Tire damage & separation

Ask questions about Harbor Freight trailers, or questions about building your own...

Tire damage & separation

Postby noseoil » Fri May 25, 2018 11:14 am

We recently returned from a 10 day trip trip to northern New Mexico. We had stopped at the showers & I was just killing a little time, so since we would be leaving to return to Tucson the next morning, I decided to take a good look at the tires. I'm glad I did.

The driver's side tire looked ok from behind, but when I looked at it from the front, I saw a bit of bulging in the center of the tread section which I hadn't noticed when we left Tucson the week before. Basically, I put a straight edge across the center of the tread & eyeballed the amount of space at the edges. The space at the edges was much bigger at one point, but on the other side of the tire it looked fine & matched the opposite tire perfectly. Hmmm...

I was lucky enough to have stopped the trailer where the bulge was visible & it was obvious that there was a problem. These are 3 year old Goodyear Marathon 13" trailer tires (C rated only) and were supposed to be good ones when I bought them, but I've learned that they aren't as good as they should be. I store the trailer up on the jack stands, to take the load off the tires and keep them round if it sits for any amount of time. I always check tire pressure before towing, even on a short trip near town. They were balanced properly when mounted. I have covers to protect them from the sun here because it's so stinkin' hot in the summer. In short, I did as much to care for the tires as I could & to maintain them properly.

We finally got a chance to try the new brakes in a "panic stop" situation. As we crested a hill on I-25 in Albuquerque during rush hour, the semi tractor-trailer we were following slammed on its brakes, locked them up & came skidding to a stop. There were two highway vehicles doing some pick-up work in our lane & the lights didn't show up until the hill was crested & they were seen. Not sure what they were doing, but it was the first time I had to really stand on the brakes to stop quickly. I'm not sure I would have made it without the trailer brakes, or what would have happened if that tire was in place when I stomped on the brake pedal. I'm just glad everything worked as it did.

Here's what it looked like, not showing a problem.
154616

Look closely at the left edge of the tread, it's showing a separation between the road contact areas & the lower rubber. The gap is bigger, but you might not see it until it's too late. It's ready to come apart at higher speeds in the heat!
154618

Check those tires & don't just look at the air pressure. Take a bit of time & inspect them for wear, bulging & any bad signs!
Build log: viewtopic.php?f=50&t=60248
The time you spend planning is more important than the time you spend building.........

137905
User avatar
noseoil
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1820
Images: 669
Joined: Sun Apr 27, 2014 8:46 am
Location: Raton, New Mexico, living the good life!

Re: Tire damage & separation

Postby bdosborn » Fri May 25, 2018 1:19 pm

Goodyear Marathons are famous for failing often and catastrophically. Google "Marathon Tire Failure" and see how many hits you get. Both mine failed, one just like yours, here's a link:

Goodyear Tire Failure!

There's also lawsuits over Goodyear motor home tire failures (for a tire they knew would fail).

Motorhome Tire Failures

Bruce
2009 6.5'X11' TTT - Boxcar
All it takes is a speck of faith and a few kilowatts of sweat and grace.
Image
Boxcar Build
aVANger Build
User avatar
bdosborn
Donating Member
 
Posts: 5492
Images: 767
Joined: Wed May 05, 2004 11:10 pm
Location: CO, Littleton

Re: Tire damage & separation

Postby noseoil » Mon May 28, 2018 6:45 am

Just a quick thanks to Discount Tire here in Tucson. They took one look at the tire & said it was bad & defective. Free replacement is on the way now since, I had the warranty & had taken good care of the tires. The bad one failed at about 16,000 miles, a bit over half the tread was worn off when it let go.

Wondering about a better 13" tire than the Marathon. Anyone have a suggestion for next time I buy a set? I'm going to build a utility trailer in the next few weeks & am thinking that a 15" truck tire like Tony Latham runs on his trailers would probably be the best choice at this point. I don't want to replace rims & fenders on the teardrop at this point, so a better 13" tire would be in order, if I can find one.
Build log: viewtopic.php?f=50&t=60248
The time you spend planning is more important than the time you spend building.........

