Tires, Goodyear or Michelin

[IMDSailor]

Ok all you road runners out there. In making a choice between Goodyear G670RV at $325per, Goodyear G149 at $411per, Michelin XZE at $415per, and Michelin XRV at $410per. Prices in CDN $. Do not include Fed tax, balancing, mounting, or disposal fees.
These tire choices are for the steer position.
Current tire is Goodyear G670RV 245/70R 19.

I'm thinking of staying with the Goodyear G670's, more cost effective and the same as the rear, not sure that makes a difference. The G670's are made by Michelin, in Canada anyway.

Given these choices which would you choose?

Thanks.

[Mike Canter]

Goodyears on RVs have a known wear problem called rivering. This is where the second rib in on both sides of the tire wear and the outer rib does not. I went through two sets of Goodyear tires on my previous mh because of this problem and I did everything the Goodyear company told me to do and it still occurred. On my current Signature mh it came with Goodyear G670 tires and at 25k miles the second rib in on the front and back tires had worn away. I replaced them with Michelins without doing a front end alignment and have put 20k miles on them without any unusual wear pattern showing. I know that Michelin tires are more expensive but I feel that I am throwing money away by buying Goodyear tires that are going to have this rivering problem. There are lots of RVers on this site that have experienced the same problem with Goodyears. I might add that Michelins are smoother and quieter than my previous Goodyears

[GaryKD]

Hi IMDSailor,
While I favor Michelin XZE, buy any of these tires. They will age out before you wear them out.

[Hooligan]

I am on 2nd set of Goodyear G670's (22.5 inch) with no abnormal wear on either set. I prefer the Goodyear to the original Michelin XRV. I don't know if there have been any reports of "rivering" problems with your 19.5" tires.

Rivering is hard to explain and seems to randomly affect some MH's and not others. If your present Goodyears show no abnormal wear it may not be a concern. It does seem to be an aggravation to those affected, and most reports say it is not detrimental to the tire, but it is certainly not confidence inspiring.

[dsbear]

I'm a Michelin guy.

[Blaster 22]

Originally Posted by GaryKD

Hi IMDSailor,
While I favor Michelin XZE, buy any of these tires. They will age out before you wear them out.

I have GY G670s and have had no problems. As noted above, very few of us will wear the tread off these tires. I'd get the ones that will handle the weight of your MH and have the best price.

[vsheetz]

I just put a new set of Michelin XRV on my recently purchased coach, as I did also with precious coach.

That said, current coach had it's original set of G670's on it when I bought it. Well over 10 years old, 30k miles, and very evenly worn.

[IMDSailor]

Are there pictures available of this "Rivering" condition?

[phil57]

I just put new XZE2 Michelin tires on. After about 1200 miles I like them a lot. Sorry i can't compare the Goodyear but I took off XRV. I like the XZE2 better.

[Hooligan]

Saw this photo, defined as rivering, but have seen others that looked more like cupping. Maybe someone that's had the problem can post.. Years ago my 90 MH had a pattern similar to this due to toe in problem on a Bridgestone tire.

[IMDSailor]

I Googled "Goodyear Rivering" and found this photo. The tire in this picture is in considerably worse condition than mine, but the picture pretty much tells the same story.
I don't recall the date code on my tires, 3 maybe 4 yrs old, but there's only 21,000 miles on them.
I thought that I was under inflated but I keep them at 95psi and have a TMPS to monitor them. Based on the previous posts, and this picture I would call it "Rivering" not under inflation. I should also say that the rear tires are not showing any signs of unusual or premature wear...yet.
Yea or Ney? What say you?

[Mike Canter]

That is pretty well what the two sets of the 19.5 Goodyears on my previous mh and close but not so bad on the 22.5 Goodyears on my Signature looked like. Like I said in my earlier post I went from a Goodyear rivering problem to the Michelin absolutely perfectly even wear without changing anything else on the Signature.

[IMDSailor]

Originally Posted by Mike Canter

That is pretty well what the two sets of the 19.5 Goodyears on my previous mh and close but not so bad on the 22.5 Goodyears on my Signature looked like. Like I said in my earlier post I went from a Goodyear rivering problem to the Michelin absolutely perfectly even wear without changing anything else on the Signature.

Thanks Mike, Hooligan and everyone else who chipped in. I'm not a clairvoyant, but I think I'm seeing a pair of Michelins in my future.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but the Goodyears are the only tires subject to this problem?\

I suspect there is no recourse for this either.

Thanks again,
Stewart

[phil57]

Just another thought when I replaced my tires they were paid for by the manufacture long story. But what we did with Freightliner's blessing we went from a 255 to a 275 and the difference in the ride and handling is amazing. The computer needs to be reset but really wasn't a big deal.