Michelin LTX M/S Tires Issue

[dan-nickie]

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I had a blowout on a Michelin 225/75/R16 on the 31 foot MH. The authorized Michelin dealer inspected it and determined it was not a road hazard.

They came on my 2011 MH and date codes show them about 3 years old.
LTX M/S Load Range 'E', Have TPMS, Pressures were good, Under load limits.

Now I had a second one do the same thing. The pictures of them look very similar. On the first one, Michelin prorated the warranty and I got a new tire for about $35 plus install.

But now I'm worried about the other tires left on the MH. I want to ask Michelin to replace all of them with their newer model since the old model has been discontinued.

Anyone have any insight or opinions on this? (like I have to ask 🙂

[RambleOnNW]

I recommend moving to an all-steel tire for better durability. All steel tires have steel in the sidewalls, instead of polyester belts, that have the added benefit of protecting your tire should you scrape it against curbs. These tires are designed for commercial use where the vehicle can be operated fully loaded 24/7.

I switched to the Bridgestone Duravis M895 M+S rated tires a while back and have about 2000 miles on them. The weight per tire difference is significant, 53 lbs/tire for these tire vs 40 lbs/tire for the old tires.

The Bridgestones have a Q speed rating which is a limit of 99 miles/hr. The maximum sustained speed I have driven with them is 65 mi./hr.

Here is the tread pattern, note the sidewall protector ribs:

[BroncosFan]

How To File a Tire Failure Complaint

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/26576898.cfm

Tire Failure Analysis

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/26576852.cfm

[tatest]

If the dealer can't find a cause for damage, I would guess they are defective.

All my tread separations (Cooper STEs, three tires on one trip) have been caused by tire overheating. but they were also known to have this problem. I caught them each as they started riding rough, didn't wait for the separating tread to blow.

You can be within weight limits, properly inflated, and still throw treads because the road is too hot or you are going too fast. At the size and load for these tire on a C motorhome, there is not much safety margin to cover adverse road and speed conditions. Also, with steel belted truck tires, running at highway speeds for just a few miles underinflated by 20% will do damage that can show up much later as tread separation.

I would not replace these with a LTX tire, not even the new ones. I replaced LTX M/S with XPS at six years. This is a substantially heavier tire with steel body cords, as well as the belts, but it has lower speed ratings.Goodyear and Bridgestone also offer all-steel truck tires in this size, Goodyear with an aramid belt ply, but you don't get warranty credit switching brands.