New Tire Questions

[JDT]

I know there have been recent threads about tires but I have questions that hopefully someone can answer.

My 05 Ambassador has Goodyear G670 275/70/22.5 tires that were manufactured in September 2004. I have had one blowout on a steer tire two years ago that was replaced with a tire made in 05.

I've been thinking about replacing the steer tires as I have little to no confidence in them, even though they might last 100 years. I have read with interest about buying a different brand, such as Continental or Khumo.

My first question is are the non Michelin/Goodyear tires made for motorhomes or trucks and what difference does it make? In other words, what kind of tire do I ask for. Second, do I have to get exactly the same size tire or is there a fudge factor, like 275/80 instead of 275/70. Third, I read about "rivering" of the Goodyears. What exactly is that? Last question, what about price comparisons between the different brands? Are the "off-brands" cheaper?

Thanks.

[Dutch Star Don]

JDT
1st...Yes, many companies make tires that are suited for RV's, Toyo, Continental, Khumo. You just have to make sure they're okay for use on RV's too. If you do a search on RV.NET for tire brands you'll see that some people have already done the research and can tell you what are suitable for RV's. I beleive Toyo has a good one.

2nd....If you change brands, the tires aren't going to be an exact match to your rear Goodyears just because of the variance in different brands. I wouldn't go too crazy in size changes.

3rd.....A simple explanantion would be the developement of a wavey effect in the tread.

4th...Prices will be less with some of the other/off brands. Be careful what you buy. I once bought a set of off brand tires for my Class C and everytime I would make a sweeping curve at freeway speeds the motor home would actually roll on the tires. I returned them and put new Michelins back on.

Question for you....How many miles did you get out of the Goodyears, other than the one blowout? Have they been that bad?

I had my fronts go 30000 before I found a knot in the left front sidewall. It was about the size of half a golf ball. I decided not to chance it and replaced it. I had a new unmounted spare so I put two new tires on the front. I had it aligned for the first time and watched as they did the high speed balance. My coach drove like a dream after that. Other than the knot at 30000, I'm very happy with the Goodyears. I don't think they're as problematic as people make them out to be. It's just that there are soooo many are out there that the percentage of problems are magnified.

When I bought my one new tire, Goodyear had a rebate at the time fo $75.00. I think they're running a rebate now.

Here is a little secret you might try. I had a friend who owned a tire store. He didn't sell RV tires, but he had access to the Goodyear warehouse. He got me a price of $328.00 for your size tire. I just had to go by and pick it up. I gave him am extra $25.00 for his effort. Since the truck place I deal with charges for mounting no matter if you buy their tires or bring your own I saved over $100.00 on the tire plus the $75.00 rebate.

Even though you may not have a friend in the business, find a local tire dealer and work a similar deal. He'll be making a profit for doing nothing.

[JDT]

Don, thanks for the answers. You always give good, well-thought responses that are non-judgemental. I appreciate that.

I have been thinking about the tire change because of the blowout I had 2 years ago this month on I-44 in northeast Oklahoma. I never want to go through that again, even though the blowout wasn't really a blowout. It was more of a rapid loss of pressure, giving me just enough time get off the road. My Doran system paid for itself that day. I probably only had about 10K miles on the coach then. We now have 22K on it and average about 5 to 7K per year since the wife retired 2 years ago.

I keep the coach under roof when home so UV damage is not a problem. I also have not noticed any abnormal wear. I had the coach alignment checked 2 years ago and probably need to have it checked again. It tracks pretty good now that I have Koni FSD's and a Safe-T-Plus that I installed last year. Before that, it would tend to wander just a bit, but not bad. It rode a little harsh before I put on the Koni's, but I think that is typical of the RR8R chassis. I've really had no complaints with the tires other than the blown one. I keep the pressure about 10 pounds above the recommended pressure based on the weight of the coach.

You are probably right about the number of complaints vs. number of G670's on the road. I guess my one experience has influenced me a little much.

JDT

[Mutt]

See as how Don has done a good job with your questions. I might add a comment concerning the "rivering." For some reason the Goodyear tires have that wear pattern in the second grove, or mine did and a friend now has that problem on a 2004 Diplomat. AS far as replacing tires, if they sit in the sun, the life expectancy could be shortened. I replaced mine(275-70x22.5's) last summer. My old tires were manufactured in December of 2001. So, they were a little over 8 years old. No cracks in the sidewall or tread that I could find, but you never know when a cap might peel off. My new tires are the Continentals HSR-1 all around. Two of the 6 tires didn't need any weight. These are on the front of my unit. I have driven about 8,000 miles, and so far they are not rough riding nor do they seem to have any adverse steering problems. Im not sure about these so called tires designed for the RV. When I had Michelin's I had a sidewall rip, then with the Goodyear's I had the rivering. So, I suppose the jury is still out on my new Continentals. As I recall, they ran about $370 mounted and balanced. And yes, they are Truck tires. Good luck with your decision.
David

[Papa_Jim]

I don't know if this reply adds clarification or confusion, but I felt like I wanted to reply.

