Information never discussed, TIRES

[ChuckD]

Ok, Lets talk about something never been on the board!! LOL. TIRES.

I know that tires that are very seldom used are "rotted" from the inside. But I use mine and often. I am not a full timer but I am on the road for at least 7 months a year. Last year about 10,000 miles. When in the sun, they are covered. I have a good TMS and pay attention to it. The tread depth is good. Not overloaded and balance if and when signs show up (wear). Now I said all that to say all this. It is getting near 5 years since the last replacement. I usually get my tires from Les Schwab mostly because of the great service. However they are only in the far west states. For Example not in Arizona. Also I have heard from other sources that their tires are substandard. I did buy a set there that I regretted. The manager recommended against them but I replied. "With your service and all your locations I have only to go to the nearest store and you guys will take care of me". So the customer is always right and I got them and they fell apart in Arizona. They took care of me when I got back but I got 6 new tires elsewhere. That has been about five years ago.

I have read at different places about how long they last before they should be replaced. Michelin says (In a recent Motorhome article) 10 years max. Same place Goodyear says "the more use the better". Confused? Me too.

I have checked for cracks. Very few (2 out of 6 tires) and very shallow. I know "better safe than sorry". But I don't want to spend a couple thousand dollars if it is not needed.

 

Any advice!

[Barbaraok]

We have had Toyo's on our MH for years, they were OEM for all Alpines. Replace at about 7 yrs. Always do so in Oregon - do steering one year, a couple of years later, do drive tires. You're faulting Les Schwab for not taking their advice? Really? I like dealing with them - walked in told them the model/size we need and less than 3 months old. Best they could do was 6 weeks - I like that! Yes, they are more expensive than some and are a truck tire. But we have had great service, and 'inexpensive' tires can be a problem - especially when a saleman tells you to buy them.

 

As to "use them" the more you drive the more the elasomizers/plasticizers in the formula are dispersed throughout the tire. That helps them last longer. That's one of the other reasons that if you are going to start the engine during the winter 'sit' time, you should get out and run on the road to get not only the engine and chassis components up to temperature and fluids flowing, but it is also beneficial for the tires.

 

Barb

[ChuckD]

Thanks Barb, I hope I did not give the impression that I faulted LS for my getting the tires they said would not last. That was entirely my fault.

I have had Toyo's on my pick-up for quite a few years and no problems but I do not use it as much as my RV. Maybe I should check them out? Thanks for the advice.

 

I don't understand this

"walked in told them the model/size we need and less than 3 months old. Best they could do was 6 weeks - I like that!"

[Barbaraok]

You want to buy tires with as little time since manufacturing as you can. When I told them nothing older than 3 months, they came back with the best they could do was 6 weeks old. Couldn't get them any 'younger' than that. That's what I call listening to customer, understanding reason and working to satisfy us.

[ChuckD]

OK, now I understand and I do the same thing. One company tried to sell me tires that , according to the code was "six" years old and when I pointed that out I was told "That doesn't mean anything". I left.

[Devilishjim]

Any cracks tells me they are on the downhill stretch....Try Discount Tire I run their Coopers and they warranty as good or better than Shwab. In this hot weather hold your speed down ,moitor tire temp, stop in rest areas for cool down and avoid driving in the afternoon as much as possible

[Ron]

Full timer and have been traveling all over the US & Canada the past several years. I always get my tires at Walmart because they give me great service, they're nationwide - US & Canada, they sell my favorite brand - Michelin, they're prices are always the best or very close to it.

---ron

[kb0zke]

FMCA members get a discount on Michelin tires for both towed and MH.

[AFchap]

We normally travel 5-10k miles a year. I normally cover the tires when parked more than a day or two, and park them on pads when in the RV port at our stick house. I monitor pressures closely. I replace my tires at 7 yrs, either at a Best One Tires in the East/South East, or at Southern Tire Mart. I do tell the tire place I want the freshest tires they can get, and I watch the dates they give me. I don't argue over a few months.

[HamRad]

I'm a firm believer in Les Schwab tire stores. Love their service. Tires not so much. Well at least the ones I had been getting. From now on I'll be buying only known high quality tires. I am tired of having to replace the cheaper trailer tires. This past January I got a set of the Goodyear 614's. Hopefully they will be lasting a good long time. I was in AZ so no Les Schwab.

