RV Tires

[AABEN]

Congratulations on a wise decision. Michelin XPS Ribs are expensive, no doubt about it, but they will prove to be worth their price.



Many owners of heavy tandem axle fifth wheels all over the country use them and won't use anything else. I'm in that group.

What PLY ?

 

[HBarlow]

What PLY ?

The word "ply" has not been used when describing tires for 20 or 30 years. The correct terminology is load range.

Here's a table to help you translate.

Load Range Plies
A ... ... ... ... ... 2
B ... ... ... ... ... 4
C ... ... ... ... ... 6
D ... ... ... ... ... 8
E ... ... ... ..... 10
F ... ... ... ..... 12

Michelin XPS Ribs are only available in 16" rim size and in LRE. The most popular size, LT235/85R16 LRE or load range E is a 10 ply equivalent. The casing is all steel and retreadable. To compare, lift an XPS Rib then lift any ordinary tire in the same size. The XPS Rib is considerably heavier and much stronger.

My old Travel Supreme was a 14,000 lb. trailer on tandem axles. It was sold new with a set of Goodyear G614 or similar at the time in LRG or 14 ply equivalent. I refused to buy and install GY G614s because I know they are blowout prone and also prone to slinging their treads. Instead, I put Michelin XPS Ribs in LRE on to replace them. Have never had a tire failure.

 

[JRMora]

I'm sorry to hear that. Your report is the first I've ever read of poor service from BF Goodrich Commercial T/A tires used on heavy trailers.



Maybe I shouldn't suggest them as a lower priced alternative to Michelins.

Count me in as a satisfied user of Commercial TA's. Only 5500 miles on them so far but they are performing excellently. Recently ran 1000 miles at near GVWR (trailer) in 100+ temps. Tires ran very cool the whole two days.



I replaced my Merits (Canada) when the sidewalls started weather checking badly. They were nearly six years old per the DOT codes. The TA's ran $165 ea mounted and balanced here in GA.



Juan

 

[befrazier]

This thread got me curious to see what is on my 06 Cardinal. Not the best camper in the world but was a good deal used. It has ST 235/85 R16 on it. I have had tire problems before on the road but with a much smaller unit and it sucks. This Cardinal has a max weight of 15500 and is about 38' long, so its all there. My wife and I are wanting to take a trip of about 1200 miles round trip and I have this gut feeling that I will blow these tires, probably because of past experiences. Do you guys feel as though the Michelin XPS Ribs will hold up for me? I priced them all installed at $1219. 06. I would like to stay with the same size that is on the camper now. I am willing to pay the extra but I do wonder how long they will last me since the camper sits pretty much all year. We take 1 or 2 trips per year. What will make them last longer if anything?



Brian

 

[HBarlow]

This thread got me curious to see what is on my 06 Cardinal. Not the best camper in the world but was a good deal used. It has ST 235/85 R16 on it. I have had tire problems before on the road but with a much smaller unit and it sucks. This Cardinal has a max weight of 15500 and is about 38' long, so its all there. My wife and I are wanting to take a trip of about 1200 miles round trip and I have this gut feeling that I will blow these tires, probably because of past experiences. Do you guys feel as though the Michelin XPS Ribs will hold up for me? I priced them all installed at $1219. 06. I would like to stay with the same size that is on the camper now. I am willing to pay the extra but I do wonder how long they will last me since the camper sits pretty much all year. We take 1 or 2 trips per year. What will make them last longer if anything?

Brian

If your trailer has four ST235/85R16 LRE tires on it four Michelin XPS Ribs in size LT235/85R16 LRE will be better. The Michelin XPS Rib is an all steel casing and a true commercial grade trailer tire.

How long they last depends on where you live or use the trailer and how often you pull it. Tires in the northern tier of states with cooler temps will last longer than tires down here in the hotter climes of the south and southwest. Hot dry climates seem to take the life out of tire casings quicker here. Also, towing occasionally seems to allow tires to remain healthy longer than if they sit for years.

It will also help if your tires are protected from the diredt rays of the sun.

Check the DOT date code on new tires before the installer puts them on your rims. You don't want old merchandise that has been in a warehouse for two years already.

 

[befrazier]

The DOT date code is good advise. How do you go about reading the code? I live in central Oklahoma, so I probably fall into that hotter dry climate your talking about. I normally only get a little over 1 year on ST's and they tear the hell out of the camper. I don't want to go through this with my newer up graded camper. Do you think if I was to put the axles up on blocks and get the weight off of the tires that It would help with the life of the tires?

