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RV Tires. Every RV Owner should read this


Al F

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Every RV owner should read this Michelin RV Tire Guide. Michelin goes into great detail about what every RV'er should know about using and maintaining their tires.

 

This applies to all brands and manufacturers of tires, not just Michelin.

 

I am posting this because of a topic about buying an used RV which branched off into a detailed discussion about tires.

Al & Sharon
2006 Winnebago Journey 36G 
2020 Chevy Colorado Toad
San Antonio, TX

http://downtheroadaroundthebend.blogspot.com/

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This Michelin RV tire video contains a lot of information too. What every RV owner should know, by Michelin tires.

 

2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.  John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961

 

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Good article.

A couple things I noticed. Someone said if you ran Michelin tires to the 10 year period they had to be dismounted and checked each year after 5 years.

That wasn't what the article said. It was an outside visual only.

It was silent about the time of service save the visual each year. With no other information one could conclude if the visual was OK, keep using them.

Doug

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Good article.

A couple things I noticed. Someone said if you ran Michelin tires to the 10 year period they had to be dismounted and checked each year after 5 years.

That wasn't what the article said. It was an outside visual only.

It was silent about the time of service save the visual each year. With no other information one could conclude if the visual was OK, keep using them.

 

Here's what it does say on page 1:

 

While most tires will need replacement before they achieve 10 years, it is recommended that any tires inservice 10 years or more from the date of manufacture,including spare tires, be replaced with new tires as a simple precaution even if such tires appear serviceable and even if they have not reached the legal wear limit.
I think that's pretty clear that Michelin is saying "don't push your luck". Get your ten year's use and then replace them.

Sandie & Joel

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I did write, in another topic about tires, that to properly inspect a tire it need to be dismounted and inspected from the inside. I didn't write that because of anything that Michelin Tire's wrote, but more from an opinion based on reading articles in RV Tire Safety . I don't recall which articles, but the writer has mentioned several times that a lot of damage is difficult to see from the outside, but easy to see from the inside if you know what to look for.

Al & Sharon
2006 Winnebago Journey 36G 
2020 Chevy Colorado Toad
San Antonio, TX

http://downtheroadaroundthebend.blogspot.com/

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Here is some great, very specific information about how to inspect your tires from RV Tire Safety.

 

The first two entries deal directly with inspections and age, the remainder have more very good info about tire aging.

Al & Sharon
2006 Winnebago Journey 36G 
2020 Chevy Colorado Toad
San Antonio, TX

http://downtheroadaroundthebend.blogspot.com/

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Al, if you are going to quote Michelin, why do you then counter with an article that is most different?

But the 10 years differs greatly from those who keep preaching 5 years, or 7 years.

I have 10 years on mine and I am going to replace them this winter. There is no sign of cracking or any other problems. I have not done a good job of protecting them either. I don't cover them. My motorhome sits for 5 months or so at a time without moving. All the wrong things but still no cracks.

They are Goodyear RV tires which claim to have compounds to retard problems with sun and so forth.

Why do people pay extra for those protections and then not utilize them is what puzzles me. Just buy truck tires which don't have these extra things and are much cheaper.

Changing them is not cheap. It will approach $5,000. While that may be chump change to some, it isn't to me. I want to get my money's worth when I spend that kind of money.

Doug

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Most tire "experts" (you define expert, because I will not) with any formal standing do note that it is very difficult to determine damage to a tire without dismounting it. eg. it could be damaged even if an external visual inspection is OK. IS it damaged? - no - but it COULD be and you would not know it.

 

I run truck tires 7-10 years without issue. But these are heavy commercial tires. LIke aMH tire but without some of the more "exotic" upgrades. In a true commercial OTR application you would never see that life, though.

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I run truck tires 7-10 years without issue. But these are heavy commercial tires. LIke aMH tire but without some of the more "exotic" upgrades. In a true commercial OTR application you would never see that life, though.

 

The commonly used Michelin tires are just truck tires, not especially designed for MH use. For example thee XZE2+'s on my MH are simply "regionally rated" truck tires designed with more cross sipes for better wet weather handling and slightly thicker sidewalls for more curb hitting resistance. I fully expect to get 8-10 years on them (they're at 3.5 yrs now). I protect them from sunlight when we're parked for more than a few days.

