Where did you buy tire covers this size? I am planning on being in one campground for about 3 months and am considering buying a set of covers to use while there. Haven't found any locally that are large enough.
Dale & Paulette
"God Loves you and has a plan for your life!
This is just a comment for all to consider.
The worst place to put a bad tire is on the tag axle. I do not know why, but a tag axle will take a scalloped tire and peel it down to the steel cords in a few thousand miles.
If you need to get a decent tire on the steers, stick the bad tire on one of the drive wheels.
Has anyone used or know of anyone that used/uses Firestone tires on their bus? I was at a tire store recently asking about Michelin tires and they suggested Firestone since they are several hundred $$ less in cost. The salesman also said that they have several bus companies using them without any problems.
This dealership has several locations in NE Ohio and seem to be very knowledgeable.
I have no specific knowledge of a Consumer Reports type comparison of our size tires. I do know that a tire of our size may come in several different types. When I was researching tires I found that there are tires designed for low speed city bus type applications, tires designed just for steer axles and tires for over the road highway applications just to name a few.
With all the choices available there is also a range of prices. There are some very obvious requirements for our buses. Size and weight capability are the most important. But we also need a speed rating for our coaches. Some have very low speed limits and some are rated for as high as 75 MPH. Looking at the tires helps reveal differences. The low speed tires may have robust sidewalls to tolerate bumping into curbs such as for a city bus, but the high speed tires have relatively thin sidewalls to dissipate heat.
The key to selecting a tire is making sure all the features we need are part of the tire. I don't know if this is a Knoxville situation but the differences between the Michelin tires designed for our application and their equivalent by all the other brands was around $50. If I had a choice between Michelin and Bridgestone/Firestone, Toyo, BFGoodrich, etc. I would spend the $50. But when Roger and I saw the Chinese tires for about $325 compared to around $625 for Michelin it was an easy choice.
When I shop for tires again I will go through the same process as I am sure everybody else does, but I do know when I called for prices some of the tires I was quoted were not acceptable for our application. One thing we all need to be aware of....charter bus companies may not own their tires. They lease them so as long as they hold air the bus company probably has little input into the brand or specifications. If we really want to know about tires the folks to talk to are the tire leasing companies. They will likely be very qualified to discuss the cost per mile and failure rates. The bus companies are very qualified however to talk about ride quality.
Denny,
Just go for the Michelin's and raise your rates!
Careful on advise from A-1, he chose to buy "May Pops" and that's why he only runs 62.5. He's trying to prop up the value of the Yen and there's rumor of a personal invitation to the Olympic's from the Chinese Officials who are interested in his Metal Fabrication Process in Jamestown. They heard he's converting scrap steel to some form of vehicle support used by red necks in TN to hold up the junk trucks in their yards and being sold to rich bus owners as safety equipment.
Man.... that's cold!
Denny,
The cheapest guy in the state for any tire is almost across the street from you! Call Dave and ask him about any tire brand or size you are interested in, he doesn't do truck or bus tires but they are available from him. I can give you the name of a guy that we use in the shop he will dismount and mount a tire for $10 each.