pnichols wrote:
BigToe wrote:
Tire Choices for Ford E-Series Cutaway Class C Motorhomes
What replacement tires did you put on your Class C motorhome built on a Ford E-350 or E-450 (aka E-Superduty in older rigs) cutaway chassis, and what were your reasons for your tire selection?
Did you stick with the stock tire size of LT225/75r16 ?
Did you go taller and skinnier, changing to LT215/85r16 ?
Did you go taller and wider, changing to LT235/85r16?
Did you upgrade to 10 ply rating Load Range "E"? (If you have an older E-350 originally specified with 8 ply rated Load Range "D")
Did you switch to European style 225/75r16C, such as what is specified for Euro van cutaways like the Transit and Sprinter?
Have you had an experience with any particular brand and model of tire for your E-350/450 RV that caused you to swear "never again"?
Do you have a particular brand and model of tire that is your trusted "go to"?
Thank you!
We have a smaller (24 ft.) Class C for just the DW & myself. We wanted a Class C which provided all the comforts of home for two in varied weather conditions, while at the same time providing enough travel/camping flexibility and chassis ruggedness so as to amost match what a 2WD TC could provide. We do take our Class C carefully offroad at times.
As such, we searched for and bought it new built on the optional-for-it's-weight heavier duty E450 chassis instead of the common E350 chassis usually used for small Class C rigs.
At the first tire change opportunity we did not go for the stock LT225/75R16 Load Range E tires that came on it. We instead chose LT215/85R16 size Load Range E tires. These tires are rated for the same weight carrying capacity - but are taller for more offroad ground clearance. Plus as a bonus they are slightly narrower so as to both provide more space between the dually sidewalls for improved sidewall air cooling when on the highway during high ambient air temperatures and ... they "punch through to the underneath hard road surface" better under slush and snow conditions due to their higher pounds-per-square-inch downwards tread pressure.
As for "guaranteed quality", our Class C came with Michelin LT tires, so we bit the expense bullet and replaced them with Michelin LT215/85R16 tires.
For another vehicle (non-RV) I was recently at the tire shop talking with the sales person. I asked about changing the tire size (taller tire). On my particular vehicle, he mentioned that if I changed the tire size it would make the speedometer off (speed and distance) as the car/computer/etc is calibrated for the manufacturer's recommended tire size. I found that interesting. The same could/might apply on an RV (not sure). Whether that matters to you when selecting tires is purely up to you.
Safe travels!
Chris