Sandie & Joel

2000 40' Beaver Patriot Thunder Princeton--425 HP/1550 ft-lbs CAT C-12
2014 Honda CR-V AWD EX-L with ReadyBrute tow bar/brake system
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Goodyear does make a motorhome tire that is different from truck tires. Knowing motorhome tires time our before they wear out they make special compounds to extend life from ozone and other attacks. You certainly pay for that though.

Michelin does also from what I read. I just read somewhere the rv tires have less tread again knowing motorhomes don't wear them out.

 

About dismounting to check.

Well you can damage a tire at any point in its life. For example I got new tires on a motorhome. Filled with fuel on the way home. Ran over a sharp curb at the fuel station. I blew a new tire before I even got home and that was less than 100 miles.

So maybe you should dismount them after every trip just to see.

Doug

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Michelin does also from what I read. I just read somewhere the rv tires have less tread again knowing motorhomes don't wear them out.

 

 

 

As far as I can tell all the Michelin tires commonly sold for RVs are also sold as truck tires. I am not aware of an exclusively RV tire.

Sandie & Joel

2000 40' Beaver Patriot Thunder Princeton--425 HP/1550 ft-lbs CAT C-12
2014 Honda CR-V AWD EX-L with ReadyBrute tow bar/brake system
WiFiRanger Ambassador
Follow our adventures on Facebook at Weiss Travels

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Do a little research on Michelin XRV tires. You will see they are slightly smaller in dia. Means less tread. They say it isn't needed because RV's don't wear out. And they claim they ride better. What else is different I don't know.

Then research Goodyear G670 tires which is their RV tire. A different tire than truck tires.

Doug

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To me, the MOST IMPORTANT part of of the two sources of reliable information I gave; is that it gives RV'ers the opportunity to be INFORMED about their tires and the care of the tires.

 

It is not so much that we agree with everything or even most of the info provided, but that we read what is available and make our own informed decisions based on what is best for us.

 

Once we have read and digested what many would consider "expert" information then we can take the experiences of general RV'ers who run their tires for 10 years, don't inspect them, never protect them from the sun, don't use a TPMS to monitor the tire pressure, etc, etc and have great success with their tires. If, we have a different outcome, then at least we know we made an informed decision.

Al & Sharon
2006 Winnebago Journey 36G 
2020 Chevy Colorado Toad
San Antonio, TX

http://downtheroadaroundthebend.blogspot.com/

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I have Goodyear G670 275/70/22.5 tires on my MH they are dated 1-Jan. 05 5-April 05 installed May 05 for $2,091.59 out the door.

I always cover them when staying at least a month or more. Have ran TPMS on them their whole life(except when sitting).

They sit up to 7 months straight every year. NO cracks in them.

 

Plan on replacing them in middle of May when they will be 10 years 1-4 months old.

They do have some of what they call rivering. That has caused no problem in ride or steering.

I'm sure they will be more $$$$ to replace then back in 2005.

Hoping oil price dropping now will help some with price.

 

But at my age the odds are the next set will probably outlive me. And when installed in May the MH(est 86,500 miles) will be 16 years 9 months old.

So the next replacements will be due when the MH will be over 26 years old.

 

Good year G670's RV tire has a 7 year warranty on cracks. Michelin XRV RV tires has 0 warranty on cracks.

Do you get what you pay for? I think so. :)

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I don't know where you folks go for your tire work, but NONE that I have ever used have a tier "expert" or engineer in attendance that know any more about a tire than my wife ! "Is it round, yep, is it black, yep, is it heavy, yep, does it hold air, yep....done. Did you do an internal inspection, yep, looked good." Ya, maybe I use the wrong tire shop....oops, this is from MANY years, and MANY locations. JMOO

Dave W. KE5GOH

Stuck in the 70's ---

In E. Texas

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Most of the time someone has a tire failure they look at the age and if it’s over 5 or more years old they would say it failed because of age.

