Check Those Tires!

[enigma960080]

Sent: 9/30/2006 6:24 PM

No, There  were no  'tours' of a ditch  or offroading,  I  was replacing the  cranking  battery in my rig  and noticed  what appeared to  be a  very  large  area of the  tread was showing excessive  wear. Since  this tire  was  drivers  front, I  knew I  was in  for at least 2.  After inspecting the rest of the  tires, I  made a  rather  shocking  discovery. the DOT  stamps on  both  front  tires  showed ther were  9 years  old and the  rears  were  more than  10 years old.  I  had  been losing  air  routinely  on the right inner  about  5 pounds a  week.  Off to the  tire shop I  went.
Available  brands  in my  area (8R19.5)  Akuret, Double Coin, Bridgestone, Toyo, