Class A tires

[Mr_D]

I used the FMCA Advantage program in Nov. 2016, figure it saved me at least $100 on each of the 8 tires.

[guardrail53]

"Quote from AWOL50" ( "Ask truckers who buy all those dangerous used RV tires what they think of motorhome owners who discard perfectly good tires. They love them.
Truck on." )

Not any of the OTR truckers that I knew!

Maybe a local grain hauler that does not go more than 5 to 10 miles one way to the elevator, might buy one for a spare or something? Or a guy that made local deliverys that never left town!

But as a O/O I never ran anything but virgin tires on my semi, and I wore them out, replaced them with new tires when they got to a certain wear point!
3/32" on the trailer, 5/32" on the drive, and I replace the steer tires if they showed any irregular wear, or at 50% which ever came first! I had a buddy that hauled grain to town, and he loved my old steer tires, and always bought them from me when I replaced them! Rail!

[marjoa]

Here's a couple of past posts I've made concerning replacing our rear dually's:

Rear tires I just bought
I just bought and had installed here locally in Texas about 60 miles away from Houston, 4 new tires on my rear dually's, 4 - Toyo M122's, 255/70R 22.5 (H rated tires), new s/s solid extended valve stems for my TPMS, road force balanced, 2 Centramatic Balancing Rings and also had front tires/rims dismounted, road force balanced, 2 Centramatic balancing rings installed there too along with new gaskets/"O" rings on those s/s valve stems and lastly bought a total of 12 (3 for each rim) tapered self-centering lug nuts and all 4 tires had the same DOT date that were 12 weeks old. Went for a 40 mile drive (one way) had the coach weighed, came back and —by hand they re-torqued—to 450ft.lbs. all the lug nuts.
For a total of $1,850.00.

Took a while to find a shop that would do the road force balance and all the other stuff I wanted and get the pricing I did, but finally did. Get er done!

The folks @ Centramatics recommended this tire shop in Willis, TX to me.
Southern Tire Mart | Tires, Truck Repair, Wheels | Over 70 Locations
Speak with John Malroy @ the tire shop - I believe he is the manager and very knowledgeable & helpful.

For me (IMHO) it's not just a matter of "riding smoother" or "feeling better" it's a matter of keeping the rig as healthy as possible. With this much weight, if you have tires and wheels that are not match balanced, not balanced or improperly balanced, followed up with not centering correctly when mounting to the hubs and lugs are installed, it can create vibration (whether you feel it or not) that translates throughout the entire suspension system which can wear other parts prematurely.

Since everything is "riding on my tires", and I'm going to spend a couple of grand for tires, why wouldn't I take the other necessary steps to insure, good tire wear and minimize other possible suspension issues by spending a few more bucks?

But then again I've never been accused of taking the cheap route on anything I've ever done.

I'm not a fan of beads or powders.

Proper PSI & Monitoring
Since you have already made the smart decision to replace all tires, learn how to pressure them correctly according to the tire load specs based on your MH's weight. You'll have to weigh your MH first to determine those specs. I also encourage you to buy a TPMS system to monitor your tires. Everything is riding on your tires, so knowing how to care for them correctly, pressure them correctly, and monitor them correctly is very important.

One last thing, you probably bought this MH with dreams of having fun and that's a good motive. BUT, in order for that to happen "the fun part" do your do diligence to make this MH as reliable as you know how and are able to, so trips aren't plagued with bad surprises.

Good luck!

[Waiter21]

Its possible the ten year old tires may be serviceable; i.e. how were they stored, what exposure to UV, etc. If I was only using the MH for short trips to the lake, I might run them, maybe.. The industry seems to favor replacement of tires that are over 7-10 years old.

My travel is mainly cross country, having a tire problem or blow out can be real bad. having it thousands of miles from home in unfamiliar territory adds to the problem.

To mitigate the risk, I like to see new rubber on the road.

My old Mirada had Sailun S637 (19.5 inch) never any problems. We put almost 30k miles on them in three years.

My 1999 Southwind also has 19.5 inch tires. I was going to buy all new tires, but after close inspection, four of the tires were only 4 years old and looked in good condition, so I only bought 2 tires.

