Community Forums

70gsconvt · 08-06-2014, 01:02 PM

Hi, well I bought my "new to me" 1999 Dolphin 5350. The tires have a date code mostly of early 2008, so I was looking to replace them even though there is no cracking/checking on the sidewalls.

Has anyone tried the Samson GL-283A tire? ($165.99 - Samson 245/70R19.5 880202 tires at SimpleTire.com) It's listed as a truck tire. It is a radial and I can get them for $185, shipped to me. Then I would just need to get them installed. That's a lot less than the $285 to $500 I've been being quoted for various tires around here including Hankooks and Michelins.

I know it is a chinese tire. But I'm a believer that if you take care of the tire with proper inflation and covers to keep them out of the sun, most tires can be reliable.

I'm concerned with ride and road noise. I would hate to buy these tires only to discover a problem like being really loud going down the road or rough ride. Thanks in advance.

onlakegaston · 08-07-2014, 06:32 AM

When we first purchased our "new to us" 2003 Coachman 2 years ago it had 6 new Samson GL-283A tires on it. I was a little concerned about them considering they are Chinese tires. we have now put about 6000 miles on them with no problems. Since these are the only tires we have had I can't really comment on rough ride but the road noise is not bad at all - don't notice it at all.

Jim

70gsconvt · 08-07-2014, 08:20 AM

Thanks for the reply. The only negative thing I can find on the internet about them is that they're chinese. Can't find one real complaint of a blowout, noise, bad ride or anything. And they seem to be very popular with truckers.

hornet8118 · 08-07-2014, 09:14 AM

im currently running the Samson 19.5's for a year now and have had no problems. No noise issues i can see. usually the rv has enough rattles and road noise of their own to drown out any tire noise if there is any. I'm pretty much a weekend warrior with my rv. Usually the farthest we venture out is about 200 miles for a round trip of 400 miles. We have traveled in pretty much all conditions but snow. 50 to 90 degreee weather with and with out rain with no change in performance. I would look into a local tire shop and see compare prices. usually internet pricing is cheaper but the problem is the tire shop will wack you on the mount and balance of the tire not to mention a disposal fee per tire. The average car tire is about $2.50-$3.00 a piece to dispose of. Being a larger truck tire it will be more. If you find a local tire guy you may be surprised at what you can get them for. I got mine for $183.00 a piece mounted, balanced, new valve stems and old tires disposed of. Stay away from the big tire chains. In my experience as a heavy truck/equipment mecahnic big chain retailers have less experienced people working for them verses a small town tire shop that has been in business for many years.

I am running these on a 27 Ft holiday rambler on a GM P30 chassis.

Steve

Winepress · 08-07-2014, 09:30 AM

I just replaced my no so Goodyears with Hankooks. New tires.... Made in China.

kirk7678 · 08-07-2014, 03:05 PM

Our motorhome came with the Samsons on it and we have put about 20000 miles on them. They are a good tire, but they are made of a slightly harder compound than most and consequently are hard to balance. Are okay for rear tires, but I'm going to replace the front ones with something I can get a good balance on.

TCNG · 08-07-2014, 06:12 PM

Don't have them on our coach (had new tires at purchase), but I work for a company that deals with large quantities of Samson tires. No real complaints to report - seem like a decent tire for the price.

ronspradley · 08-07-2014, 10:02 PM

Just put Samson 8R19.5 on rears last week. Only 300 miles so far. They do not seem to be too noisy or harsh, running 90 pounds air. My only complaint so far is I have not been able to find load inflation tables for these tires yet.

ronspradley

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bamaboy473 · 08-08-2014, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kirk7678

They are a good tire, but they are made of a slightly harder compound than most and consequently are hard to balance. Are okay for rear tires, but I'm going to replace the front ones with something I can get a good balance on.

What does the compound have to do with balancing? I just had a full set of Samsons installed and will take it back for the third attempt to balance the fronts. Am I wasting my and their time, or is there a trick that you've learned?

JayGee · 08-08-2014, 06:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronspradley

My only complaint so far is I have not been able to find load inflation tables for these tires yet.

.

Me either.

hdossett · 08-08-2014, 07:59 AM

Put four Samsons on the rear of my rig this winter after two GY blowouts!

Michelin @ $620 each, vs. $185 for Samson, all include Mount and balance, times four plus tax tag and title. (19.5")

16 ply rating, they put in about 105-110 psi,... too rough, so I dropped it to between 90-95. Much better ride. May drop it to upper 80s to see if that is better. As good or better than the GYs.

I'll watch them pretty close and change them out in five years if need be. Got about a 1,500 miles on them so far. Samson name is Israel and was sold to China a few years ago. Only bad thing I could fine was the "China" word!

H

P.S. My "guess" is that load/psi rating would be very close to other tire in the same class. I just replaced one of my water wagon tires because I misread the Max PSI on the tire, it said 80 loaded, I read 50...

bamaboy473 · 08-09-2014, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronspradley

My only complaint so far is I have not been able to find load inflation tables for these tires yet.

22.5s have the same pressure listed as GY and others; 120psi. I'm running 102 in the rears, and 95 on the fronts. The TPMS ought to tell me whether there's not enough air in them (I'm guessing here).

I'll be taking the coach back to the dealer for a third attempt to balance the fronts.

ronspradley · 08-09-2014, 10:14 AM

[ Originally Posted by ronspradley

My only complaint so far is I have not been able to find load inflation tables for these tires yet.

QUOTE=bamaboy473;2174623]22.5s have the same pressure listed as GY and others; 120psi. I'm running 102 in the rears, and 95 on the fronts. The TPMS ought to tell me whether there's not enough air in them (I'm guessing here).

I'll be taking the coach back to the dealer for a third attempt to balance the fronts.[/QUOTE]

I was not speaking of the max tire pressure listed on the sidewall. I was talking of the load inflation table that shows how much air will support a given weight. My front axle is 6000 lbs and rear is 10000 lbs.

ronspradley

.

56safari · 08-09-2014, 10:15 AM

Been running Samson 245/70R19.5 on our RV for about 8,000 miles with no problems. The Tire and Rim association publishes the standard load/inflation tables for commercial truck tires. You'll find it on the net.

I run ours 10PSI over the inflation table and can not complain about the ride or handling. They also run a little cooler with the slight increase in pressure. Didn't have any trouble with balancing on ours.