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Old 03-25-2020, 08:36 AM   #1
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New Motorhome Tires

Last November I started looking for new tires for my motorhome size 245/70R19.5.

I had 3 criteria, good quality, reasonable price, had good ratings from users and NOT made in China (preferably made in USA).

I was sure that I could find a tire that matched my criteria that was made in the USA. Tires my size made in USA are among others:
  • Michelin
  • Bridgestone
  • Goodyear
  • Firestone
  • Sumitomo
  • Yokohama
  • Others

Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear are very expensive. Maybe worth it for commercial over the road trucks but probably no better than the others for motorhome use. After all we don't wear out our tires...we age out our tires. I ruled out those three.

Of the reviews that I could find on Firestone, Sumitomo and Yokohama the Firestone seemed to have the edge. In addition, the Yokohma is more expensive than the Firestone and Sumitomo but doesn't have as good ratings. Although I know that Firestone is partnered with Bridgestone it just seems more American to me! Yeah, yeah all these tires are MADE IN USA but Firestone is a legendary American tire maker.

I chose the Firestone FS561. I like the closed shoulder design which is touted to yield better fuel economy (I doubt I can tell in a motorhome...but who knows). In addition, its tread design is almost the same as its more expensive brother the Bridgestone R238. See the photos below. The Bridgestone is the first picture shown. Bridegestone/Firestone have a stated service life of 10 years for their commercial truck tires.

I installed the tires myself (I'm 73 years young...took me three days ). I used BB gun steel BB's for balancing beads. ~$24 for the BB's VS ~$150 for large diameter DynaBeads. With the large diameter BB's no special valve stem required. I put ~8 oz in the front tires and ~10 oz in the rear tires. The test drive was a smooth as glass!

Maybe my research can help you make the decision on which tires to buy.
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Old 03-25-2020, 01:10 PM   #2
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Just curious what you used to break the beads and secure the rims while you did the R&R? I’ve done this with tractor tires (no balancing) and it was a chore but with wheel weights they at least stayed put while I did the work. Any pics? Thanks
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Old 03-25-2020, 02:01 PM   #3
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Breaking the bead was the least of the problems! See this video.

I bought a slide hammer like the video uses from Amazon and 2 each 42" crow bars from Home Depot. Breaking the bead took two whacks each side at the most. It would have been easier with actual tire irons but they are about $90 each so I made do with $20 crow bars.

It just takes work!

One thing where I disagree with the video is the tech stands the tire up to inflate it. I've read that there is less chance that the tire will mount slightly off center if it is inflated with the tire laying flat.
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Old 03-25-2020, 02:20 PM   #4
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He makes it look easy. But I get it. The big thing is to remember to take out the valve so you can fill it fast enough to set the bead. And having a compressor that’s up to the task. That seemed to go pretty easy in the video. It’s a lot harder with a 24” tractor tire because the side walls are so much softer - I tried all the tricks and finally was successful with starting fluid. Setting the bead was the challenge. Watching the video I’d be more confident now with coach and truck tires.

Obviously it helps to have all the right tools and a little experience....
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Old 03-25-2020, 06:45 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by R.Wold View Post
He makes it look easy. But I get it. The big thing is to remember to take out the valve so you can fill it fast enough to set the bead. And having a compressor that’s up to the task. That seemed to go pretty easy in the video. It’s a lot harder with a 24” tractor tire because the side walls are so much softer - I tried all the tricks and finally was successful with starting fluid. Setting the bead was the challenge. Watching the video I’d be more confident now with coach and truck tires.

Obviously it helps to have all the right tools and a little experience....
From what I've read larger is easier. 22.5 and 24.5 tires are heavier but pose less of a problem mounting and de-mounting than my 19.5" tires. With my motorhome tires I was worried that I might not be able to get the tire bead to seal. I preparation for that difficulty I bought this from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/TUFFIOM-Press...%2C234&sr=8-18

Then, all 6 of my motorhome tires aired up with no problem. I also had 2 15" tires for my utility trailer to change. Their beads wouldn't seal so I used my air blaster bead seater. It worked great on both tires. See this video:

Now I have lots of tools and no tires to change at the moment. There is always Craigslist...someday.
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Old 03-26-2020, 02:35 AM   #6
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Very impressive research, Larry.

The tire industry is similar to the auto industry ...it has global orientations.

Personally, for me, it's more important what the parent company might be more than it is where the tire is manufactured. All the big tire companies have plants not only in China but in other countries as well.

I am hesitant to buy a tire from a Chinese company. However, I don't have the same reservation in buying a tire that is made by a reputable company that has a plant in China ...there's a difference.

Michelin, Goodyear, etc. all have plants in China. And remember, Michelin is a French-based company with subsidiaries all over the world.

Hankook is a South Korean company that also has a plant in China. I cited an article in another post where Hankook's plant in China is managed by the home office and has personnel from South Korea supervising the manufacturing process at the plant in China. The manufacturing techniques mirror those at their home factories and they claim the quality is the same as the tires they make in their plants in South Korea. This is similar to the claims that Michelin, Goodyear, etc. make that also have manufacturing plants in China.