These were Roadmaster (Cooper tire) 245-70-R19.5// $265 out the door, mounted, balanced, new metal stems.

I put these on the front and rotated the old fronts to the dullies. This works out great to help relieve pressure on the billfold. Rather than buy 6 tires at $2 grand. I buy two new tires every 2 or three years, and put them on the front.

Baby’s got new shoes. – 1999 Southwind 35S

[HGC]

On our way to Yellowstone we were following my brother in law when he had a sidewall blowout on the inside rear dually. Helluva noise and REALLY lucky it was the sidewall and not a "split". Turned out the tires were over 10yrs old. He had earlier replaced his fronts.The on site tire service was great and replaced all of his rear tires with Hankooks. He said that the FedGvt. limits tire time on any vehicle to 7yrs. whether used or not. I think there is a reason for that. At 7yrs my tires will be replaced. I am not going to risk my family with tires that fatigue due to age and use. Things wear out and videos of MH accidents due to tire failure show catastrophic results. I know the "money thing" hurts, but I'll take that pain. Safe travels to you all.

[WeatherTodd]

Originally Posted by DWRichard

There is not a single tire expert who thinks the way you do.
Your lack of concern for yourself is noted, but your lack of concern for those around you is irresponsible.

do yourself a favor and look at most OTR trucks.
Tire experts...

Next we will hear from people that say to replace your tires every 5 years...lol.

[WeatherTodd]

Originally Posted by HGC

On our way to Yellowstone we were following my brother in law when he had a sidewall blowout on the inside rear dually. Helluva noise and REALLY lucky it was the sidewall and not a "split". Turned out the tires were over 10yrs old. He had earlier replaced his fronts.The on site tire service was great and replaced all of his rear tires with Hankooks. He said that the FedGvt. limits tire time on any vehicle to 7yrs. whether used or not. I think there is a reason for that. At 7yrs my tires will be replaced. I am not going to risk my family with tires that fatigue due to age and use. Things wear out and videos of MH accidents due to tire failure show catastrophic results. I know the "money thing" hurts, but I'll take that pain. Safe travels to you all.

not the Federal Govt...lol. Between tire experts and the Feds... Im sure we could get a fraction of "fact" distilled from them!

[frankdamp]

When we bought our 32' Class A in 2010, it was just coming up to 8 years old and had 11,000 miles on its original Goodyears (19.5"). There was quite a lot of sidewall cracking, so I replaced all 6 of them with new Toyos from our local Les Schwab tire shop. Including dynamic balancing and a front end alignment, I paid $2200. The shop manager searched the warehouse listing to get the newest tires in stock.

We sold the RV after 4 seasons and 6000 additional miles - buying gasoline at $4.50 and burning it at 7.5 mpg was making a hole in our IRA savings. The tires still looked new. I've bought Toyo tires every time one of our vehicles needs new tires over the last 20 years or more.

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by Macbow

My new to me Class A has tires almost 10 years old.
Following other discussions here the recommendations would say replace them.

Is there better places or vendors for prices?

Once again the tire discussion goes from an honest question to an insult ridden thread. Great job. I'm sure MacBow is really impressed with some of the responses.

[cruzbill]

For all those out there who have bellybuttons, or opinions about tires, Please read what an expert has to say:

RV Tire Safety


Happy Holidays!

[WeatherTodd]

Originally Posted by cruzbill

For all those out there who have bellybuttons, or opinions about tires, Please read what an expert has to say:

RV Tire Safety
Happy Holidays!

oh lookie there... he says to get actual corner weights and use a properly calibrated gauge.

[Macbow]

Thank you all, easy to see the differing opinions.
I’ve made my decision to replace.

How do I close this thread down?

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by Macbow

Thank you all, easy to see the differing opinions.
I’ve made my decision to replace.

How do I close this thread down?

Click the little red triangle in a post and make your request to a moderator.

[mike brez]

Originally Posted by cruzbill

For all those out there who have bellybuttons, or opinions about tires, Please read what an expert has to say:

RV Tire Safety


Happy Holidays!

Joke