Class Action Lawsuit

I hate to bring this up, but all the discussion of Goodyear Marathon tire failures has scared the willies out of me. We have a new '08 2720SL with one trip under our belts. (No pun intended!) Reading of the problems an apparently significant number of folks have had using their Marathons in the manner intended by the manufacturer, I wonder if a class action lawsuit might be warranted. If this is indeed a problem I wonder how Goodyear has gotten by with it for years. I would also expect TrailManor to be much more proactive in testing to be sure they are putting a safe tire on their product. It doesn't cut it to say it is the maunfactures problem. This seemingly would be an area the Department of Transportation would be interested in. Any product liability attorneys out there? Should this suggestion offend anyone I indeed apologize!

[countrygirl]

Every so often I get some thing in mail...encouraging me to join in on a class action lawsuit...to me the only people that profit from them are ...well lawyers...I have squinted and read the teeny tiny print in a few...and quickly decided that ...my time to fill it out was worth more then any net I would gain. I now just shred them with the rest of the junk mail.

Scott,
I understand that all of the tire discussions can trigger some pretty strong thoughts and feelings. I've had them myself. My wife and I have taken our '07 2720sl on (7) outings since our purchase in Sept of '06. We are vigilant when it comes to maintaining tire pressure (exactly 50 whenever we hit the road), we have had our tires balanced, we minimize the weight that we add to the TM, we rarely exceed 60 mph, we avoid all irregularities in the road (especially small furry animals), and we bless our tires before each journey. So far -- our Marathons have performed admirably -- and every outing has been FANTASTIC. So Scott --- do everything you can to assure your safety (even if it means following Bill up to 15 inch tires and wheels --- which I may do myself in the near future) and then --- LET GO OF THE REST. We're all in this for the fun and the adventure. Every trailer tire manufacturer has their share of failures. Trailer tires --- by virtue of their use and dis-use --- are more susceptible to separation than standard tires. So my friend --- again do everything you can, don't play scarry tapes in your head, and enjoy your TM moments with your dear wife. I've heard it said that we tend to attract circumstances in our lives that are in keeping with our outlook and attitude. In my opinion --- love and trust will always get you farther down the road than fear and doubt. And that's all I have to say about that ! F.G.

Originally Posted by Scott O

This seemingly would be an area the Department of Transportation would be interested in.

Scott, things like this do interest the NHTSA. I have said this in other forum posts and will reiterate. If you believe you have a legitimate tire defect, please report it online to them. If they receive enough complaints, they will open a defect investigation. I won't promise anyone that the government will find fault with the manufacturer, but they will look.

You can also search their complaints, to see if you find others reporting your same problem. I encourage anyone who has a legitimate defective tire to report it. Be precise and accurate in your reporting.

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/complain/

[commodor47]

Scott, I think Eric and Leon bring up some valid points to consider. We purchased our unit from a private party and the Good Year Marathons had a production date of 2002. The original owners went on one extended (2,000 mile) trip. In 2004-2005 we traveled cross country and drove nearly 11,000 miles (probably 9,500 under tow) and made a similar trip in 2005-2006 (another 10,000 miles). We did not experience any tire failure during highway towing. I am inclined to believe that the majority of Marathon tires perform without incident. I have to wonder how many of the tire failures are caused by deteriorating valve stems, road hazards, and side wall damage (as in low speed curb/cement pad impacts).

I bet that new TM is gorgeous! Enjoy!

Dick

[Virginia Deacon]

Eric is right, IMHO. I had Firestone tires on my 2000 Ford Explorer and got them replaced under the recall panic several years ago. My trusty mechanic (who has a lot of experience with tires) and I agree that the majority of "accidents" involving Firestone tires appeared to be caused by people driving overloaded SUVs at high speeds on hot days and oversteering when their underinflated tires finally blew out. In other words, taking personal responsibility isn't something we do well, any more; but, we should, instead of looking around for someone to sue or report to the government.

From my experience, Trailmanor has been both responsive and responsible - one of the few companies I can say that about. They stand behind their product, and I am willing to stand with them!

Happy Camping!

[grill-n-go]

Here's a link to a brochure put out by Goodyear (maybe this has been poste before).

http://www.goodyear.com/rv/pdf/rvbrochure.pdf

It has some intereting stuff, including the impact of speed vs. tire life. Apparently even at 65 mph you are curtailing tire life.

We all have to remember that the TM weighs about as much as a car. A car rides on four pretty good sized tires. The TM must ride on two small ones. Even though the tires are engineered to carry more than the average tire, physics only allows so much capacity per square inch. The margin for error is less and they need more attention. Though there could be some defective tires out there, I know Pirelli had that problem in the '90's, most likely someone neglected a tire along the line. Maybe it was inflated properly when it blew but maybe it was run at low pressure or excessive speed previously for many miles. Honestly I think Goodyear makes "just ok" tires in general but at least they are making trailer tires. There are so few choices. You should try a Uniroyal tire, talk about a tire that comes apart.

As far as Firestone, I've had several sets of Bridgestone tires which is the same company and I swear by them as the toughest tire I've seen. Where my buddies would get multiple punctures on a trail with BF Goodrich's I might get one. When Goodyears have long worn out, the Bridgestones are still good to go.