I just called Discount Tire. They have some Yokohama's he recommended.
Anyone else have suggestions?
I brought it in for an alignment and a steering stabilizer at Alignment Plus here in San Marcos California and Ray noticed some cracking on my tires and checked the date for 2019.
I'm thinking better safe than sorry considering we want to take a few trips this spring including a Colorado trip
Michelin Agelis Cross Climate
Michelin Defender LTX
Discount Tire will match Sams Club and Costco pricing.
Most people would be happy with a wide range of name brand tires, properly inflated taking into account the weight carried by each axle.
I remove the wheel simulators before install, so the shop doesn't mess them up.
Rich
Michelin Agelis Cross Climate
Michelin Defender LTX
Discount Tire will match Sams Club and Costco pricing.
Most people would be happy with a wide range of name brand tires, properly inflated taking into account the weight carried by each axle.
I remove the wheel simulators before install, so the shop doesn't mess them up.
Rich
Is there a tool to remove the wheel covers that has a pry area and a rubber mallet area on it?
Is there a tool to remove the wheel covers that has a pry area and a rubber mallet area on it?
Yes.
Amazon.com: Steelman Hubcap Remover Tool for Auto Mechanics, Heavy-Duty... (https://www.amazon.com/Steelman-75031-Hub-Cap-Remover/dp/B00GWFOSBY/ref=asc_df_B00GWFOSBY?tag=bngsmtphsnus-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80882941681721&hvnetw=s&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=82928&hvtargid=pla-4584482468938992&th=1)
Honestly, I have found the rubber mallet style of hub cap removal tool too long and cumbersome to use. I’ve been using a Craftsman Tire Spoon and a standalone rubber mallet to remove the late model LD tire covers.
The combo Units are too long and can get caught up in the wheel well. The tire spoon is relatively short if you choose the right one. My Craftsman Spoon is about 10 inches long and has very usable curved ends to facilitate cover removal.
I purchased my tire spoon on eBay many years ago for 9 bucks. I separate mallet works great although I seldom use it preferring the palm of a gloved hand.
eBay and amazon cart the tire spoon. The shorter the better. Here are pics of my tire spoon.
Kent
Kent, That's actually a Craftsman drum brake adjustment tool. Thanks for the tip!
We put Michelin Agelis Cross Climate on our 2017 MB this summer. I'm very happy with them.
George & Jo Ann
Thirty plus years of using Michelin tires on our LDs, it's hard to find fault with them.
On the other hand, many here use other brand name tires without problems.
I would avoid the budget brands RV tires.
Any RV tires six years and older should be replaced. The manufacturers feel the same, dropping warranty coverage at the six year mark.
No matter how few the miles, oxygen and ozone in the atmosphere are continuously degrading the tires.
Larry
Michelin Agelis Cross Climate have been great. We have about 20k miles on them so far.
Michelin Agelis Cross Climate have been great. We have about 20k miles on them so far.
Ditto
I got my Agilis tires in March of 2020.
Almost five years on them. No visible side wall cracks. Slightly quieter, maybe better gas mileage, but of course not by much. Even wear, no I don't rotate them. My five years will be over next March, , but I usually keep them until they turn 7. The lower gvwr of 11,500#, puts less stress on them. RonB
I don’t think that is right. I would expect that the mechanical wear on the tire may be less with less weight, but the chemical deterioration depends only on the time exposed to the environment. Six years is the safe lifetime, and is independent of weight borne by the tires.
Hi Keith; Yes deterioration by time, exposure to mostly ozone, sunlight, and flexing during use. I don't put very many miles on these days. They are covered a lot of the time. I have the same load range tires you have. Maybe your rig is only loaded to 11,000 pounds. So you'd be about where my rig is weight wise. Some E450's out there may well be close to their weight limit, 14,050, or the newer 14,500#. That weight causes more tire flexing and heat. In addition to more tread wear. I do go to six full years and change the tires when they hit 7 years, so the same six years of use rule that you are using. The spare, more just sitting there and protected, may go longer. Not to exceed 10 years. RonB
I don’t think that is right. I would expect that the mechanical wear on the tire may be less with less weight, but the chemical deterioration depends only on the time exposed to the environment. Six years is the safe lifetime, and is independent of weight borne by the tires.
Here's what Michelin says:
"A few milestones and tips:
1. Keep five years in mind. After five years or more in use, your tires should be thoroughly inspected at least once per year by a professional.
2. Ten years is a maximum: If the tires haven't been replaced 10 years after their date of manufacture, as a precaution, Michelin recommends replacing them with new tires. Even if they appear to be in usable condition and have not worn down to the tread wear indicator. This applies to spare tires as well."
I'm always curious about why people choose to be more conservative than the manufacturers advice.
What Eric said. There are so many variables of tire care and condition; how often was the RV driven? Were they exposed to the sun for long periods? Marine environment, etc? In the end, do what you are comfortable with.
Straight from Michelin:
Here's what Michelin says:
"A few milestones and tips:
1. Keep five years in mind. After five years or more in use, your tires should be thoroughly inspected at least once per year by a professional.
2. Ten years is a maximum: If the tires haven't been replaced 10 years after their date of manufacture, as a precaution, Michelin recommends replacing them with new tires. Even if they appear to be in usable condition and have not worn down to the tread wear indicator. This applies to spare tires as well."
I'm always curious about why people choose to be more conservative than the manufacturers advice.
I've read that you cannot always see tireddegradation because it happens from the inside out.
