Community Forums

Gary.Jones · 11-15-2022, 09:14 PM

Chuck

OK, I understand. As I said above, a 2 or 3 year old tire should NOT be torn by any competent tire installer. and I just don't understand how a two or three year old tire could bond itself to the wheel rim enough to then tear out a section of the bead when a tire is removed. Sorry to hear that you have had to fight this problem.

I am not surprised at the cost you encountered. I recently priced new 365 Michelins at a cool $1,750 each. I had seen $1,550 and $1,250 before but this was a new high, which is why I am SO INTERESTED in understanding if these reported tire problems are a manufacturing quality problem or something inherent with these big steer tires.

I'm still waiting for a tire pro to jump in here and tell us the "real" story about is causing these problems in Michelin tires and the current scarcity.

Gary

brobox · 11-16-2022, 05:39 AM

Gary,
From my experience, you will never get a straight answer from Michelin, or Spartan. Any 3rd party's opinion or speculation is going to be just that. After my experience we had a dude named Ian that paid us a visit. I no longer had time to play Michelin's game of "catch me if you can" for any type of warranty. I had to move on doing cleanup and applying that effort into dealing with insurance companies.
Michelin lost a customer that use to speak highly of them....easy how $2,400, and from your quotes it looks like it's climbing higher, can change one's opinion of a company. It is a shame they have a monopoly on 365 tire size.

I just saw another post the really applies to this situation.

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f278/202...ml#post6194307

Cruzer · 11-16-2022, 08:23 AM

Gary, I can't answer your question as to why but I can add a one thing.

It's not that the bead is torn when removed from the rim. In fact, it will look just fine. The problem is that the cords inside the bead can get torn and damaged. This can cause a ply separation.

I had one of the first revision 1.0 Rettrobands fail on me. I was driving along on Chicago's Tri-State Tollway when all of a sudden the coach shook like crazy. I assumed it was a blown tire so I pulled over and inspected and saw that they were all inflated and fine. I the drove off, keeping in under 45 MPH (that was a thrill with crazy Chicago drivers flying along) until the next exit, which was an oasis that was under construction. I figured that I had a Rettroband failure so raised the front end up and spun the wheels by hand. It turned out that the right front wheel always rolled to the same spot so I knew where the problem was.

I removed the tire and took it off the rim (I carry lots of tools

) and found that the Rettroband pin had pulled out of the urethane so I removed the pieces, contacted Brett and reassembled the tire and all was well. The Rettroband was sent to Australia for failure analysis and that was the start of planning for revision 2.0. The tire was 4 years old and I've changed many truck tires over the years so I knew how to not stress the bead when mounting tires but the following year I was travelling and pulled into a campsite in Wall, SD and noticed that tire had a huge blister in it. I called around looking for a tire but it was near impossible for that size. Eventually I got one next day air'd and connected with a tire guy to come and install it via Coach Net. In the morning, as the sun rose and I was waiting for the tire guy to show up I heard a loud pop and went outside and saw that the huge blister had popped and I could see the inner plies beneath it. Fortunately I was parked and on jacks when it went and not driving. It appears that the air got in between the outer shell and the inner plies, causing the blister. The tire guy confirmed that the bead had a weak spot in it. The left side was never removed and it help up until the following year, when I replaced all of the other tires and removed the other revision 1.0 Rettroband. Later I had NIRVC install 2.0 Rettrobands while the tires were still young.

Why the beads on the 365s are so temperamental is beyond me. But I can attest to the results.

brobox · 11-16-2022, 08:33 AM

Mark, thank you for sharing an experience similar to mine and from an RV expert on top of it. I won't even ask what Michelin said

At least they couldn't blame someone else.

Cruzer · 11-16-2022, 08:38 AM

I never bothered to ask Michelin. It was four years old and if I want to hear fabricated stories and blame pushing I can always listen to a politician's speech.

brobox · 11-16-2022, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cruzer

I never bothered to ask Michelin. It was four years old and if I want to hear fabricated stories and blame pushing I can always listen to a politician's speech.

“Touché Exactly why I moved on.

Douglee25 · 11-16-2022, 01:51 PM

Wow that is crazy!

IASM · 11-16-2022, 11:46 PM

We are planning on heading south next month and this thread has got me wondering if i should bring a spare? If a guy blows a 365 and needs a replacement will i find at least a used tire? With the tire being scarce is there a plan B? Obviously i cant sit at a shop for a month.I am thinking of bringing a mounted 315 with me but wondering is anyone bringing a 365 with them?

Douglee25 · 11-17-2022, 03:19 AM

Will a 365 unmounted tire fit under the flip up bed? dunno

brobox · 11-17-2022, 04:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IASM

We are planning on heading south next month and this thread has got me wondering if i should bring a spare? If a guy blows a 365 and needs a replacement will i find at least a used tire? With the tire being scarce is there a plan B? Obviously i cant sit at a shop for a month.I am thinking of bringing a mounted 315 with me but wondering is anyone bringing a 365 with them?

JMO, you have only heard of a few of us that have had a problem with the 365's. There are probably thousands that have not had a problem. The 365 is a huge tire and I don't know where one could be carried without a trailer.

Gary.Jones · 11-17-2022, 03:39 PM

The 365s will not fit under the bed on any of our coaches. AND I doubt that there is any room that will accommodate a tire in the basement. Plus, those tires are about 150# unmounted if memory serves me correctly and a mounted tire and wheel would be a bear to even move for us old guys.

No, what all of us are doing is take off on our trips and cross our fingers that we have no problems that would require replacing with a new tire. Chuck is right, there are many hundreds (thousands ???) of those tires running all over the countryside every day on Newmars, Entegras, and Tiffin's higher end coaches and we all take our chances on being stuck for a while if we have a flat. It might take flying in a tire from someone who has a new one 1,000 miles from your location, and you get to cool your heels for a couple of days while it gets there, but no-one is carrying spares.

Some tire sizes are easy to get. Everyone makes 295s so those are always available but might be mismatched with a Michelin. 365s are only made by Michelin so those are the ones that are scarce as chicken's teeth. I believe 315s are made by others, but Michelin 315 are also scarce right now also.

But you take your chances when you travel, and you may spend some "quality time" at a Spartan shop, an Entegra dealer, a tire dealer, an AquaHot repair guy etc. etc. I've spent a lot of that "quality time with my coaches. Its what we all have to put up with and provides interesting interludes to our trips. Its the nature of the beast !!!!

__

Gary

bevandtomH · 12-03-2022, 09:05 AM

fWIW: I see on the Newmar forum, a letter went out stating 365 tires will be available starting Dec 4.
Sounds like if you’ve got an order in with your tire dealer already, you will be notified.

Marcosdad · 12-03-2022, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cruzer

I never bothered to ask Michelin. It was four years old and if I want to hear fabricated stories and blame pushing I can always listen to a politician's speech.

That looks exactly like the blister I had on my PS steer tire. (mine didn't pop). Michelin did give me some money for replacement (about 70% as I recall) under their 7 year warranty. Tire was about 4 years old when this happened.

ttgoddard · 09-04-2023, 06:07 AM

I have 365 Michelin's on the front of my coach that I should soon replace. Has anyone else considered or switched to 385/65 R22.5 that are available from Toyo, Bridgestone, Continental etc. in steer.

Typically i've seen they have a higher load rating too and very similar in actual size.