I thought that as well but the tires are original from the factory, except for the one that ran over a spike in the road
I thought that as well but the tires are original from the factory, except for the one that ran over a spike in the road
You found the tricky part of the equation. Your axle load capacity most likely doesn't require the Marathon to be run at 50 PSI and they have specified 35 PSI. You can raise the pressure to 45 PSI and have the higher speed rating while someone with an axle capacity requiring 50 PSI to start with cannot add more air to get the higher speed rating.
Clear as muddy water, isn't it
Modified by Ba$$n at 9:52 AM 10/6/2006
Oops, deleted duplicate post
whew... I rarely drive under 75, so I guess I am alright
I run Marathons on my trailer, I keep them at 50psi and have never had an issue. (knock on wood!) But I will say that I had a bass boat once that had regular passenger tires on the trailer when I bought it, seems like they were Goodyear Eagles, never had a problem with them either except it seemed like the trailer bounced a little more. Which might of had something to do with the weaker side walls in the passenger tire. But even though I have ran passenger tires in the past, I have no plans of ever doing it again. I really dont see a reason to chance it.
Goodyear Eagles are what came on and are still on my Skeeter Trailer. The trailer decal says to inflate to 44 PSI and that is the max pressure for the Eagle tire.
They have a treadwear rating of 360, Traction Rating A, and Temp rating B, all of which seems to be better than any ST trailer tire because the manufacturers don't even have a rating system for them that they will tell you about.
I worked on a Skeeter/Yamaha rig this AM that had Marathons on the trailer. The only rating on the tire was a rating of C but I don't recall now if it was a load or temp rating.
I'm going to take my spare Eagle tire/wheel to a Goodyear dealer and ask them to explain to me why the ST rated tire is better than the Eagle. I can only imagine the confusion that will create.
I'll let you know what they tell me.
Bottom line is most people just want to buy a safe tire and go fishing. Unfortunately I had time on my hands and read the specs and only got confused.
Now I want an answer from the experts.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by perfect-storm »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">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.
The tire you mention is a load range D tire and its max pressure is 65 PSI. The load range C tire has a max pressure of 50 PSI.
Asked the Goodyear dealer this AM why the Marathon was better and got the typical marketing hype answer. Asked about running them at 70 MPH and the individual I talked to said he did it frequently, but of course doing so is not consistent with what Goodyear says, so you do so at your personal risk.
They also said the the tire was a 6 ply and not 4 ply like passenger tires. If so, that should be a stronger tire. I'll check the number of plies when my tires arrive and before they are installed.
There is one important reason to run them, the DOT had a law passed requiring the use of a ST rated tire on trailers. I was told it was illegal for a dealer to sell and install a non ST rated tire for trailer use.
Obviously, not following the law is not a smart thing to do.
What the proper inflation is for a tire depends on many factors such as trailer manufacturers recommendations, tire manufacturers max pressure limit, load range, and actual load carried. Don't just follow what anyone says, what is right for their rig may not be for yours.
Here is the link to Goodyears load and inflation pressure tables. Do your own homework and stay safe.
http://www.goodyear.com/rv/pdf/rv_inflation.pdf
Modified by Ba$$n at 2:41 PM 10/11/2006
Modified by Ba$$n at 3:44 PM 10/11/2006
Thanks Bernie.
Definitely a lot to consider
You mentioned that your goodyear eagles on your skeeter trailer were Goodyear Eagle ST's... Well a Goodyear Eagle ST is a "Special Trailer" tire... My bet, if you check the tire specs on the side, they are a 6 ply "Trailer Tire" - Just a hunch...
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I thought the same thing but the side walls say 2+2 plies. I'm not sure if the ST back in 96 had anything to do with today's ST rating. The Goodyear tire store didn't know what they were.
Here's some good info and they also have 10 ply trailer tires rated for 3000 pounds that will carry a boat http://www.easternmarine.com/e....html
In most states it is illegal to tow a boat above 65 mph and some states it is 55 mph go figureA tire is more likely to blowout from under inflation than over inflation.
A michelin engineer told me one time it is better to be 5 lbs over than 3 lbs under. I run 40 lbs with the trailer tires never had a problem in 3 sets over 12 years, 50K+ miles, must be doing something right
peace out
car tires actually have a stronger sidewall than trailer tires.On one of my hooftrimming chutes i have ran nothing but auto tires on it. usually get about 35-40,000 miles on the cheaper 35 buck a piece tires.but that being said there's not much give to the tires,just a ot of bounce vs the other one that has "trailer" rated tires on it that rides smoother.Now i could be wrong but a buddy of mine who's worked as a tire jockey for years told me that trailer tires are the way they are because trailer's don't have shocks on them like cars to help absorb the load.but given all this useless info I'm still gonna run marathons on the boat because they look better than car tires
I'm not a tire expert, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.........
I have trailered my TR21 over 8,000 miles back and fourth to ocechobee and south Fl. this year alone running between 75 and 85 mph and have not had any trouble whatsoever with the Marathons.
Know alot of guys on race car trailers blowing car tires and seen alot of trailer tires blow. The biggest problem in my area. We used to have 20 - 30 full service gas stations. We aint got one now and NOBODY CHECKS their air psi anymore. Bet most guys that have trouble are way low on air on all tires. Low air means heat in the sidewall.
I just got a pair of Carlilse radial ST 6 ply trailer tires for $145.00 out the door tax included. Had the last set for 5+ years saw no reason to change and for the $50/tire difference between the marathons and the Carlilse I saved some $$ always run mine at 50 PSI. I really think the big problem is from dry rot.
I went to walmart a month ago and told me that they could not put a passenger car tire on a trailer rim....But come guys after the Goodyear deal with ford you know they are going to do all then can to avoid that again. I run Marathons on my Allison and I have a slow leak in one of the tires and I never run under 65 and I have 35 lbs before the leak down I will boost the pressure up some now but I have never had a problem...there 7 years old now.
I just got back from a BFL regional and mine worked good pulling at 90-95 mph. Maybe you boys are going to slow.
I've got to replace the tires on my trailer this winter (9 years old & 50,000 miles) and I've been reading a lot of feedback on trailer tires. I seems that Goodyear Marathon and Carlisle both have a big problem when installed on house trailers and car haulers. About 90% negative feedback about them blowing out and tread separation. Not much negative feedback from boaters except those with big boats. My Marathons were good tires and I never had a problem even though I towed long distances at up to 85 mph. I always had them inflated to 45 lbs. too. However, all this negative feedback has me looking for an alternative. Why doesn't Michelin make a trailer tire?
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