Goodyear Marathon Tires...........and what you should know

[Ba$$n]

I'm in the market for new tires because mine are old although new looking and not worn out.

So I'm researching the Marathons and find a Goodyear PDF file that I could not copy that says Marathons are speed restricted to 65 MPH and under. If they are to be used at speeds between 66 and 75 MPH it is necessary to increase the cold inflation pressure by 10 PSI above the recommended pressure without exceeding the maximum pressure for the wheel assembly or 10 PSI beyond the inflation specified for the max load of the tire.

I've been wondering why the Marathons I've heard about seem to blow out rather than wear out and suspect this may be part of the answer.

Who restricts their speed on the interstate to 65 MPH or less or run the higher tire pressures ? I'm beginning to think passenger car tires may be a better choice. They have the higher speed rating, can carry the same load per tire, and cost less.

[BeeNix]

I noticed that 'Cats have an optional tire choice...Firestone Firehawk Indy 500's.......also have a 20" wheel option with performance tires

[Tritonbmc]

Just run the higher pressures. The tires are made for it, and car tires don't have the sidewall strength for a trailer.

[Ba$$n]

I think the side wall thing is marketing hype. Think about it, the average driver exerts more force on the side walls because of the way they drive (faster, sharper turns) than the average person pulling a trailer. In addition, because of the personal safety issue the passenger tires are more likely to have a higher safety factor built in to their design. They need to carry vehicle and passenger weight.

I've got nothing against trailer tires, but when you look at their price and speed restrictions they don't look special at all. A Marathon down here is selling for around $ 110 each mounted and balanced plus tax and they only have a one year warranty.

[wildman]

i use to have 78 terry bass boat and could'nt keep trailer tires on it. they would last 2 years max and then "dry rot". i then bought a set of pirelli P4 radials and they are still on the trailer 6 years after i sold the boat! regular car tires do not have the same sidewall--BIG DEAL!! i corner my car at far more g's than the trailer ever sees.

i dont know

have a great day-- chuck

[Tritonbmc]

Your car is also aligned with the proper camber, toe in, and also turns the wheels in turns. Trailers have a basic spring suspension and scrub tires sideways in turns. How many times do you back your truck off the edge of a ramp under water? Trailer tires take more abuse per mile than passenger tires.

I'll also not worry about insurance claims or lawsuits in an accident if I have the proper tires on my trailer.

[Al from Canada]

Running car tires on a bassboat trailer........especially a tandem carrying a large boat WILL be a problem. They are not designed to carry the loads that trailer tires are. It's not marketing hype.

[Ba$$n]

Once upon a time I wouldn't question that logic, but these days I'm not so sure.

I'm most likely going to go with trailer tires but have my doubts. The Goodyear product service bulletin was released March 6, 2006 discussing the inflation and speed issues. Looks like a CYA memo.

My Skeeter tandem trailer came from the factory with Goodyear Eagle ST tires that are not trailer tires. I've never had a problem with them and they haven't worn, they are just old.

Just seems like a special application tire for a trailer that is likely to be towed at posted interstate speeds should be constructed and rated for those speeds.

A lot of RV trailers use LT truck tires because of problems with the ST tires. The only problem is the LT tires usually don't come in a 14" wheel size.

Just thought people should know about the speed and inflation issues of the ST rated tires, it was a surprise to me.

[1993392]

I don't get it...why scrimp on trailer tires ? Look at what's sitting on the trailer. It's like saving 50 bucks buying cheap 2 stroke oil. jmho

[Ba$$n]

I not really trying to scrimp on tires, I'm questioning if I would be getting a better and safer tire at the higher cost.

If you drive the posted limit on the interstate you are exceeding the speed Goodyear says their trailer tire is rated for. They don't limit other tires to 65 MPH, they can carry the same load, and I have to believe they have more safety margin built in because they don't want to be sued for loss of life because of tire failure. I suspect the safety margin on trailer tires isn't as important in their designs because they are not designed to carry human passengers.

Think of the abuse a passenger tire endures, especially up north when they hit a deep pot hole in winter or people hitting or driving over curbs and or parking stops and rail road crossings. I know they get more abuse than my trailer tires.

