Tire Replacement

[garyde]

I am in the process of shopping for tires for the back tag and rear duals. I have recieved quotes of approx. $765.00 each for Michelins and about half that for Firestones. Of Coarse , there are several Japanese tires and other American tires I can get quotes on as well.
Putting aside the Chinese tire discussion, what other than Michelins do other POG members use and why. Is Firestone a reliable tire? Are there others to consider.
Since mileage is not as much a factor as age, do some tire companies hold up as well as Michelin.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Gary,

I think we are all interested in the response to your questions.

All I can say right now is the Chinese tires still hold air and they are still riding as good as the Michelins based on the unscientific sense I get in my rear end (mine, not the bus's).

But one or two buses worth of experience is severely lacking in depth of information. The real question should be directed at the charter bus companies in your area, especially the larger ones. They can accumulate data very fast and their concerns while based on tread wear unlike ours based on age will mirror ours with respect to on-road failures, smoothness of ride, ability to stay in balance, etc.

The biggest bus companies around here are school bus operators and that is not a parallel to our concerns.

Feel like doing some research in your quest for tires and writing an article?

[bluevost]

GaryD,

When I purchased my Eagle bus, it had 3 different kinds of tires in 6 different stages of wear. The first thing I did was to buy 8 new Goodyears, I think G357, in 24 1/2". I had them on the bus for over 4 years, Alaska and back, Texas and back, Colorado and back a few times, Branson and back, etc. No complaints at all. Mike "Buster" Simmons had Goodyears on his bus. I am due for new tires this spring, and I am going to give Goodyear a serious look.

Ken

[MangoMike]

Gary,

The New H3 had Toyo's all around. So far am very pleased and had a recent price quote of $500 per tire plus mounting.

Mike

[win42]

Gary: I put Sumitomo tires on my Royale. They were a step up in ride mainly because they replaced tires that were beyond their time. I will look to Goodyear first the next time around, only because they are an American company. I do not think we are buying more with the Michelin name. We only get 60 months use from them. We may find a way to lease them like the major companies do. We keep them for the first two years and let them have them and wear them out. If this arrangement could be structured to save us money in the long run, why not. I'll check with my cousin that drives for Walmart and see how they handle theirs. I guess our weird sizes will blow a hole in this theory.(no pun intended)

[Petervs]

Hi Gary,

Well, we all get to the tire problem eventually.

First off, we do not all use the same size tires, so it would be helpful to state what size we are talking about when we post about tires.

My coach has 315-80R22.5 Michelins now, and I was recently quoted $740 each installed. This is an uncommon size, no place stocks them, and they cost a lot more than the more common 12 R22.5 I got about 3 quotes and they were all very close. I was only asking about Michelins at the time.

Further research led me to a price of $325 delivered to me but unmounted for Chinese rubber tires in the same size. I would have to pay about $70 each for mounting, balancing, and disposal at some local shop. That makes it 55% of Michelin all done with no shop to complain to if there was a problem. I decided I would rather keep the Michelins on there for 10 years than drive around on Chinese for 5 years each; at essentially the same net cost.

Then I started searching the net and found there are quite a few exporters who will gladly sell you a container load of tires at lower prices. Turns out 240 tires of my size fills a container . The price each would drop to about $250 plus the mount and balance. But I would have 232 tires left over, perhaps some of my POG buddies would like them? 30 coaches equals a container load. That is not too bad, but the savings are not that incredible either.

So far I have done nothing, the coach is in the garage for now so there is no urgency yet.

I also found the California Tow Truck Association has some kind of special deal with Michelin to get tires at quite a savings. They are shipped to a Michelin dealer who installs them for you. Those worked out to about $600 each, but I never got an answer from the CTTA . I was thinking I could easily start a tow operation, right? Then again, maybe POG could get a similar discount deal arranged with Michelin. I have no clue how to set that up though.

Looking forward to hearing further ideas from you all.

[Kevin Erion]

Peter, correct me if I am wrong but I think the five year time will limit you on the Michelin or Chinese tire. We all face the same problem with getting to the time out before the wear out period. I feel that after five years you are traveling on borrowed time that could cost a lot more than just a new tire.
I installed Goodyear RV tires on my 99 Marathon, 315R80-22.5 and although I needed some help due to irregular wear, Goodyear stepped up and gave me 4 new tires for the labor only after 32000 miles. I will keep using them as long as they will keep changing them FOC due to a funny wear pattern.
Kevin

[Ray Davis]

How much did you save with the Goodyears? As I remember when I was looking for tires about 15 months ago, I was going to use Goodyear. But, they weren't supporting the 8.5 rims which were on my rear wheels.

Ultimately they "said" that if Michelin supported the smaller wheels, they would.

But, as I remember the cost difference was $100, and I didn't want to mess with a "maybe supported" for $100 per tire.

Ray

[Petervs]

Kevin,
This whole business of replacing tires after 5 years is one of the most amazing sales jobs I have ever heard of, right up there with putting nitrogen in tires or buying the $350 "paint protectant coating" at the new car dealer! There is nothing magic that happens to a tire once it is 5 years old.

There is a great deal that happens to a tire during its life depending on how it is driven, what it is driven over, what inflation pressure it is run at, where it is stored, ambient temperatures it is stored at, how often it is removed for a flat repair or whatever, etc....

The calendar life limit is but one small factor. Do you change your car tires at 5 years? Do the truckers change their tires at five years just because the calendar says so? Of course not. Usually heavy trucks are driven enough that the tread might be worn down by then. Maybe.

Aircraft tires are not changed on a calendar basis, at least mine aren't. Airliners would wear them out much faster by use, but private airplanes often have tires that last 10 years or more. Business jets too.

I believe tire condition is important. Examine the tread depth and evenness. Check out the condition of the rubber sidewalls. Consider where and how the coach is stored. Consider your driving experiences with them. Have you run over lots of curbs? Consider the weight the tire is carrying compared to it's rated capacity.

Then again, consider what will happen if you have a tire failure. One possibility is it will not hold air. If you are filling it all the time, better replace it if you can't find the leaky valve stem. Not a big deal.

Another possibility is it fails while driving, well, that could happen with a new tire if you hit a sharp object just as easily. A simple flat tire might be a little inconvenient if on a trip, or could become a big deal. If a tag or driver tire goes flat, you can easily drive slowly to a repair location. Only the front tires become a "you are stuck there" problem. There is the possibility of a catastrophic failure that damages the coach, but that would be unusual and uncommon, and as before, could happen with a new tire too.

It is really a matter of deciding you want to spend $6000 on tires every 5 years or considering the minor extra risk there might be if you did not do it that often. There are plenty of other parts on the coach you might want to replace on a calendar basis too if you want to get carried away with this approach. Air bags, shock absorbers, brake actuators, all the fluids, radiators, hoses of all types......this can get absurd. Better sell the coach and buy a new one every couple of years. Prevost would be happy, the converters would be happy, and the used coach dealers would be happy too.

So, I have analyzed the overall situation for MY coach and decided I should have front tires that are not too old, but for the rears I am not so concerned. And as I said before, I would rather drive on 10 year old Michelins than 4-5 year old Chinese cheapo tires. That is my opinion. Obviously everyone should draw their own conclusions. But blindly replacing perfectly good Michelins on the 1825th day seems ridiculous to me. If you do that, please give them to me and I will use them a while longer!

[Kevin Erion]

Ray, I got the inside deal with my Race Team deals. I still think the tires are working OK.
Kevin