 

So my experience tells me to not just get a cheap replacement but upgrade to a known good brand and model. As far as replacing just because your tires are near 5 years old...... Well I think I'd wait for a few more miles. And maybe a year or two. That's my opinion worth all of 2 cents! You've got to do what you think best. I'd be interested to know what you end up doing. Best of luck. Dennis

[BIGMIKEM]

I have a little different perspective on the tire dates, i will always keep the newest tires in front, and when time to replace them i won't hesitate to rotate them to the rear depending on condition but older tires in good condition will last longer than a manufacturer's replace date. they are in the business of selling tires they are not gonna say the will last 10 20 years if taken care of , that being said a lot of factors come to light for an older tire, tread wear side wall condition. air pressure, are the tires next to one another the same height (carrying) equal weights? balancing etc. I Drove trucks for 33 years and had new tires come apart, old tires last to the limits, it's all about condition but keep the fronts new!! also i only use Goodyear or Michelin.

[Jimalberta]

I'm not sure what the big deal is about covering tires unless its for looks. I have never had a tire under 7 years old weather check or crack. Maybe its if they aren't used much?

[Pat & Pete]

I'm not sure what the big deal is about covering tires unless its for looks. I have never had a tire under 7 years old weather check or crack. Maybe its if they aren't used much?

 

Leave anything in the sun for just a couple of months ( maybe not even that long ) and see the deterioration . Everything changes at a different rate .

Tires definitely start deteriorating from the time they leave the mold and sunlight just helps to hurry it along .

[Biker56]

I only put around 4,000 miles a year now and they sit without moving out in the sun for 7 months & 3 months. They are covered during those times.

 

My MH OEM tires were XRV Michelin's. I had 2 zipper blow outs with them before I replaced them at 6 years. No more Michelin's for me.

 

Replaced them with Good Year G670's and then replaced them at 10 years 3 months old. No sidewall cracks on any of them. But didn't expect any as they have a 7 year warranty on cracks.

They did have some rivering on all 6. But didn't cause any problem with 40K miles on them. Balanced with Equal.

Not cheap as the 275/70/22.5 were $3,145.80 out the door. But replacing cheaper tires at 5-6 years may cost you more $$$ use per year.

 

Now have 1 year on new set and I may go to 11 years before replacement.

[Mark and Dale Bruss]

 

I have read at different places about how long they last before they should be replaced. Michelin says (In a recent Motorhome article) 10 years max. Same place Goodyear says "the more use the better". Confused? Me too.

I have checked for cracks. Very few and very shallow. I know "better safe than sorry". But I don't want to spend a couple thousand dollars if it is not needed.

Few read the Michelin guide about 10 years which also says dismount and check the tires annually after 5 years. That cost alone promotes earlier replacement.

 

The compound used to make tire bodies has emollients that are released when the tire is used to protect it from the effect of infrared and ozone. RV low usage like, 10,000 a year, doesn't promote the emollients to the surface. A OTR does 150,000 miles a year, that is "the more the better."

 

Tire covers do not protect from ozone and usually ozone damage occurs from inside the tire. When we had a tire failure on our training motorhome, a 7 year old tire that was absolutely perfect tire with only 40,0000 miles on it disintegrated and tore up the wheel well structure. The spare that had never been dropped from its hiding place under the motor home was unusable. Education from RVSEF taught us RV usage is the worst for tires because we don't use them and the damage is seldom visible. That is why the recommend 5-7 year replacement.

 

We pushed 6 years on the trailer and the Volvo tires. We only buy US manufactured tires. After all it is only our lives and our house riding on the tires. We choose to risk neither.

 

Why is it this tire age discussion seems to happen weekly? Doesn't anybody read past posts?

[pegwillen]

Full timer and have been traveling all over the US & Canada the past several years. I always get my tires at Walmart because they give me great service, they're nationwide - US & Canada, they sell my favorite brand - Michelin, they're prices are always the best or very close to it.

---ron

I use WM for my car and I agree the service is good.

[Pat & Pete]

 

 

Why is it this tire age discussion seems to happen weekly? Doesn't anybody read past posts?

 

It's because we can't recall what we had for dinner last night , let alone what we might have skimmed a week ago .

[Barbaraok]

Or is it because people read the old posts, but don't want to spend the money, so they hope that if they ask the question again, the answer will change?

