Tire Valve Stem Deterioration

i disagree...i think campers are quite diligent regarding the care and
maintenance of tires...never the less, there are just too many
marathon carlile etc...problems refered to on this web as well as
other camper webs...
i keep hoping that someone has done some real research on this
serious issue....
thanks, bill s

[kempert]

bill s -

I over simplified my answer. I agree that most people who are towing TTs seem to be careful when it comes to taking care of their tires. However, I've been told by more than one person who sells and installs tires that a large number of drivers (in total) never seem to check their tires. Most of the tire problems on TMs seemed to have been with Carlile tires which the TM people stopped using several years ago.
I'm surprised that more people do not have tire problems since so many go over 65 mph while towing a trailer. Every trailer tire that I've seen has had a 65 mph limit, yet I've seen many blast by me going over 70.

I'll admit that I may be biased as the tires on my TM are 5 years old and have around 30,000 miles on them. I've had no problems despite them always being outside without cover (GY says it's not necessary) and being over some rough roads including gravel ones. What I've done right is to make sure that the air pressure is not low, had all 3 tires balanced, and rotated, using the spare. Before my next trip, I'm putting new Marathons on my TM.
Kemper

[commodor47]

Originally Posted by bill s

i disagree...i think campers are quite diligent regarding the care and
maintenance of tires...never the less, there are just too many
marathon carlile etc...problems refered to on this web as well as
other camper webs...
i keep hoping that someone has done some real research on this
serious issue....
thanks, bill s

I have a hunch you are correct in assuming most RV owners pay close attention to their tires. And there does seem to be many posts concerning tire failures of the GY Marathons.

Here's a thought: there are 3,352 members listed at the bottom of the TMO home page. I would like to know how many have experienced a GY Marathon (or other brand) tire failure while towing. Perhaps a poll would shed some light on the frequency of tire failures?

In my case, we've driven 21,000 during the past two winters without a tire failure (while under way). I did experience a tire failure while turning into a CG driveway . . . but that was part my fault and part bad luck.

Last July had a GY marathon blow out on a 99 Jayco pop up which I bought in July of 2004, not sure how old tires were, seem to look like new in '04.

[kempert]

Originally Posted by commodor47

Here's a thought: there are 3,352 members listed at the bottom of the TMO home page. I would like to know how many have experienced a GY Marathon (or other brand) tire failure while towing. Perhaps a poll would shed some light on the frequency of tire failures?

Why didn't someone think of this before? I'd also like to include the brand of any tire that failed and how old it was. Of course, this type of poll can be very misleading because it doesn't consider things such as how many people own each brand and how much each tire was used. That said, this would be a good start. I want to learn all I can before I buy new tires next month.

My GY Marathons have about 30,000 miles on them and are 5 years old with no problems.

If I can get a chance at work tomorrow, I'll check with the NHSC to see what I can find out about trailer tire failure.

This topic is hotly debated by many RV owners. I also frequent the rv.net forums.

Apparently, many people with large heavy 5ers use LT tires, mainly because they have had problems with Marathons when their trailers is above 10,000 pounds with dual axles.

It is very difficult to get a good definitive answer to this question.