15" Marathon Failure

**wbmiller3** · 10-10-2014, 07:01 PM

Well, installing the lift kit and upgrading to 15" is not a cure all.

Had a complete tread separation on the curb side, traveling from Pittsburgh, PA to Ithaca, NY. Nice cool day, smooth interstate highway (somewhere in the Allegheny boonies), low traffic. I decelerated quickly, there was a nice wide shoulder, and was back on the road in 30 minutes.

So much of the tire was gone that the remnant hardly weighed anything. The wheel well was OK but there was quite a bit of shaking damage on that side of the trailer (the side mount AC and drain pan was shifted, the stove and oven were practically falling out of the cabinets...).

It was about 100 miles to Ithaca, AAA told me there was a Goodyear shop there and a cell phone call to them told me they had one in stock, so I went for it. I figured I had AAA+ if I lost another one. We made it fine, to the shop before closing, and were on our way (the shop was only a few miles from the state park where we were staying).

Note: My TPMS failed early in the trip (sensor batteries died) so I was manually checking the pressure every morning. I do not think the TPMS would have helped with this one. As ol' Gus said, "it just blew".

The tire was bought and manufactured in 2011 (date code 0311). The 2 tires now on the ground are date coded 0311, 2111. The new spare is 1814.

We proceeded on to Vermont and back to Texas without further tire problems. But when I was crossing long bridges with no shoulders, I was thinking about it for sure.

TrailManorMan · 10-10-2014, 07:44 PM

Not good news, thought I was good to go!
Any idea of weight, or any cause ? Other than brand !

**wbmiller3** · 10-10-2014, 09:22 PM

Yeah, I hear you, I did too. It was a complete surprise. The tire still appeared virtually new that morning. Trailer lightly loaded, no fresh or waste water on board, tank and a half of propane.

**ShrimpBurrito** · 10-10-2014, 09:37 PM

Ugh, unbelievable. I give up. I don't know what is going on....how is the temp on the bearings/hub on that side? The three tires you have now....do you know where they were made?

Dave

**wbmiller3** · 10-11-2014, 06:43 AM

I do the "finger touch sensor" thing on the hubs at every stop. There is no detectable difference between the two hubs. When I add grease to the Zerk fittings (which I do every ~750 miles) one of the hubs always takes a few more pumps than the other....but it was the other one that had the failure.

The new tire says Made in China. I don't know about the old ones.

TrailManorMan · 10-11-2014, 07:39 AM

I just completed a trip to Ft. Wilderness from NE Ohio, some of the trip was above 90 degrees and road temps were 130 degrees on the asphalt. My tires and hubs were 110 on tread surface. Bearing hubs were 110 to 115 depending on speed. I pulled at speed limit the entire trip fortunately I had no issues but now am having thoughts ! 2100 miles round trip, air pressure cold @63 lbs.
Tire dates are 2012 manufactured

Redtail Cruiser · 10-11-2014, 07:45 AM

I had heard that the Goodyear Marathon tires had resolved their issues, but your failure sounds like the same problem still exists. Glad to hear that it didn't cause any significant damage to your TM. Maybe it's time to change tire brands.

TM Pilot · 10-11-2014, 08:08 AM

Bill,

What Tim said. They only major variable left to change is the brand. Try a Maxxis tire. Costs a little more, but they are high quality tires. They have a great record.

Bruce

TrailManorMan · 10-11-2014, 08:16 AM

Too bad they aren't sold / distributed anywhere

funpilot · 10-11-2014, 08:54 AM

Anyone know what brand tires and model numbers now come with 2015 TMs?