Best national tire chain to buy 6 new tires?

[Cheryl_B]

I know the best price from a chain that is only found in New England is only going to hurt me in the end, so I'm wondering which of the national tire chain stores would be best as far as being able to locate them in whatever area I'm in nationwide.

Leaving CT in another few weeks. Heading West and I'm gonna keep right on going.

[Cheryl_B]

I appreciate all the help. Sorry for my little outburst. Just can't believe how different reality is from the dream, ya know? Reality bites, as they say.

[CapriRacer]

And if I am right that Cheryl has 6" rims, the spacing could be as low as 9 1/2" and still be good - and based on my experience, there is some additional clearance to make sure things work out, so I'm guessing if the spacing is 9 1/4" or greater, Cheryl should be good to go!

[rwgeiser]

There are no Discount Tire Stores in Alaska.

[Cheryl_B]

Wow. Thank you for trying so hard to find the answers by looking at another Chevy Class C. It's hot and nasty here so I will get those measurements up here for all to see by tomorrow. Heading into a less humid, cooler period. I'm hiding inside and pretending I have no cares in the world. I'm very good at avoidance.

[j-d]

CapriRacer wrote:

The minimum dual spacing for an 8.00R16.5 is 9.0" and for an 8.75R16.5, 9.9". That means that the gap between freestanding duals is 1" and 1.15" respectively.

Now I'm going to guess that Cheryl has 6" wide rims, and that means we get 0.3" more to play with.

I'm trying my best. I had errands this morning, so I took my "offset gauges" (a piece of 2x4 and a couple thinner boards, thinking I'd stop at a Chevy based Class C I'd seen sitting for sale in a strip mall parking lot. Reach under and check. Coach was gone.
Then I went to a tire store and asked for the Offset Specs on 8.00 and 8.75 tires. All they could offer was to bring in a couple 8.75's, dismount a pair of 8.00's, mount 8.75's and see what the spacing was. They knew about offset/sidewall clearance, but could not find the specs in their sources, including a call to the tire distributor.
Tires in question were Firestone Transforce, so I pulled up firestonetires.com, and requested "Chat with an Agent" but no reply. I doubt I'll get through before the holiday (maybe the holiday week) is over.

Time to figure out Cheryl's actual Rim Spacing, so:

CHERYL: Front and Center!

In this diagram, posted above, copied here to make it easier for you,
The two top surfaces represent the tread surfaces of a pair of dual tires.



The two words at the bottom are "Dual Spacing" and they're showing it being measured from a point in each rim, that you can't see unless the tires are off the rims.

BUT! You can take your trusty 12" ruler, and measure from any point on the tread of one tire to the same point on the tread of the other. Say a groove runs right down the center of the tread of your tires. Measure the distance from that groove of the inner tire to the same groove on the outer tire.

THAT is your Dual Spacing Specification!!! With that, we can look at Barry's spec of 9.9" and see if you're safe. 9-7/8" is about 9.9" so you're good. More doesn't hurt. I'd go 9-3/4" but much less is a concern. That's just me, and I've been around a lot but I'm NOT a Tire Man and CapriRacer is.

Shouldn't be this difficult, but remember, the kid at the tire store, even the assistant manager, was in K4 when Chevy quit 16.5" tires.

[Sam_Spade]

Cheryl_B wrote:
I'm sorry, but y'all are overwhelming me. I don't know what I got myself into with this thread. I'm over my head. I just want new tires. How hard can this possibly be? The tire people do know how to do their job, right?

And I GAVE you the answer that you NEED......twice.

The "national tire chains" operate on volume. They do cars and light trucks. Most of them REALLY don't want to mess with motorhomes and big trucks AT ALL. As a result, they know little about them.

FIND A TRUCK TIRE SHOP NEAR YOU. Call ahead to tell them what you have, get prices and make an appointment. DONE.

[CapriRacer]

Cheryl_B wrote:
I'm sorry, but y'all are overwhelming me. I don't know what I got myself into with this thread. I'm over my head. I just want new tires. How hard can this possibly be? The tire people do know how to do their job, right?

Sure the tire people know how to do their job, but if they don't have the correct tire available, then what? That's what we are dealing with - a 30 year old vehicle with obsolete, barely available tires.

So if you think it can't be difficult, we'll stop right here and you can run down to your corner tire shop and deal with them - and when they tell you they can't get anything that fits, you'll be back here - a bit more humble.

j-d wrote:
....... I've looked at your 16.5 writeup a lot, and sent a bunch of people to it. The chart furnishes the Dual Spacing for say 225/75R16E to replace 8.00 or 8.75/16.5

But what we need now for Cheryl's project is dual spacing for 8.00/16.5 and 8.75/16.5 to see how much gap between sidewalls on 8.75 replacing 8.00 would be. Then would that be enough? I'm trying to find the dual spacing specs for 16.5's and no joy so far. Do you have that info? .......

