Changing Dutch Star tires from 255/80 to 275/80 ?

[Romeo]

My 2000 Dutch Star currently has Michelin 255/80 R22.5 XRV tires on the front steer wheels, and they need to be replaced. From what I see in the forum, many people are going to Michelin 275/80 R22.5 XZA3 tires.

The 255/80 R22.5's.........measure 38.2" dia, and are 9.9" wide.
The 275/80 R22.5 XZA3's measure 40.1" dia and are 10.9" wide.

The 275/80's are 1" wider and, effectively, 1" taller (2" taller in dia which equates to only 1" taller when mounted).

I checked the width clearance and dont see a problem with interference with the hyd jacks or anything else under the coach. However, when I dump the air bags and check the clearance over the top of the tire I have somewhere between 1 and 2-3/4". That is close to having the top of the wheel well rest on the tire when the air bags are deflated.

One inch of clearance over the top of the tire maybe plenty, but before I spend $1500 on two tires, I want to know that I will not have a problem... I want to know that I considered all aspects.

Just for the record; when the air bags are inflated the is 7" or more clearance between the top of the tire and the bottom of the wheel well.

Has anyone had the same condition (one inch of clearance) and found that it is not a problem?

Not understanding exactly what "ride height" is, and how or why it needs to be adjusted, I'm not sure whether or not it plays into my question.

[bigskymt]

The biggest problem I see with different steer tire sizes is if, like many people, your steers and some point end up on your drives.

[GaryKD]

Hi Ron,
Why do you want the larger tire?

[Romeo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaryKD Hi Ron, Why do you want the larger tire?

Not for any other reason than that seems to be what others are using as a replacement, and that the XZA3's seem to be more easiliy available.

I would really like to have matching tires all around for rotational purposes. I have Goodyear 275/70 R22.5's on the rear.

One of the reasons for replacement of the front XRV's is that, apparently, the load rating (5205x2=10410) isnt quite right for the the rating of the front axle (10400) and those tires were recalled and replaced by Newmar with a Michelin XZA1 275/70 R22.5. The latest version of Michelin's data sheet, downloaded from their site, only shows a XZA1, 315/80 R22.5 Load Range L. No Michelins seem to match correctly for size and in a sufficient load rating.

[GaryKD]

Hi Ron,
What a bummer. I'm going to keep watching this thread. If Michelin has stopped making my tires, I'd like to know what others are doing. If you have time, call the chassis manufacturer. They order tires in large quantities. Maybe they will have advise on what choices you have. Also, call Newmar and Michelin for the same reason.

[Norm4015]

You will have no problem upgrading the front (or rear) tires on your 2000 Dutch Star. On early production 2000 Dutch Stars Newmar put 255/80 on them and in mid-year production they switched to 275/80 tires. Newmar changed nothing but the tires.

I had an early production DS and I switched to 275/80. It made the ride and handling much better. And I felt safer with the larger tires.

[Romeo]

Norm,

Did you ever notice that you only had the 1-2" wheel well clearance that I mentioned?

Here's something that maybe you can shed some light on; it has me confused...

I received something from Newmar customer service the other day. I had asked about replacing the XRV with the larger 275/80 R22.5 XZA3, or a tire the Goodyear dealer suggested in lieu of the G670. The Goodyear sales rep suggested a G395 - 295/75 R22.5.
I mentioned that to them and they said "We would not recommend changing to the 295/75R/22.5 as it will affect the turning radius and will damage the fenderskirt." That's confusing to me since from what I find the G395 dimensions are the very close to the XZA3. Could Newmar be unaware of the size of the G395?

I am going to write and ask them about it, but wont hear anything until next week sometime.

[Norm4015]

Yes, the wheel clearance was tight with Michelin 275/80 tires but I never had a problem. I bought an early model 2000 Dutch Star with 255/80 tires and three friends, all fulltimers, bought three late model 2000 Dutch Stars with 275/80 Michelin tires. The four of us did a lot of traveling together. (Like tens of thousands of miles.) After two years I upgraded my tires to 275/80s like my friends had.

One thing we all did was made sure the wheels were pointing straight forward before dumping the air bags, but as I said, none of us ever had a problem with wheel clearance.

[Norm4015]

Also, I forgot to mention 295/80 tires will not fit on your wheels. OK, they will fit but are not recommended. If my memory serves me correctly the wheels on your 2000 Dutch Star are 7.5" width and you can use either 255/80, 275/70 or 275/80 tires. If you upgrade to 295/80 tires you need to also upgrade your wheels to 8.25" width.

[Romeo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norm4015 Also, I forgot to mention 295/80 tires will not fit on your wheels.

Your right, the information I find on my wheels show 7.5", and I did notice that the Goodyear data sheet for the 295's showed that the rim width was 8.5. I will have to confront the Goodyear guy about that.

Thanks for added that Norm, I may have fogotten to mention that to Goodyear. I am losing confidence in sales reps.

[capt Frank]

I went through this last fall, Newmar replaced at their expense the front tires since they had a recall on the 1999 DS with 255 80R 22.5 and changed them to 275 70R 22.5. They had me go purchase Michelin tires and they reimbursed me the cost. Call Newmar Customer Service and if your coach has not been recorded as having been upgraded they may do the same for your 2000. They treated me great on this one.

Capt Frank

[capt Frank]

I might add, I had Southern Tire Mart here in La Porte, Texas do the work and they did a great job for me. I also changed the rears out but installed Continental tires on the rear, 275 70R 22.5 and so far am very pleased. The Continental tires look great and the ride is super plus they are about 1/2 the cost of the other brands.

[lonestarace]

We have a 38' 98 DSDP. Last Nov. we took off the old J rated XZA1s(275/70-22.5) and installed new H rated XZA3s(275/80-22.5)on the front. On the rear we took off the old XRVs(255/80-22.5) and installed new G rated XZA1+s(275/80-22.5).
The XZA3s cost $500ea + mtg, bal, & tax. The XZA1+s cost $406ea + mtg, bal, & tax.
Total bill out the door $3100.
The clearance is good all around even with the air dumped and the steering turned full left or right. We called Spartan before the change and got their blessing. Our speedometer now is calibrated correctly. With the old tires it read 3mph too fast.

We hope this helps?

Don, Lisa, & Alexa

[Romeo]

Ok... the Michelin XZE3's have been installed on the front (still have the Goodyear G159's on the rear, for now) and as everyone has said there are "no clearance problems".

Just for the record and benefit of those interested in the cost of XZE3's:

XZE3................................... 531.76... 1063.52
FET........................................ 34.59 ........69.00
Mounting/ Dismount........ 35.97 ........71.94
Balance............................... 36.97 ........73.94
Shop Supplies.................... 10.25 .........10.25
Stems (2) .............................. 8.97 .........17.94
Total .............................................. .....1306.59
Sales Tax 8.7........................................ 113.67
Grand Total...................................... $1420.26

This was no "deal" with the Goodyear dealer, but had to use them since I mistakenly bought two XRV's from them at a good price, and then found out that they werent right for my axle rating. The cost at the local Michelin dealer would have been $498 each for the tires plus less for mounting and balancing. Next time I will buy my Michelins from the Michelin dealer.

And I thought having a boat was like "having a hole in the water that you pour money into".