Wow! Tires...
A little searching shows just how controversial this topic can be. So I need *one* for sure, and may buy two to keep the same tread depth on the fronts. Going on a Class C Motorhome, but a small o...
Forum Discussion
You got it right jnorton. Only OLD, heavy duty vehicles still have 16.5" tires and Firestone is the only company that seems to make that tire anymore.
Chinook - Let me tell ya ...... there are an awful lot of screwy sounding things I have learned about on these forums. RV's really are a world unto themselves and you have to look around and compare answers. A lot of stuff is anecdotal or "I heard about this one guy ..." type of stuff.
Go look at the web sites of Michelin, Firestone and GoodYear. They all have slightly different statements about replacement on commercial tires, but talk about time frames between 5 - 10 year service lives. Then lookup safety standards through the IIHS and European safety organizations. You come up with maximum service life recommendations of 5-6 years for car or light truck tires.
That is why I said "in a nutshell".
Do your own research, but I have seen several manufacturers (Michelin, Good Year, Firestone) state that they use different emmolients in the rubber of RV tires. RV tires sit for long periods of time and that is a bad thing, so they have different chemistry to help extend tire life. The best thing would be to do something like put a hundred miles on your RV each month. Regular use keeps sidewalls healthy and extends service life.
Jose
Chinook - Let me tell ya ...... there are an awful lot of screwy sounding things I have learned about on these forums. RV's really are a world unto themselves and you have to look around and compare answers. A lot of stuff is anecdotal or "I heard about this one guy ..." type of stuff.
Go look at the web sites of Michelin, Firestone and GoodYear. They all have slightly different statements about replacement on commercial tires, but talk about time frames between 5 - 10 year service lives. Then lookup safety standards through the IIHS and European safety organizations. You come up with maximum service life recommendations of 5-6 years for car or light truck tires.
That is why I said "in a nutshell".
Do your own research, but I have seen several manufacturers (Michelin, Good Year, Firestone) state that they use different emmolients in the rubber of RV tires. RV tires sit for long periods of time and that is a bad thing, so they have different chemistry to help extend tire life. The best thing would be to do something like put a hundred miles on your RV each month. Regular use keeps sidewalls healthy and extends service life.
Jose