The minimum dual spacing for an 8.00R16.5 is 9.0" and for an 8.75R16.5, 9.9". That means that the gap between freestanding duals is 1" and 1.15" respectively.

Now I'm going to guess that Cheryl has 6" wide rims, and that means we get 0.3" more to play with.

[Cheryl_B]

I'm sorry, but y'all are overwhelming me. I don't know what I got myself into with this thread. I'm over my head. I just want new tires. How hard can this possibly be? The tire people do know how to do their job, right?

[j-d]

Barry,

I've looked at your 16.5 writeup a lot, and sent a bunch of people to it. The chart furnishes the Dual Spacing for say 225/75R16E to replace 8.00 or 8.75/16.5

But what we need now for Cheryl's project is dual spacing for 8.00/16.5 and 8.75/16.5 to see how much gap between sidewalls on 8.75 replacing 8.00 would be. Then would that be enough? I'm trying to find the dual spacing specs for 16.5's and no joy so far. Do you have that info?

I was working on the premise that 8.75's, being 0.75-inch (3/4") wider than 8.00, would narrow the gap by 3/4" (3/8" for outer tire + 3/8" for inner, 6/8" or 3/4") less than 8.00's.

That was when I thought of the 2x4 as a "feeler gauge." At pavement level, it'll have to fit between the sidewall "bulges." If it fits tight, there's about 1-5/8" spacing. Loose, up toward 2". I hope she has 1-3/4" or more now, with 8.00's. Then 8.75's would take it down to 1". That's what I have on the rear tires of our coach. Different chassis, but they're the 225/75R16E that's pretty close to an 8.75R16.5E, and I'd feel Cheryl'd be OK with that. Just keep tires inflated to say 65 PSI so there's a little less bulge. I run 75 but our coach is much heavier, 9200 pounds on the rear axle per CAT Scale.

I'd rather see Cheryl on New, Quality, 8.75R16.5's than pay about the same for used 16" wheels with cheap tires. Firestone Transforce seems to fill the bill for an 8.75R16.5 of decent quality and reputation and relatively low price.

There is nothing "wrong" with 16.5's from a user standpoint.

[CapriRacer]

Cheryl,

Your truck is 30 years old. It's bound to have parts that are going to be difficult to find. Tires is only part of the problem.

JD is right. You have 3 options - none of which is perfect.

If I were in your shoes, I would opt for the 8.75R16.5's, but only after checking the dual spacing. I am pretty sure it won't be according to spec, as most vehicle manufacturers used spacing for the size they supplied and not larger! But it might be enough to live with. If you go this route, you need to adopt a regular inspection procedure for those tires. Duals that "kiss" result in an unusual failure mode, but it is detechable before it is catastrophic.

[j-d]

Looking for more information, I found there are a few 8.00/16.5 tires out there, and a few 8.75/16.5 tires as well, that are NOT Radials. They are the old "Bias Ply" design. You want to save some $ but please don't cut that low. Bias doesn't track as well as radial, they don't last nearly as long, and perhaps the worst: They develop Flat Spots. We had a Dodge van that came with 800 bias tiers. For the first mile every day on my way to work, it felt like the wheels were square. Try to push it out of the garage by hand, it wouldn't budge. Went to 875 radials. They drove smoothly, and I could give it one handed push in the garage and then go chase it down the driveway.

[j-d]

Here's a pictorial of Dually Spacing aka Offset
I hope I can get those spacing specs for the 800 and the 875 tires. The very top of the image is the tread of the tires. Between them, the sidewalls, is the space I want you to check, except down at the pavement.

[Cheryl_B]

j-d wrote:
Yeah, You! Dual tires add a level of complexity that 4-wheel pickup and van owners don't have the spacing issues. Then over the years, all different kinds of Wheel Centering, sometimes called Piloting.

When I bought the seven from Pep Boys, we agreed on a price for "all six" and I said I needed a spare thrown in at that price. They did it.

Yeah, You! That's what I needed to hear. I have my marching orders. Will be back when I have more updates. Thank you all for your input. This is allot freakier than I thought it would ever be.

I hope you're all just messing with me. Will be back with the results. I promise.

[j-d]

Yeah, You! Dual tires add a level of complexity that 4-wheel pickup and van owners don't have the spacing issues. Then over the years, all different kinds of Wheel Centering, sometimes called Piloting.

When I bought the seven from Pep Boys, we agreed on a price for "all six" and I said I needed a spare thrown in at that price. They did it.

[Cheryl_B]

j-d wrote:
If you'll give me till Monday, I'll go to Discount Tire and try to confirm the dual spacing for the 875 tires vs the 800's you have now.

You mean me? You've got time. I'm not rushing out to get the tires. Even in less of a rush now that I asked this question on RV.net. I don't know why everything is so complicated. I just thought I was going to haggle on the cost of 6 new tires and drive away with a big smile on my face.