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Old 09-25-2008, 05:57 AM   #15
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I have Michelin XRVs on now and am in the process of replacing them because of suspected side wall problems. Neither the current set nor the previous set which I replaced when we bought the RV in 2004 have had any blow outs or other problems. The DOT codes on the originals were in 99 as you would expect. The replacements were mixed (3-3) between 04 2004 and 35 2003. Interestingly, it is one of the 04 2004 that is now developing the sidewall cracks. I'm expecting Michelin to make an adjustment for it but I frankly don't think that adjustment is going to be much.

I had the opportunity to look at a set of XRVs at a tire dealer yesterday that had been recently taken off. One was badly worn on the tread but they were all DOT dated 06 1999 and there wasn't a mark on any sidewall anywhere. I was truly amazed. I've been super cautions about keeping mine covered when they were not in use and driving them periodically to get rid of the moisture build up. I replaced the original set for the same sidewall cracking that I now have again. I strongly believe those cracks are the precursor to a blowout.

I've been just under the expected 5 year life on the RV tires. Since I've had no problems with the tire, I guess that is about as good as it is going to get. I am way too conservative to want to risk pushing tire life with the possible risk of the damage from a blowout. I view it as a reasonable insurance policy.

The DOT code for my new tires will be 24 2008.

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Old 09-25-2008, 07:16 AM   #16
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Surface cracks in the side walls do not mean failure is imminent. You have to dismount the tire and look INSIDE to make any meaningful conclusion about that.

Replacing tires at five years is indeed conservative, but you have to do what makes you comfortable. My own safety threshold is about 7 years.
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Old 09-25-2008, 07:45 AM   #17
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I'm inclined to agree with RV Roamer on this one. We replaced our G159's with Bridgestone R250F tires in Jan of 07. The sidewalls on the G159's were still smooth as a baby's bottom, but, just to play safe we replaced them. Tires are the weakest link between your coach and the pavement.
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Old 09-25-2008, 07:46 AM   #18
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Maybe my memory is off, but I seem to remember reading the warranty booklet that came with the coach for the Michelin tires saying they had 7 year casing warranty. I don't recall the tread warranty. Maybe someone has the warranty booklet handy and can provide some insight.

In the 5r we traded in earlier this year, the tires where Maxxis 235/85 R16 LR E and were 5 years old. One of them developed cracks around the inner side wall. The local Big 10 Store looked at them and said they were OK. I believe if they weren't, he would have tried to sell me a new tire.
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Old 09-25-2008, 07:52 AM   #19
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Just found this on the Michelin Techinical Bulletin at: http://www.michelinrvtires.com/miche...e-material.jsp

Click on the May 15, 2006 techincal bulletin. Michelin recommends after 5 years the tire be professionally inspected annually and replaced after 10 years regardless.
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Old 09-25-2008, 08:59 AM   #20
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The problem with going the inspection route is that there are no guarantees after that inspection. If it makes you feel better, I guess that is OK. Personally, I don't trust the people who would be taking my tires off the rims to tell me that I'm good to go or not. Then, there is the expense of the dismounts, remounts, and rebalancing to consider in the overall cost equation.

I'm driven by all that I've read. It seems that more people are prone to blowouts after 5 years. My reasoning is simple: the cost of replacing sooner than 7 years is about $1,000 for me. The cost of the repairs from a blowout could easily be double that. Michelin only guarantees their tires for 5 years so even if I would make it past that point with inspections, I'm on my own.

I freely admit that I'm a preventive maintenance junkie. I've always worked overtime at doing everything that I possibly can to prevent problems. I just put a new engine belt on my nearly 20 year old Ford Econoline. I had more than one person tell me how nuts that is. I do all of my own maintenance on everything that I own to save the money to allow me to "spluge" on items like using Transynd instead for standard ATF and replacing tires too soon. I once had a discussion with the manager of a tire store about replacing passenger car tires too soon. "You can get at least 6 more months out of those tires" he told me. When I asked him about what would happen if there was a heavy rain storm during that time and the car aquaplaned because there wasn't enough tread left to funnel the water away, he just pulled the car into the bay and replaced the tires.
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Old 09-25-2008, 09:41 AM   #21
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I took the rig into CW for a brake check and to get new tires . . .

