Michelin XTA

[rockintom]

Originally posted by Squirrel:
I have about 10,000 miles on my Michelin's and I average about 70 to 75 miles per hour on the trips that I have taken. I do shoot the temperature with a IR heat gage every time I stop. They run a lot cooler then my Goodyear tires on my old unit. I really like them, even though they have the 62 mile limitation. Please don't tell Michelin I go that fast. I might need that warranty some day.

You know, I'm just guessing, but maybe the reason the Michelin H tires rated @ 62 MPH is not causing you any issues at higher speeds is that you are nowhere near tire loading capacity on most of (our) Excels. On the GY 614s many of us are right at or above the tire loading capacity. Just a guess. Think about it. If those tire were at or near capacity....I be slowing it down! Know what I mean? RockiebabyThinksHesATireGuyNow!!!

[Squirrel]

Rockin, you know these ex-bankers gather their nuts early. I retired in 2000, but I do like to get where I am going. I just drove back from Padre 625 miles last Sunday and made it here by 5:30PM. You are probably one of those that only drives 200 miles a day.

[Brewer & Nancy]

my Michelin XTA's are load range rated "J", 120 psi, a dual load of 18,160 lbs. the max speed per Michelin is 62 mph. Is this a misprint or a CYA.

[rockintom]

Originally posted by Brewer & Nancy:
my Michelin XTA's are load range rated "J", 120 psi, a dual load of 18,160 lbs. the max speed per Michelin is 62 mph. Is this a misprint or a CYA.

You are right on the J rated tire, but it is rated at 4805 lbs load per tire @ 120 lbs. Your looking at a dually load set up like is on the big Mountain Airs. Best I remember our little G rated GYs are 3850 lbs per tire @110 lbs. Too lazy to go look it up again....Here the link to the Michelin XTA specs. Michelin XTA

[Brewer & Nancy]

rockintom, you are right. I used a ruler this time to follow the line across. The single load is 9610, so with dual axels, does this equate to 2x 9610??? Thanks for keeping me straght. B

Squirrel, I like to drive 5 mph under the posted speed, 70 in TX and 75 in NM on the interstates and 5 under the posted on state roads. Hard to believe this "truck tire" is rated 62mph.

[rockintom]

Brewer,

It my understanding that on a fifth wheel, to accurately weigh, weigh each tire individually. There are situations where you can have quite a distribution of weight difference from tire to tire due to either the trailer design/layout or the owner's loading habit. For that reason, many rallies have folks that will weigh your rig one tire at a time. From what I've heard about 65% are "out of wack" enough to cause a problem (that could cause premature tire failure or more). That's why I talked about 4805 lbs for each XTA tire, since we're all running single wheels on each end of the axle that would apply to us. Notice that on the dual set up you can't simply double that number. Doesn't work that way. Dualing up gives you about 3/4 of the capacity of 2 singles. Now I'm confused.

Sorry, it's early here!!!

[RustyJC]

Dual applications are rated lower (per tire) since (1.) the adjacent tires can't get rid of heat as efficiently as a single tire and (2.) minor differences in rolling diameters (e.g., a new and worn tire mixed on the same set of duals - a no-no) could result in unequal loading on each tire.

Only speculation on my part, but the 62 MPH rating could be tied to a maximum speed limit for trucks in Europe since 62 MPH is equivalent to 100 KPH.

Just for reference, the 16" G-rated Goodyear G614 RST tires (not to be confused with the H-rated 17.5" Goodyear 114 tires mentioned elsewhere) on our rig are rated 3750 lbs @ 110 PSIG.

Rusty

[rockintom]

<span class="ev_code_RED">Europe since 62 MPH is equivalent to 100 KPH.</span>

Rusty,
Thanks for sharing all the info you did! BTW it's 62.2 MPH for 100 KPH! Just razzin'!

[RustyJC]

Originally posted by rockintom:
BTW it's 62.2 MPH for 100 KPH!

Slide rule rounding error. (I wonder how many are old enough to remember slide rules - I still have 2 in my desk drawer here at work.)

Rusty

[rockintom]

Save it for a year or two! Then put it on Ebay. Better explain it good though!!!! Have a great day!

[davydee]

I take it that I don't have to run these things at 120 psi? Quick (but not necessarily accurate) math and using the load charts leads me to believe I could probably get away with 100 to 105 psi when fully loaded (and we expect to be fully loaded!) as I've got a GWR of almost 19,000 lbs and expect to run at least 3,000 lbs (or more) on the hitch. David

[rockintom]

Davy,

Why wouldn't you want to run at or near max air pressure? I've been the kinda guy who runs at max tire pressure. It's not like your trying to give someone in the trailer a "cushy" ride! I'm not trying to be a smarty baby....just wondering why and what's your chain of thought on this?

Maybe I've just been very lucky, but 4 years of FTing and I've only had one flat on our Journey. No other tire related problems. (side note: we got 72,000 miles on original equipped tires on our Tug - GY Wranglers) Knock on wood! In my 40 years in the auto service business, I've learned the biggest problem with tires is underinflation issues (primarily overheating), especially after the introduction in self service fuel stations. I would like to have a nickel for all of the obviously underinflated tires we see on cars and trucks going down the road everyday. Off my soapbox for now! rockin'

[HB Phil]

My truck tires max a 80 psi but I use the load charts, but max them out when towing.

I've always heard that too much pressure and the tire can get a "crown" effect with quicker wear in the middle; too little pressure can cause "cupping" causing too much heat and fast wear from scrubbing along the edges.

Man I wish I could get half of that 70,000 miles on my tires. Today just got a new set of Michelins and a new Pitman arm and idler arm assembly and alignment for my 2003 Silverado - a cool grand out the door... The front inside edges of the tires were wearing out real fast, even when rotating them every 5,000 miles. I had it to the dealer for alignemnt 3x but the dealer kept telling me it was alligned and high inside edge wear is normal. I finally brought it to an alignment specialist shop, supposed to be the best around. We'll see if they fixed it in about 5-6,000 miles...

And that's after just having the injectors and glow plugs re-placed under warranty last week. It's set-up real nice. Now all we need to do is sell the house so I can retire...

[davydee]

Gong for that cushy ride, Rockin'. I know we've got a much better suspension on the Excel than our old travel trailer, but I bounced that travel trailer so much on I495 around Boston that I know it caused some of those cracks in the seals around the trailer. David