Michelin sidewall cracking . Need advice

[oscar111]

I just came back from inspecting my 2008 Fleetwood Bounder 38P . It has been in storage for the last 2 months since returning from Florida . The sidewalls on all the Michelin XRV 22.5 tires are showing some pretty substantial cracking . I had planned on replacing the two fronts before heading out again but am now worried that I should possibly be better to replace all six . Any advice would be greatly appreciated .

[John_Joey]

That DOT code tells you more then just when the tire was made, it should also tell you where it was made. Could be some factories are just plain better then others. And why not, it's true with so many other things in life.

You're a big fan of the tire as long as it was not made (or a component in it) by factory XYZ. If you're unlucky enough to get those tires (made the day after Cino de Mayo) you're going to have a different opinion on the tires.

"Made in Mexico, assembled in the US" is the T-shirt that always makes me laugh.

[hershey]

J-Rooster wrote:

wolfe10 wrote:
hershey,

A lot of the "why some crack and some don't" is the "care and feeding" they receive. All these are good for the tires and materially reduce side wall cracking and other signs of deterioration:

Driving the coach-- sitting for months without moving is hard on tires-- the emoluments that protect the tire migrate to the surface when the tires heats up while driving.

Storing out of the sun-- indoors, under cover, or with white tire covers if outdoors.

Maintain correct tire pressure.

I have seen 2 year old tires badly cracked-- coach sat unmoved in outdoors with the tires uncovered in Phoenix, AZ. Our tires are 7 years old and zero cracks, but if we are parked for more than 2 nights, I put on white tire covers.

And, again to to OP, what is the tire age from the DOT number?

This is a excellent hard hitting post Brett! Well done! I've done everything that was suggested on the Michelin Tire Care part of there website (Tire are to expensive to be ignored) IMHO! My tires lasted 10 years before they started to crack! I drove home on those Michelin tires, then got them replaced with the same tires XRV's. Michelins website has a post on cracked tires and, Yes you can drive with cracks on your tires if they fall within a certain range of cracking according to Michelins website.

I guess I would have to agree with Brett. Like said, my Michelins have never cracked but we do fulltime so they get exercised frequently. We only travel 4000 miles a year now, same places summer, same places winter so I hope that is sufficient to keep the tires flexed and safe. I do pamper them...always covered and I'm very religious about tire pressure. Checking tires is a lot easier now because we spend more time in the same place and only move every 3 weeks or so.

[J-Rooster]

wolfe10 wrote:
hershey,

A lot of the "why some crack and some don't" is the "care and feeding" they receive. All these are good for the tires and materially reduce side wall cracking and other signs of deterioration:

Driving the coach-- sitting for months without moving is hard on tires-- the emoluments that protect the tire migrate to the surface when the tires heats up while driving.

Storing out of the sun-- indoors, under cover, or with white tire covers if outdoors.

Maintain correct tire pressure.

I have seen 2 year old tires badly cracked-- coach sat unmoved in outdoors with the tires uncovered in Phoenix, AZ. Our tires are 7 years old and zero cracks, but if we are parked for more than 2 nights, I put on white tire covers.

And, again to to OP, what is the tire age from the DOT number?

This is a excellent hard hitting post Brett! Well done! I've done everything that was suggested on the Michelin Tire Care part of there website (Tire are to expensive to be ignored) IMHO! My tires lasted 10 years before they started to crack! I drove home on those Michelin tires, then got them replaced with the same tires XRV's. Michelins website has a post on cracked tires and, Yes you can drive with cracks on your tires if they fall within a certain range of cracking according to Michelins website.

[Snomas]

I replace mine every 5-6 yrs for peace of mine. Check the date codes!!!

[WayneLee]

It's interesting to hear of the problems with Michelin tires. I am the opposite, having just replaced 6 Michelins with 6 new ones because of age. My old tires showed no sign of cracking, had excellent tread depth, and looked almost new.

