Datecode on Goodyear Tires

[dirko]

Hi Ho: We have Goodyear tires on our coach, but it's about time to get new ones. The problem is that I haven't been able to find any with recent date codes. The best I can do is about 2 1/2 years ago! I have tried several dealers and get the same response.

Here is the response from Time Miller--the commercial tire rep.:
"Due to the downturn in the economy, sales of RV tires has been slow at
best. Tires that have been in Goodyear warehouses have been stored
properly and there should be no ill effects from their shelf life. Our
newest warranty includes a 7 year weather cracking clause."

My question is whether it is better to buy the old (new) Goodyear tires or go to Michilin or some other brand. My current tires are Goodyear and have been great--no cracking or checking even though the coach is stored outside. Has anyone else faced this problem? Any solution?

It also appears that since the load is about 3800 lbs. each the F rated tires should now be G rated since the same load requires 10 lbs. more air pressure. Does this mean that the ride will be harder?

Dirk

[TW]

2 1 / 2 years is just toooooooooo old for my taste. You might have to change to a different Brand of Tire.

TW

[1ciderdog]

At a the rally in Redmond Oregon a couple of months ago I ordered Goodyears for my RV at the camping world booth. A good year representative was there and we spend half an hour or so talking tires. The tire date is about six months old but warranty does not start until installed. Michelin also was at the rally but similar warranty but no rally disount.

[ichn2go]

Dirk, don't understand about the load. Have you been running 3800lbs on F rated tires all along..Are you saying you should have had G rated tires all the time..I really don't think you will feel a 10 lb difference in G rated tires. Silver Away

[dirko]

Hi Ho: The problem with Goodyear is that they aren't currently producing RV tires. Although there is a good stock of most types, the size I need has a date code more than 2 1/2 years old. The problem here is that many people change their tires every 5 or 6 years, so the tires are almost half used up when they are purchased new.

The load range thing is that the tires I currently have are no longer available. The G670 should be a good replacement, but the load ratings take 10 more lbs. of air pressure for the same load. Since We currently run about 85 lbs. the tires must be at least G to run 95 lbs. This may be a mute point since I can't get "new" tires anyway.

I read about more blowouts and cracking/checking with the Michelins, but we will hope that does not happen with the XZE. It's kind of strange, but Costco has only F or H (not G) ratings. I guess I'll just get the H rated tires. I don't know whether the ride will be better or worse, but we'll let you know.

Dirk

[jimmccreary]

Had the same problem with my Michelin 255/80R22.5 XRV (G load rating). My dealer inflated all tires to the maximum pressure of 110psi. The ride was extremely hard and rough and almost unbearable. I called Michelin and they were very helpful. Following their directions I had each corner of my RV weighed at a Grainary in the midwest. After adding 125lb of load to each corner to compensate for my tanks that were not quite full I got:

left right
real dual 8160 8460
front single 3950 4300

I used the link below to find my correct tire pressures:

Michelin North America RV Load & Inflation Tables

from the chart I get

rear dual 90 psi
front single 80 psi

Since these are the minimum pressures recommeded I added 5 to 10 psi to get:

rear dual 95 psi
front single 90 psi

The ride with these pressures was significantly improved over the 110psi.
My conclusion is that 20psi difference in pressure is a hugh difference in the ride and the 10 psi is definitely noticeable.
Hope this helps.
Pls confirm with Michelin directly to confirm your tire pressures, I found them very helpful after you know your corner weight.

But I have only answered the question about the effect of 10psi for a given tire. If you change tire types from F to G load ratings I would not know how to answer your specific question about 10 psi difference between two different tire types. Difficult to answer.

jim & debbie, 04 Journey, 34H