137905
User avatar
noseoil
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1820
Images: 669
Joined: Sun Apr 27, 2014 8:46 am
Location: Raton, New Mexico, living the good life!
Top

Re: Tire damage & separation

Postby coyote » Mon May 28, 2018 8:19 am

5th yr on road, 5th set of tires. Every dealer I've used, swears this is THE (13 inch) tire. I've given up. I just plan for a new set early every spring.
coyote
Titanium Donating Member
 
Posts: 452
Images: 0
Joined: Mon Mar 04, 2013 4:20 am
Top

Re: Tire damage & separation

Postby Sparksalot » Mon May 28, 2018 10:33 am

Must be the camera angle, I'm not seeing what you are trying to highlight in the photos.
Holy cow, Rose is a teenager now! Done? Surely you jest. A teardrop is never "done".

The Compass Rose build thread: viewtopic.php?t=23213

Inspiration: http://tnttt.com/Design_Library/Trailer%20for%20Two.htm

It's got a cop motor, a 5.3 LS plant, it's got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks. ~ Elwood Blues
User avatar
Sparksalot
Silver Donating Member
 
Posts: 1624
Images: 682
Joined: Fri Feb 15, 2008 9:36 pm
Location: Texas by God
Top

Re: Tire damage & separation

Postby Homebrewer25 » Mon May 28, 2018 10:54 am

By rotating the images so they are aligned, I think you'll see the difference here:

before: 154640 and after: 154641
It's 5 o'clock somewhere ... time for a :beer:

Steve
Foam Ranger Build (postponed by COVID - resuming spring 2021): http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=70159
User avatar
Homebrewer25
Teardrop Master
 
Posts: 114
Images: 19
Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2016 4:08 pm
Location: Flag Pond, TN
Top

Re: Tire damage & separation

Postby Sparksalot » Mon May 28, 2018 11:03 am

Holy Carp! That's a problem Batman.

I had a set of tires on my tear for 10 years, the originals from Red Trailers. I just took them off because I was worried about the age of them, not the miles or treadwear.
Holy cow, Rose is a teenager now! Done? Surely you jest. A teardrop is never "done".

The Compass Rose build thread: viewtopic.php?t=23213

Inspiration: http://tnttt.com/Design_Library/Trailer%20for%20Two.htm

It's got a cop motor, a 5.3 LS plant, it's got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks. ~ Elwood Blues
User avatar
Sparksalot
Silver Donating Member
 
Posts: 1624
Images: 682
Joined: Fri Feb 15, 2008 9:36 pm
Location: Texas by God
Top

Re: Tire damage & separation

Postby dancam » Mon May 28, 2018 11:49 am

coyote wrote:5th yr on road, 5th set of tires. Every dealer I've used, swears this is THE (13 inch) tire. I've given up. I just plan for a new set early every spring.
Mind sharing which brands youve used? I just put a set of carlisle ultra crt on my trailer and they look great new! :) way better than the new bias plys the trailer came with... but im planning to leave on a 20k mile trip here next week

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk
dancam
500 Club
 
Posts: 586
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2016 3:27 am
Location: Edmonton Alberta Canada
Top

Re: Tire damage & separation

Postby S. Heisley » Mon May 28, 2018 6:32 pm

:o It looks like you were lucky to make it home, NoseOil!

As for me, I find that I need to replace my tires every 2 years, regardless of the brand. They simply wear out! I'm okay with that.
User avatar
S. Heisley
Super Lifetime Member
 
Posts: 8769
Images: 495
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 10:02 am
Location: No. California
Top

Re: Tire damage & separation

Postby noseoil » Tue May 29, 2018 7:56 am

Sharon, yes we were very lucky that the bad spot was turned the right way when we stopped & the sun was shining across the face of the tire. If the bulge had been at 6:00 or 12:00, it might have gone differently on the ride home as I wouldn't have seen a problem until it was too late. Can't believe these tires are out in the main stream & running all the time. Goodyear has a problem with their manufacturing if there's that much bad press out there on so many different vehicles.

By the way, weight for the empty trailer was right at 1660# (it's 5' X 9') for your spreadsheet, if you want to add us in there. Still, it shouldn't have been too bad of a load for the tires. Go figure...
Build log: viewtopic.php?f=50&t=60248
The time you spend planning is more important than the time you spend building.........

137905
User avatar
noseoil
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1820
Images: 669
Joined: Sun Apr 27, 2014 8:46 am
Location: Raton, New Mexico, living the good life!
Top


Return to Trailer and Chassis Secrets

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests