Time to buy tires

[Jim]

After several emails and a phone discussion with the owner, it appears that they are going to take care of this.
I sure hope so and I'll report back if everything goes well.

 

[LeslieGary]

Thought I would add my tire purchase experience to the very useful information in this thread. I too looked at motorhome tires.com, but based on their high prices and Richpatty’s experience decided to go elsewhere.

I’m a Coach-net member, so looked at their tire program and found their prices to be slightly less than FMCA. Started the process with them, but despite several calls, they never called back to complete the deal. Decided to widen my search.

I called the local commercial tire company from the Michelin website. I was surprised to find their prices lower than Coach-net by about $50 per tire. I’ll get them installed later this week when the front tires come in.

I told them my concerns about rim damage and they assured me they have done lots of motorhomes and would not damage the rims. I’ll still take pre-installation pictures just in case. I’ll report back on how things go.

If anyone is interested, here are the prices (Michelin all around):

365\70R22.5 $1063.28
315/80R22.5 $1044.00
Mount/dismount: $55 per tire
Valve stems: $14.50 per tire
Disposal: $18 per tire
Wheel balancing: $60 per tire

Total for 8 tires: $9961.70 (not including sales tax)

 

[LeslieGary]

Richpatty’s experience

And Jim’s as well!

 

[Buly]

Leslie,
Make sure the tire shop have the special wrench for the rear hub caps, or they will use a large pipe wrench and ruin them.
Also many tire technicians don’t know that the two of the hub cap nuts are reverse thread. All of the above happened to me when I replaced my tires.
I let them use my wrench, and instructed them how to remove the caps.

 

[LeslieGary]

Leslie,
Make sure the tire shop have the special wrench for the rear hub caps, or they will use a large pipe wrench and ruin them.
Also many tire technicians don’t know that the two of the hub cap nuts are reverse thread. All of the above happened to me when I replaced my tires.
I let them use my wrench, and instructed them how to remove the caps.

Great points—thanks. I may just remove the hub caps myself and reinstall them as well.

 

[AbdRahim]

Just checked the FMCA for pricing. I need 2 - 365/70 R22.5 and 6 - 315/80 R22.5 (Michelin)

Looks to be about $9,100 before install and extras.

Where is that jeanie that comes out to grant your wish when you rub the bottle.There is a Jeanie at the campground Istay at every year, but she never shows up when I rub the bottle. Worse yet, she has never granted me a wish. What is this world coming to? .

I have 1-2 yrs. Oh, joy!

 

[AbdRahim]

The tires that came on my coach had issues. FL in Gaffney spent a lot of time on them checking runout or whatever it's called, spin balancing, in the end two were warranty replaced and my ride much smoother.

I will ask that the new ones are spin balanced and I'm also getting centramatics installed with them in November.

GoFundNeal launching in October as November's visit to Newmar ahead of FL Gaffney is also going to be an expensive one. And house batteries are coming soon, not sure when, but that's not far off.

 

[AbdRahim]

Regrading other types of dynamic wheel balancer methods. We tried the media you pour into the tire prior to mounting tire. It was a disaster.
Stuff clumped up and threw tire way out of balance in damp or cold weather. Just a PIA. Two different types of media before we went with Centramatics.

Oh no. They put beads in my tire when I had a steer tire replaced. So far no problems.

 

[LeslieGary]

I can see I the journey is just beginning!

 

[Rich-MLsRV]

I joined FMCA for tires which do have good discount tire prices however I ended up going with RVtires.com better prices same tires available and they have a mobile mount service and come right to your location. That was two years ago and I have been very happy with the tires and the work provided. Tires were mounted by Pomps Tires Service. We were able to stop on our first trip at a Pomps for no fee get wheels retorqued/ check as required for the aluminum wheel.

I ended up using RVtires.com also. Better price than RMCA for the Continental's I ended up buying. RVtires.com found a local company that I liked and used to install the tires.

 

[Joe Dutchstar]

Just a comment here. Mobile tire service can be iffy. Steel wheels are usually not an issue muscling on tires with large bars. Aluminum wheels take a much more precise application of effort to avoid damage. Also, very few mobile truck tire services balance anything.
If you think about a mobile truck tire service clientele, it is typically over the road truckers stuck on the side of a busy highway. Not a RV with fancy aluminum wheels.

 

[sheridany]

But if you have a blowout you don't have any real options but to call a truck tire service company to at least get you to a service center so they are going to have to touch the rim and the tire unless you are going to have it towed and taken on a low boy trailer.

 

[team bradfield]

But if you have a blowout you don't have any real options but to call a truck tire service company to at least get you to a service center so they are going to have to touch the rim and the tire unless you are going to have it towed and taken on a low boy trailer.

Agree, If you have a blowout, you will most likely need a new rim anyway, let the mobile service get you off the highway and get things fixed up

 

[LeslieGary]

Thought I’d provide a follow up on my tire purchase experience.

I was very pleased with the tire installation and relieved there were no rim scratches or other damage. All new metal stems. Spin balanced. I’m glad I visited the shop first and had a conversation with the supervisor.

From my obviously limited experience, I would recommend purchase and installation with a local shop. I found mine from the Michelin website. In the end, they were less expensive than the Coach-Net and FMCA tire purchase programs and much less expensive than motorhome tires.com without the risk of mobile team installation. My thanks to those on this thread for providing your perspectives.

Your experience may vary. I’ll recheck later this week to see if I have any air leaks and/or balance issues.

 

[Buster]

Seems like a good thread to add tire purchase info so will do the same.

I went with a local tire chain (about 25 just in the Chicago area) that has experience with truck/RV tire installation. They probably aren't the cheapest but have a pretty good reputation so went with them. I don't have any miles on them yet, but will do so next month.

I went with the Michelin/Toyo combination as others have given pretty good reviews of the Toyo tires. All the date codes for the new tires were 2024 date codes.

For reference, I paid as follows:

Michelin XZA 365/70R22.5 - $1175 each
Toyo M144A 315/80R22.5 - $645 each
Mount/Dismount, Balancing, Disposal and Valve Stems - $130 each

With tax (~$950), total was just shy of $8,200. Should be good for another 7 years.