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Posted by: Specta
[The last time we went out riding, we had a tire blow out on our right inner dual tire. Class-A Winebago Vectra. These tires are Michelin LT235/86-R16 XPS RIBs. The tires are 11 years old, 55,000 miles and still look like new. They have always been covered to protect from UV and they have no cracks in the rubber that you often see in older tires. There is no rust stains on them. These tires are steel belted steel sidewalls.]
My friend just put some Toyo AT tires on his Class A and is real happy with them.
Tires need to be replaced at least every 5 years regardless of what they look like.
Posted by: sandbomber
Im not a tire pro but have asked a lot of questions over the years and have learned to change out trailer and rv tires after only 3 years no matter how they look. If ya choose to gamble a motor home or trailer panel can cost a lot of money to fix (been there done that) I use only rv tires with added rubber compounds to fight uv rays and help to keep from a flat spot. My 2cents
Posted by: Scootergptx
I had a blowout on mine about 3 months ago. Didn't like the prices either. My RV uses the R8 which is harder to find, one place told me they were phasing them out. If that's the case, I'd have to buy 9 (including spare) tires so they would all be the same. I finally found a tire at Firestone for 140 including mount and balance.
Posted by: Scootergptx
I'll have to check those out. The worst part about changing the tire was how high the spare tire holder is off the ground. I was so tired when I finished changing it, I just tossed the shredded tire in the Rv till I got home. That's a real good price, Discount quoted me 225 a tire, most others were in that range. Don't know why Firestone was cheaper, but couldn't pass it up. Made sure it wasn't a recap and wasn't used and bought it.
Posted by: Scootergptx
So far it's been ok. Big difference in our tires though. Mine are 19.5, Basically it's a tire for a semi trailer. Trust me, after a weekend of riding, you don't want to change a tire that size (especially by yourself). It's looks like it wouldn't hurt the others tires to be replaced, not so much wear as weathering on the sidewalls. Just hard to imagine paying another 1200 to get all the tires changed. Just put 4 new tires on my Ranger for 200, and wasn't happy about that. The RV does have a tag axel. Fortunately, the tire that blew was the tag axel on the opposite side of the cleanouts. We had a blowout on a travel trailer once that took out the sewage drain pipe. Bet everyone behind us was glad we dumped before we hit the road.
Posted by: BryceGTX
The last time we went out riding, we had a tire blow out on our right inner dual tire. Class-A Winebago Vectra. These tires are Michelin LT235/86-R16 XPS RIBs. The tires are 11 years old, 55,000 miles and still look like new. They have always been covered to protect from UV and they have no cracks in the rubber that you often see in older tires. There is no rust stains on them. These tires are steel belted steel sidewalls. This is the first flat we have had in 11 years. It was a doozy, scared the bejeebies out of the both of us when it blew. I read on the RV forums that tires should be replaced every 5 years. But I found no consistent good information on these sites. Question is, is there some other tire I can replace these Michelins that are rated for a MH that do not cost $175 each? Seems kind of a waste to put a tire on that will never even wear 25% of its tread in 11 years, and they tell me I should replace at half that time. The tires are rated at 3048lbs per tire single and 2778lbs for duals. I noticed that many manufacturers make this size and rating tire. Are they really that different? Can I pick any one of those tires? The guy the tire store said that I probably need the steel sidewall. One thing I don't like about the Michelins is that they ride quite rough and I would prefer a softer ride. Can I use a non-steel side wall tire to get a better ride? Or will my handling go to $hit if I don't use the steel sidewall? Any help is appreciated, and I'll listen to anyones ideas!!
Thanks in advance BR>Bryce
Posted by: BryceGTX
Hey Scootergptx. I went to a tire store yesterday and they suggested that I might use the BF Goodrich Commercial T/A A/S tire. I checked on the web last night for this tire and it seems to be getting good review from the motor home owners on the RV forums. Do you know anything about this tire? Seems it is $117 at Discount tire and cheaper at Sams. $787 for all six mounted and balanced. You must have a tag axle eh? Seeing as you need 9 tires. LOL, I wouldn't want to be in your shoes. Hey, I'll pass on any more information I find incase it can help you.
Have a good day BR>Bryce
Posted by: BryceGTX
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Discount quoted me 225 a tire
LOL, they wanted $234 per tire for the Michelins. $175 was from www.tirerack.com. What can you tell me about the Firestones? Which model are they? Are they a reasonably smooth ride?
Thanks for the info BR>BryceGTX
Posted by: BryceGTX
Thanks for the feedback Scootergptx. I checked on the RV forums again last night for tires. There doesn't seem to be any consistent winner in tires. I have seen excellent reviews on all tires and scathing reviews on the exact same tire. I need to check into a Sams store. Their website shows they have the BF Commercial for $92.14. And they have the XPS for $173.27.
BryceGTX
Posted by: BryceGTX
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My friend just put some Toyo AT tires on his Class A and is real happy with them.
Hey Specta.. Thanks for the heads up... Do you know what model tire he has? I would like to check them out. How much did he pay for em?
Quote
Tires need to be replaced at least every 5 years regardless of what they look like
I read the same thing on the RV forum. Does the tire break down somehow?
Thanks for the info Specta
BryceGTX
Posted by: BryceGTX
Thanks for all the help guys. I decided to go with Goodrich LT235/85 R16E Commercial T/As. Seems these are now often used for these motohomes. At Sams, they are $92.14 each with $9.00 for mounting, balancing, road hazard, lifetime free rotation and lifetime tire flat repair. Seems I can't beat that for 9 bucks.
I hope this can help someone else BR>BryceGTX
Posted by: BryceGTX
Excellent advice sandbomber. I got to admit I was quite ignorant about tire life until I had the blowout and I started snooping around the MH forums. It seemed that they suggested no more than 5 years. LOL, I have been running on borrowed time for 6 years.
Thanks, BR>BryceGTX
Posted by: BryceGTX
Hey guys.. I got the Goodrich LT235/85 R16E Commercial T/A All Season tires this past Saturday. Next weekend is the first trip. In the short distance I drove them, they seem to handle much the same as the original XPS-RIBs.
BryceGTX
Posted by: BryceGTX
Well I just got back from a 600 mile (round trip) extended weekend with the new tires. I noticed that they are considerably smoother riding than the Michelin XPS RIBs. I assume this is because the XPS tires have steel side walls and the Goodrich tires do not. I also noticed that the Goodrich are as good or better handling than the original Michelins. I also drove them in a heavy down pour and noticed no hydroplane problems. So far I am very happy with them.
BryceGTX
