After wearing out the original set of G614s (stimulated by the tread peeling off at 33k miles) and with the replacement set of G614s ready for replacement (rockintom's rule for these tires is 3 years or 30k, whichever comes first - and I believe it.), I decided that an upgrade to 17.5" wheels and tires was in order. I bought a set of four new 17.5" aluminum wheels and Goodyear G614 tires from
Tire and Wheel Supermarket and had them shipped to Evans, CO for installation. (I kept a G614 for the spare. The OD of the G614 is 30.7" vs. the 30.5" OD of the G114.) Service and delivery from this outfit were excellent.
I'd recommend them to anyone. To answer the question of why I chose Goodyear rather than Michelin: price plus Goodyear's history of covering tire failure related damage to an RV.
During a rest stop a couple hundred miles up the road from Prince George, BC I noticed that the front driver side tire on the trailer had a gouge in the sidewall.
I must at this point apologize that NO PHOTOS are available.
The gouge is a 1/4" - 3/8" deep and 1 1/2" long, although it's full depth is only about 1/4" long. Although I'm not sure where the damage was incurred I suspect that I may have run over something at the "RV Park" we stayed at near Prince George. Although the tire had lost no air and showed no sign of deformation/bulging I elected to remove and replace it with the spare tire (G614).
Once we were within a hundred miles of Fairbanks, AK I called the Goodyear dealer there to learn that a replacement G114, mounted and balanced, would cost around $490.
Once I told him what had happened he suggested that Goodyear might be able to repair the tire. I took it to the dealer yesterday for an inspection. Result: Goodyear says the damage is cosmetic. They will send the tire to their shop at Anchorage where the damaged area will be "skived out", filled, baked, and ground to the original contour. The repaired area will be visibly noticeable upon inspection. The estimated cost is $20-30 and delivery will be 3 weeks (not a problem for us). Goodyear does not consider this to affect the performance of the tire.
This sure beats buying a new tire way up here in the land of inflated costs and prices.
Jim
Damaged G114 Tire
Just funnin' ya for sure!!! I think you'll be happy with the G114 long term. We have some friends that run the Michelin XTA's (like we have) and he's on his 4 year and about 45,000 miles on his tires and love them. They are also running a maxed out weight Excel. I think having the capacity lead that this style of tire has, makes them a lot more durable than the old G614 for sure. We have been very satisfied with ours in the short time and mileage. The cost of the tires is.....well that's another story. Ouch!!! I have fooled with tire pressures a bit....starting with 120 psi and now at 112 and happy with the ride. These tires run so much cooler compared to the G614. The other day while driving up here to OR......my trailer tire temps were 95-98*F with 75-80*F ambient. I feel very comfortable with these babies!!! Good luck on your tire repair. rockin'
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