Well, figure we can start the trailer tire debate up.. I am done with Marathons! 6 month old boat with new tires and one of the marathons sidewall has already blown out. Surely hoping Plano Marine will replace-it looks freakin brand new on the tread wear. If I have to buy new, it WONT be a marathon. BTW every boat with marathons I have had I blew out sidewalls, without little to no wear on the tire.

Marathon's suck, Carlisles are in the same boat.

Forget about buying "trailer tires" and go with Firestone Indy Firehawk's.

On the flip side I had Marathons on last two trailers. Absolutely zero issues.

Usually a sidewall blowout is the result of low tire pressure or over loading. Haven' had any trouble with marathons in years of service.

Yep its VERY Important to maintain the Tire pressure and dont over load it. I mean , dont put alot of extra stuff in the boat when traveling, the tires are rated for a certain amount of load and if you overload your boat with extra weight, you nay have problems.

I agree with the idea of tire maintenance and load. I'm not sure the function of the heavy weight of the outboard on the very rear of the trailer is always accounted for. I did not have good luck with Marathons and I switched to a trailer tire made by Hercules and now have not had any issues for 4 years. Wouldn't you like to have a hero under your boat?

I'd rather have a hero in the passenger side of the boat.

Ditto.

My issue with Marathons is they are speed rated at 55 mph! Who tows a boat at 55 mph?

I have never had a Carlisle blow out but have had several Marathon's blow. I heard that Kuhmo is making a good trailer tire. I would think the guys who tow lawn service trailers should be experts on tires.

I have lost the tread off of one marathon and it was low pressure that caused the heat.

You MUST keep trailer tires inflated to 55 pounds and you will not have issues. I tow my legend 10,000 -15,000 miles a year and most of it is at 75mph and no issues.

I have blown several marathons and won't buy another one. I have had carlisles for almost two years now with zero issues.

Personally never had anything good to say about Marathons. I went with Firestone Indy on the recommendation of my tire shop back in louisiana and haven't had a problem after almost 3 years.

Recently, I was faced with replacing my American made Marathon Radials (8yrs old) on my trailer. As we all know they are now made in China, along with just about all other ST tires. So I did some heavy research & I now believe that I have now found the best ST Trailer tire available in the market today. It is called the "Radial 857" and is a commercial tire made by Kumho in Korea. The size is a 194R14 (same height as a 205/75R14) in a load range D rating of 2,094lbs at 65psi. The load rating in itself is impressive, but here is the key to this tire...The speed rating on this tire is "R", or translated that means 106mph!! You will find that every other Trailer tire, in the 14" realm, is rated Load Range C, or 1,760 at 50psi, at 65mph. How many of you never exceed 65mph with your trailers? Probably not many.

Anyway, I purchased a set of these Kumhos for my trailer and will never consider another tire. My initial experience has been that they have reduce the swaying and bounce that I experienced with my Marathons. The tread is a thick block design, that reminds you of a semi-trailer tire. And I believe that the rolling resistance is greatly reduced, as compared to my Marathons, which should equate into fuel savings. Overall, I am very impressed.

I know that the above sounds like a plug for Kumho Tires, but after my purchase, I am a true believer that there is now an alternative solution to the Marathon.

Ran the same set of marathons for a dozen years with zero issues.

Go to Tractor Suppy and get a set of High Run Trailer Tires. Best trailer tire on the road.