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Nwcid

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We only have 2 local shops that do big tires and this is my first HDT.  A local place I have used several times, but something is always wrong when I get my cars back.  Never anything major but I am over it.  

The other option is Les Schwabs which overall has good service.  I use to use them back in the day, but the price went up and service went down many years ago so I stopped using them.  Overall I know they still do a good job and they have a lot of shops in the PNW if I have any problems. 

With this said they offer 2 brands of tires that are in my price range and style. 

First is the Radar R-D1 the other is Falken BI-850.

On the Radar they were very comparable price to online and with the Falken they were on average about $50/tire higher than the best price I could find.  There is almost $1500 difference between the 2.  These are installed prices.  

I did some searching and I could not find any reports on either of these tires.  Maybe I was not searching right...... So my question is can anyone give me feedback on these tires?

 

We live in the PNW and boondock.  Dirt, mud, snow are realities of where we live.  I am tandem and use my interlock on a semi regular basis.  I am looking for a tire that provides reasonable traction and reasonable life.  We will travel 10-15k/year.  I do have chains, 1 single and 1 three rail. 

Do I just do the less expensive for now and worry about it again in 100,000 miles?

2014 Volvo 630. 2016 Fuzion 325T, RZR 900 Trail 
675ah AGM, MSH 3012 inverter, 960w Solar.  (2016 Chevy 3500 DRW, backup)

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I would suggest you travel to a different town to a better shop. You will want on open shoulder. Don't buy cheap junk.

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At 10/15k a year your 100k estimate is going to be close to 10 years away and even I start to think about replacing tires that are 10 years old. I will admit to not being a Henny Penny about tire age. Although I currently live in the northeast and it appears our tires fair better than tires in other parts of the country, I assume because the sun never shines on them, lol.

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I recently swapped out my 13 y/o tires for new.  Nary a crack or weather check to be found. BUT, we're still tandem and have very light loads on the drives. Heat is the enemy of tires, whether from load, climate, or low pressures.  I wouldn't dream of running that long on steers or singled axles.

BTW, I replaced the Firestones with Sailuns and am very happy.  Much better ride and far quieter.

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Nwcid, You may ask them if they price match.  They can usually get any tire you want.  I do that with Americas Tire here in CA.  I go online and find a tire I want and show them and they usually will match the price and order the tires in.  The last time I needed steers, I went online and found the best price for the tire I wanted at the "Tire Rack" and had them shipped to my house and then loaded them up on the truck and took them to the tire shop and had them installed.   

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I am sorry I did not specifically say, but I am replacing drives not steer.  In reality the drives are in good shape and would probably easily last me 5+ years if I was not worried about the traction issues.  

I could go to the next town, but that is 2 hours away and I do not think I can find a significant savings.  The R-D1 set is $2800 installed with them giving me some credit for the used tires.  

Is there something that is better, that is still under $3500 installed for 8?

2014 Volvo 630. 2016 Fuzion 325T, RZR 900 Trail 
675ah AGM, MSH 3012 inverter, 960w Solar.  (2016 Chevy 3500 DRW, backup)

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Be sure that ask them about the speed rating. There are different ratings, my Daytons are only rates for 75mph and in most cases that is enough for me but sometimes when I am bobtailing I have to watch that I do not stay up or above at that speed for long.

Edited by Star Dreamer

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4 hours ago, Nwcid said:

I am sorry I did not specifically say, but I am replacing drives not steer.  In reality the drives are in good shape and would probably easily last me 5+ years if I was not worried about the traction issues.  

I could go to the next town, but that is 2 hours away and I do not think I can find a significant savings.  The R-D1 set is $2800 installed with them giving me some credit for the used tires.  

Is there something that is better, that is still under $3500 installed for 8?

I just put 8 new Cooper tires on for $$2400.

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31 minutes ago, SuiteSuccess said:

I just put 8 new Cooper tires on for $$2400.

What model of tire?