Thanks for the advise Harvey.



Brian

 

[Grizzly]

The DOT code will have 4 numbers in a box, such as 2808, which means they were manufactured on the 28 week of 2008.



It will help to put your 5er up on jack stands to get the weight off the tires on prolong periods of not using the camper.



I too highly recommend Michelin XPS Ribs.



george

 

[befrazier]

That is all good info. I will keep that in mind when they go to order the tires. I think I may need to set the camper on jack stands to get the life out of these expensive tires. Thanks for the information.



Brian

 

[Matt42]

When choosing tires for a trailer, balance the cost against the horrible alternatives. Horrible scenario 1: A tire tread and belt peels off and tears off your trailer side. Horrible scenario 2: A trailer tire tread and belt peels off, flies away, crashes through the windshield of the minivan behind you and kills a child. In either scenario, the tire manufacturer or North American distributor is probably liable, and you--eventually--will be legally OK. Scenario 1 is far, far, far more likely than scenario 2, but neither scenario is particularly appetizing.

In addition to keeping tires off the ground when not in use, deflate somewhat and keep them covered to keep the UV off of them. We use XPS Rib tires at work on an equipment trailer that sits in a climate-controlled windowless garage most of the time. By climate-controlled, I mean that it is set to never exceed 90F to protect equipment other than tires. We do not reduce air pressure, nor do we raise the trailer to get the tires off the ground. But the tires are protected from sun and UV when in storage. (The trailer, when in use, goes into nasty areas such as mines and back roads. ) We replace the tires on an eight to nine year cycle. We have had one slow leak that was a nail puncture and easily repaired, and that on the newer set. We do not go past eight years, and only go that far based on very close inspections that do not allow for any weather-checking. We would not even THINK of doing this with lesser tires.

I would use XPS Rib tires on my travel trailer if there was room. There is not room, so I use Michelin LT-235/75R15C. These are getting very hard to find, and I may have to go to Goodrich Commercial next time. On my TT, the Michelins replace ST-205/7515B tires.

 

[Bob Cochran]

Bottom line if you take care of them they should last you from 5 to 7 years the normal change cycle depending on your own comfort level. No tire if you hit road hazard, depending on what it is, will not blow out. Having said that though the XPS will do better than most other tires in this regard. IMO

 

[HBarlow]

That is all good info. I will keep that in mind when they go to order the tires. I think I may need to set the camper on jack stands to get the life out of these expensive tires. Thanks for the information.

Brian

None of us remembered to mention, the DOT info box with date code is always molded on the tire's inside sidewall.

 

[Matt42]

None of us remembered to mention, the DOT info box with date code is always molded on the tire's inside sidewall.

It's on both sidewalls on some now.

 

[Grizzly]

None of us remembered to mention, the DOT info box with date code is always molded on the tire's inside sidewall.

I mentioned it on post #27.



george

 

[HBarlow]

You might want to read your post again, Grizzly. If you mentioned the location of the DOT code being on the inner sidewall someone has stolen that line out of your post.

 

[Grizzly]

No, I didn't mention which sidewall the DOT number is stamped on, but I figured any one with an IQ of 10 or better should figure that out.



Obviously they did, because no one has asked.



george

 

[Mark31]

Griz, take yo whuppin like a man!!

 

[Matt42]

Well, the date ain't molded onto the tread, is it?

 

[HBarlow]

Grizzly,

How was that giving you a hard time? I posted a generic comment mentioning no one's name stating that none of us including me had mentioned the fact that in order to find the date code the owner will have to slide under the trailer to look at the inside of a tire to find the date code if the tire is mounted.

You posted that you had already posted that. You had not.

 

[BIGNASTY]

I'm sorry to hear that. Your report is the first I've ever read of poor service from BF Goodrich Commercial T/A tires used on heavy trailers.



Maybe I shouldn't suggest them as a lower priced alternative to Michelins.

I went with the Goodrich and have had no problems the tires hold air like no other ive owned are wearing like iron. Im not saying that anyone miss treats their equipment but I see people curb tires and hit potholes and other disastrous things and then blame the tire for their problems.

 

[befrazier]

Just ordered the Michelin XPS Ribs for my 5er. After following this post I just went ahead and jumped in head first. 288 bucks each rotated, balanced and installed. I know if I was to pull her down the road on those ST's that they would blow and tear up all kinds of stuff. Hope this works out for years to come.



Brian