New Tires need advice

[Carrie Ellis]

Hello to all!

We are not new to RVing or Fort Wilderness but we ARE new to buying tires for the RV!!!

We have had our "new" RV since 2003 and feel like we should put new tires on it before heading to the Fort the last week in August. We have not had any problems w/ the tires but I do see small tiny cracks and it has not been stored indoors.

I went onto RV.net and looked up any info that we should know. Basically the two things pointed out was to make sure the tires that you purchase are under a year old (by the date on the tires) and not to by tires from China! I probably can handle the date but the China thing might be impossible.

If any of you experienced RVing could give us any more advice, I would really appreciate it!

We are looking at getting tires at NTB who give a govt discount. They are radial tires and the brand is Tomax. My husband spoke to a person who had a trailer too and he highly recommended this brand over any other they had. They are around $101 each.

The ones that are on our travel trailer right now are Mission TC-108. Our TT is a Keystone Cougar, 34 ft.

Also on RV.net there was difference of opinion on whether to have them balanced. Any thoughts? The guy at NTB told my husband that we do not need too.

Thank you ahead of time so much for any advice.

Carrie

 

[big kahuna1]

I cannot comment on the brand Tomax. I am not sure what size you require but if it is a 15" tire then Maxxis is one of the very few mfgs. that make an "E" rated tire in 15" and have received very good reviews from people on RV.Net who have them. I have these on my 39' Toy Hauler now for 2 years and and am very pleased. And YES, have them balanced and have the Heavy Duty Valve stems put in.

 

[Carrie Ellis]

Thank you Steve!
Excuse my ignorance but my husband is not here and I am going off what I wrote down from the tire...
but it has ST225175R15
So does this mean that the ones on the there are 15"?

I will make note on the stem.

Also, do you think a place like NTB could order those? I guess I should be asking them and not you! sorry! ha

 

[big kahuna1]

They could be a dealer so of course, you would have to ask them.

Here is a link to their website which has a find "dealer" search.

http://www.maxxis.com/

And yep, those are 15" tires. Whatever brand you choose I would go with a "E" rated tire and not "D".

 

[2goofycampers]

Last time we needed tires, Discount Tire even beat Sam's Club prices by quite alot.

 

[DisCamper]

I have a 2007 TT and had to get new tires for it. First mine were recalled next there were small tiny cracks. I did take it in for the recall because my deal told me I would have to leave it up to a month and we where leave for Disney in 2 weeks so I payed for them myself. I got I think road kings they cost about $100 per tire I bought them just for insurants not to damage my TT.

 

[kc5grw]

Replace the tires. I have a 2003 5er that I debated with myself for months about replacing the tire prior to my June 2007 trip to WDW. I ended up losing two tires on the way down forcing me to buy 4 new tires in Mississippi. Do it now and save yourself the aggravation and worry.

 

[DisCamper]

When I first started getting into RV’ing I talked to people I guess the rule of thumb is every 5 yrs you need to replace them. If Keystone was not so cheap I could have gotten 3 more years out of it. China tire companies mocked me saying they make better tires. You know how well China companies make products

 

[jugman]

I would suggest a light truck(LT) tire instead of the trailer(ST) tires you have on there now.

 

[Carrie Ellis]

For anyone who has replied but didn't state that they got their tires balanced? Did you?

What does everyone think about balancing?

 

[Carrie Ellis]

I would suggest a light truck(LT) tire instead of the trailer(ST) tires you have on there now.

I could guess probably but what are the benefit of LT over ST? If you don't mind me asking!

Thank you!

 

[datgrt@fw]

Replace the tires. I have a 2003 5er that I debated with myself for months about replacing the tire prior to my June 2007 trip to WDW. I ended up losing two tires on the way down forcing me to buy 4 new tires in Mississippi. Do it now and save yourself the aggravation and worry.

I would also recommend replacing the tires. During our return trip back to NC from FW this past June we also had two tires blow out on my BIL's Camper! Prior to leaving on our trip his tires did not show any cracks or signs of wear. In all of the years that we have traveled to Fort Wilderness and back home I have never seen so many campers and other vehicles on the side of the Interstate with flat tires! I feel sure that the 'Hot' temperatures of the roads played a part in the tire problems. Just to be safe if I were you I would purchase a new set of tires before I headed out!

