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Tires

Yahoo Message Number: 16923
Good morning. I have a Kodiak C5500 chassis that came with 225/70r19.5 tires. I upgraded 4 years ago to Michelin XZE 245/70r19.5 tires, and after 4 years there is significant sidewall checking and two rear tires are losing pressure.

My question is: if tires are only going to last 4 years, is there any real advantage to buying high dollar tires, or should I be looking more at good quality import tires and just fold replacement into my budget?

Thanks!

Re: Tires

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16925
I'm really surprised by this. Have they sat in the sun constantly since new? Are the ones on the inside checking too? Check the date code on the tires, maybe they were actually made years before you got them because they sat in stock somewhere?

Would love to see pictures of the checking as well as the date code on the tires. It's hard to buy a better tire than a Michelin.....



Re: Tires

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16926
Sounds like you may have gotten some bad/old tires. What is the DOT manuf date? We had great results with Michelin, replaced ours through the FMCA tire program. If you are not a member the discounts and benefits are well worth the membership fee.

Re: Tires

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16927
I went with the Sumitomo 718's and absolutely love them great ride great handling and great price


Re: Tires

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16929
I tend to agree with you, everyone says Chinese tires are garbage but the Chinese are really good at reverse engineering products and processes. When I bought my endura 6340 it had some long march Chinese tires and they were fine, but I decided to up size from 225 to 245, and was looking at some Chinese brands. I ended finding a good deal on kelly Springfields only a few bucks more a tire than the Chinese and like half price of the michliens. So I agree spending 300-400per tire is wasteful. But I am sure you will get a dozen replies saying the opposite.


Re: Tires

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16930


Couldn't afford another set of name brands that last 15k, so I purchased some GT Radial GDR619 245/70r-19.5 from SimpleTire. I got 4 for $633.03 shipped. Drove 6000 miles on them and they still look and feel great. I checked them every 200 miles for the first 2000 miles and then every 1000. They still look the same. I figured I'd be the lab rat for a decently rated cheap tire. I've got a few trip to Florida planned in the next few months. Let me know if you're interested in the updates on these tires and I'll email you every couple thousand miles.
Happy Traveling!!
Jay Hitaffer

Jay Hitaffer



Re: Tires

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16931
No one ever mentions Yokohamas. Built in Japan. Cheaper than Michelins. I've had both Yokos are superior.

azdd

Re: Tires

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16932
Just to add a few tidbits. The RV is in the shop getting the tires looked at for possible road damage or other issues, so I don't have the date stamp in front of me, but I'm aware of the possibility of getting old stock, so I seem to remember checking the date when I got the tires and it was acceptable, but I will check that when I can, because memory.... I am not OCD about keeping the tires covered, never while traveling, and about half the time when parked for more than a few days. I have the covers, so I just need to have my wallet give me a stern talking-to if that's what the problem is.

I called Michelin, and there is a seven-year warranty on these tires, so I put them in touch with my shop guy to see if I qualify - the warranty does not cover weather checking. I don't know yet if the inner dually is also checked, but it lost all its' air while sitting in the driveway for a month. It may have a nail or something though. I will know more when the mech looks at the tires.

Thanks for the info on alternatives, lots to think about.

Jim B.

Re: Tires

Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16933
Well, you are on top of the cover thing. I pull them out if I have more than a few days. Covered storage helps a lot too.  Time, Ozone, Texas Sun, are all the enemy.

This next is controversial, but I looked a long time at this - I have settled on 303 (30313-CSR) UV Protectant Spray Matt Finish for my tires. Some protectants can actually make things worse.  This is not a cosmetic product, and it appears to really protect the tires. Check it out. I was going to write this up, but I am still waiting to see if this is a long term benefit - but so far seems to be working great on my XZEs.
Best
Kevin (Real) McCoy [@KF5FUZ]
("Roscoe Ventura" Jayco Seneca HD SS 34 Diesel 2006;
"Toad" Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 2007)

Re: Tires

Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16934
I second 303 Aerospace on tires, plastic, rubber seals, and vinyl...the UV protection makes all the difference. It's what Armor All "should have" been.

