Tires

Is there any other rv review site worth visiting?

 

Good point there Fun Finders. Guess he's stuck here with us even if he ever finds out about our pet menagerie...............

BankShot..............(aka Terry)

 

Good to hear. Lots of great folks on board and certainly the best site and forum for RVers. As for our pet menagerie we change them out every so often and we have an entirely new bunch along with us now. Our favorite one is Stinky, our newest dog. He's a cross between a French Bulldog and a Shih Tzu. AKA a BullShit and is cute as a button.................

 

Some additional feedback regarding tires:

1) motorhome owners should weigh each corner of their coach, and inflate the tires to the recommended PSI for the weight (see inflation tables provided by tire manufacturer). Don't just inflate to the maximum PSI. Also check behind your tire installer to make sure the pressure is correct.

2) when purchasing tires, insist on "fresh" tires. Before you drive away from the installer, verify the date codes show they were manufactured in the last few months. When I purchased 6 new tires last year, two ended up being 2 years old and one was 3 years old. I had them swap them with newer tires.

3) when comparing prices, check FMCA. They have a tire discount program that saved me $500.00 on my 6 Michelines.

Chris g.
Westminster, CO

 

More good tips and information. Thanks, we're taking it all in.

 

Unless you are wedded to Michelins there are plenty of good tires for sale that IMO are just as good and less expensive. That's why I raised the issue of Hankook's; even with the Michelin discount they were cheaper and we think they ride and handle better.

 

I've had Firestones, BF Goodrich, Big O, and Michelin tires on the three rigs that I have owned. Believe or not, the Firestones were original equipment on one rig and lasted 55,000 miles. I haven't had the Michelins long enough to see if they last any longer.
No matter what tires you use, they are subject to abuse by their owner. One time I was driving up the Dempster Highway in the Yukon. It has a reputation as a tire beater, so I carried two spares. I took my time driving up the highway and had no problems at all. I met another RVer at Eagle Plains (halfway up the Dempster) where he was getting two new tires to replace two new Michelins that he wrecked on his way north, mainly by driving too fast for road conditions.
He had the exact same motorhome as I did, so can only imagine what the inside of his rig looked like after his two blowouts.

 

One more thing I'd like to add regarding tires is that back in early 2014 on our way home from AZ we had a rear inside tire literally "explode" at about 60 mph out on I-8 east of Yuma. We had just under 15,000 miles on the tires and always kept them at the correct pressure and in balance, etc. And we did not run over anything on the road. It was determined by both the RV facility that made the repairs and our insurance company, that the tire was "defective". The entire top tread completely around the tire came off, almost as if it was a "retread", which it was not because it was an original tire that came on the coach. What make was it? GOODYEAR. Our insurance company told us they were going to contact Goodyear and see about having them cover the costs of repairs caused by their defective tire but we never heard anymore about it and I just let it go as the insurance covered it all including the $650 tow back to Phoenix where we had the repairs done. Have since talked with a few others about Goodyear tires on their RVs and found out that even tho Goodyear may have a great name in racing tires they leave a lot to be desired when it comes to RV tires. Will never put them on our coach again..............No way Jose...

BankShot................(aka Terry)

 

That's great to hear Mike, glad it's all coming together for you to get the RV back out on the open road again after a fairly long down time for you. Hope your upcoming trip goes really well and with no unexpected problems and such. Good thing replacing the tires as you are. Splitting treads are certainly not safe and you don't need blowouts happening out on some interstate miles from home and/or your destination...... Travel safe and have a great time................

Best regards, Terry...............(aka BankShot)

 

Long story about my tire experiences: I purchased my first class A motorhome in 1997 and the coach was built in 1991 (making the tires 6-7 years old). I did everything wrong since I was young and stupid (mid 30's):
- I never weighed the coach, so I might have been overloaded.
- since I didn't have corner weights, the tires may have been over inflated.
- I stored it sitting on dirt & mud
- I never covered the tires when stored.
- I drove the speed limit (sometimes 70+ mph)

As a result, about 1999 (tires 9-10 years old), I started experiencing tread separation while driving, and it happened 4 time in 2 years. Never a blowout, but almost as bad.

Now on my 2nd class A motorhome (had a pop-up in between), no tire problems. Dirty secret, my last tires actually went 12 years before I replaced them, due to lack of $$, but I checked them frequently for any problems.

Chris g.

 

Mike- Isn't there a old RV saying that goes something along these lines.........."Once a Class A owner you can try to but you can never go back" . . . . . . . .?

Terry...............(aka BankShot)

 

Yeah, my parents had a class A since the late 1960s, so I got it in my blood. I bucked the usual RV trend of going small to bigger, to biggest, and got a class A first.

After the telecom crash in early 2000s, we lost the first MH, and took a little cash and bought the pop-up. Had to have SOMETHING to camp in! We actually liked it alot, but the setup and teardown took forever!

We were able to pay cash for our current old motorhome, so we'll have that 'till we trade it in or it falls apart.

 

I'm new to this site and I also this past March just jumped right in by getting a 38'ft class A & going cross country from AZ to OH in 2 weeks. The man I got my RV from told me he had a blowout with his Goodyear tires he put TOYOs on, said many semi-truck drivers use these. He has RVs all his life 75yrs old and helped me learn all about my new toy. Really looking forward to my new adventures. THX for the helpful posts from everyone.

 

Welcome to RV Park Reviews. There is a lot of good information here and a lot of folks who have "been there and done that" and are happy to share their thoughts. We look forward to you adding reviews and joining in the forum discussions passing on your knowledge.

Darrell and Jerry