Need new tires

[BILLUA]

What I think is kind of funny is that the new Michelin XPS ribs have a lighter rating @3042-80psi than my factory Towmaster chicom junk @3520-80psi. Go figure!



Like I said, the XPS ribs are expensive at almost $2,000 but the piece of mind of not having a blowout is by far,well worth it. I heard HB and Grizzly in my head more than once when I accelerated to 70mph on a hot day on a hot road:-laf:-laf. Check your tires regularly for heat and cracks! I bargained with disaster long enough and got my new Ribs

Great move! I rolled my new fiver toy hauler a total of 5 miles from the dealer to Discount Tire to have XPS ribs put on it and don't regret the expense one bit when I'm rolling at 70mph and it's 110 F out running these roads out west.



Piece of mind is the price of a set of XPS's

 

[Jim W]

What I think is kind of funny is that the new Michelin XPS ribs have a lighter rating @3042-80psi than my factory Towmaster chicom junk @3520-80psi. Go figure!



Like I said, the XPS ribs are expensive at almost $2,000 but the piece of mind of not having a blowout is by far,well worth it. I heard HB and Grizzly in my head more than once when I accelerated to 70mph on a hot day on a hot road:-laf:-laf. Check your tires regularly for heat and cracks! I bargained with disaster long enough and got my new Ribs

Most ST tires are rated for a higher load carrying ability than LT tires due to the cross section area of the tire.



What was nice for me was the axles on my trailer are rated for a load of 5200 LBS each. With the 16" ST 235/80R16 tires being an option in 2010 for my camper. I ordered the optional tires thinking that I could go with them for a couple of years without any issues, being that they were over rated in load carrying ability for the trailer weight. Will that did not work, lost one tire in NE and did almost $3K in damage to the trailer. I replaced the ST tires this year with Michelins XPRibs LT245/75R/16E with the 16" rims from the camper.

Jim W.

 

[AClayton]

Most ST tires are rated for a higher load carrying ability than LT tires due to the cross section area of the tire.



What was nice for me was the axles on my trailer are rated for a load of 5200 LBS each. With the 16" ST 235/80R16 tires being an option in 2010 for my camper. I ordered the optional tires thinking that I could go with them for a couple of years without any issues, being that they were over rated in load carrying ability for the trailer weight. Will that did not work, lost one tire in NE and did almost $3K in damage to the trailer. I replaced the ST tires this year with Michelins XPRibs LT245/75R/16E with the 16" rims from the camper.

Jim W.

You probably had the same 16" Towmaster chinese garbage that came with my rig. My RV was 2 yrs old back in April and I constantly check tire pressure before every trip and whenever I stop on the highway, I check for heat. It was then I noticed the cracks in the sidewall. I knew I was going to get new tires but I wanted to get as much out of the chicom tire as I could... . and I think I did!



Proud to be a member of the XPS Ribs club! No more worries!!!! BTW... ... . I got the same exact tire size that you got!

 

[ringneck]

why dont all rv people,not buy new or used rvs. unless the dealers put good tires on them,no cheap junk. they make more than enough to buy usa tires. or dont buy,they will get the message.

 

[NIsaacs]

why dont all rv people,not buy new or used rvs. unless the dealers put good tires on them,no cheap junk. they make more than enough to buy usa tires. or dont buy,they will get the message.

This might be a little difficult to accomplish. I consider myself fairly well informed about most mechanics of wheeled vehicles, however there are a zillion different tires out there. Which ones are good? USA made doesn't necessarily translate into a good tire.



Nick

 

[NIsaacs]

I think I can safely say, that the single biggest axle/tire issue on any trailer, is axle alignment. Especially high volume assembly line production. The more axles the trailer has, the more critical this becomes with tandem axle duallys at the top of the list.



Even if the spring hangers are in perfect alignment (and most are) the axle alignment is no better than the axle installer. If the axles are not aligned during u-bolt install they can be off due to the center bolt/center bolt hole in the spring perch having excessive clearance. If they are not exact axle to axle, axle to frame and side to side they will be off when you add up the distance from center bolt to hub/wheel face. The more distance there is outboard of the spring center the worse this becomes. Thats why the long distance of an outside dually wheel is significant.



Nick

 

[RustyJC]

I've never had a problem with tread wear on any of our RVs. Tread separations resulting from the use of marginal or inferior tires, however, is another matter entirely.



Rusty

 

[NIsaacs]

Yes, I can see where expensive RV's/Toyhaullers tire choices can be serious business. Tire failure can cause damage that flatbeds or dumps aren't faced with. It would be dang hard for me to replace tires with a lot of tread because they are old and weather checked, with new, especially Michelins, ouch! Unless you are a full timer, tire cost per mile must be unreal. If tire size matched your tow vehicle, maybe some mix and match could take place and offset the cost some or if you had some utility trailers that could use that size and run them out.



Nick

 

[AClayton]

Yes, I can see where expensive RV's/Toyhaullers tire choices can be serious business. Tire failure can cause damage that flatbeds or dumps aren't faced with. It would be dang hard for me to replace tires with a lot of tread because they are old and weather checked, with new, especially Michelins, ouch! Unless you are a full timer, tire cost per mile must be unreal. If tire size matched your tow vehicle, maybe some mix and match could take place and offset the cost some or if you had some utility trailers that could use that size and run them out.



Nick

I have often thought the same exact thing with trailer tires. I have always owned a trailer or two but this is my actual 1st 5th wheel RV and it is heavy. The OEM tires only lasted a bit over 2 yrs before noticing the little 'stretch marks'. With all the hype on here about the cheapo tires and expensive damage that they can potentially cost, my research concluded that the XPS Ribs were the preferred replacement. Harvey and Rusty and Grizzly and JimW among 'several' others regulars on here have always pushed the Ribs. Their argument is simple... ... you get what you pay for, and these tires were over $2000 installed and balanced. However, when you consider that I got every last mile out of the cheapo tires without a catastrophic failure, I think that gives me bragging rights to be considered lucky. Plus the fact that they will last much longer than my cheapo tires..... some have reported over 7 yrs without failure. The replacement cost of the oem tires was almost $900 and then installation would put them over a grand. But they only lasted 2 yrs!! I will let you guys do the math... ... to me, it appears to be cost-effective to just do it right the 1st time.



I would not hesitate to have these tires remounted on the wheels of a car-hauler or utility trailer. A friend of mine shook his head at me and took those 6 tires as if he got the best deal in the world. The marks were virtually unseen without air pressure and being mounted! I used to have an old MH that I bought yrs ago and the oem tires were 12yrs old..... I drove that thing around everywhere and never had a problem. I ended up replacing them after their 14th birthday and they were all cracked up and dry-rotted. It seems that modern trailer tires absolutely should NOT be treated in this old-fashioned manner and a failure can and will result in RV damage. Just one tire failure and its potential ability to create expensive damage to the RV, can easily and more often than not, exceed the cost of XPS Ribs.



Do a search in the Towing and RV forum for XPS Ribs... there are several long running threads.