I have a female acquaintance there and I let her know I was coming in so she could make sure I got treated fairly and not ripped off. The guy that was going to do my tires told me that I don't need new tires - that he would put two news ones on the front if I was concerned, but that they were in great shape. The rig came from the pacific northwest, so there's no dry-rot, no evidence of their having been stored flat on pavement or dirt for any period of time, no wall separation, no cracking, no NOTHING. Still have plenty of tread.

So now I'm back to square one - confused as heck - but I think I will have the two front ones replaced. They are Goodyear's . . . as I've said before with 30k miles on them and 9 years old.

The guy could have sold me six new tires easily - that's what I was there for. So I don't see any reason why he wouldn't have just gone ahead and replaced all the tires.
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Old 09-25-2008, 02:04 PM   #22
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Yesterday I was tooling along running down I-15 near Beaver, UT and pulled into the F-J for a Potty stop. As we pulled out, one of the gas station guys yelled me down.

Seems he spotted some wear problems with the front tires.

some history-

Original Goodyear lasted 5+ years and 50,000 miles but started showing weather wear. Since we planned a trip to Alaska, we opted to put on new ones. Replaced w/Goodyear.

The alignment was off and the Safe-T Steer were realigned last spring and the hard pull to the right was corrected.

Now, sure enuf, both front tires were showing severe edge wear (Note- All pressures have been maintained and have never been down). This with about 20K miles. In addition, all four back tires had tread separation.

I replaced all 6 with Hercules S209 and will go from there.

BTW, I have never heard of Hercules and would appreciate comments.
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Old 09-26-2008, 02:23 PM   #23
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by hamguy:
Yesterday I was tooling along running down I-15 near Beaver, UT and pulled into the F-J for a Potty stop. As we pulled out, one of the gas station guys yelled me down.

Seems he spotted some wear problems with the front tires.

some history-

Original Goodyear lasted 5+ years and 50,000 miles but started showing weather wear. Since we planned a trip to Alaska, we opted to put on new ones. Replaced w/Goodyear.

The alignment was off and the Safe-T Steer were realigned last spring and the hard pull to the right was corrected.

Now, sure enuf, both front tires were showing severe edge wear (Note- All pressures have been maintained and have never been down). This with about 20K miles. In addition, all four back tires had tread separation.

I replaced all 6 with Hercules S209 and will go from there.

BTW, I have never heard of Hercules and would appreciate comments. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

They appear to be based in Ohio, from what I can find. We use there tires on our fleet trucks at work and have had no issues with them. I mounted a set on my Ranger and really havent had them on long enough to give much of a review. We havent used any of there larger tires yet.
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Old 09-26-2008, 06:26 PM   #24
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In the for what it's worth department.

The below shown tire is a Michelin 275/80R22.5 XZE LRG that came on the right front of my coach. The other 5 original tires that were on the coach had a manufacture date of 0406. Nothing remained of the date on the shown tire. It is reasonable to believe that it also was manufactured in 0406. The pressure had been set at 105 psi on 9/5/08 while having service work done at the Tiffin Service Center in Red Bay, Alabama. The coach was weighed the same day with a front axle weight of 11,240 lbs with 5760 lbs on the left front and 5586 lbs on the right front (blown tire shown below). Michelin tire charts rate the load capacity for this tire at 5980 lbs at 105 psi. Pressure was continuously monitored using the Pressure Pro System. At approximately 3:45 PM on Sunday, 9/14/08, about 45 minutes from home the tire with no warning exploded. The tire had just a little over 18.000 miles on it. What caused the tire to explode? ????

Tire shown on the rubble heap at Carpenter's Campers, Pensacola, Florida were repairs to the coach are being made.


None of the original tires remain on the coach. The duals in the rear had been replaced in June with the Michelin 445/50R22.5 LRL X One Super Singles and the steer axle is now running on Michelin 275/80R22.5 XZA3 LRH. Coming back from the repair facility today, I experienced the smoothest, vibration free ride that I have had since I bought the coach. This is the first Michelin tire that I have ever had go flat. (Boy, what a way to start!) I have been using Michelins on my cars for over 30 years. This is my first motorhome.
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