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Class A tires

MagillaGorilla
Explorer
Explorer
When my rig is parked I keep covers on my tires. Before each time I drive it, I wash it and treat my tires with a spray on protectant.

With that said:

Do you replace the tires based on age, wear or sidewall condition?

My tires are 5 years old, have under 2000 miles on them and look new.

If I need to replace them based on age, what is a good, safe brand that is sold at a reasonable price?


Tire size is a 22.5 and camper is a 22,000 pound unit.
Magilla

2005 Holiday Rambler Admiral 37' Gasser
13 REPLIES 13

parkmanaa
Explorer
Explorer
"One tire took 1 ounce and the other 0 to balance them on road force balancer."

DOWN HOME, I'll try not to take to long to explain take on balancing.
I use only Michelins and haven't had one balanced in many years. IMHO, if you have a tire balanced immediately after it's mounted, in many cases you are balancing to a "false" situation, i.e., tire bead has not seated permanently to rim, tire has shipping distortions (pass.), or other situations. If you balance immediately, they can be out of balance within a few hundred miles when all distortion has been worked out and beads are permanently seated.
For years my procedure has been to ask service person to make sure the wheels are clean, use good, fresh mounting lubricant, mount and inflate to max. PSI shown on sidewall of tire. Then I drive them few hundred miles, lower to normal operating pressure and forget about them.

It's my opinion if a Michelin requires weight after this procedure, it normally means the WHEEL, not the tire, is out of balance. That is not the case very often, but I have seen it.

"In the tire industry 40 years; seen it all and done most of it"

down_home
Explorer
Explorer
Replaced our rear G670s at 10 years of age. Looked, smelled, and felt new inside and out. Very little to no wear with 36,000 miles. Felt like an idiot.Heavier coaches with wrong air pressures left with mud and dirt on the tires, sitting in strong sun for long times will bleed oils out as will parking on lime or uncoated concrete. Ours is stored inside and we only get occasional use now.
Michelin salesman said ten years life, Store Mgr pulled him aside and said they don't know how long. Goodyear with lots of UV protection additive 10 years under good conditions.
Front G6os rivered and Goodyear would not make them up and under five years old at the time. Blamed it on the coach, a weight, b alignment, suspension, then "they ll do that."
Michelins we have on are all steer axle tires with decoupling grooves.
Only thing that worries me is they have "orange oil" in them demanded by enviros. How long will they last? One tire took 1 ounce and the other 0 to balance them on road force balancer. They ridge great...but how long.

parkmanaa
Explorer
Explorer
I retired in 2000 after 40 years working directly for a major tire manufacturer. When I started in 1961 very, very few in the US knew
what a radial tire was.

In those 40 years I have worked in almost every facet of tires, especially truck & large earthmover tires. I know the radial from the inside out, top to bottom.

In my honest opinion, age of the tire is getting a very bad rap now-a-days. No matter what happens to a 5-6 year old tire "should have changed it sooner" is the standard remark. People have been brain-washed by the tire marketers, not by manufacturers. If you are investing in a good set of radials, and I mean from a major manufacturer, some well-spent time would be reading about tires on their website. Haven't seen one yet that says replace at 5-6 years.

Going on my personal usage of radials for almost 48 years, I can tell you if the tire is properly sized, kept inflated properly (not under NOR OVER) inflated, and generally maintained to a good, high standard, in a vast majority of cases it will run 10 years or more. I do believe for RV usage 10 years is enough, no matter how good they look. (A trucker will buy them and run them another 10 years........)

A side note: We used to inquire when a person brought in a ruined tire he/she said "I was just driving 55 mph and it blew out." Our question: Think hard now, do you remember hitting something on the road within the last few hundred miles? If you did you probably held your breath, thinking you damaged a tire but it kept running. Actually, you did ruin that tire a few hundred miles ago, but it kept running and finally blew out.
(Believe it or not, some were honest enough to know what we were talking about and admitted they had hit an object in the road)

Just my 2 cents worth on tires !

"In the tire industry 40 years; seen it all and done most of it"

MagillaGorilla
Explorer
Explorer
OP here. Just to confirm - I do check cold tire pressure before each trip. I keep a compressor onboard just for this reason.

So far my longest trip in the MH was about 125 miles each way. Also as for weight, Because my trips are local I have never had to load up my MH. My fresh water tank is never more than 1/2 full. My grey and black tanks are empty before each trip. My basement storage has does not have all that much in it. We have never had to pack for more than a week so we dont carry much in the way of food or clothing. So I guess we tend to be underweight.
Magilla

2005 Holiday Rambler Admiral 37' Gasser

Rick_Jay
Explorer II
Explorer II
Well, if you add that you check the tire pressure (for the load you carry) every time before you roll down the road, I would say you should easily get 10 years out of your tires. Oh, let me qualify that to also include that you know they've been properly checked since they were installed on the motorhome. I never covered our tires, just didn't see the need seeing as the rig is usually here in the NorthEast.

