted not to replace them before my upcoming stint with the USFS. However, I'd rather be safe than sorry when traveling aver 4,000. I cannot believe it's so hard to get a good tire for a TT. I'm hoping wmtire has success. He's obviously put a great deal of time and effort into the subject.

[Leslie & Nick]

Originally Posted by kempert

I cannot believe it's so hard to get a good tire for a TT. I'm hoping wmtire has success. He's obviously put a great deal of time and effort into the subject.

My sentiments exactly! I just replaced two of the original tires made in 2001 that looked good, similar to what you described. I replaced them with like Goodyear Marathons because I could not find anything better. I hope this was not a major error in judgement.

wmtire - I hope you do come up with something better! The current situation is ridiculous, to say the least!!!

Nick

[Dagrip]

As a result of this thread I went ahead and pulled the Marathons off our 2007 2720SL and took them down to the shop to have them balanced. All three were way off and needed quite a bit of adjustment to bring them to balance.

I am sure that TM is aware of these tire problems so why in the world do they not put the tiny extra effort into at least properly balancing the tires before releasing them from the factory?

I'm still looking and learning. I just got off the phone with a supplier who deals in Yokohama brand tires, who also make a Euro 195R14 Load Range D. According to his data book, the Yokohoma carries less than 1800 pounds, so we can mark it off the list. I'm trying to find something that carries the most/best load.

I had another TrailManor forum member, pm me an excellent question that has never occured to me in the tire searching. It's the rim. The rims are rated for certain weights, just like tires. My logic/hypothesis on the rim situation is this. The OE rims seem to be carrying the weights of the TrailManor without any problems that I'm aware of. It's the tires that are having problems. Since the rim is already currently carrying the weight, then putting a tire on it that will carry more weight, shouldn't change anything as far as the rim is concerned (except for making sure the proper valve stem for the increased pressure is installed). We're really not changing the weight of the trailer, just the carrying capacity of the possibly overloaded tires...........on the rim. Has there been any reported cases of rims failing/cracking? If there has, we need to look into that too.

More considerations. We're getting there.

EDIT: I just talked to my Hankook salesman. He confirmed that Hankook still did build their 195/14 Load range D tire. I have had years of experience with Hankook and really like their products. He is going to check availability for me. Hankook specs are 2,094 load, and 26.3 overall diameter.

[Bill]

I don't think we have had a single report of rim failure or axle failure, at least in my five years on this board. Tires? That's a different story.

Bill