Wonder if the difference is the tire model? I was running with XZA3's and replaced them with XZA3's, the 16 ply model. The XZA3 is a specially formulated rubber compound for RV use. Michelin includes ozone protection material when forming the tires.

I used FMCA's Michelin program to get a fairly good deal on the tires.

[Bill_S_1]

I do not like Michelin tires, especially Michelin XRV tires. I have had them, and know too many others who have had serious problems with them. 10 years ago, I switched to Goodyear 670RV's. The ride and handling is excellent; no checking or cracking, although between trips, the motorhome is stored inside a climate-controlled building. I would buy them again.

[John_Joey]

Sounds like a good plan.

[oscar111]

Thanks again for all the input . I have decided to change all six and am considering going to Goodyear Rv's or Falken RI 109's .

[RayChez]

Time to change out all six tires. Not worth getting a blowout. Too much damage to the fender well, plus some even the floor gets ripped damaging showers and hydraulic line, you name it. It will be expensive and dangerous getting a blow out.

But I do not think that it is just Michelins that get sun rot. All tires do at around the five to six year mark. Helps if you cover your tires from the sun, but I had it with Michelins at sixty one months and they would not even pro rate the tires. Then I had Toyo tires and I had all six replace for around 1900.00 pro rated.

[rgatijnet1]

I've had too many tires on too many vehicles to know that Michelin are not the only ones with sidewall cracking. It can happen to any brand tire in the right circumstances. Tires are made of rubber and rubber degrades over time. The black is added to help prevent the tire from degrading sooner than if the rubber was left the natural off white color. As the tire changes from nice shiny black to dull grey, the ozone protection ingredients are evaporating. It is primarily caused by tires sitting too long and the various ozone prevention additives leeching out. Tires that are used on a regular basis will last longer and tires where the owner has used some of the various sprays, to make them shine, will develop cracks sooner. Tires left exposed to the sun or anywhere there are high concentrations of ozone will suffer the most.
tire cracks

[John_Joey]

wolfe10 wrote:
A lot of the "why some crack and some don't" is the "care and feeding" they receive. All these are good for the tires and materially reduce side wall cracking and other signs of deterioration:

I respectfully disagree. My buddy who's tires cracked and one blew on him is extremely good at maintaining his rig. He spares no expense(thus the costly Michelin's.) I wouldn't even blink at betting that he takes better care of his rig then 90% of those that read this forum.

His tires went after only two years. I admit he never did cover them, but his dually never sits long enough where it would be worth the time. There simply is something not right, and yes there are recalls out, but how many are they missing do to lack of complaints or loyal customers assuming it was their fault.

[allbrandauto]

as a Maryland auto repair shop and a Maryland state inspector I to see a lot of Michelin car and truck tires that I have to fail because of side wall cracks most tires I fail for sidewall cracks are Michelins don't know why my class a motorhome Michelin tires has sidewall cracks

[smj224]

I have had to replace three sets of Michelin tires on one of my previous vehicles. The vehicle sat in the yard most of the time in Virginia and within two years the sidewalls were shot. I worked with my tire vender to have the tires pro-rated for warrenty replacement and did that process three times. Once I sold the vehicle, I vowed that I would never go that tire route again. I do think Michelin has a problem.

[Mr_Mark1]

We replaced our eight 7 yr. old Michelins (295/80R/22.5) last May with date codes of 2006-4306. The tire center gave me $50 each for my take-off's and they looked good with 57,000 miles on them, no cracks and good tread. We bought the new Michelins through the FMCA Michelin discount program.

Some friends of mine had Goodyears on their '07 Monaco Signature coach and had a lot of trouble with them rivering. They had a blow-out on the driver's side tag that caused some fender damage. They probably weren't as meticulous as me about tire pressure.

I check my tire pressure before every departure and add air if needed as I have my own compressor. I can go six months without adding. The extreme temp changes is when I'm more likely to notice changes. I keep a 10 lb. cushion above what our weight chart recommends.

MM.