Our rig came with the Michelin XRV's and I got 12 years out of them, about 30K miles, give or take. I replaced them because we had two long trips coming up, one through the summer heat, so I decided it was best to change them out. I went to the Toyo's. No complaints. Despite all of the stories I read about the XRV's, ours served us well. I might've even pushed them another year or two if we were sticking to local trips.

On my Michelin's, I checked tire pressure every morning before travelling and hit the tires with an IR temperature scanner at rest stops. So I knew they were always treated right, and I never ran over curbs or road hazards of any serious nature. KNOWING those types of things gave me confidence to push things a little past the 10 year point.

With the Toyo's, I took the savings between them and Michelin's and bought a TPMS system for the moho and the dinghy. Again, money well spent, in my opinion. Now with a push of a button, I know all of the tire pressures are good and ready to go.

~Rick
2005 Georgie Boy Cruise Master 3625 DS on a Workhorse W-22
Rick, Gail, 1 girl (27-Angel since 2008), 1 girl (22), 2 boys (23 & 20).
2001 Honda Odyssey, Demco Aluminator tow bar & tow plate, SMI Silent Partner brake controller.

larry_cad
Explorer
Explorer
If you install new tires and do nothing but drive on them with proper inflation, they should last 10 years. If you apply protectant and cover your tires any time they are not turning, and do everything else you can to preserve them, they should last about 10 years.

Hmmmmm.............
Today is my personal best for most consecutive days alive.

Our Travel Blog

wa8yxm
Explorer III
Explorer III
You said they are 22.5's.. Mitchlin XRV's are about 2700 dollars (WITH FMCA DISCOUNT) plus mounting and balancing.

Toyo about 2250 to 2400 Mounted and balanced at/by Belle Tire in Michigan. Mine have now been on for about 30 HOURS.. (That's yesterday's price).

The Toyos are not Exactly the same size. (Less than 1% difference in total outside diameter/circumference) but Well.. Same weight rating and fit perfectly.

My RV is 13 years old but I put a set of used XRV's on it last year when I blew one. then I blew one of those. I do not expect these to go BOOM any time soon.

Nice to have new shoes.
Home was where I park it. but alas the.
2005 Damon Intruder 377 Alas declared a total loss
after a semi "nicked" it. Still have the radios
Kenwood TS-2000, ICOM ID-5100, ID-51A+2, ID-880 REF030C most times

2gypsies1
Explorer
Explorer
OP: We used the same care techniques as you do and we replaced them at 7 yr. We just didn't have a good feeling about going by looks.
Full-Timed for 16 Years
.... Back in S&B Again
Traveled 8 yr in a 40' 2004 Newmar Dutch Star Motorhome
& 8 yr in a 33' Travel Supreme 5th Wheel

Mr_Mark1
Explorer
Explorer
Currently, we have 46,000 miles on our tires that date from late 2013 and to early 2014. I will replace the tires at the end of next year as they will be almost 6 yrs. old. My estimate is that we'll have about 52K-55K on the coach at that time.

We are heavy at 55,500 lbs. and I don't want to run the risk of a blowout, just not worth it to me.

I have my coach in for service now and the guy is going to look at my tires up on a lift to see if there are any obvious exterior issues. He will also check all suspension components, hoses and belts, etc. 🙂

Safe travels,
MM.
Mr.Mark
2021.5 Pleasure Way Plateau FL Class-B on the Sprinter Chassis
2018 Mini Cooper Hardtop Coupe, 2 dr., 6-speed manual
(SOLD) 2015 Prevost Liberty Coach, 45 ft, 500 hp Volvo
(SOLD) 2008 Monaco Dynasty, 42 ft, 425 hp Cummins

Mile_High
Explorer
Explorer
Curious on your RF blowout - how did it handle? Did it stay on the road? Did you remember to accelerate like Michelin says, or just brake? Do you have any aftermarket safety gear (i.e. safe-t-plus, tyrone rings, etc.)
2013 Winnebago Itasca Meridian 42E
2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara Towed

Ed_C
Explorer
Explorer
I had a blowout R/F on a 6 year Michelin. It had just been inspected by a dealer and it still looked brand new, with 70,000 miles. There was NO dry rot or cracks. It just goes to show (Rose-Anna Anna Dana)
Ed/Jeanie & Slade the GSD
2017 Entegra Aspire 42 RBQ/ Sierra Crew

DrewE
Explorer
Explorer
I think most tire companies say you should have them inspected by a qualified professional for breakdown ("dry rot") starting at around seven years and replace in any case at ten years. Of course, if there is some obvious reason why replacement is needed sooner, like treadwear or sidewall damage, then do that.

tragusa3
Explorer
Explorer
I've read a lot of folks say 5-7 years. However, Michelin themselves suggest 10 years (well taken care of and inspected).
New to us 2011 Tiffin Allegro Open Road 34TGA
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