Re: Tires

Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16935
TIRES - I suggest spending as much as you feel comfortable spending. I had Continental tires that were 4 year old and had a RR outside blow out at 9pm in Wyoming then another LR inside blow out at noon the following day in Denver. Considering they were 4 +/- years old with 38K miles on them, they should not have failed. Warranty? Ha, not that's funny. I was offered 10% of the value due to age and miles = USELESS. The 2nd blowout caused est $5K damage but the real issue was that it took 4 months to get the parts since a 4 year old coach is considered OLD. I went back with Michlen (sp) and replaced all 4 back tires and since the other 2 were replaced at blow out time, simply moved them to the front. 2014 Thor Super C Cheateau (purchased in Aug 2013) about 38K miles.

Re: Tires

Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16936
I would definitely like to know what happens. Bought a pair of Michelins for the front cuz losing a front tire can kill you.... Also added an aftermarket TPMS.




From: SuperCrvgroup@yahoogroups.com  on behalf of Jim Blackshire james.blackshire@... [SuperCrvgroup]
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2018 12:19 PM
To: supercrvgroup
Subject: Re: [SuperCrvgroup] Tires



Just to add a few tidbits. The RV is in the shop getting the tires looked at for possible road damage or other issues, so I don't have the date stamp in front of me, but I'm aware of the possibility of getting old stock, so I seem to remember checking the date when I got the tires and it was acceptable, but I will check that when I can, because memory.... I am not OCD about keeping the tires covered, never while traveling, and about half the time when parked for more than a few days. I have the covers, so I just need to have my wallet give me a stern talking-to if that's what the problem is.

I called Michelin, and there is a seven-year warranty on these tires, so I put them in touch with my shop guy to see if I qualify - the warranty does not cover weather checking. I don't know yet if the inner dually is also checked, but it lost all its' air while sitting in the driveway for a month. It may have a nail or something though. I will know more when the mech looks at the tires.

Thanks for the info on alternatives, lots to think about.

Jim B.

On Wed, Dec 12, 2018 at 9:43 AM  [SuperCrvgroup] SuperCrvgroup@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Re: Tires

Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16937
Actually most Yokohama's in the medium and Heavy truck line are built in USA now. Plant is in Mississippi

Re: Tires

Reply #13 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16938
A blow out in the front is more rare because we aren't overloading that axle the way we do the rear axles. Nearly ever motorhome out that is designed to carry a disproportionate amount of weight on the rear axle. If you weigh your rig you might be at or above your axle weight rating in the back and under on the front. So they tell you, you have 1300lbs of cargo capacity, but if it's not in the driver seat. You really don't. Also the sum of the tires weight rating when you add up all four might not equal your axle rating so there you are overloading the tires which causes blowouts. When I went to 245s That increased capacity by 2k lbs. not that I am loading that much, but I am not as close to the tires rating. Aka not stressing the tires as much. Not saying that is the case here just a common issue in the rv world.

Remember no one builds rv's they convert vans and trucks into rv's.


Re: Tires

Reply #16 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16942
This may not be the place to post my experience but I noticed folks
were talking about tires, blow out and overweight loads placed on rear
wheels.

A couple of years at Bonneville, I observed 2 different hitches that
appeared to resolve the overweight issue. They were so called "weight
bearing hitches" that connected to the receiver then had smaller tires
that ran behind the motor home with a ball or means to connect a
trailer. One was called a Hitch Hog and the other was called a
Trailer Toad. The owners stated they used them because of he weight
of their car trailer and supplies. Appears the motor home only pulls
them while the smaller tires carries the tongue weight. On the way
back home, I pulled in to fuel up and looked beside me to discover
another large enclosed trailer using one of these units. My first
experience with them. Sure different. Looks like this would help if
overloading is an issue but what do I know???

