Scott,
I'm glad that the bushing went well, glad that on the 59 I didn't have
to do that, I had to replace the whole axle! Let me know what you do
about tires and I'm interested in what you find out on the cupping.
Ed
> Ed,
>
> Up till now I have had nothing but Goodyear Marathons since the mid
> 80's, with Goodyear bias ply LT tires before that. I have had good
> luck with them, but for various reasons the Marathons were always
> replaced after about 3 years. I pulled the current tires of the
> trailer yesterday. They are 4 years old. While they have plenty of
> tread and no signs of dry rot, the tread has worn "funky". The tread
> is not at all flat across the tread surface but it bulges out in two
> strips all the way around the tire, sort of like this
> )
> )
> With the right side being the side that contacts the road. That and
> each of the sidewalls buldge out in 5 or 6 areas. They do not exude
> any sort of confidence. Even without the bad press that Marathons
> have gotten I would not put these things back on my trailer. They
> have ALWAYS been properly inflated, ALWAYS ran cool, have never been
> overloaded or otherwise abused. The only "abuse" they have seen is
> that we ocassionally go faster than 65. Normally we travel 60 to 65.
> That said, I was considering sticking with the Marathons, just
> wanted to check out the options.
>
> A buddy who is a manager at a truck repair shop came over this
> afternoon to replace the suspension bushings. (leaf spring
> suspension) It went quickly and was no big deal. Ya just need the
> right tools and a smidgen of patience...oh, and a brain to think
> with, that helps as well. After this I can honestly say I DO NOT
> RECOMMEND Mutual Wheel Company in Davenport IA. They only did a
> partial replacement of the bushings last year and did not bother to
> mention that they did not do all six even though I specifically
> asked them to. Good grief I bought the parts and supplied them.
> Perhaps they did not think that I would count how many were left
> over. Only after asking them did they admit that they did not want
> to even try the last two bushings. It took my buddy and I only 2
> hours to do them and we had fewer tools than they did at our disposal.
>
> I the trailer has new bushings. I will be getting new shocks and
> tires very shortly. My buddy is going to look into tires as well. I
> will let you know what I end up with.
>
> Scott