Michelin Tires

[darstar]

Originally Posted by tropical36

Hey, I tried finding him that size, as others did, in a Michelin and in other brands, as well. This in itself is a good enough reason for being pissed at Michelin in any kind of a match...
Their marketing team must stay awake at night, trying to force people into paying their exorbitant prices, when their product's reputation, won't command it, on it's own. Not saying that it's not a good tire, but saying that it's not worth all the extra money and forget it with this cheap BS as the only alternative.
I'm going out on a limb again and say that if you took every tire that had a US DOT number on it and put them all through a series of tests, that they would all pretty much come out, fairing the same and produce the same results.

only if alls equal. many tires grew from the specialty trades,and climate too. Michelin had a huge advantage as at one time they were the only game in town. Bridgestone later did give Michelin a run for the money. ( steel belting ) your average Michelin did not always cost so much more ether. Nokia still makes the best snow tire......and they are not cheap ether.

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by Triker56

Same size as yours?

I just got 6 275/70/22.5 G670's out the door $524 each to replace my 10 year old G670's that were $348.

NO Michelin's allowed here on my MH after 2 zipper blow outs with 235/80/22.6

Are you claiming that the Run Low Flex failure (Zipper) is somehow the tire manufacturer's fault?

Even expensive premium Michelin tires will fail if they don't have enough air.

"Zipper" failure is physical proof the tires were run underinflated for a few miles.

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by tropical36

Hey, I tried finding him that size, as others did, in a Michelin and in other brands, as well. This in itself is a good enough reason for being pissed at Michelin in any kind of a match...
Their marketing team must stay awake at night, trying to force people into paying their exorbitant prices, when their product's reputation, won't command it, on it's own. Not saying that it's not a good tire, but saying that it's not worth all the extra money and forget it with this cheap BS as the only alternative.
I'm going out on a limb again and say that if you took every tire that had a US DOT number on it and put them all through a series of tests, that they would all pretty much come out, fairing the same and produce the same results.

I don't understand why Steve should be "pissed" at Michelin. The original choice of tire brand and size was and is the responsibility of the unnamed RV company. Why aren't people that are having problems finding tires in the special size picking on the RV companies?

This is but another example of the apparent lack of customer care on the part of the RV industry i.e. specing parts that are hard to find or vehicle system designs almost impossible to repair. We complain about tires only having 3 to 5 year warranty and projected life of 7 to 10 years. Why did you spend $$$$$ on an RV with only a 1 year warranty?

Class-A size market in some sizes is actually pretty small potatoes in the big picture of the US tire market.
Medium and Heavy duty truck tires (Class-A 19,5 & 22.5 sizes only a small portion of this group) 2014 was 23 Million OE+Replacement LT was 33 Mil and Pass was 252 Mil.

Look at US Truck tire production (000 per day)
Bridgestone/Firestone 15.2
Goodyear/Dunlop 18.8
Michelin/BFG 7

If you are having problems finding replacement tires have you contacted the RV company and complained about their choice of tires?

[ChasA]

Do the motor home manufacturers specify the tire brand or is it up to the chassis manufacturer?

[Triker56]

Originally Posted by Tireman9

Are you claiming that the Run Low Flex failure (Zipper) is somehow the tire manufacturer's fault?

Even expensive premium Michelin tires will fail if they don't have enough air.

"Zipper" failure is physical proof the tires were run underinflated for a few miles.

YEP!!!! They were the tire manufacturer's fault.

I wonder why both of the zipper blow outs had visible rusty steel belts in the sidewalls within 15 seconds of the blow outs?

I wonder while I owned them and checked pressure for my weight all the time.
Why did Michelin suddenly came out with a new PSI scale rate that was higher then I had been using for my weight?

And they changed the max to more PSI then what was stamped on the sidewall. And that was just 11 months before my first blow out.

Could that be because of the many thousands zipper blow outs that were happening to their XRV tires at the time and not to the XZE ones of the same size.

I am guessing the tires could have run low a few miles before they blew.
Maybe by the sidewall cracking and letting air out of them. I will never know as I didn't have any TPMS on them at the time. They did have TPMS on them the last 1,300 miles of their 6 years 9 months life on my MH.

The Michelin 2 zipper blow outs happen at 4 years 8 months & 6 years 1 month old.

My 10 year old G670's have had a TPMS since they were put on.
And I have never needed to add air to them during every summers 5 month trip.

Did I say Michelin's XRV's will never be on a MH of mine again.
But Michelin's did come on my new toad as OEM's. We will see how they do over the next several years.

Michelin never did step up to the plate and admit there was a problem with the XRV's zipper blow outs in the early 2000's. Or cover them with any warranty. Maybe a few customers got a Good will replacement.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by Triker56

YEP!!!! They were the tire manufacturer's fault.

I wonder why both of the zipper blow outs had visible rusty steel belts in the sidewalls within 15 seconds of the blow outs?

I wonder while I owned them and checked pressure for my weight all the time.
Why did Michelin suddenly came out with a new PSI scale rate that was higher then I had been using for my weight?

And they changed the max to more PSI then what was stamped on the sidewall. And that was just 11 months before my first blow out.

Could that be because of the many thousands zipper blow outs that were happening to their XRV tires at the time and not to the XZE ones of the same size.

I am guessing the tires could have run low a few miles before they blew.
Maybe by the sidewall cracking and letting air out of them. I will never know as I didn't have any TPMS on them at the time. They did have TPMS on them the last 1,300 miles of their 6 years 9 months life on my MH.

The Michelin 2 zipper blow outs happen at 4 years 8 months & 6 years 1 month old.