[Pat & Pete]

Or is it because people read the old posts, but don't want to spend the money, so they hope that if they ask the question again, the answer will change?

 

Nah , it's because we all suffer from CRS .

 

True that everything does change , always . Just not as quick as we'd like , sometimes .

[BIGMIKEM]

I used to know what CRS stood for, sure it will come to me

[ChuckD]

Why is it this tire age discussion seems to happen weekly? Doesn't anybody read past posts?

 

Incase anyone is interested in this statement

 

Last post 4/1/16 for Trailer tires.

3/7/16 Good information but not what I was looking for.

11/19/15 Trailer tires

9/17/15 Trailer tires

8/22/15 Good information but mostly about tire inflation charts.

 

Here with my questions, I am getting answers about "my" problems. And I do appreciate it.

[Mark and Dale Bruss]

You missed these tire discussions for a few

April 1, 2016

April 5, 2016

April 7, 2016

April 26, 2016

May 25, 2016

June 17, 2016

June 28, 2016

July 11, 2016

July 23, 2016

[ChuckD]

I checked July 23 and July 11 and I didn't want to take any more time looking for more. You must use a different search machine than I do. I could not find any others, on this forum, than what I listed.

[Smitty77_7]

While probably an exception, and most likely unique to a specific Les Schwab - I had a bad experience. I asked for three key things when making contact with the LS that was supposed to be the 'Go to tire dealer for Country Coaches.'. I asked for: Better Fuel Efficiency the the existing tires I had; I asked for better comfort, less road transfer the the specific my existing tires; and I asked for less then 6 months old tires.

 

I was immediately, within the first 30 seconds, recommended to Toyo tires. I had Michelin XZE* tires, and my preliminary research had shown the recommended Toyo's were not more fuel efficient, and most likely comparable in ride comfort. I shared my perception with the salesman on the phone, and we moved on.

 

My opinion, is the LS, and this specific Oregon Bob Dickman affiliate dealer that specializes in the trucking industry. (At that time, CC and Monaco had stopped being their primary customer, as they were out of business. And IMO, this tire dealer had shifted to a focus from OEM, to the trucking industry, with a lessor target on RV owners... And, suspect they had a much higher margin on Toyo's, due to volume, then other tire manufactures.

 

So, the short of what turned out to take almost 5 months of my time, is that LS and I agreed on a specific set of tires. They ordered them in. This was after a careful conversation about my wanting more fuel efficient, better/softer riding, and under 6 months of age as my criteria for purchase. The salesman went into the mantra that tires do not age in the warehouse, and no guarantee of tire Born On Date. I said we'd need to 'Agree to disagree, that for RV owner's that replace tires due to years vs wear, the DOT Born On Date was important.' He agreed to order the tires, and was to email me an invoice and contact me when they came in.

 

Well no email of the invoice. No pro active call that they were in. When I called and found out that they were in, the salesman did not have the date available for me. Said he would have to check them. And as luck would have it, we had a medical problem that was going to keep us from returning form the Southwest to the Northwest. I did call them to talk this over openly with eh salesman, started to realize we probably had a problem ahead. I asked for the tire dates, and he had not had a chance to go check. I asked him to do so, and to call me back. He did, and yes, they were much older then the six months I had requested. And, I had been given a heads up from a IRV2 Forum Member the Bridgestone tire ordered, was not a new model as the salesman had stated it was. Turns out it was an over 6-7 year old tire. (R268, good tire. But not a new model, and surprise to me, it was less energy efficient then the tires I had with my Michelin XZE's.) So, I tried to start working with the dealer on having the move them onto another customer that would both be able to get them installed soon, and was less then concerned about the Born On Date due to wearing them out by miles vs years. This did not go so well, and they wanted me to eat a restocking fee for the tires.

 

I'll shorten this long thread here. It ended up with me not being supported by American Express after asking for my deposit to be refunded. This Bob Dickman Oregon LS Dealer, never sent me the invoice via email, and when I asked about this with American Express, it did not seem to matter to them. On the invoice, the salesman had made a specific comment about no guarantee of age of tire. IF I HAD BEEN SENT HIS EMAIL INVOICE, as the salesman said he would send it to me, and seen this specific comment - I WOULD HAVE CANCELED THE ORDER AT THAT TIME. As, age of tires mattered - to me. Again the short version here. I talked with the Bob Dickman Tire Manager for just under an hour. Where he explained to me how large of a dealer they were. How good their reputation was. And frankly preached to me how RV owners had no real understanding about tires, and that 'age did not matter'. After listening to him for this long period of time, I politely said again to him, that we would need to 'Agree to disagree.'. That to RV owner, the Born On date was important. I tried to explain that if I were to sell our coach two years in the future. That a tire date of two years vs say three or four years old - would have dramatic impact on the sale. That a protective coach buyer would not care about the 'In Service Date', they would only look at the 'Born On Date' - and if too old, would want compensation off of the price of the coach.

