Michelin XPS RIBS

[befrazier]

I bought the Michelin XPS RIBS 3 years ago and put them on my 12,000 lb 5ver. We made a trip from Stillwater, OK to Galveston, TX and back. Made a few small trips the next 2 years, but mostly it sat. We just went on a 2 week tour to North Carolina, down to Hunting Island State Park, South Carolina, great place by the way, over to Destin, Florida, Henderson Beach State Park, another great place and then back home. Overall we traveled over 3,000 miles and the tires performed great, no troubles. We would travel approximately 400 to 500 miles a day when we moved. I would recommend them to any one who is looking for trouble free tires. I don't know how much longer they will last, but I will continue to take care of them and hopefully make another trip next year. Thumbs up for the Michelin XPS RIBS.



Brian

 

[seafish]

Those are great tires, along with the XPS Traction... just wish they made them in a 285/70/17 E and I wouldn't run anything else.

 

[mpaulson]

I up graded my 15" RV tires with 16" XPS tires and now have about 35,000 Kms on them and literally no obvious signs of wear. And they get about 1500 Kms of gravel roads each year out of those Kms. They are the best investment I've ever made on my RV and I will put XPS Ribs on my next RV as well. It's nice to be able to travel at night and have confidence in the tires when you can't see them that they are not going to shread the trailer apart on you. As well, the 15" tires were right at there max load, and now I've got about a 1200# overall to spare in capacity if I'm remembering correctly.

 

[stick]

Welcome back. Maybe try Utah next year.

 

[Grizzly]

I had 16" Michelin XPS RIBS installed on my 08 Arctic Fox 5th wheel as soon as I took delivery of the trailer. They have been trouble free for many trips and they will be going to Alaska next summer. Great tires.

george

 

[SnoKing]

I ran my RIBs 6. 5 years and 40K+ miles and sold them on CL for 200 bucks. Installed Bridgestone Duravis R250's this time. The R250 is a steel ply carcass tire like the RIB, however they cost about 50 bucks less per tire. Have two trip to Arizona and back on the R250's. Chris

 

[RVTRKN]

I was told by a friend that they are only good for the standard 5 year lifetime that any RV tire has. I couldn't argue with that, but what is the expected life of the XPS ribs and will they last if the RV sits in storage more than on the road?

 

[Jim W]

I am on my second year using the XPS RIBS from Michelin and they have shown no wear issues as of yet. When not in use the tires sit on boards (2X8"s) and are covered. I also use an RV tire protector on them too. This is the same practice I have used since I got back into camping with both of my 5er's.

When the present trailer had a tire failure; I changed out to the Michelins tires. I had used the original tires only 18 months or so when the failure occurred. So I am a firm believer in the Michelin XPS Ribs. Yes the Ribs are pricey but they are cheaper than the resultant damage and the cost to repair the trailer. I also believe that the XPS Ribs tow better than the china bombs that come with the trailers.

Jim W.

 

[GReed]

I have XPS ribs on my 5th wheel. When I got them I got new wheels. I store the 5er on the old tires & wheels and keep the XPS indoors. I give the XPS a few coats of 303 protectant. Makes for a lot of extra work, but also a good time to check brakes, bearings etc. Five years on the ribs and no sign of cracking, dry rot etc.

 

[RustyJC]

I ran the XPS Ribs on my previous 5th wheel as well as my 2002 ETH/DEE 3500. I switched 5th wheels in 2004, but the XPS Ribs were still on the truck when I sold it in 2010 - no problems at all, and they still looked like new.



Rusty

 

[Wertles]

I just wish they weren't $300 a pop. I'm looking at an $1800 just for tires on the tri axle.

 

[RustyJC]

$2500 to repair my 5th wheel after a tire failure. $1800 sounds like pretty reasonable insurance to me.



Rusty

 

[Bill Stockard]

$2500 to repair my 5th wheel after a tire failure. $1800 sounds like pretty reasonable insurance to me.

Rusty

I was one of the first TDR members to report installing Michelin XPS Ribs for trailer use on our previously owned '97 Hitchhiker 5th wheel sometime in 1998 or 1999. The XPS Ribs ended the problems I had been having with the OE 16" Goodyear LT tires and repairs to the trailer after several tire failures. The XPS Ribs still looked like new after thousands of miles of travel when we sold the trailer in either 2002 or 2003.

Bill

Bill

 

[Jim W]

I just wish they weren't $300 a pop. I'm looking at an $1800 just for tires on the tri axle.

My repair bill was over $3K so the $1444 I paid wasn't to bad for the new tires. Coming back from the TDR rally in Columbus IN this year the RH rear tire picked up a 16 penny double head nail on the road somewhere. Will if this had been a ST tire I would have spent another $3K in trailer repairs again from a tire failure instead of just having the tire repaired for free.

Jim W.

 

[SnoKing]

The XPS Rib has a 6 year warranty! Chris

 

[RVTRKN]

Sold! Oo.

 

[Wertles]

I'm still planning on putting them on my trailer next year but it still hurts a little. Especially when there are other good quality LT tires in the $150 range. Quality does cost money. I lucked out when my ST blew a few years ago. I just ended up with a cut on my hand from the cords and a few rubber marks on the side that came off pretty easily. I put some LT's on that one and never had another problem on that trailer.

 

[SnoKing]

I'm still planning on putting them on my trailer next year but it still hurts a little. Especially when there are other good quality LT tires in the $150 range. Quality does cost money. I lucked out when my ST blew a few years ago. I just ended up with a cut on my hand from the cords and a few rubber marks on the side that came off pretty easily. I put some LT's on that one and never had another problem on that trailer.

Take a look at the Bridgestone Duravis R250. It is an all steel ply tire like the XPS RIB that is around 50 per tire less. The R250 has a rib tire tread similar to longhaul trailer tires. If you look at the two pictures, the R250 has a better out rib for trailering than the XPS Rib. I ran Ribs for 6. 5 years and now R250's for the last two years. These brute's actually weigh more than the Ribs. They also like the Ribs never seem to loose air. People are always stating that they routinely have to add air to their ST tires.

I got my best overall mileage last winter going and returning from Arizona vs earlier years. Maybe the Cummins is broken in at 100K, but I think the R250's helped. Chris

#ad


#ad

 

[ewcmr2]

+1 on the Duravis R250's. When I bought them in the spring they were $100 less (each!) than Ribs. Two trips to Nebraska, one to the northwest, and a bunch of local stuff. So far they are great.

 

[kjchristopher]

+1 on the Duravis R250's. When I bought them in the spring they were $100 less (each!) than Ribs. Two trips to Nebraska, one to the northwest, and a bunch of local stuff. So far they are great.

Ditto (except for the one trip to the northwest)