I just bought a low mileage 27 foot 2012 Winnebago class C and the Michelin tires have good tread but are cracked and weathered and have to go. Any recommendations on replacement LT225/75R16E tires for it? The replacement Michelin’s are about $1150 installed at Costco, same for Bridgestones. This is Alaska so there are a few other name brands, Firestone, BF Goodrich, but not much savings, and none of the name brand Korean tires, and the much cheaper alternatives are all unknown Asian tires, although with E or 215 load ratings and R or better speed rating. I favor the Michelin because I trust them, and for the accurate way they steer on our twisty 2 lanes, with a robust sidewall. But if I could get something cheaper that folks think is still good it’d be nice. Thoughts?
whats the date code on your michelins? They state that after 5 years the tires should be checked closely and cracks dont necessarily mean a defective tire. But at $191/tire x6 for E rated... thats not bad for new michelin rubber. On my coach I opted to never use michelins again. Mostly because they did not last as claimed even though they werent abused or run under inflated. I had failures at 5 and 7 years in age in the 22.5 size. (after being warned repeatedly)
What do you mean warned repeatedly? I'm presuming other people told you they are bad? I have actually have little experience on a motorhome. I'm 99% sure my 2004 SuperC RV had 22.5 Michelins, and I believe they were original when I drove it from Wisconsin to California in 2013, with no tire issues. When I sold it a few years later they were still on it, and the buyer drove it back across the country. It only had 35K miles on the entire RV, so they had plenty of tread. I've always noticed Michelins seem to weather crack on the sidewalls, but I usually buy them for my car, because I like how long they last. On a little civic, the weight isn't an issue, so I don't worry about the cracking. I know my dad had some Michelins on his old Jetta diesel, and I bet they were 15-20 years old before he wore them out. I think they started cracking within 5 years.
Michelin has had a hell of a time trying to keep sidewalls from weather checking for years. Around 2012, we actually had units showing up after being 1 yr old, and the tires were junk due to weather cracks. They recalled them around that time, but the recall has since expired. This was for the 16" tires used on the class C motorhomes. We also saw a whole lot of tires in the 22.5 size that were cracking at the 2-3 yr old range around 2004-5. We very seldom use Michelins as a replacement, mostly due to the fact that they are about $100 more per tire around here. Had good experiences with Coopers, as well as Hercules brand tires.
We refuse to sell a coach with tires older than 7yrs old. no matter how good they look. When you blow a tire on an RV, things get expensive very quick. A front makes them hard to control, and a rear usually results in body and undercarriage damage. Then you still have to buy new tires.
That makes sense. If I would have kept it, they probably would have been replaced. I think 22.5's are 3-400 each so I figured that was a couple grand I didn't want to spend at the time.
Look into Hancooks. I think they have a plant here in the US. I think they are a good tire at a good price point from what I’ve heard. Michelin’s are top of the line no doubt. But one of their biggest benefits and what you pay a premium towards is their long mileage ability. Typically for a motor home you are looking at way less mileage. Just like what you are experiencing now with the tires looking good tread wise but are cracked and stressed. So why pay for mileage that in reality you will have to replace the tire before using.
Just swapped out an old set (9 yr old) of BF Goodrich tires on my class C in that size for the Sumitomos (Encounter HT). Only 2 trips so far but they've been great and were very affordable. I think it was just under $600 total for the 6 tires delivered from Simple Tire. I mounted them myself. Much less road noise than the BF Goodrichs.
He has replaced all of them since due to age but they did still have tread. I think one blew between Jersey and the GNF the year he got it from you. I've got to replace the 8 on the back of our RV and soon, going to be expensive.
Some old timers warned me to change them. One had a tire blow on the highway... the other had one go when he was setting up camp. I had a steer one go on the way to road atlanta on the side of 85. A rear went on the way to Jennings. I went with Bridgestones on the steer end . Toyos on the rear.
That makes sense. I'm glad he got all the way across the country with it. Hopefully it was a rear and didn't do any damage? Fortunately, I've never lost a steer tire on a big vehicle like that, did it do much damage, was it hard to control? At work we have a roll back tow truck and it is usually carrying a heavy forklift or two. I've lost plenty of rears but not a steer. Usually when we replace tires the new ones go on front.
I was only going ~15mph in traffic so not much drama. Right near an exit too. I lost a front 19.5 on my old rig and lucky I had safe t steer... basically a damper that keeps the steering centered. On my current rig I have a Koni bus damper I got off Ebay a few years ago. Swapped out the bushings and got a universal mount plate. I got about 1/5 of the cost of what a new safe t steer costs invested in the setup. Nothing against safe t steer... just wanted to match the konis I had at all 4 corners!
Date code 2011. Like I said above, badly weather cracked so they are out. I spent an hour on the phone and internet this am. After considering shipping and mounting the mail order ones are too pricey. Amazon prime takes me all the way to the pay window then tells me they don’t ship here. Around town here I only save a few bucks on down market no name tires, everything else is at or above Costco Michelin’s at $1150 mounted. Even Costco Bridgestones are more. Go figure. Freight to Alaska is stupid expensive so I guess that’s what I’ll do unless someone has another idea.
