Replacing Class A Tires

[bmb1881]

Hi Everyone,
My husband & I are planning on taking a trip hopefully in the next couple months.
We own a Class A- 1994 Fleetwood Coronado. We have never replaced the tires on the motorhome. We live up in the high desert in Southern California.
Our tires are cracked. We would like to get the tires replaced before taking our trip.
My Question is to other people-
Have you replaced your motorhome tires?
Which brand of tires would you say are the best?
I am not sure what to look for.
With tires I have read online some people like a certain brand & other people say to avoid the brand.
I really am not sure which brand of tire would be the best. I am also not sure what the size of the tire is; It'll probably be on the tire?

Any suggestions or advice would be great.

[LSC9901]

The size will be on the side wall of the tire. They are probably 19.5" but you'll also need to know the rest of the info such as 245/70R 19.5.

This is one of those questions that opens up a can of worms. Most people have an allegiance to some particular brand. Some hate other brands. When i needed to get new tires I went through many of the threads here and tried to find folks who drove the same way we do and tried to find unbiased reviews. If I hate brand X you can be sure I'll have nothing good to say. I don't mind a negative report but I want reasons why, not just that they are Chinese tires. There is one popular brand that has had sidewall issues. Anyway do some research for yourself and ask questions. I'm getting 6 new tires installed tomorrow but I won't get into price or brand here as it always seems to stir the pot.

Good Luck !!!

[Grey Ghost I]

If you have friends that have a motorhome, they can be a source of knowledge. If you can not decide by the time to purchase the tires, buy a mid priced tire since it will be your first experience. Getting a price quote form two dealers on the same tire is a good idea. I wish you good luck>

[USA-RVNomads]

We went to one of our local tire shops and they gave us as good a deal as we could have through any of the special programs. We replaced our Goodyears with Michelins and are very satisfied with them.

Some additional reading:

Tires, Tired Or Otherwise - USA RV Nomads

If you're going to be on the road a lot...not just sitting someplace for months on end but cris-crossing the country...get the best tire possible.

[Waiter21]

We have 7000 miles on 2 year old Sailun S637 (225/70R19.5) tires (all 6)

No problems, no leaks. Check tire pressure, this is #1 cause of blowouts.

[Patrol 65]

I had 6 Samson 245/70R19.5 that are actually truck tires installed on my motorhome at a truck tire store about 3 years ago. The ride is smooth and quiet unless I encounter large expansion joints or pot holes. They are used by many over-the-road truckers.

[DDDonkey]

I also had 6 Samson 245/70R19.5 tires on my last coach with no issues at all. My current coach has cooper road-master tires and I have put over 2k miles on them with no issues, cooper now subs out their commercial tires to china. People complain about the Chinese tires but I have not had any issues, unless I was a full timer or put 10,000 miles or more a year on my coach the extra expense of the higher end tire is not justified for me. I will be lucky to put 40k on my current set of tires before they age out.

[nothermark]

Start by asking whoever you plan on having install the tires what brand they sell/recommend. Check on the web and see if there are many horror stories. If not go for it. ;-)

[sirpurrcival]

I agree with nothermark. Talk to people who sell tires. Particularly truck tires. As with most things, it is tug of war between price and perceived quality although it isn't always so. Many shops offer warranties so they are in a position to know if they end up having to honor those warranties due to failures. I have Bridgestones on the front and Kuhmo tires on the rear. Haven't had the slightest problems and they didn't cost the premium that Good Years or Michelin's do.

[Steady_Rest]

Last fall I went to Les Schwab and purchased 6 Double Coin 8R 19.5 tires and they seem to perform as good as any other brand that I have tried, (Bridgestone, Michelin). I mentioned that our rv will see gravel and unimproved roads at times and he replied that the best fit would be the DCs since they were a tougher tire than their Toyo brand, which had softer rubber for ride and quiet. So they say. I have experienced no greater road noise with the DCs. I did try a pair of 245/70's on the front once and they were distinctly much noisier, but that would be due to tread design more than size. A slightly larger foot print of the new series tires, all things being equal should produce more noise with more rubber on the ground.
Plenty of truckers use Double Coin tires for whatever that is worth.
Schwab says, "If we can't guarantee it we won't sell it".
Never had any resistance with Schwab when it came to warranty.
The price was good and since I like to examine brakes, lines, bearings etc. at tire change time, I removed the wheels and hauled them to Les Schwab for the tire change. Before doing this I asked for a discount since Schwab would not have to deal with jacking, removing and reinstalling the wheels. The salesman agreed to a $100.00 discount, which equalled $109 reduction due to less sales tax. Since I remove my wheels at regular intervals for maintenance, why not get paid for the labor.
The 8R 19.5 tire is a fraction over an inch greater diameter tire and slightly narrower also than the 245/70R 19.5
I stayed with what originally came with my Bounder because of the larger dia. means less rpm for a given speed. Speedometer will read correctly.
Everyone has their personal reasons for the tires they choose, the above are mine. Read the opinions and go with what matches your priorities.

What do the camp fires next to my member name represent?

Kevin

[Melmoses]

Kevin, the campfires pop up the more posts you make. Really means nothing.

As far as tires go, most are good. The most important considerations to watch for are:

production date (lots of "new" tires are actually old so check out that date stamp on the back side of the tire!),

next would be size of course since the tire has to fit properly when the steering wheel is turned so that it doesn't impact the wheel well

third is load range. Motorhomes need certain load range to carry the weight. That is very important!

[Steady_Rest]

Originally Posted by Melmoses

As far as tires go, most are good. The most important considerations to watch for are:

production date (lots of "new" tires are actually old so check out that date stamp on the back side of the tire!),

next would be size of course since the tire has to fit properly when the steering wheel is turned so that it doesn't impact the wheel well

third is load range. Motorhomes need certain load range to carry the weight. That is very important!

Could not agree more with Melmoses, what he posted should be your first priorities, they are mine also.

Kevin

[lanerd]

Michelin brand seems to get more approval ratings than any other mfg, and are typically installed on new motor homes as standard and also probably the most expensive.

If you are an FMCA member, they have a Michelin discount program than can save a lot of cash.

Cheaper brands that have a good following here are Toyo, Hankook, and Yokohama.

Date code for MH tires is VERY important. Normally rv tires will never wear out of thread, but will (like yours) start to deteriorate with cracks and such and become very unreliable. What ever brand you get, try to insist on tires that have a date code in 2015.

Good luck

Ron

[jetdoc]

Stay away from China tires. Michelin has always been the best in my opinion