Tire Replacement

[garyde]

OK, Here is what I have learned to date; 315/80R 22.5,

a. Yokohamas = 6 for $3300.00 before tax Ventura, Calif.
b. Michelins = 6 for 5162.00 incl tax Ventura
c. Firestone = 6 for 3515.00 incl. tax Ventura
d. Sumatomo = 6 for 3185.00 incl. tax Ventura
e. Michelins = 6 for 5470.00 incl tax Santa Barbara, Calif.
f. Michelins = 6 for 4950.00 incl. tax Prevost, Mira Loma

My tires have approx 63k miles to date and have about 1/4 to 3/8" tread remaining. so I believe I am ready to change out, plus the tags are rounded at the edge of both side of each tire. They are about 5 years of age.
If all pricing is equal in terms of labor , recycle, tax, etc. I am about $1700.00 difference between the lowest cost Japanese tire and the lowest cost Michelin Tire Quote. I don't believe I can justify purchasing anything but the Michelin for that difference.
Prevost will only sale Michelins so that tells me they prefer this tire to any others .
The Tire dealer in Ventura said there are 13 or so Tire Plants in China. But only three can be trusted to produce a reliable tire. Sounds like a spin of the roulette wheel to me.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

I asked my tire guy what the charter companies were running and what they cost.

Most are running Kumho 315-80, 365 bucks a tire tax and instalation included.

I also got a price on Michelin XZ 315-80 and they were 652 bucks tax and mounting included.

Gary if you go to that prevo rally in Canada maybe you should hold off on that purchase and get them coming through Illinois. Our guy is 5 min. from I-80. Just a thought, looks like it could save you close to 1500 on 8 of the Michelin.

Stoney tire 1 708 474 4114 They would also sell your old ones for dump trlr tires for somewhere in between 75 and 100 each depending on condition.

When we bought our bus I was ignorant to tire codes and age concerns. On the truck I can run a new set of tires bald in 1 and 1/2 years max so up until the bus it was a non-issue.

The bus has Michelin with better than 80% tread no adverse wear patterns however after learning tire codes found they are all 2001.

Our bus has always been stored outside to my knowledge and currently all tires have dry-rot cracking. I have seen this before and am familiar with it. When we bought our bus the tires would have been right at 5 years old and I know that they were already showing signs of cracking. So much for that Michelin quality.

I would have to assume if parked inside the cracking would be reduced regardless of make. I have NEVER seen cracking on the inside of a tire, only out. I have begun to replace them but because of the cracking. I do not think that the age issue is as important as physical condition. If we had tires with older codes but still look good I would run them.

As for make I have run Michelin and bridgestone both, on the steer, and after much aggravation trying to balance them started using ANYTHING, literally buying the lowest cost tire the tire shop would have at the time.

I discovered the off brand tires do not have balance issues, wear just as good, last just as long and ride the same for a whole lot less.

I have gone over half a million miles through gravel pits and very undesirable off road construction conditions and have never blown a off brand steer tire.

[win42]

Why am I not suprised a French speaking bus builder would only use a French speaking tire manufacture. Joe has the slant and experiance on this subject. I'm amazed we all ask and few listen.

[garyde]

In speaking with the Tire people, the speed rating of the tire comes up. Do the Japanese, and American tires have the same speed ratings as Michelin. As Joe mentoned cracking is a big deal. My first RV had cracking on Michelins on the inside walls of the tires and so I did not realise the problem until my 2nd blow out in one year. Those tires were about 5 years old, so I replaced all of them.

[dale farley]

My Michelins were about 5 1/2 years old when one blew out and wiped out my air bag with it. Two days and $1800 later I was back on the road.

[Just Plain Jeff]

Some observations about tires.

We've gone over much of this in the past, but here goes again...

The 'official' word from Prevost Car is that their products were designed, tested and fitted with Michelin tires. They only recommend Michelin tires.

As Gary noted, in the 'motorhome' application, most tires fail due not to tread or sidewall wear per se but due to dry rot, which begins on the inside of the tire, which of course, is not easily visible.

