Community Forums

Jon Mopar · 08-21-2012, 04:18 PM

Years back (late 90s-early 00s), several Motorcoach companies were using inferior tires on their class As....tire which were not suitable for the heavy weight and stress encountered during use. One such tire was the now infamous Good Year G159 (load range F), which has actually killed several people. Although most coach companies stopped putting these on their MHs after 03, they were sold by many dealers as suitable for Motorhomes past 2006. Multi-million dollar settlements were reached, but no recalls were ever issued.

Just last week, while out on the road, my parents had their first blowout on their new to them Class A (luckily it was on the rear). The tires showed no signs of cracking/damage, and I doubt that any of them were original to the coach (because of the amount of tread and condition), but when I looked at the bad tire....it was a G159. They plan on throwing on a set of 19.5 Good Year "RV" tires, but when reading the specs on them tire, they appear to be exactly the same as the G159!! Load range, ply count etc. So what did GoodYear change??? besides maybe an RV tire's ability to resist UV damage a bit longer.

I'm usually the guy answering the tire questions, but this one has us baffled. It is always important to inspect your tires for damage to insure a long safe life, but none of that matters when you don't have the proper tires to begin with.

Steve Ownby · 08-21-2012, 04:55 PM

Jon,

The important thing is to make sure they get tires of the correct load range for the axle weights. There should be a sticker inside somewhere, usually close to the drivers seat that gives the GAWR for both steer axle and drive axle. Look at the manufacturers weight tables & make sure you are getting the right tire for your weights.

Don't worry about RV tires. Look for all position tires with a rib tread pattern. Don't be concerned at all about ply rating. That is a throw back to the 1950. Modern all steel truck tires typically have one sidewall ply and 4 or 5 tread plies.

Jon Mopar · 08-21-2012, 06:24 PM

I neglected to mention...Goodyear's RV tires single & dual weight rating was the same as the none RV tires (actually those G159 death traps had a slightly better rating if I recall correctly)

The blow out was on the sidewall, which was surprisingly thin. My pickup had beefier steel belts

IMDSailor · 08-21-2012, 06:58 PM

For my 2 cents, they should also have a tire pressure monitoring system. As you can see in my signature block, I use the TST 510. Easy to set up, easy to use. Excellent after sales service. It won't do anything to prevent a catastrophic tire failure, but it will constantly let you know your pressures and temps so you shouldn’t have a failure due to that. In the event of a catastrophic failure it will sound an alert giving you a few extra precious seconds to react prior to a total failure, making a bad situation safer rather than worse with no heads up.
Strongly recommend you check it out.
Again JM2C,
Stewart

Jon Mopar · 08-21-2012, 08:03 PM

I agree that Tire pressure is important, and I think they should look into a monitor in the future. With that said, my are much like my. Tire pressure gets checked before each trip

hackman · 08-22-2012, 07:00 PM

Hello Sailor. Do you have a link for that tire monitoring system?

Fellow Maritimer

IMDSailor · 08-22-2012, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hackman

Hello Sailor. Do you have a link for that tire monitoring system?

Fellow Maritimer

Here ya go,
http://www.tsttruck.com/

They are also a sponsor of IRV2. They have their own thread in here also. Search IRV2 on TST or Tire Monitor or the like.

Mr_D · 08-22-2012, 07:30 PM

Another TPMS is EZZRVPRODUCTS. Made in the same factory as the TST units, have a three year warranty (except on the batteries) and cheaper too.

Gary RVRoamer · 08-22-2012, 07:58 PM

The only thing that makes it an "RV Tire" is additional ultraviolet & ozone protection, which is intended to help the tire last long enough for an RVer to get his moneys worth out of the tread. But most modern tires have plenty of those protective chemicals in them anyway, so only Goodyear is still making a tire that is expressly labled as an RV Tire (the G670 model). Michelin still designates some of their tire models as being more suitable for RV use than others, but that is based on the usage characteristics alone.

As I recall, the previous problems with tires on motorhomes were simply that the RV manufacturer had specified an inadequate size & load range of tire for the weight of the coach. That was certainly the case in the Toyo vs National RV affair and a Fleetwood /American Coach recall that I remember. A Newmar recall too, I think. There was nothing wrong with the tire except it was overlaoded right from Day one.