tires

[jon lechich]

Thanks George after what I found out about my friend boy the tires are going to
Number one priority. Seems like those good looking 22.5 tires are just a fasade
on my choach and its time to move them oft. Again thanks for all the
information-Jon
Jon
Rebel Bird
Bremerton Washington

George Lowry wrote:
Sorry - this got bounced earlier - Seems like Spamcop does not like
the new forum for some reason as they are the only messages getting
bounced.

George


Hi Jon,

From the information I have received from tire reps is that the tires
start to deteriorate from the time they are manufactured, much like
our bodies. Even sitting on the shelf, they are "wearing out".
Depending upon the manufacturer, tire life runs between 5 and 7 years.
Generally, Michelin, Goodyear, Firestone, tend toward the lower
recommendation while Toyo, and some other tend toward the higher
number. Most recappers will not accept a carcass for recap that is
over five years old.

With RV's, tires seldom wear out the tread but rather they rot out. If
you were a trucker putting 75 - 100,000 miles on a tire a year, you
would probably have the tires recapped at least three times during
their lifetime.

Something else I learned: Back when we were traveling in our GM
Converted Coach, we happened upon this charter outfit that ran GM
coaches. Their service manager told me that the best tire they had
found was a Bridgestone model (I forget the number). Next time we
needed steer tires, I insisted on this model Bridgestone. A while
later, I noticed a peculiar wear pattern and took it back to GCR tire.
The manager checked it out thoroughly and did some research. He
found out that particular model tire was designed for a MINIMUM of
60,000 miles per year. I was only averaging 15,000. I was not putting
enough wear for the rubber in that tire, He replaced them with
another tire which was designed more for my usage. Prior to this, I
never knew that you could put too few miles on a tire.

One of the biggest factors is tire pressure. The ONLY way you can have
the correct pressure is to weigh the coach, at least axle by axle and
better by each wheel, and then consult the inflation charts and use
the pressure recommended by the tire manufacturer. Something else that
I learned from both the Michelin and Bridgestone Factory reps is that
it is just as bad to have a tire over inflated as it is to have one
that is under inflated. Weigh the coach, find the correct pressures
and check them often.

What I have heard of some folks doing is trading their tires in at
approximately the 3 years point. The tire still has enough life left
in it so the dealer can sell it to a trucker or a farmer for trailer
use. Meanwhile the RVer has new rubber essentially all the time.

When we were on the way to Redmond last summer we had a '98 tag axle
tire blow. It was a Michelin and all the others were the same
manufacture date. Dealing with Les Schwab in OR, they took the rest of
the Michelins in trade and installed eight Toyos, all balanced with
Equal. The way we looked at it, when that tire blew, it caused some
damage. Most I was able to repair except for the cosmetic damage to
the paint, etc. I estimate that to have that damage repaired in a
regular shop would have cost $500 - 1,000. If the tire had been in
another place, it well may have caused $2500 or more in damage. Since
the new tires only cost around $2700 installed, we figured that it was
money well spent. Safety was well worth it. BTW, we had planned to
replace the tires anyway, the blowout just hastened it.

I am sort of a devout coward. Two of the most important components on
any vehicle, IMHO, are the tires and the brakes. Steering is right up
there with them, but does not have the wear factor that tires and
brakes have. I figure the price of maintaining these items is worth
the lives of my wife and myself.

George Lowry
'95 WBDA 4203 & GM 4106 (for sale)
Spearfish, SD

Jon wrote:

>
> What goes wrong with these tires after say 7 or 8 years? My back
four tires look like brand new from the outside, no cracking or UV
damage? Does the rubber just brake down after so long? and who
promotes that you should change tires? I know most of the rigs on
this site might run about say 3,000 miles or more a year and over a
long period might just go 20,000 to 25,000 in say seven years. I was
told most of these tires are good for 150,000 miles with good
maintance. Any answers. Or maybe I will just contact one of the big
tire manufactures and find out the reason for my question. Thank and
have a great day!!!!
>
> Jon Lechich
> 1978 Wanderlodge
> Rebel bird
> Bremerton Washington
>
>
>



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