Re: [VAL] Goodyear Marathon blowouts

[Uwe Salwender <salwender@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I own both - GoodYear Marathons on my 1971 Tradewind,
and Carlisle Sure Trails on my 1963 Overlander. I have
worked extensively on the running gear of trailers to
get wheels/drums balanced and to replace axles and
brakes. My findings: Carlisles are close to impossible
to balance. The tires are made with very little care ,
so no matter what you do, it takes over 8 ounces on
each rim ( tried original steel rims as well as light
weight alloy wheels) to get the tire/wheel to be in
balance. Add another 8 to balance the brake drum.
The Goodyears, although not perfect, balanced with
appr. 1-2 oz, on the same rims. I happen to believe
strongly in having a closely balanced rotating
assembly. ( Drum/hub, tire/rim)
It is always difficult to tell what destroyed a
trailer tire. At the end, you pull over and have
shreds. What caused it? Hard to tell if it's tire
failure, valve stem failure, puncture or just simply a
poorly made tire. Look around at campgrounds - I
believe that a large portion of tire failures is
operator negligence. 
I have taken reasonable care of my tires, and never
had a problem yet, not even towing on gravel roads in
Mexico, or even worse, concrete freeways around Los
Angeles. One of the patricipants in the last Baja
California caravan lost a tire on his Excella on the
way back, due to separation. Those were not Marathons,
but an Asian brand that slipped my mind right now.
My experiance with Goodyear tires has been a favorable
one so far. I would buy them again.