 

Again the short version here. This specific Oregon Bob Dickman LS Tire Manger, in writing to American Express, called me a liar... Wow, I'm the customer. I called this dealer based upon referrals from other CC owners. Asked for help and guidance (they are the tire professionals. And was first pushed to Toyo's, which did not meet my stated needs. (A good tire, just not what I had asked for...). Was told the Bridgestone R268 was a newer tire, and met my needs... Was never sent an invoice with my $!K deposit, as the salesman said he would do. And then when the tires finally came in, I found out by pushing the salesman, that they were older then my stated need of being under 6 months old... But I'm a 'liar', when I tell them that I would not accept these tires.

 

And, American Express, did not seem to care that I was never sent an invoice, with the stated comment from the salesman that 'No guarantee of tire age'. I asked them to have Bob Dickman LS show proof that they had sent it to my email address. But, they did not seem to care. I then realized, that AE was not worried about me as a Credit Card Customer of over 15 years. They were in camp with where they got their fees - in this case a small piece of the action from Bob Dickman LS tire out of Oregon.

 

This ended up with me eating partial restocking fee on tires that did not meet for sure two out of my three stated needs as a customer (Age under 6 months; More fuel efficient (They'd be 6% less efficient the the exiting Michelins I had.) Who knows about the third criteria, a softer ride... And, I also no longer have an American Express card...

 

If I was not in San Diego, vs Oregon, I would have gone in person to LS headquarters (In Oregon) to explain my treatment by this Bob Dickman tire dealer. And I would have gone to small claims court to get compensation. Not so much for the money, but more so from the principal of the matter. But, I'm not in Oregon, so I elected to eat the costs. Order tires someplace els that met my desires - and move on...

 

YEAH, a long post. Not my first on Escapees on this experience. But, I just wanted to counter that LS, in this case their Oregon Bob Dickman Tire Dealer - I felt was unfair to me as a customer. And IMO, no way did I feel they should have called me a liar to American Express... That was the single most unprofessional part of how they treated me. Well, except maybe other then having the Tire Manger preach at me about how little us RV owners know about tires...

 

So LS for me, no thank you. And, in October of this year I'll be in Oregon again for the first time. I will make a personal visit, not to Bob Dickman Tires (As the Manager was as high as I could get up the food chain via email and phone calls.), but to LS Corporate Headquarters to insist on talking to a Customer Advocate. I want them to hear what I felt happened, and how unpleased I was with their service. Mistakes happen. But these RV Tire Professionals, seemed to blow me off from the start. They wanted to push their Toyo's (Again my opinion a good tire. But for them due to volume I bet a much higher profit margin per tire unit.), and the 'Professional Salesman' did not seem to care about what my request as customer were...

 

Go back to your normally tuned stations now... Over a year ago, and this bugs me about how unfair it came down... And how little protected I was, even with American Express supposedly assisting me on getting things right. I never took delivery of a product. I never was given or sent an invoice. So how was I supposed to cancel the order early, based upon some salesman adding a comment that he knew from our conversation was a 'no deal' from me?

 

Best to all, and for sure I'm an exception - LS, as does Discount Tires - has taken care of many happy customers... I'm just not one of them,

Smitty

[Mark and Dale Bruss]

First off we pick a brand of tires and then find a dealer for that brand. We are very brand biased as well as US made.

 

But to Les Schwab dealers. We had a puncture in one of the Equinox's tires when we were in McMinnville OR. We went to Les Schwab because they are a Michelin dealer and that is what the Equinox has. If we had to replace the tire, we wanted it to be the same.

 

Les Schwab fixed the nail hole, put the wheel back on the Equinox and the spare back into its well and the cost was $0. And we have never been in a Les Schwab dealer before.

 

So if we were shopping for a brand that Les Schwab carries, and we were in the area, we would definitely go to Les Schwab.