Just seems like they hype the special tire, charge more, give less warranty, post a service bulletin to cover their butts about its speed limitations, and want you to believe you bought a superior product.

Now if they said the tires are rated at maximum posted highway speeds I would feel more confident in the product, understanding that most of the time it may not be safe to drive at such speeds but at least there is no question you can when it is safe to do so.

I've grown skeptical of manufacturers claims when the facts about the product don't seem to support them.

[rangerguy]

Straight from TireRack site.

Quote: The UTQG Temperature Grade indicates the extent to which heat is generated/ or dissipated by a tire. If the tire is unable to dissipate the heat effectively or if the tire is unable to resist the destructive effects of heat buildup, its ability to run at high speeds is reduced. The grade is established by measuring a loaded tire's ability to operate at high speeds without failure by running an inflated test tire against a large diameter high-speed laboratory test wheel.

Temperature
Grades Speeds
in mph
A Over 115
B Between 100 to 115
C Between 85 to 100


Every tire sold in the United States must be capable of earning a "C" rating which indicates the ability to withstand 85 mph speeds. While there are numerous detail differences, this laboratory test is similar in nature to those used to confirm a tire's speed ratings.: Unquote"

You can read the whole write up on this subject at this site.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/...id=48





Modified by rangerguy at 6:58 PM 10/5/2006

[Ba$$n]

Every tire sold in the United States must be capable of earning a "C" rating which indicates the ability to withstand 85 mph speeds.


That would make me feel like the tire was high quality. But here is the Goodyear bulletin that seems to say ST rated tires don't conform to those standards.

[Al from Canada]

Well given that the Goodyear Marathon tires are the #1 most popular trailer tire and you very rarely hear of anyone having a problem with them here on the BBC, I wouldn't think that there's really a problem here.
I know that many definitely exceed 65 mph towing their boats without problems.

Trust me Bernie, put on car tires and you will have problems. I doubt that the trailer will track as straight, and the trailer will most likely sit lower because the sidewalls are not as stiff for car tires as they are for trailer tires. It's your money but I personally wouldn't put car tires on my boat trailer even if they were given to me free.

[Ba$$n]

I agree Al, I would not really feel 100 % comfortable with them but the Goodyear Bulletin gave me doubts instead of confidence.

Guess we've kicked the tires enough so to speak.

Now I've just got to find the best deal on them.

[Tritonbmc]

OK, reread the bulletin. It says if you plan on exceeding 65 mph, inflate tires 10 lbs over. It doesn't say this is dangerous, it says not to exceed the wheel's maximum pressure, not the tires. Goodyear has no relationship with wheel manufactorors, so they say not to exceed their max. The tires have no problems with the extra pressure, as they are made for it.

Another kick never hurts

[Ba$$n]

Below the wheel pressure limitation it also says not to exceed 10 PSI above the max cold pressure for the tire.

A Marathon max cold pressure is 50 PSI, and most trailers that come with them as OEM tires spec out 50 PSI as the standard load pressure, so you can't add the 10 PSI to run at the higher speeds, at least as I read it, and theoretically are limited to the max speed of 65 MPH.

Goodyear didn't go out of their way to make things black and white, with enough people reading the bulletin you would have reports of 256 different levels of gray

[cart7]

I've owned many boats over the years. I've had some trailer tires on some and car tires on others. I've also experienced 2 blowouts over those 30 years. One was with trailer tires and the other with a car tire. Just my 2 cents but I've never had any issues with using car tires. I'm making not recommedation just giving my opinion.

[Tritonbmc]

And the saga continues


Lets get a tire expert on here..........anyone???

[perfect-storm]

It says that tire pressure recommended by the trailer manufacturer should be followed. So according to my trailer, I should be running my Marathons at 35psi. However, everyone here says to run them at 50. Seems like no one knows what they are talking about. Everyone is just guessing.

[1993392]

Maybe sombody replaced the original load range B tires (max 35 lbs) with load range C (max 50 lbs) and didn't change the sticker.

I'm with Al except I run Carlilse's. Had one blow this year due to under inflation.