Re: Tires

Reply #19 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16947
I have the same XZE tires on my 05. On my second set, first set replaced at 8 years with no sidewall cracking.
Billy
05 Jayco Seneca 35GS

Re: Tires

Reply #20 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16961
Well, here is the gist of my situation. I called Michelin, and Michelin called my mechanic to determine the issues. All six tires have checked to the danger point and need to be replaced. The tires have a 7-year warranty, and the date code was right at the time the tires were installed, so they weren't old stock. The new tread depth readings on the XZE's is 18/32" and my front tires were at 12/32" and rear tires were 9/32" after 4 years. I did 2 cross-country trips per year and several side trips, for around 35k for the 4 years.

Michelin will give me a 65% credit for the two front tires, and 45% for the four rear tires. The replacement tires do need to be Michelin, so now I need to decide which tires to get. Original equipment was 225/70's and I upgraded to 245/70 load range H, which is considerably over-spec'ed for my rig - 32' Bigfoot, Kodiak C5500 chassis. I do usually run right at, or a bit overweight and I tow a Buick Enclave at around 5000 lbs. I can get the same XZE's - I understand other folks have had good experience with them - or something like the XRV's which purport to be designed for RV's and have additives which reduced UV checking. Does anyone have any experience with XRV's, or another Michelin model in the same neighborhood?

Thanks for all the info.

Jim B.

Re: Tires

Reply #21 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16962
Apologies if this is a redundant post, I didn't see it go through. :-)

Well, here is the gist of my situation. I called Michelin, and Michelin called my mechanic to determine the issues. All six tires have checked to the danger point and need to be replaced. The tires have a 7-year warranty, and the date code was right at the time the tires were installed, so they weren't old stock. The new tread depth readings on the XZE's is 18/32" and my front tires were at 12/32" and rear tires were 9/32" after 4 years. I did 2 cross-country trips per year and several side trips, for around 35k for the 4 years.

Michelin will give me a 65% credit for the two front tires, and 45% for the four rear tires. The replacement tires do need to be Michelin, so now I need to decide which tires to get. Original equipment was 225/70's and I upgraded to 245/70 load range H, which is considerably over-spec'ed for my rig - 32' Bigfoot, Kodiak C5500 chassis. I do usually run right at, or a bit overweight and I tow a Buick Enclave at around 5000 lbs. I can get the same XZE's - I understand other folks have had good experience with them - or something like the XRV's which purport to be designed for RV's and have additives which reduced UV checking. Does anyone have any experience with XRV's, or another Michelin model in the same neighborhood?

Thanks for all the info.

Jim B.

Re: Tires

Reply #23 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16967
I've had the XZE's on mine now for I think 6 years with no problems however I plan to replace them this next spring with the same tires just because I don't want to risk pushing them too far.

Re: Tires

Reply #24 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16968
We had XRV's on our 2004 39.5 ft Winnie Journey and they were TERRIBLE. RV owners had tons of problems with them. They sent a note out taking all owners to increase the inflation pressures by 10 PSI. They had a lot of trouble holding air. I can remember one owner who had two of them blow out - while it was sitting in his driveway.

We traded the Winnie for a 41 ft Ambassador with Goodyears and they turned out to be very good.

I concluded that I would never buy the XRV or a MH that had them. I've heard very few complaints about the XZE and back then felt if I had to change tires I would have gone to the XZE.

Don

Re: Tires

Reply #25 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16969
If you are a member of FMCA. You may be able to use the discounts that
they offer along with the Michelin discount for a very good deal.

--
Best
Ron Hall

Re: Tires

Reply #26 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16970
Ron, I actually did ask the Michelin guy that, and he said I could only use one discount. I need to send them a copy of the receipt, so not sure what they consider a discount, but I'll look for a good price at a tire store and see what happens.

James Blackshire

Re: TIRES

Reply #31 –
Yahoo Message Number: 17068
More than likely 245/70R19.5. Some mfg's (like thor) used 225/70R19.5G spec'd chassis with steel wheels. my 08 Four Winds was this way. i upgraded to 245s and load H because the rear axle was so badly overloaded and wanted more tire on the ground. ended up eventually swapping the steel wheels for Alcoa's as well.