When I changed my tires, I went to our Good Year dealer only because that's where I buy all my tires. He gave me a choice: Good Year truck tires or Dunlop truck tires.

I challenged him about using truck tires for RV application. His reply: 16 ply is 16 ply and they call that Load Range H. Call it a truck tire. Call it an RV tire. It's a 16 ply tire.

The Good Year tire was $100.00 more than the Dunlop tire. I challenged him: was that because the Good Year tire is better? His reply: the GoodYear tire is covered with 5 year warranty. That warranty cost is included in the price of the tire. The Dunlop tire has a 2 year warranty. His view: you'll never wear the tire out anyway. You'll change it before the tire has any wear.

So I put Dunlop tires on our coach. Handle great. Ride great. Time will tell.

[CoCoDave]

There are some who will criticize this decision but I bought Firestone FS560 Plus tires for the drive axle. As Jim said, they may be called truck tires but Firestone calls them out for RV's too. I've never been a fan of Firestone but our RV application is such that we'll throw away the tires long before they are worn out from use. Given that I hate to spend $400 on a tire and then throw it away after using less than $200 worth of its tread life. Also, I could not find one credible complaint about Firestone TRUCK (as opposed to light truck, passenger car, Ford Explorer, etc.) tires.

In any case, after 4,000 I'm still happy with the tires.

FWIW

[The Texan]

We had the same thing and I did not trust Goodyear any more, so we switched to Hankook AH-12 in 275/70R22.5 and the difference is night and day. The handling and ride is improved 1000% over the G670 that came off and the cost in Yuma AZ was $378/ea out the door. Also, FYI, it appears Goodyear has not built the G670 in 275/70R22.5 size for at least a year and possibly 2 years, so any G670 around will be old tires. The Hankook AH-12 is a very common tire with the truckers and they speak highly of them.
http://www.hankooktireusa.com/Produc...um=5&FnCode=05

[JDT]

This thread has probably run its course but I have checked every brand's website looking for 275/70R22.5 tires. The only ones I can find in this size besides Michelin and Goodyear is Hankook. Is there a comparible/acceptable replacement size that will work?

[The Texan]

To answer your question about what will fit, you need to check the clearance you now have on your coach between the tires and the shock mounting plates. Usually the 275/80 will fit, once in awhile the 295/75 will also fit, but on some and mine is one, the clearance was to small for my comfort, so I stuck with the 275/70. As far as what is rivering, here is a link to a picture and description of erosion/river wear.
Kal Tire is Canada's largest independent tire dealer with over 230 stores

[Mutt]

If you go to the Continental tire site and look for the HSR-1 tires, you will find the 275-70x22.5 tires. You have to go to different sites and search to find your tire size. Good luck.
David

[JDT]

Had a quote today for Firestone FS560 Plus in my size for $325 each, OTD (out the door). Bridgestones were $525 each. Haven't got a quote on any others yet. The dealer I talked to said he has sold a number of these to motorhome owners and has had good luck with them. I am thinking steer only at this time. Did a search and found nothing negative about the Firestones. I wonder if these are Chinese made tires. Forgot to ask.

[CoCoDave]

Originally Posted by JDT

I wonder if these are Chinese made tires. Forgot to ask.

Jim,

My FS560 Plus tires were made in the USA.

FWIW,

[JDT]

Update. I decided to get the Firestones and had them put on Wednesday (steer only at this time). I misunderstood on the price. What I thought was the final price of $325 was actually just the beginning. The final price was $321 plus mounting, balancing, tax and Oklahoma tire disposal fee. That put them just short of $400. Still not too bad, I guess.

They offered to put nitrogen in them for $10 per tire. I imagine this is a dealer add-on, extra profit like thing but I did it anyway. Sucker! Not sure it makes any difference, but I understand the pressure with nitrogen does not vary as much with temperature changes. Maybe, maybe not. I did note on the 55 mile trip home that the pressure stayed pretty steady.

My only disappointment was they could not do an alignment for me. Their alignment machine would not take the longer nose of a dp without hitting the front of it. It has been 3 years since my last one so will have to get that done, soon.

I really could not tell any difference in handling as I came home in 30 mph head/side wind. They were definitely quieter on the expansion joints, however. If these work out I'll put them on the rear this fall.

[CoCoDave]

Jim,

When you start shopping for your rear tires, keep an eye out for sales promotions. Admittedly my tires are a size down from yours but GCR, a Bridgestone/Firestone dealer in Coburg, OR, installed 4 Firestone FS560’s, (255 X 70R X 22.5”, load range H, 16 ply-rating) on the drive axle. The all-in price with new stems, spin balanced, alligator stem caps, FET, old tire disposal was $293 per tire. The base sale price was $200 per tire.

I don't remember what the MSRP was. I think the sale was applicable to the FS560 Plus line of tires, not just the 255 X 70R X 22.5” size. Not saying that all of the FS560's were $200 but that proportional, percentage-based discounts were being offered on that line of tires.

I'm still happy with mine 5,500 miles later.

FWIW