Re: RV TIRES
H2H1 (Hollis),
I really think your choice narrows down to two things:
1.) Do I want and RV specific tire? This pretty much narrows you down to G670's, or XRV's.
2.) Am I willing to settle for a regional truck tire? Many good choices here.
With that said each comes with its own baggage. Price, do the virtues of an RV specific tire outweigh the savings of something else? Are the load ranges of the tires the same? What am I really looking at when I look at the inflation tables and specifications of each tire (notice most manufacturers tables have information printed differently)? Do these regional truck tires really have RV applications (I wouldn't go on the salesmans word only)? Is the tire a generally accepted size? What will be the availiablity of a match if I don't carry a spare? The list goes on.
I mention the regional truck tires with RV applications because I was bitten by this. My first M/H (00 Diplomat) came from the factory with GY G159's installed. Had a horrendous blowout with damages to wheel well and side of the motorhome (was doing 58 mph at the time, tires were 3 years old). All you have to do is google GY G159's and read the horror stories about this tire and see that this was one tire that had no RV application what so ever but came as factory installed on many Monaco and Fleetwood M/H's. Additionally Toyo had issues with a couple of there tire lines on M/H's produced by Country Coach and National RV. So bottom line once the dealer suggests a tire hit the web and search that manufacturer and model and see if it has issues.
I don't want to scare you away from regional truck tires. Michelin XZE and XZE* tires look to be a good option. A year ago I replaced 8 tires on my 07 Dynasty (manufacturer will remain nameless and hasn't been mentioned in this post) shopped pretty much Michelin and Goodyear only. I was surprised the Michelin dealer did not even want to talk XRV tires, they pushed hard on the XZE series. Price was not much different so it had to be availability of the tires in my opinion. I asked about the zipper tears etc concerning the XRV's and the salesman said the tire compound was changed and they haven't been having the problem. Think there must be some truth to this because talk concerning zipper tears seems to have died down on th forums. Did not go with Michelin because dealer he would not guarantee tires to be older than 4 months nor would he cut the price due to age.
Ended up getting Goodyear G670's with which were 7 weeks old when I bought them. Was concerned about all the rivering issues with the tires the dealer (Kramer Goodyear) one of the larger operations in the US told me that had a lot to do with alignment and ride height which they checked and corrected upon installation. Both were way out of specification. So far no issues with the tires. Seem to ride smooth even though I read alot about the rough ride they delivered.
Hollis this is also a good time to make your life a bit easier. Don't know if you are running braided extensions to make airing up easier. I flushed those last year and had Kramer put on looong metal valve stems that I can even get the air chuck on the inside duals. Figured this would be one less place for and air leak. Also makes it easier/safer if you are running a stem mount TPMS unit (PP or Doran). Kramer would not powder balance they used weights and spin balance.
Sorry this is some long winded balloon juice but had to swing from a different perspective. Keep us posted on what you end up buying.
Very Respectfully,
Jeff
GO NAVY
Fly Navy