For more frequent and higher use applications, many fleet operators use Toyo, Kumho and Yokohama tires, but they are changing tires due to mileage and wear much more frequently than 5 years. In speaking with some entertainment coach drivers, they usually figure that they get about 100,000 miles on tires prior to replacement, but again, that's way before 5 years.

My take on all of this goes something like this: If you can save, say $200/tire that's $1600. Amortized over about 5 years, you're saving just $300 and some change each year by going with a non-Michelin product, which may indeed serve you well.

Don't know about West Coast driving, but in the Florida environment, a motorhome is about the worst way of treating a tire. Drive like crazy to get there, stop for the winter in very hot, humid environment with a lot of direct sunlight on tires, don't drive that much over the winter and then drive like crazy going back.

Each spring, around Exit 1 in Georgia there are tons of RV's, trailers and automobiles pulled over to the side of the road with blown tires. This suggests that once they heat up, the over-age tires are gone.

If I am driving a 25 ton coach down the road at 70 mph with basically 8 square feeet of contact with the highway, I want to have the very best contact with the road and the best tires I can find. My family is the most important thing in my life and I wouldn't mortgage them for $300 a year. Heck, I might even stretch out the purchase of new wool socks and sandals to be able to afford the very best tires I can find.

When a tire goes on a Prevost, as roadrunner says, bad stuff happens very fast and can be very expensive. It is also dangerous as all get-out. We've had reports over the years of extensive front end damage, underbelly damage, suspension, you-name-it...and let's not forget about the potential for harm to others and their vehicles as well.

I'm no big fan of buying non-American products when you can, but that's a dying idea, as it seems just about everything is made somewhere else. However, many Michelin tires are constructed in, of all places, The Oklahoma Territories, which is more or less in the United States.

All in all, with the marginal cost difference between the Michelin tires, and all the rambling dissertation above, I'd have to stay with recommending the Michelin, with replacement at 5 years.

I do have in the back of my mind the image of a Marathon that was hauled into Camp Prevost in Jacksonville that blew a front tire and rather dramatically introduced itself to a huge palm tree on I-95. The front of the coach had displaced itself just to the rear of the passenger seat in the meeting. When I think about tires and the marginal cost difference, I think about that coach.

Don't get me wrong, I like new exciting ideas...but not when it comes to tires.

2 cents and you can keep the change if you'd like.

[win42]

JPJ: Gary said he blew two Michelins. Have we heard of any other brand causing pre-mature failure. In the past we had to replace all of the new Michelins on our fleet of trucks due to road wandering because of weak side walls. I do not think Michelin can walk on water. I tried to get Goodyear to talk to us at our rally through Skiffer, I do not know what their response was. That Marathon that took on the tree, what brand of tire blew? I'm pretty sure inflation has everything to do with tire failure.

[Just Plain Jeff]

HH:

Good post.

We don't have an accurate history of brands vs. tire failures, that's for sure. Bill Jensen from Prevost at Branson said that the problem with the Michelin bus tires is that they have very stiff sidewalls relative to other bus tires, that's why tire pressure is so important. Underinflated bus tires will cause failure (at least that's how I took it).

I don't know the brand of the Marathon tire as it was GONZO; but the techs said that they were 'old' tires. That was the point I was making. There are a lot of variables in all of this; age, use, inflation history, weight/speed rating, etc.

You are getting close to a great conclusion here about tire pressure. That indeed may be key. Don't know how many times we have pushed the issue of TIRE PRESSURE but it is critical.

In other words (Lord help me for saying this) YOU ARE RIGHT!

[win42]

Tire Pressure: Another old guy story goes. In 1960 I walked into a Western Auto Store in the Texas Panhandle carrying a split ring from the wheel of my blown out 10,000 pound trailer tire. Two old fellows sitting in front of the store asked me what I had. I explained another blown out trailer tire. " How many ply?" 8 ply, " How much air?", 42 pounds. "You should carry 80 pounds, one pound for each ply else they will get hot and blow." I followed their advice and never blew a tire since. I realize those tires were not the same as todays, but really how much difference could there really be as far as inflation saving tires destroyed by heat. I'll keep mine to the upper recommended pressure thank you.
"Old guys know"

[jello_jeep]

I am with you on this one. I bet when quarterlies are off someday, it will change to four years!!

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.