Tires (again)

[just4mrg]

Just asking the expertise of the forum. I bought a used 2010 Jayco Melbourne. Has a set of Michelin LT225/75R16. My question is the previous owner stored this Motorhome in a garage for the first six years unless camping. I know all about the 5-6 year rule, but a set of 6 of these is around $3,000. Do you think with the indoor storage I would be safe going longer? They only have 17k miles on them. Thanks. Just looking for the expert opinions of the members

[just4mrg]

Oh yeah...$70 dollar rebate as well!

[just4mrg]

Good morning all. Just an update on my tire situation. After all the great advice (as always) and considering the DOT date (June '09) I figured 7 years time enough. My first quote of about $3000 was indeed highway robbery. Went to Mavis and was out the door under $1600 for a set of 6 Michelin LTX M/S 2. Love these and the DOT date is July of '16. What a great feeling knowing I am not riding on 7 year old rubber. Small price to pay for peace of mind. Thanks again gang.

[CharlesinGA]

If you want Michelins, consider joining the Family Motor Coach Association and for $50 it will get access to the Michelin Advantage Program which gets you deep discounts on Michelin tires. You actually pay Michelin for the tires, and the dealer for the mount/balance, and you get prices that lower than any sane dealer will quote.

Charles
2007 Winnebago View 523H on a 2006 Dodge (Daimler-Chrysler aka Mercedes) Sprinter 3500 chassis (T1N). Bought Sept 2015 with 18K miles on it, Prog Ind HW30C, Prog Dymanics PD4645, Chill Grille, PML/Yourcovers.com deep alum trans pan, AutoMeter 8558 trans temp gauge, Roadmaster sway bar, Fantastic Ultra Breeze hood, added OEM parabolic mirrors and RH aspherical mirror.

[SoCalDesertRid1]

I like the Hankook tires. They aren't expensive and seem to last as long as more expensive ones.

[Sam_Spade]

jtrux wrote:
so if it was stored inside and have minimal use and no apparent cracking is evident, I would say that they are good to go.

And in many cases you would be wrong.

What about how many nasty pot holes it has hit ?
And how many times it has hit the curb ?
And how long it has sat is one position causing a flat spot in the belt ??

The fact IS that you can not always SEE the signs of damage or progressive degeneration because it occurs inside.

[jtrux]

UV rays beat tires up badly. This is why covering them is such a good idea. Storing inside is better, of course, so if it was stored inside and have minimal use and no apparent cracking is evident, I would say that they are good to go.

[Toot_Mc]

you are looking in the wrong place for tires....!!!! I just replaced all 6 of my Same tire as yours for less than 1500$$$$ at Discount Tire here in Houston Area. That included road hazard insurance.

[DrewE]

I think most tire manufacturers recommend a competent inspection (which involves unseating the tire and inspecting the inside as well as the outside) annually after about 7 years and replacement if they show signs of needing it during inspection or unconditionally at somewhere around 10 years. Often, especially for less expensive tires, the cost of inspection is close enough to the cost of new tires that it's questionable whether it's worth doing vs. just replacing.

Tires (and batteries, for that matter) last noticeably longer in northern climates than in hot southern climates. I would not personally have any hesitation with using seven year old tires on a vehicle stored indoors in New York if they seemed to otherwise be in good condition.

[craz_z]

Thanks to everyone here. My opinion is slightly different.

I have so much distrust in the tire changing industry I finally decided NO one but me will work on my tires. I bought a tire changing machine and balancer. After countless years of morons and finger pointing at everyone at the tire shops but themselves I had enough.

If I need help I at the very least have a torque wrench in hand at all times.


I got the tireman stems. HIGHLY recommend thanks to everyone here. Wouldn't be without. pressure checks were nearly 30minutes now down to 2-5 minutes. And yes extenders are trash.

My next big purchase will be a TPMS monitor. I kinda think if you want to stretch your time out this is the only scientific way to know when something bad might happen. Reading countless threads the rotting starts inside not outside of the tire.

I believe at this point (im still working age) I put 5-6k miles per year. I've been running cheap tires. Trazano, now Pathfinder (discount tire). My thoughts are dump them 3-4 years and get new ones. I buy direct and install myself so all in im at about 600-700$ Basically I can change anytime I want and can reset the timer 2-3 times before buying one set of spendy michelins.

Longer trips and out of country trips 10-12k/year I would certainly consider michelins. I'm really interested in steel sidewalls which few tires have.

If its light use (which most rv's are) I don't see a big problem with cheaper tires. I do try not to buy real knockoffs like Chinese tires. I think the pathfinders are kuhmo's, Mastercrafts coopers etc.

If your fulltiming or doing big trips months at a time i'd consider the michelins. (check costco) they deal michelins.