2014 Volvo 630. 2016 Fuzion 325T, RZR 900 Trail 
675ah AGM, MSH 3012 inverter, 960w Solar.  (2016 Chevy 3500 DRW, backup)

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I just put 8 new Road-X SDR1  11R22.5 (http://roadxtire.com/SDR1.html) tires on my tandem motorcoach for $3200cdn ($2675us). Came highly recommended by my tire shop.....and they know I don't buy junk but also don't like to throw money out the window. Only out about 100km on them but no vibration that I can feel and we didn't balance as they have never had issues with Road X tires.

 

They still only recommend Michelin for steers for highway use.

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Look and see if your tires can be re-grooved? Most can and if your only issue is traction. A few hours with a grooving iron. And you can add 3/32 or so to the tires you have.

I picked up one years ago on Ebay. Had to order new blades last week. Been re-grooving tires for years. Buddy of mine has 250 Peterbilts. All his tires drives and trailer. Get new life cut into them. And no increase of blowouts.

And let me say now. Your going to hear from both sides on this. Many will say its not good. But as long as done right. Its giving you extra miles out of tires. And like my buddy. He is not looking to get them recaped. So that is not an issue. Just make sure to research and do it the right way. AS you don't want to cut deep and not have enough rubber left on the cords.

 

Edited by Pete Kildow

 

 


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I have what looks to be the same tires as the Radar under a couple different names. They came with a set of rims I bought to switch away from X-ones.

Traction is fine, haven’t had any issues, I don’t do hard core off road, but do see a fair amount of grass/soft ground uneven terrain.

Fuel mileage did take a big hit from the Xones though. Some of it may be from being in places I can have a heavier foot, but I struggle to be much above 7 mpg with these tires.

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I get the Radar put on today.  I had to order them and I am under a time constraint.  

I am hoping the MPG is not too bad.  

I was hoping for 8-8.5 MPG loaded.  I have 2.47 reared with the 12 speed ishift.  Bobtail I can get around 9.5 MPG average after about 3000 miles.  Loaded after only about 500 miles it looks like I am in the low 7's :(

2014 Volvo 630. 2016 Fuzion 325T, RZR 900 Trail 
675ah AGM, MSH 3012 inverter, 960w Solar.  (2016 Chevy 3500 DRW, backup)

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On 5/7/2021 at 9:02 AM, Pete Kildow said:

Look and see if your tires can be re-grooved? Most can and if your only issue is traction. A few hours with a grooving iron. And you can add 3/32 or so to the tires you have.

I picked up one years ago on Ebay. Had to order new blades last week. Been re-grooving tires for years. Buddy of mine has 250 Peterbilts. All his tires drives and trailer. Get new life cut into them. And no increase of blowouts.

And let me say now. Your going to hear from both sides on this. Many will say its not good. But as long as done right. Its giving you extra miles out of tires. And like my buddy. He is not looking to get them recaped. So that is not an issue. Just make sure to research and do it the right way. AS you don't want to cut deep and not have enough rubber left on the cords.

 

Most of us don't have trouble with not having "Grooves", it's the age of the carcass that's troublesome. The tires on my 2013 trailer have maybe 10,000 miles on them and they look good. They have been covered most of their sitting time and always have only needed a bit of a top off in air, never been flat. In June my tire shop with inspect them and tell me when I need to replace. I'm hoping he has some take offs that are younger and have a bit of tread. I would like to wait until I know I'm going to move more frequently before spending the big bucks on a full 8 for the trailer and another 6 for the truck 24.5's on the truck and 22.5s on the trailer. Most likely I will replace the steers, they have been on the truck for almost 7 years now. 

 

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On the recommendation of a local HDT towing operation (and friend of mine) I had Firestones installed on my truck all the way around.  I went with an open sidewall tread for traction, singled and no locker.  So far I have been very happy with their operation on my truck.

Av8r3400
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2 hours ago, Av8r3400 said:

On the recommendation of a local HDT towing operation (and friend of mine) I had Firestones installed on my truck all the way around.  I went with an open sidewall tread for traction, singled and no locker.  So far I have been very happy with their operation on my truck.

I also put Firestone tires on my HDT and have been very happy with them over the past year plus of use.  I went on the recommendation of my tire shop.  They are cheaper than the top tier brands and are very popular in the local/regional market.

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