Michelin LT 225/75r16.....your opinion?

[stew9483]

Hey all, I am sure this has been posted somewhere before but I just purchased a 2015 32 foot Thor Chateau model 31E in September. It has 3000 miles on it and comes equipped with the michelin lt225/75r16 tires. For those of you who have had these on there Class C, what is your opinion of them? Do they hold up well? Just curious since mine is a large Class C if they will last. Scared to death of a potential blow out so I keep them aired up and clean and covered all the time. Please share your opinions if you have personally had these on yours. Thank you in advance.

[Mich_F]

cgmartine wrote:
To start with, you can disregard what you read on Face Book. Second, your tires are Michelin, one of the best, if not the best brand. Your motorhome is a 2015 and has 3,000 miles, so your tires are brand new. With proper maintenance, they should be good for at least 50,000. Also, unless there is some very bad unusual wear, you can also disregard rotation for another few thousand miles.

x 3

You can also disregard a lot of what you read on this site. Those 225/75/16 tires are more than adequate for your MH.The 2 front tires combined, are rated for 5,360#,on a 5,000# rated axle, while the rear duals are rated for 9,880# on a 9,600# axle. If you overloaded those tires, you already have overloaded an axle or two.
You don't need tires rated for the GCWR of the vehicle. Your trailer tires would be supporting the weight of what's being towed, other than the tongue weight which would be included in your GVW.
All that being said, you have to be mindful of what weight you're running. It's quite easy to overload many of the class Cs out there. Some have plenty of OCCC, while others have not so much.

[j-d]

neil, I still don't think the coach's tires need to be rated all the way to the combined weight. But I can see what you're saying. Did your friend's race trailer/RV combination got into a porpoising motion where the tongue load went way up every time the combination bounced? Overloading the rear axle and tires?

[beachcomber_1]

Please don't put large tires on the same wheels. the spacing would allow the tires to rub on each other. Boom!!!

[neil57]

JD, I am being careful, just like to see a little reserve capacity on tire loading. Towing anything behind will add tongue weight and work the tires harder pulling it. Friend pulls a 25 ft race trailer behind his 30ft motor home and had to go to larger tire after 2 blow outs with brand new tires and $4500 damage to his motor home (Khumo) If OP not going to pull anything it is all good, just trying to help with my own experience.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

I live in Canada where tire rot is less of a concern (lower temperatures). My Michelin tires lasted for 9 years and 60,000 miles. There was lots of tread left but I was concerned with the age.

When I replaced them I got new wheels and went to a taller wider tire. That gave me a mileage advantage on the flat prairie driving that I do.

[stew9483]

Thanks for everyones comments. I appreciate them all. Checked my tires this morning and they are indeed the MS2's. Just ready to get out there and start camping this spring. Hope to see some of you at a campground somewhere.

[dicknellen]

cgmartine wrote:
To start with, you can disregard what you read on Face Book. Second, your tires are Michelin, one of the best, if not the best brand. Your motorhome is a 2015 and has 3,000 miles, so your tires are brand new. With proper maintenance, they should be good for at least 50,000. Also, unless there is some very bad unusual wear, you can also disregard rotation for another few thousand miles.

X 2. Dick

[cgmartine]

To start with, you can disregard what you read on Face Book. Second, your tires are Michelin, one of the best, if not the best brand. Your motorhome is a 2015 and has 3,000 miles, so your tires are brand new. With proper maintenance, they should be good for at least 50,000. Also, unless there is some very bad unusual wear, you can also disregard rotation for another few thousand miles.

[j-d]

Careful, Neil. He has a gVwr of 14500 and his tires reach that with a little reserve. The gCwr of 22000 is his coach at up to 14500 plus a towed vehicle or trailer of up to the difference. More practically capped around 5000 by chassis extension and hitch limitations.

And, KD4, recall was on LTX MS. They were replaced with LTX MS/2 and that's what the OP has, on a 2015 coach so dates will be good even if they were made in 2014.

There's really no worries here. Just weigh and set the pressure.

[neil57]

These tires are rated 2680 lbs load ( less probably for duals) so 6 @ 2680 would be 16,080 lbs which is a lot less than the 22,000 gcwr. claimed. Need to weigh your rig and get axle weights with your camping gear onboard. Your quoted gcwr is more likely a gross tow rating. Best to upgrade to a larger tire like a 265/75 with a load of 3415 per tire in a Michelin LTX. for example. JMHO

[KD4UPL]

I had those tires on my '05 dually that caries my truck camper while pulling a boat. I had about 20,000 miles on the first set. They were great, no problems at all but there was a recall. So, Michelin gave me a new set. I now have 40,000 on that set with no problems. They ride great.
My truck and camper fully loaded weight about 13,000 pounds, 9,000 of that is on the rear axle. When towing the boat I'm about 18,000 pounds total weight.
So, they do work. But, if I had the money I'd love to switch to 19.5" rims and tires for more capacity.

[j-d]

That 223" number is my first piece of good RV news in 2016! That should put good weight on your front end and keep the rear out of overload.

Our 31-ft has 218-in WB with weights 4600 Front (65-PSI) and 9250 Rear (75-PSI).

Till you get actual weights, my pressure suggestions for you are:

FRONT: 70-75 PSI

REAR: 75-80 PSI

Those get you right to the max axle ratings. Notice that the tire is rated to carry a little more in Single than in Dual.

Do not run the Front at any more pressure than weight calls for. The contact patch with the road gets smaller with excess pressure and that compromises tracking on the road.

[352]

stew9483 wrote:
Hey all, I am sure this has been posted somewhere before but I just purchased a 2015 32 foot Thor Chateau model 31E in September. It has 3000 miles on it and comes equipped with the michelin lt225/75r16 tires. For those of you who have had these on there Class C, what is your opinion of them? Do they hold up well? Just curious since mine is a large Class C if they will last. Scared to death of a potential blow out so I keep them aired up and clean and covered all the time. Please share your opinions if you have personally had these on yours. Thank you in advance.

Keeping the tires covered is a good thing. What many people forget to do is prevent moisture from the ground to the tire. That is where dry rot begins. Put some kid of plastic between the tire and ground. Wood and concrete absorb water, so don't use them

[DrewE]

chinook440 wrote:
Just my opinion of course but that size tire on a 32' motorhome is pushing the limits . .That same size tire and load range is used on 19' passenger vans .

It should be noted that passenger vans (nearly always) have single rear wheels, while motorhomes of that size have dualies. There are a great many class C motorhomes and other fairly large vehicles built on the van chassis that use these tire sizes safely.

They are probably not too far from their design maximums (assuming the usual load range E), so care with weight and balance and inflation is important.