Michelin sidewall cracking . Need advice

wolfe10 wrote:
A lot of the "why some crack and some don't" is the "care and feeding" they receive. All these are good for the tires and materially reduce side wall cracking and other signs of deterioration:

I respectfully disagree. My buddy who's tires cracked and one blew on him is extremely good at maintaining his rig. He spares no expense(thus the costly Michelin's.) I wouldn't even blink at betting that he takes better care of his rig then 90% of those that read this forum.

His tires went after only two years. I admit he never did cover them, but his dually never sits long enough where it would be worth the time. There simply is something not right, and yes there are recalls out, but how many are they missing do to lack of complaints or loyal customers assuming it was their fault.

as a Maryland auto repair shop and a Maryland state inspector I to see a lot of Michelin car and truck tires that I have to fail because of side wall cracks most tires I fail for sidewall cracks are Michelins don't know why my class a motorhome Michelin tires has sidewall cracks

I have had to replace three sets of Michelin tires on one of my previous vehicles. The vehicle sat in the yard most of the time in Virginia and within two years the sidewalls were shot. I worked with my tire vender to have the tires pro-rated for warrenty replacement and did that process three times. Once I sold the vehicle, I vowed that I would never go that tire route again. I do think Michelin has a problem.

We replaced our eight 7 yr. old Michelins (295/80R/22.5) last May with date codes of 2006-4306. The tire center gave me $50 each for my take-off's and they looked good with 57,000 miles on them, no cracks and good tread. We bought the new Michelins through the FMCA Michelin discount program.

Some friends of mine had Goodyears on their '07 Monaco Signature coach and had a lot of trouble with them rivering. They had a blow-out on the driver's side tag that caused some fender damage. They probably weren't as meticulous as me about tire pressure.

I check my tire pressure before every departure and add air if needed as I have my own compressor. I can go six months without adding. The extreme temp changes is when I'm more likely to notice changes. I keep a 10 lb. cushion above what our weight chart recommends.

MM.

hershey,

A lot of the "why some crack and some don't" is the "care and feeding" they receive. All these are good for the tires and materially reduce side wall cracking and other signs of deterioration:

Driving the coach-- sitting for months without moving is hard on tires-- the emoluments that protect the tire migrate to the surface when the tires heats up while driving.

Storing out of the sun-- indoors, under cover, or with white tire covers if outdoors.

Maintain correct tire pressure.

I have seen 2 year old tires badly cracked-- coach sat unmoved in outdoors with the tires uncovered in Phoenix, AZ. Our tires are 7 years old and zero cracks, but if we are parked for more than 2 nights, I put on white tire covers.

And, again to to OP, what is the tire age from the DOT number?

One has to wonder why some Michelin's have a cracking problem and others do not? My Michelin's were 7 years old when I replaced them two years ago and they were in just perfect condition. No cracking and even the thread wear was hardly noticeable. I keep a close eye on my present Michelin's and so far, so good. Perhaps its certain date codes that have the problem?????

There is a possibility that your chassis may have been built in 2007 and your tires may have been manufactured as early as 2006. The thing that degrades tires the most is ozone which may or may not have been a problem where your coach was stored. Some electric motors produce ozone and if there were any in the area that may have sped up the sidewall cracking. The only way to tell the age of your tires is with the sidewall date code.

Thanks for all the response . I"m thinking that I will change all six over to Goodyear . I have found that the Michelin's seemed to give an overly hard ride on my coach . A friend , who also is in the tire business , just told me that the Michelin's on my coach have a low profile sidewall that may be contributing to ride problem . Please let me know if anyone else has had this problem also .

I put a new set of six tires on our former Class A motor home. I took excellent care of them and they developed sidewall cracks after 18 months. Michelin would not do anything about it, so I threw them out and got a new set of Goodyears. I'll never buy another Michelin product.

I just bought the motorhome I have now about 6 weeks ago. Last week I took it in and had a new set of Firestones installed. We'll see how those hold up.

I replace every five. The expense is worth the peace of mind. Have never seen serious cracking. Generally parked where tires are out of the sun on a concrete slab.