Without doing a failure analysis on the tire they are only guessing at the cause of failure.

I have been in the Truck maintenance business for over 40 years and not being a tire expert myself I worked with some good tire reps that were and learned along the way.

Most major fleets run their tires over 6 years with running the virgin tire and then capping the casing for a drive position and then the second cap would be for a trailer position. Tires could be capped in the 5th year so they could be 7 or 8 years old before being pulled.

It’s been my experience that more than half of the failures I’ve seen were caused by improper repairs or the damage caused by the injury before the repair was made. If a tire fails the first thing a good tire man should do is look inside the tire, if there was a repair then look on the outside and see if that is where the tire started to fail.

The only thing different I see between a truck tire and an RV tire in the way they are used is that a RV may set in one place for a long period of time. Does that cause the tire to fail early ????????????

In my opinion if they are properly inflated and loaded that they would be OK and I would be in the crowd that would run them 8 to 10 years, but you know what my opinion is worth!!!!!!!!!

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Al Florida, I too read that article stating after 5 years the tires should be dismounted and inspected by a professional. That is now changed to " Tires that have been in use 5 or more years should continue to be inspected by a specialist at least annually." That is a quote from https://www.michelinb2b.com/wps/b2bcontent/PDF/RV_Tires_Brochure.pdf

 

I've also read (RMA-Rubber Manufacturers Association) that tires usually fail from the inside out. The USDOT/NHTSA has the results of the NHTSA study of tire-aging in pdf form. http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=NHTSA-2005-21276-0073 If anyone cares to take time to read the complete document.

 

2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.  John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961

 

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Most tire "experts" (you define expert, because I will not) with any formal standing do note that it is very difficult to determine damage to a tire without dismounting it. eg. it could be damaged even if an external visual inspection is OK. IS it damaged? - no - but it COULD be and you would not know it.

 

I run truck tires 7-10 years without issue. But these are heavy commercial tires. LIke aMH tire but without some of the more "exotic" upgrades. In a true commercial OTR application you would never see that life, though.

 

 

 

I'll take it one step further. I think if there is internal damage to a tire even a dismount won't show it.

 

Yes, tires will last longer than one thinks, provided you "stay in touch with them".

 

I try not to abuse my fiver tires, as in I go out of my way to keep turn radius as large as possible. If I were to ever do something to them that would make me go "ouch" I would take note, and maybe shorten the replacement interval.

Previously a 2017 Forest River, Berkshire 38A, "The Dragonship". https://dragonship.blog/

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Interesting reading. You may want to put these two reverences on your favorites list.

 

http://www.moderntiredealer.com/channel/performance/news/story/2014/07/tia-praises-nhtsa-tire-service-life-report.aspx

 

In this RMA document chapter four is all about RVs.

 

http://www.mcgeecompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/complete-manual.pdf

 

FastEagle

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Interesting reading. You may want to put these two reverences on your favorites list.

 

http://www.moderntiredealer.com/channel/performance/news/story/2014/07/tia-praises-nhtsa-tire-service-life-report.aspx

 

In this RMA document chapter four is all about RVs.

 

http://www.mcgeecompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/complete-manual.pdf

 

FastEagle

Pages 54 and 55 of the mcgeecompany.com RMA pdf, put to rest the debate of using load/inflation charts to set air pressure lower than placard requirement for vehicle.

 

2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.  John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961

 

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Pages 54 and 55 of the mcgeecompany.com RMA pdf, put to rest the debate of using load/inflation charts to set air pressure lower than placard requirement for vehicle.

 

I guess I've never seen a debate about using pressures below the placard levels; most of the RV forum discussions that I've read are with people who insist tires should be filled to the sidewall maximums. In the case of my MH, I'm running about 10 psi above the placard pressure to account for our load as weighed.

Sandie & Joel

2000 40' Beaver Patriot Thunder Princeton--425 HP/1550 ft-lbs CAT C-12
2014 Honda CR-V AWD EX-L with ReadyBrute tow bar/brake system
WiFiRanger Ambassador
Follow our adventures on Facebook at Weiss Travels

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