But be very vigilant about the age. and don't except ANY new tires 1-2 years old before they see a rim. I'm averaging 5-6 months old. (this is tough sometimes and accepted for passenger cars, but not rv's and make it my mission upon tire shopping to get a date code before I buy anything.)

8-9 year old tires with the weight an rv carries can cost 10-20k$ in damage from just one blowout!

I've seen the light on tires here and you will too if you read enough threads.

There is centuries of knowledge here that have been through it all! I have listened an have had not one issue yet thanks to the good folks here at RV.net!

I tell anyone that listens about how serious tires really are. I still don't get the number one safety item on a car is dealt with by someone getting paid 10$ an hour. There should be a safety certification program and higher wages to go along with them. Maybe then I'd go back to a tire shop.

[Bordercollie]

Have the tire store check with Michelin about whether your tires are on recall.
I had some tires that I thought weren't eligible for recall but Allen tire store determined that they were eligible. Six Michelin tires for your rig should cost around $1800 total. Tires that have sidewall cracks are prone to come apart from pounding on concrete pavement on hot days. If existing tires have original rubber valve stems, "bite the bullet" and have long solid metal custom formed valve stems installed.(Tire Man or Borg or Camping World) They make checking air pressure much easier with beauty disks on wheels. Don't use cheap screw-on "extenders". They are prone to leak and can lead to tire failure from running soft. Tires and brakes are crucial to safety of RV's. Have brake fluid replaced if it has not been done in the last two years. It absorbs water and can cause brake fade on long grades. Have entire brake system checked and serviced as needed. Have engine cooling system checked and serviced as needed.
Have house batteries load tested and check whether the converter/charger is charging them when rig is plugged into "shore power" Should read 13.6 volts at battery terminals when rig has been plugged into shore power for 24 hours.
Batteries last about 10 years if kept charged properly and electrolyte levels are maintained with distilled water.

[Sam_Spade]

ron.dittmer wrote:
My plan is to get at least 3 more years, maybe longer pending if I see significant sidewall or between-thread cracking. So far no cracking of any kind, not even very minor. They still look like new and are wearing well too.

This is a dangerously short-sighted plan. You often can not SEE the wear and tear that causes the failure.

Last year I bought a 7 year old used C. The tires looked "like new".
One of then threw a tread a month later.
Thankfully I wasn't going too fast at the time.

You are, of course, free to do whatever stupid thing you want but advising others to follow your plan is irresponsible.

[just4mrg]

Thanks all of you. The first price of $500 was from a Michelin dealer. I will definitely shop around. Agreed that my average is around 3000 miles a year. Is there any brands to stay away from? In other words, tires are personal. I get that. But has anyone heard of real life horror stories with any particular brands? Thanks all.

[pnichols]

Look for sidewall cracks - if the sidewalss aren't cracked and the tread area is still thick - you might be able to get a couple more years out of them.

$3000 sounds WAY HIGH. My last set of seven (including the spare) Michelin M&S2 tires for our Class C cost only a little over $1800.

By the way, both the Michelin M&S and M&S2 tire lines have now been replaced with their M&S "Defender" tire line ... so if you do get a net set of Michelins be sure and ask for their latest M&S Defender tires. I have a new set of these on our rig as of early this summer.

I use the 215/85R16 Load Range E Michelin tire size on our Class C so as to get more ground clearance and less rolling friction, while at the same time having the same weight carrying capacity.

[ron_dittmer]

just4mrg wrote:
Just asking the expertise of the forum. I bought a used 2010 Jayco Melbourne. Has a set of Michelin LT225/75R16. My question is the previous owner stored this Motorhome in a garage for the first six years unless camping. I know all about the 5-6 year rule, but a set of 6 of these is around $3,000. Do you think with the indoor storage I would be safe going longer? They only have 17k miles on them. Thanks. Just looking for the expert opinions of the members

Our 2007 Phoenix Cruiser motor home HERE is always garage kept when not in-use. The house portion is built on a 2007 E350 with the same original tires as you have. They now have 30,000 miles of use. So our Michelin LTX M/S LT225/75 R16 tires are now 9 years old. My plan is to get at least 3 more years, maybe longer pending if I see significant sidewall or between-thread cracking. So far no cracking of any kind, not even very minor. They still look like new and are wearing well too.

If your rig is on the smaller/lighter side, I think you can get another 6 years of regular use. Just watch for sidewall or between-thread cracking or other concerns. If your class C/B+ rig is 28-32 feet long and over-loaded, I think you are still safe to use them, but consider replacing them a few years earlier, again assuming they pass inspection. I feel shorter/lighter rigs can stretch tire-life for longer periods because they carry less weight with lower PSI.

Our first motor home, we owned for 24 years. It too was garage kept, and it was very light weight. We sold it with it's second set of tires.