On the flip side, there are Japanese tire companies that have subsidiaries in the U.S. and have a plant here. The most prominent one that makes commercial truck tires is Yokohama that is a Japanese company. It now makes just about all their commercial truck tires in their plant in Mississippi. Sumitomo is another Japanese company that has a plant here in the U..S. ...in Tonawanda New York, that makes some of their commercial truck tires at that location. Both put out excellent products in my opinion.

My favorite Tire is Toyo that is a Japanese company. It makes some of its car tires in Georgia ...but I believe many of their commercial truck tires are still made in Japan ...they too have various tire plants all over the world, however.

BTW, Bridgestone is a Japanese company. It purchased the struggling Firestone, an American company in Akron Ohio, I believe in the late 1980s. They merged the Firestone name in the 1990s to form an American subsidiary but still under the corporate umbrella of Bridgestone in Japan.

So tires, like cars, are really a global operation. We had a Subaru Outback, made by a U.S. subsidiary of a Japanese-based company, that was assembled in Indiana from majority of U.S. parts. As you know, many foreign car companies have U.S. plants in addition to Subaru ...Toyota, Nissan, Kia, Hyundai, VW, BMW, etc., etc.
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Old 03-26-2020, 09:15 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yeloduster View Post
From what I've read larger is easier. 22.5 and 24.5 tires are heavier but pose less of a problem mounting and de-mounting than my 19.5" tires. With my motorhome tires I was worried that I might not be able to get the tire bead to seal. I preparation for that difficulty I bought this from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/TUFFIOM-Press...%2C234&sr=8-18

Then, all 6 of my motorhome tires aired up with no problem. I also had 2 15" tires for my utility trailer to change. Their beads wouldn't seal so I used my air blaster bead seater. It worked great on both tires. See this video:

Now I have lots of tools and no tires to change at the moment. There is always Craigslist...someday.
The problem with the 24/17.5 tractor tires was getting the beads to seat. The rims are wide and heavy and the side walls are soft so they don’t cooperate like truck tires. A bead blaster would have been helpful - I’ll probably get one. It’s always a bit of a gamble using starter fluid (either spray).
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Old 03-26-2020, 09:49 AM   #8
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I have had some tires that were wider then the wheel and couldn't inflate them laying down. They had to be stood up to inflate. Often times you had to lift the wheel to center it in the tire, while standing.

We also often used starter fluid to set the beads of wide, off road tires.
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Old 03-26-2020, 10:03 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by twinboat View Post
I have had some tires that were wider then the wheel and couldn't inflate them laying down. They had to be stood up to inflate. Often times you had to lift the wheel to center it in the tire, while standing.

We also often used starter fluid to set the beads of wide, off road tires.
You could lay the wheel on a block of some sort to elevate it off the floor. Then the tire would self center on the back flange. Just a thought. Of course if they are tractor or other off road tires being perfectly centered may not matter much.
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Old 03-26-2020, 10:15 AM   #10
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This is the one that offered more challenges than usual. The wheel weight alone is around 450lbs so managing that takes some preparation. But the beads on these tires naturally curve inward and the rims are heavy. So it takes a bead blaster or ether. Or a second/third set of hands...I even tried the chain-around-the-center trick but nothing would sweat the bead.
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Old 03-26-2020, 10:19 AM   #11
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This is the one that offered more challenges than usual. The wheel weight alone is around 350lbs so managing that takes some preparation. But the beads on these tires naturally curve inward and the rims are heavy. So it takes a bead blaster or ether. Or a second/third set of hands...I even tried the chain-around-the-center trick but nothing would sweat the bead.
Agree, the starting fluid is the easiest way.

We often did it while still on the machine.
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Old 03-26-2020, 10:37 AM   #12
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Where there is a will to do it....there is a way...even if you have to invent it yourself...or find a video on YouTube!
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Old 02-07-2021, 12:02 PM   #13
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yeloduster,

Good Post. I will be following in your footsteps later this year. I have a couple of questions for you.

1. What was your tire source?
2. How did you or the source handle the tire age question?
3. Are you still satisfied with the steel BBs? I have been thinking of going with Magnum+ beads because of their large size.

The tire change video was interesting from the number of corners that were cut - no balancing, old valves stems/cores reused, no crossing pattern used when tightening the lug nuts. He did not clean the wheel's bead seat area. Though it does appear he understands/uses gravity and leverage to his advantage.

Thanks,
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Old 02-07-2021, 12:11 PM   #14
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I had four drive tires that were Firestone FS561s until I replaced them with Goodyear about a year ago. The Firestones gave very good service and I would recommend them to anyone. The reason that I replaced them with Goodyears is that the place that does most to the maintenance on our RV got me a smoking deal on 3 week old Goodyears. Basically slightly less expensive than new Firestones. My points. Firestone FS561 are good tires. It pays to shop around for price on tires.
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