I'm always curious about why people choose to be more conservative than the manufacturers advice.
Well, you should see the damage a rear tire blowout can do. When the tread stays attached to the carcass, the steel cords can cut through the body like a hot knife through warm butter.
It happened to us with a 5-1/2 year old tire a fewl years ago, ripping into the bottom the floor and destroying a wiring harness. We were lucky that the tread separated and left quickly, it was damage I could fix.
I have seen rigs at the Mothership with terrible damage with torn up the walls sometimes destroying the refrigerator, water heater and/or furnace. This type of damage was best repaired at the Factory, a solution that isn't available today.
The damage from a bad blowout could cost more to fix than what many older rigs are worth.
To me, running old tires isn't worth the risk, YMMV.
Many do not rotate the rear wheels, when running stem extenders. The exhaust pipe runs near the inside rear passenger-side tire, exposing it to high heat that can damage tire over the long term. The inside rear passenger tire is location of most blowouts, due to heat damage, it is a good idea to rotate the rear wheels side to side to spread the heat damage over the two inside tires.
I buy tires at America's Tires and let the young men do the heavy work of rotating all seven tires annually, not wanting to experience the scary sensation of another blowout.
Larry
Hi Larry. Could you provide more detail on how to rotate the tires on our rigs? I do have the Tireman extenders installed on the rear inside tires. Are those rotated?
Swap front tires with each other.
Swap rear outer tires with each other.
Swap rear inner tires with each other.
This avoids messing with the extenders, while spreading out the exhaust temperature impact on the rear inners.
I use a seven tire rotation, rotating the front tires and the spare, as well as side to side in the rear.
If heat damage wasn't an issue for the passenger-side rear tires, I would probably never rotate them, the rear tires wear very evenly.
Larry
As an addendum to Larry, I do have an extra heat shield added around the exhaust pipe on the passenger side.
This is the one I bought. https://www.amazon.com/Design-Engineering-010451-Titanium-Shield/dp/B00CF2RFQI/ref=sr_1_20?crid=3JTPDCLN922GW&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.5WIT9xkBJwoZNTMKuMkKxbwL72hAKkx2zQpGNU31rmTGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.JKX6l_lqt04nz21Nt4JSTbzVh9vAKQTe5css42PT1jI&dib_tag=se&keywords=past%2Bpurchase%2Bof%2Bexhaust%2Bpipe%2Bheat%2Bshield&qid=1765008022&sprefix=past%2Bpurchase%2Bof%2Bexhaust%2Bpipe%2Bheat%2Bshield%2Caps%2C248&sr=8-20&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.9fe8cbfa-bf43-43d1-a707-3f4e65a4b666&xpid=vZgAcRF0RSUqn&th=1 RonB
As an addendum to Larry, I do have an extra heat shield added around the exhaust pipe on the passenger side.
... RonB
Did you see a reduction in the amount of pressure rise in inside right rear tire? My rise is about 2 lbs more than the other tires, which I've read corresponds to about extra 10 degrees Fahrenheit temperature for the air in the tire.
Eric
Hi Eric; I put the heat shield on at about the same time as my TST 507 system. Since, I've never noticed any difference between the four tires. They are the same pressures, 77 psi. (set that way). The Agilis are rated at 90 psi. The pressures do go up when driving, but pretty much the same amount on the rear. The outside duals have about a pound more than the inside duals. The temperature displays I think aren't very precise. Looking more for severely under inflated tire heat rise. Rate of rise and noticeably unbalanced pressures and temperatures would be more important. Dragging brakes, rocks between the duals, loose fittings on my flex extension hoses. (vandalism is always possible), road hazards, etc.
I do notice that the tires sitting on the sun side will have higher temperatures and maybe 1 psi more than the side in the shade. I am impressed at how seldom I have to put air in the tires, now that I can check pressures without letting any air out. Maybe I was checking too often! RonB
Hi Eric; I put the heat shield on at about the same time as my TST 507 system. Since, I've never noticed any difference between the four tires. They are the same pressures, 77 psi. (set that way).
...
I am impressed at how seldom I have to put air in the tires, now that I can check pressures without letting any air out. Maybe I was checking too often! RonB
I wasn't sure if the extra heat was coming from the engine or the exhaust pipe, but it appears like the heat shield doe reduce the heat transmitted to the inside right rear tire. While I'm still a bit uncertain about how damaging the heat might be, it's relatively easy to add a shield, so I'm considering it.
I often go the whole travel season from March through October without adding any air - a lot less effort than the constant checking I did before I had a TPMS!
EricG
We added an additional heat shield on the exhaust pipe near to the rear inside tire about five years ago and always rotate all of the tires. Last year returning from Baja we had a blowout on the rear passenger inside tire at 60mph. We were alone on the Highway near Salton Sea, so we were able stop rapidly. The torn cords had began to scrape the undercoating on the metal but did not tear through the metal, so we were lucky with just having to spray some more undercoating on that metal. Les Schwab does our rotations and I point out to them that all tires especially the two rear passengers need to come out of there each time we do it. We received warranty on the failed tire. Our tires were less than 4 years old and looked good before we drove to Baja. The Bad roads in Baja probably contributed to the failure but I believe that the additional heat from the exhaust pipe near that tire also was a big factor.
Karen~Liam
98 ~ MB
NinA
I got Hercules tires... Same as the 9 year old tires that were on my rig when I bought it. I had to go to American Tire Depot because all the other tires companies (including Walmart) could not handle 19.5 inch wheels.