What I learned yesterday:
I went to some local tire shops where I’ve bought tires before. None are franchise stores whose primary business is the gal next door, they are old school tire shops with very knowledgeable, old school tire guys.
Disclaimer:
I am predisposed to buying Michelin tires. I’ve bought Michelin tires for our small trucks my entire life, probably because my dad did. While Michelin’s warranty “may” not be what it once was, they’ve always taken care of me. For anything I drove in Baja, I always went with BFG and BFG is owned by Michelin.
Ok, moving along. Before I started this thread, I had pretty much made up my mind to go with the Michelin’s for our MH (295/8R22.5) and I intend to buy nine.
For the record, price is not a deciding factor for me. For me, MHs are like baseball, the goal is to get home safe! I figure my MH carries some very valuable cargo - ME! (Well, my wife also, if I have to be honest). I figure tires are probably to most important factor in insuring our safe trip. Additionally, I won’t enjoy the MH experience if I’m constantly worried about tires, so I want to make the best choice I can. I say “price is not a factor”, not to be arrogant but because compared to what I have invested in the MH and what’s riding on them, even the most expensive tire is minor fraction of the overall investment.
So, after reading the most recent in what appears to be a long line of “blowout” horror stories, I see yet again, more commentary about Michelin’s sidewall weakness. In that recent thread, it was pointed out that Michelin’s better ride is achieved by using a weaker sidewall. This was the subject of my first question, What is Michelin sacrificing to achieve a smoother ride? The tire guy, who sells Michelins, surprised me with his answer. He said the Michelin MH tire is an excellently engineered and built tire. He said Michelin uses a very soft compound to achieve the better ride. He said the side wall construction is not compromised by design but the softer compound is prone to severe and premature cracking and there’s no way around it. He said he “suspects” most Michelin MH tire failure is related to the softer compound, particularly in the sidewall. He said I won’t be able to beat the ride of the Michelin tires but if the MH rides on air bags, I probably won’t notice it. He said just about every other MH tire is going to be more robust, then spit out an alphabet soup of tire names but didn’t mention Bridgestone. He primarily focused on Toyo and (I think) Sumitomo. I asked him to quote the four tires he recommended and I thought he did but the sheets he printed only included Michelin and Toyo. I get the feeling he was gently steering me toward a choice of one or the other.
The next guy I talked to adamantly told me to go with either Michelin or Bridgestone. I was a little surprised by that so I asked to explain why. He said you can’t find a more popular tire than Michelin. To me, he might as well have farted, it wouldn’t have told me any less. I asked him to explain why he thinks one is better than the other. He said the Bridgestone is probably a better and more reliable tire. That’s all he had for me and the other two weren’t any better.
So I have price averages for Michelin and Toyo, I was surprised the Bridgestone guy wouldn’t quote me until I’m ready to put them on.
Remember, this I’d for nine tires.
Toyo M144 - $4074.93 ($452.78 ea.)
Michelin X MULTI-WAY 3D XZE - &7264.80 (807.20 ea.)
Am I wrong to think buying the Michelin means turning a blind eye to a documented sidewall deficiency? Unless I’m wrong and I don’t see how I could be, pretty much ANYTHING is a better choice than the Michelin.
So, at this point, I’m leaning toward the Toyo but need to understand the difference between M154 and M144. I would like to get some more information on at least one other, probably Sumitomo. I think at this point, which ever tire I decide on, will get a lot of attention to inflation, care and maintenance.
Still looking for more info so, if you have more to share, please do.
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So, at this point, I’m leaning toward the Toyo but need to understand the difference between M154 and M144. I would like to get some more information on at least one other, probably Sumitomo. I think at this point, which ever tire I decide on, will get a lot of attention to inflation, care and maintenance.
Still looking for more info so, if you have more to share, please do.
I know this for many may be a worn out thread. I don’t mean to diminish anyone’s past comments on the subject, I have found most of you to be far more knowledgeable than I. I post my question here in the hope of getting beyond personal opinions, to hard data, which seems missing in tire related threads.
My question:
What makes one tire a better MH tire than another?
In past threads on the subject, the conversation seems to devolve into personal opinions and bashing. I want to get beyond personal preference to hard data.
After reading a couple threads here, I was all set to buy nine Michelin’s. A recent thread about a blowout, frankly scared the hell out of me!
Some like Michelin, some like Toyo and some like others. What makes your preference better than another? Michelin purportedly provides a better ride, is it at the cost of robust side walls? Toyo is purportedly a more reliable/secure tire.
Why?
I want o make the best choice possible and while I’d like to have a good ride, living is sorta important to me. My MT always carries valuable cargo!!!
Is it plies, belts or ratings?
You ask for "hard data". I don't think you will find that here. All you will get is opinions. I think some of the large bus and over the road trucking companies may collect hard data with the intention of reducing costs. Because MH usage is so different from commercial use I'm not sure how closely their data matches our use of tires.
However, if all you can get is opinion look at the attached document. It is the aggregate opinion of 241 tire dealers. Note the Commercial Tire paragraph. I suspect that you would be happy with any of the Tier 1 tires listed there. To avoid the sidewall issue with the Michelin tires, select a tire designed for over the road trucks instead of the tire designed for MH use.
I chose Firestone FS561 because:
From all the opinions I could find it was as good as any Tier 1 tire.
The Firestone FS561 is for all practical purposes the same tire as the Bridgestone R238 and sells for about 2/3 the price. See attached picture. The Bridgestone tire is on top, the Firestone on the bottom.
Bridgestone/Firestone commercial truck tires sold in the USA come from a tire plant in Tennessee. USA made matters to me.
I don't have enough miles on my Firestones to have much of an opinion. They look first class, they ride smooth and are very quiet.
That's my opinion for what it is worth!
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2003 34' Georgetown on W20 Workhorse Chassis. UltraRV power mods. Doug Thorley Headers and MagnaFlow 12589 mufflers. Front Sumo Springs, Rear P32 Sumo Springs, UltraRV Track Bar.
1998 Jeep Toad.
You may not know how influential your comments can be so I want to take the opportunity to tell you!
Your comments struck a cord with me and I actually said out loud, that’s one of the smartest ways to look at tires I’ve read yet.
Thanks for your response.
Questions:
Do you check your tire pressure before each drive? If so, with what? TPMS, or are you physically checking each by hand with a gauge?
Do you check lug torque, if so, how often and with what?
Do you use a treatment on your tires, if so, which one?
I just recently started using Aerospace 303. I have been thus far impressed but haven’t used it long enough to get a feel for it’s long term UV protection.
As soon as I get up, I turn on the TPMS monitor. If all are where I expect them to be, we leave. I check with the gauge on any tire that shows a loss of pressure. The lug torque is checked at annual servicing by the shop. I do not use any tire dressing. Soap and water along with covering them when not on the road is all they get. This practice has worked well for over 25 years. In all that time and seven motorhomes, I have had one failure of an inside rear tire due to a puncture.
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2006 Monaco Executive 44 Denali
2013 43 QGP Allegro Bus ( SOLD )
2013 Avalanche