Safe Travels and enjoy your vacation at Fort Wilderness!

Doug / datgrt@fw

 

[becky1960]

I would also be interested in which 15" LT tires have a higher load rating than ST trailer tires. I will also be needing some later. The ST tires I have now have a load rating of 2780 lb each and the trailer is 10600 which puts me close to max.

 

[Shan-man]

One thing I learned (the hard way) is that as few miles as we put on our RV, buying premium tires is a waste. We don't need an 80,000 mile treadlife when the tires will dry-rot in 5 years with 10,000 mile on them! Leave the Goodyear RV tires for the full-timers.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

Have the tires balanced, get the good metal valve stems, buy the best quality that your budget allows, cheaper is seldom better.

Personally I replace mine at 5 yrs (had one blow out when they were almost 5yrs old so the whole set got replaced)

I typically buy Goodyear tires for all my needs, the original tires on my 03 Fleetwood were Goodyear marathons and thats what I replaced them with. There are many Goodyear dealers/retailers throughout the US and I like being able to get service and or warranty if I need to.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

One thing I learned (the hard way) is that as few miles as we put on our RV, buying premium tires is a waste. We don't need an 80,000 mile treadlife when the tires will dry-rot in 5 years with 10,000 mile on them! Leave the Goodyear RV tires for the full-timers.

We have a truck at work that still has the original 17 yr old steer tires on it, Goodyears.

 

[Shan-man]

Ignore everything I said, I'd listen to Scott!

 

[stacktester]

We have a truck at work that still has the original 17 yr old steer tires on it, Goodyears.

Ignore everything I said, I'd listen to Scott!

Yes but do those steer tires drive hundreds of miles at a time? I only have a 2 hour drive to most of my destinations but I worry a lot about tire blowouts. I have good tread but when the road is hot it takes a toll on them. I actually dropped 7 pounds out of each tire when we went to the Keys last month due to the heat. That 7 pounds was right back in there by the time we hit Homestead.

 

[LONE-STAR]

I agree with Scott on Goodyear Marathons we have had a couple of sets. Good tires. Never had them balanced though (not that its a bad idea).

 

[Tnbob]

OK, my two cents...I had a 2002 27ft Sunnybrook TT with Goodyear Marathons on it, I bought it used off the neighbor. The tires were the original tires that came with it and had been from Tn to Alaska and back, sat for 2 years and I bought it. I had it to the fort 3 times (1500 miles each)and to NJ once (2000 miles) and comming back from the 4th trip with it to the Fort blew one out. I went to Discount Tire in Tallahassee got a new one and went on my way. When I got home I replaced all 4 tires with new ones in load D instead of C and thought I was in good shape. We left for NJ again two weeks later and in Blacksburg Va. on 81 (500 miles) blew one of the new tires out, I mean blew the whole side wall off the tire. I called goodyear and took the tire to one of their stores and they warrantied the tire (belt separation)and I had no further problems with them, now fast forward to my new Brookside TT that I got last year. This had the Loadstar (Kenda) crappo tires on it. We have had this one to the Fort 3 times and on the 4th trip this June blew one out in Ocala on the way down. We found a Discount tire got a new tire (Carlisle) and were on our way to the Fort. When I got home I called Kenda and they picked up the tire (Fed ex) and looked at it (belt seperation again) and Fed ex'ed me a new one, I took it to Discount tire and they took the Carlisle back and mounted the new tire, I can't say enough good about my experiances with Discount tire. Before anyone hammers me be advised I check the air pressures constantly, don't hit curbs and have weighed my TT to get the weights right. Now why do I tell you all this, because I have read up on SP tires on the forum I listed (I don't know if I am susposed to list another forum or not but I am) and there are a million and one opinions as to which tire to buy and why, so read it and make an informed decision and good luck, seems ST tires are at the bottom of the food chain and quality lacks.

http://www.motorhomemagazine.com/boards/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/19845815.cfm

Sorry for the long drawn out post but information is key to a good decision and if ya want to know why I had to take the new Michelins off my truck after 2000 miles just ask, its another long story.