Crabman suffers a blowout.

[Crabman]

I will also add there were no cracks in the sidewalls, the tires looked good so that means nothing.

[edatlanta]

norty1, I replaced my original "E" rated marathons last year before anything "blew up". Every trip I made with the original tires I was sweating for the entire trip. After 3,000 miles I replaced them with G614's also.

Now maybe I should have waited so I could get a deal from Good Year? haha - heck no.

[norty1]

edatlanta: It is not worth it. Goodyear bought back all my 4 remaining Marathons, (credit towards the G614's) and paid the deductible on my insurance. They also paid me for a spare tire I had to purchase to get back home, which I sold on Craigs list.
My insurance cut me a check for the damages minus my deductible.
Still cost me a bundle in $$$ but I am better off in the peace of mind dept.
No reimbursement for the headache of dealing with it.

[certified106]

Glad to hear you caught it quickly and there was no damage to the rig!

[Plowtoy]

Hey Crabman, if D's are good, E's are better...

That tire looks like the one I had blow out on me earlier this summer and cause about $500 in damage to my slide out controler (completely my fault). The only differance was my tires were a bit older, like original to the camper (1997). I knew they needed replacement, but I was just hoping to make it to spring to replace them. Needless to say, I have a full set of Commodore's on it now. Never knew you could get a load range E tire in a 15 inch wheel...

[Seann45]

I'll bet nambarc was messing with them when you were not looking...

[Brownie]

Crabman,

Glad you were uninjured and you caught it before it could cause any trailer damage.

[chuckandcindy]

Sooner or later it will happen to all of us. A rite of passage I suppose. Glad it was only the tire that was hurt.
Chuck

[RUSSELL5000]

Crabman,

Very glad that no accident, nobody hurt, no significant damage to trailer.

I did a lot of reading when I got my first trailer. It was clear that trailer tires are a problem.

I do note that of all the many threads on various forums I have read on ST trailer tire blowouts that Maxxis is never mentioned; lots and lots of threads on how well Maxxis works.

My trailer had ST 15-inch load range D tires from the factory. I replaced with LT 16-inch load range E tires. These tires are one inch in diameter greater than the factory tires and so fit with no problem. I use the manufacturer inflation chart and inflate for the load (actually, about 5 psi over what the chart says - still less than maximum inflation on the tire). I got a TPMS for the first time this year and over all of the travels this year the tires consistently ran between five degrees and ten degrees warmer than the outside temperature - which is to say that the tires ran cool. The trailer tires feel cooler to the hand than the truck tires.

I use Firestone TransForce HT because that is what my truck came with from the factory and I have read lots of positive reviews. I understand that Michelin makes an excellent tire as well, although the price is quite high.

Just offering my experience with a possible alternative to ST tires.

[RVer-Bill]

I have no doubt that Maxis tires are excellent and probably the best trailer tires, but I would not expect to see many problems reported on. None of the trailer manufacturers that I have seen put Maxis tires on at the factory. Also, most people are nowhere near a Maxis dealer. This means that 99% of trailers on the road have Chinese tires and not Maxis, so 99% of problems will naturally be with the Chinese tires. In addition, many people have the original tires that are 10 to 15 years old, so expect to have problems with those.

[ALJO]

PLOWTOY; The only differance was my tires were a bit older, like original to the camper (1997). I knew they needed replacement, but I was just hoping to make it to spring to replace them.

Seems like a good warning for everyone? The recommendation of ST tires is to replace them after 5 years of mfg date. The rubber gets harder as tires age. Even a well protected tire from UV will look good on the outside. Then our thinking goes to; another year........another year! Wrong......replace them with a reputable tire after the 5 year mfg date. Think about safety.......not your wallet.

[RVer-Bill]

Originally Posted by ALJO

Seems like a good warning for everyone? The recommendation of ST tires is to replace them after 5 years of mfg date. The rubber gets harder as tires age. Even a well protected tire from UV will look good on the outside. Then our thinking goes to; another year........another year! Wrong......replace them with a reputable tire after the 5 year mfg date. Think about safety.......not your wallet.

I remember reading that the time is 7 years. Is there an actual legitimate recommendation from a manufacturer, NHTSA or some legitimate source. If it really is 5 years then I will change mine at that point, but I don't want to waste money if not necessary. I normally keep my trailers for 5 to 7 years.

Edit: OK, I see that Carlisle recommends that trailer tires be replace at 3 to 5 years depending on weather and storage. I guess that means that if left uncovered in the Texas sun then 3 years or 5 years if covered in Minnesota.

Edit 2: According to a Trailer Life article, it varies by manufacturer from 3 to 5 years for Carlisle to 7 or 8 years from other manufacturers. I'd like to find a list of what each manufacturer recommends.

[milw156]

Glad to see no damage. Could have been worse!

[Derek700]

I am planning on replacing the tires on my trailer next year. I have marathons on it but I think they are US made ones. I will get 8 ply Maxxis instead of 6 ply like I have.

[Crabman]

Originally Posted by RVer-Bill

I have no doubt that Maxis tires are excellent and probably the best trailer tires, but I would not expect to see many problems reported on. None of the trailer manufacturers that I have seen put Maxis tires on at the factory. Also, most people are nowhere near a Maxis dealer. This means that 99% of trailers on the road have Chinese tires and not Maxis, so 99% of problems will naturally be with the Chinese tires. In addition, many people have the original tires that are 10 to 15 years old, so expect to have problems with those.

I think the very reason most manufacturers do not put them on is they cost more. In my search they were the most expensive ST tire I found out there, in some extreme cases more then twice as much as others. But hopefully you get what you pay for with these.....

[eldermike]

Originally Posted by RVer-Bill

I remember reading that the time is 7 years. Is there an actual legitimate recommendation from a manufacturer, NHTSA or some legitimate source. If it really is 5 years then I will change mine at that point, but I don't want to waste money if not necessary. I normally keep my trailers for 5 to 7 years.

Edit: OK, I see that Carlisle recommends that trailer tires be replace at 3 to 5 years depending on weather and storage. I guess that means that if left uncovered in the Texas sun then 3 years or 5 years if covered in Minnesota.

Edit 2: According to a Trailer Life article, it varies by manufacturer from 3 to 5 years for Carlisle to 7 or 8 years from other manufacturers. I'd like to find a list of what each manufacturer recommends.

I can't imagine a process that would yield an 8 year specification driven life on a product made from natural rubber. For example: a P tire on a car is lightly loaded while an ST tire is running it's whole life at max specification load. So the ST tire life has to be at full spec.......they will not do that no matter who makes them or how they make them. IMHO

[GrayHawk51]

Here's MY Good Year Chinese tire in 2005 Happen coming down the "GrapeVine" in SoCal.

[Crabman]

2 of the Maxxis are mounted, balanced and on the trailer. The other two Friday or Sat.
Nothing like new rubber to ease the mind......

[xtruckerbob]

Your are lucky since you had no damage. When this happens to me I hope I am that lucky. I have less than a 1000 miles on our tires on our TT but I will go out to the shop tomorrow and check what brand I have.

[clubhouse]

I personally would NOT do this, but it would be interesting...

I suspect that you see a lot fewer reports of blow outs on Maxxis tires vs Goodyear for many reasons, fairly certain one is they are a better tire.

That said, I think the way one takes care of thier tires, doesn't overload and maintains proper inflation are probably the biggest factors in blow out frequency. Further I suspect the people who really takes care of their tires are the same folks who are willing to pay the premium for Maxxis ST tires or another brand LT tire.

Therefore I wonder if that person put two Marathons on and two Maxxis or ST tires would they see the Marathon fail prior to the others.