Replacing tires in pairs - where to start?

If a front tire blows you may lose control. If a rear tire blows, it's flailing steel belt can wipe out holding tanks, wiring and propane lines. The most intelligent thing to do is to replace all six tires ASAP. If you have beauty discs, have solid metal tire valve bodies as sold by Borg, Tire Man or Camping World installed on all four duals and front tires. Why delay replacing any of the antique tires? We had new looking old tires blow and damage our new to us used rig when we were noobs and didn't know any better.

Also: Have entire brake system checked and replace flexible front brake lines and brake fluid. Old brake fluid collects moisture which turns into steam and results in loss of braking on grades.

It seems to me that whenever I read about a tire blow out on this forum, it is almost surely one of the rear tires, and most likely the inner tire. Damage most always accompanies that blow out. Very rarely do I hear about a front tire blow out, and when that occurs, there is little to no damage. For decades, whenever I replaced tires on my car, I always did the front first, until I was told by a good auto tire shop that it is a better idea to replace the rear first because the rear stabilizes the car. I now adhere to that policy on my motorhome if I can't replace all tires at the same time. I will admit though, that there may not be any solid science to confirm that, just my personal preference.

In our area, the best deal on Michelin tires is at Costco.
I got my free set of 7 three years ago. The new ones have free flat repair, rotation and roadside service.

If buying Michelins again, consider joining the Family Motor Coach Assn and take advantage of their Michelin tire deal.

http://www.fmca.com/benefits/michelin-advantage.html

Charles

Mayble: I'm not the tire police, but let me kindly say tires that old are extremely likely to fail. The damage could be catastrophic to you or others on the road. A good friend of mine had an inside rear dual tire (2 years old) blow last week. Remnants of the tire blew through the floor of their rig, creating a large hole. It's a good thing no one was sitting in that area of the rig. They were able to safely pull off and get help. Please consider replacing all six of your tires before putting many more miles on your RV.

IAMICHABOD wrote:
You say that your Michelins are old,just how old?

While you are at Discount Tire have them check and see if they are covered by the Michelin Recall,you may get a free set!

LOL, no such luck on the recall.

I probably shouldn't admit it here 'cuz the tire police will surely be at my door, but the tires on it are 12-13 years old. I even found the original sales receipt from Sam's Club, dated October 2003, about 20,000 miles ago. One tire has a 2004 date code, must have been a replacement. The others that I've been able to read have been 2003.
I think I'll stick with Michelin :)

DrewE wrote:
If you must replace only two of the rear tires, do both tires on one side. If you do only the inner or only the outer tires, you will end up with the tires in each pair being different diameters and circumferences. Since they must rotate together at the same speed, one or both will be forced to scrub somewhat as you drive and wear rapidly.

For similar reasons, it's rather important to make sure that both tires in each pair are inflated to the same pressure...more so than to ensure that both sides are equal in pressure to each other, though of course that's the general goal.

Better than replacing two tires in the back is to replace all four at once. If you are needing to replace tires two by two, I'd suggest doing the steer tires first, then with the next pair moving the steer tires to one side of the rear axle and putting the new ones on the other side, and finally replacing the last two tires (which are now on the steer axle).

This makes sense to me. Thanks.

You say that your Michelins are old,just how old?

While you are at Discount Tire have them check and see if they are covered by the Michelin Recall,you may get a free set!

If you must replace only two of the rear tires, do both tires on one side. If you do only the inner or only the outer tires, you will end up with the tires in each pair being different diameters and circumferences. Since they must rotate together at the same speed, one or both will be forced to scrub somewhat as you drive and wear rapidly.

For similar reasons, it's rather important to make sure that both tires in each pair are inflated to the same pressure...more so than to ensure that both sides are equal in pressure to each other, though of course that's the general goal.

Better than replacing two tires in the back is to replace all four at once. If you are needing to replace tires two by two, I'd suggest doing the steer tires first, then with the next pair moving the steer tires to one side of the rear axle and putting the new ones on the other side, and finally replacing the last two tires (which are now on the steer axle).

If only two tires replaced then IT HAS TO BE THE STEER.
A front blowout can be much more catastrophic than a rear tire blowout.