My 10 year old G670's have had a TPMS since they were put on.
And I have never needed to add air to them during every summers 5 month trip.

Did I say Michelin's XRV's will never be on a MH of mine again.
But Michelin's did come on my new toad as OEM's. We will see how they do over the next several years.

Michelin never did step up to the plate and admit there was a problem with the XRV's zipper blow outs in the early 2000's. Or cover them with any warranty. Maybe a few customers got a Good will replacement.

The highways and byways are littered big time everyday of the year, with reminders....just ask that DOT driver who' s job is to clean up the reminders.

[Algonquin]

I can certainly agree with the theory that lack of use is bad for tires. I purchased a used 2011 Meridian a few months ago with Michelin XRV tires. The tires were manufactured in August 2010, but the motorhome was not purchased by the original owner until April 2012. The tires are cracking after only 4-1/2 years, and only 17,000 miles. I will be replacing the tires after this camping season.

[stuhly]

That's Michelins for you . Wouldn't have them on a push cart.

[Triker56]

Originally Posted by Algonquin

I purchased a used 2011 Meridian a few months ago with Michelin XRV tires. The tires were manufactured in August 2010, but the motorhome was not purchased by the original owner until April 2012. The tires are cracking after only 4-1/2 years, and only 17,000 miles. I will be replacing the tires after this camping season.

There is a reason Michelin gives 0 days warranty for sidewall cracking on their XRV tires.

Good Year has a 7 year warranty for sidewall cracking on the G670's.

Your choice when buying.

[Falcon190]

After the tread failure of a Good Year PS steer tire in Kingman, AZ last year, the only tires we could find in our size (295 80 R22.5) were Hercules. I replaced both front tires. No issues or problems since.

It seems to me based on the many tire threads found here on iRV2, that the followers of the Church of Michelin base their opinions more on belief than facts. And one truck accident involving Hankook tires does not make an RV statistic.

Opinions without proof are generally not valid and really don't help. JMHO😏

[tropical36]

Originally Posted by Algonquin

I can certainly agree with the theory that lack of use is bad for tires. I purchased a used 2011 Meridian a few months ago with Michelin XRV tires. The tires were manufactured in August 2010, but the motorhome was not purchased by the original owner until April 2012. The tires are cracking after only 4-1/2 years, and only 17,000 miles. I will be replacing the tires after this camping season.

I'm not so sure you can attribute it solely to the rig sitting around and most sure if the tires were covered and protected from UV radiation, it would have helped tremendously. Don't know if Michelin changed the chemistry for lacking an adequate amount of carbon black in the makeup or what, but they've been having this problem for quite a while now and one would think if something isn't working, then quit doing the same thing over and over again.
Still they have managed to keep their name with some outstanding marketing techniques and enough so, to command some really high prices. Then again, some are still from the old school, that you always get what you pay for, even if it is mostly for marketing costs and that alone will sell a lot of them for more money than all the rest.
I mean what responsible person would pay anything less and put their whole family and everyone else at risk, out there on our nation's highways with cheap (sometimes spelled cheep) Chinese junk? Now, just wait awhile and watch the sparks fly, (no, not literally from a cheap wheel rim with a blown tire) when they find out who is receiving the payola for allowing a US DOT approval number to be put on this dangerous and worthless junk!
Yep, you got it folks and mostly sarcasm here, but all in good fun, never the less.....

[tropical36]

Originally Posted by Falcon190

After the tread failure of a Good Year PS steer tire in Kingman, AZ last year, the only tires we could find in our size (295 80 R22.5) were Hercules. I replaced both front tires. No issues or problems since.

It seems to me based on the many tire threads found here on iRV2, that the followers of the Church of Michelin base their opinions more on belief than facts. And one truck accident involving Hankook tires does not make an RV statistic.

Opinions without proof are generally not valid and really don't help. JMHO😏

Hercules is genuine Chinese made, like most others and have found them to be a great tire so far. Couldn't beat the price from Amazon, shipped to my garage and installed by a local tire shop. There are four on the drive axle and we've been all over the country from coast to coast and up and down both coasts. So far, so good and they still look like new at four years old.
Most recently we've installed Korean Hankooks, also made in China, on the front and tag and expect excellent service from them as well. A lot more money, but what was available at the time and away from home.
Don't know what the Michelin deciples will do, when the company decides to go to China and resort to riding on the rims, I'm guessing....

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by ChasA

Do the motor home manufacturers specify the tire brand or is it up to the chassis manufacturer?

I believe that the company purchasing the chassis specifies many items such a wheels, tires, springs, shocks etc. Heavy truck chassis are not built like cars are. When I bought my 1-ton dually a number of years ago there was a multi-page list of options. Yes I could have bought off the lot but wouldn't have got the vehicle I needed or wanted.
I have toured the Freightliner chassie assy and each unit was "custom" built to a spec sheet provided by the customer.

The RV company has a reasonable ide of what items it will be including in the Rv so knows the weight. This dictates suspension components.


Bottom Line the tire size, load range and brand are the responsibility of the RV company.


FYI I just did a post on this topic on my blog.

[Tireman9]

RE Zipper failure


So lets see if I understand this correctly. The steel cords from 50 to 70 different spools (each of which is about 500 yards long) of steel all just happened to have a defect (rusty steel) that randomly lined up such that the multiple defects all happened at the same point in the tire sidewall.

AND this alignment occurred in two different tires that just happened to be on a single coach.

Ok, That sounds logical to me.


Have to wonder what DOT said when a complaint was filed that included the evidence of the multiple manufacturing defects.