Tires - Again - Still - Yet

I have had very good experience with the Michelin LTX M/S 2's. Put a set on my F-150 and when I sold it after 30,000 miles they still looked and rode like new. Our 2012 C came with the old M/S Michelins and was right in the middle of the big recall and I got 6 brand new M/S 2's on Michelin's dime. Great tires, excellent smooth ride and they come with a 70,000 mile tread warranty.

:C

have FS could'nt keep BFG TA on rear , some only 2 yr old ,
real happy w/ FS HT
To me Mich overpriced, lots of cracking

For me it's Michelins on everything. Last year I went to get my Michelins rotated ( every 7K miles ) for free, they had 40K miles on them still had plenty of tread, and were 5 years old. Dealer noticed some hair line cracks, called Michelin and they gave me $70.00 / tire credit on a new set.

My tires get abused out here in the sun 24/7 with temps 120 plus every day in the summer.

One last comparison. I had a new set of tires on a truck I bought, but I wanted the better ride of the Michelins so I switched them out. I took the "take offs" and put them in the truck, and handed the installer the Michelins. OH MY the difference in the weight was phenomenal between the two tires. The Michelins had what seemed like twice the rubber/weight of the ones that were on the rig.

Go to a store and try lifting the Michelin RIB and feel the weight of those tires LT245/75R16
LT245/75R16 Load range E ....3042 lbs MAX LOAD.

Your Michelin, Firestone and BFG choices are roughly equivalent, but I'm not sure about the Wrangler SR-A, which is sort of a comfort/performance tire for SUVs and passenger pickups. At this price level, the equivalent Goodyear might be Wrangler HT, their commercial tire for light trucks.

A notch above, all-steel or armored tires for heavier commercial "light truck" would be Michelin XPS series, Goodyear Armor Max (two tread designs) or Bridgestone Duravis (two or three tread designs). These get into steel body plies, for long life, but carry also the responsibility to never run them underinflated, which can quickly destroy them via metal fatigue. The cheaper polyester body tires are more tolerant of fatigue, but more sensitive to heat.

The BFG and Michelin tires you are looking at are equivalent in application, from the same manufacturer, just two different brands.

I chose to upgrade to all steel tires with my last tire change on the RV, but I don't think I would ever make that choice on my one-ton van, which has to ride nicely at light loads.

Well, the comments here parallel the reviews I've read. The BFG had separations (which is odd since Michelin doesn't). The Firestone TransForce had good reviews. Michelin IS Michelin after all and holds their good following. I like to think the M/S2 has a different compound to fight the cracking in the recalled LTX tires.
It seems the Duravis is still a good choice. One review called one of those three (R500HD, M700HD, R250, forget which) "virtually bombproof."
Coach has four R250's on it now. They look good at 7 years old. Smooth, straight, absolutely ZERO signs of checking or separations. What I didn't realize was the two "Bridgestone V-Steel Rib 187" were older (2004 build dates!) and showing cracking parallel to the ribs in a few spots. No sidewall checking on them either. Bridgestone seems to use a compound that keeps its looks.
So at this writing...

Michelin: LTX M/S2 - looks good, better than original LTX M/S which I wouldn't want
XPS Rib - looks great but I can't justify the price

Bridgestone: R250 looks great, XPS Rib qualities at lower price and it's another Highway tire which is what I think is best for our usage
R500HD and M700HD - Unclear what they do that R250 doesn't - probably M/S - need more information. Seem to be priced below R250, wonder what they leave out. R250 (and Mic's XPS RIB) listed re-treadable. If that's the only difference I don't care. Won't be capping RV tires!

Firestone: TransForce HT - Looks like the best Price/Performance

BFG: Commercial T/A AS-2 - Might be OK if it's an updated version. They had AS and now brought out AS-2, sounds a little like Michelin's "-2" release

Goodyear: Wrangler SR-A - Perplexing as it comes in both "LT" (load range E) and the less capable "P" series (not "E" and 800-lbs less capacity per tire)
Wrangler HT - Bears investigation

I've gotten this info from webpages and tire stores. Tomorrow I'll have brands and prices from the Navy base. Last time the price was OK but tires were off-brand. I doubt I'll go that way for RV tires but it'll be interesting to see.

THANKS for your considered thoughts!

Case Pends...

I replaced mine with Firestone Transforce HT , last winter. Because of the Michelin recall going on, could not get Michelins within a reasonable amount of time, to replace the current Michelins(mine were not part of the recall). I find the ride of the Firestones better than my old Michelins, but then it could be related to the age and wear of the old ones. So far happy with the firestones.

So far I've visited five tire shops. Even when I wanted to talk about Brigestone Duravis, specifically R250, most didn't seem to want to. Today the fifth one had somebody showing me tires on the computer and the manager walked up. Asked what we were working on and when she found out made a phone call. Sent me back to the fourth shop where manager was on duty, not the assistant when I was there yesterday. Said our weight called for the commercial grade rib R250's and would rather lose the business than put me in something that wouldn't do the job. So it looks like the plan is to find the best deal and freshest date codes I can find on Duravis R250 tires. The selling price runs about $50 per tire more than the Michelin LTX M/S2, the BFG Commercial, and the Duravis R500. R500 is an All Season or M/S tire and I'd prefer Rib. The M700 costs a little more than R500 and is an All-Terrain tire which I don't need.
I should have all the info I need by tomorrow and hope to get a full set of seven and be done with it for awhile.

j-d wrote:
So far I've visited five tire shops. Even when I wanted to talk about Brigestone Duravis, specifically R250, most didn't seem to want to. Today the fifth one had somebody showing me tires on the computer and the manager walked up. Asked what we were working on and when she found out made a phone call. Sent me back to the fourth shop where manager was on duty, not the assistant when I was there yesterday. Said our weight called for the commercial grade rib R250's and would rather lose the business than put me in something that wouldn't do the job. So it looks like the plan is to find the best deal and freshest date codes I can find on Duravis R250 tires. The selling price runs about $50 per tire more than the Michelin LTX M/S2, the BFG Commercial, and the Duravis R500. R500 is an All Season or M/S tire and I'd prefer Rib. The M700 costs a little more than R500 and is an All-Terrain tire which I don't need.
I should have all the info I need by tomorrow and hope to get a full set of seven and be done with it for awhile.

just went to FS site your tires are 100 more then trans ht but don't see why when i used the compare function

The FS HT is my ONLY option with 16.5" wheels. Put on a full set (they said all my wheels are bent even) and I must say I am very happy with them.

If price is the same or less, go with a proven MH tire j-d.

Jose

YO! Jose! Far as I can tell the TransForce is a very good option.

What is the Load Range of your TF-HT tires in 16.5"? I tried to look it up and couldn't even enter the size...

Our R250's are proven and more. They're just OLD.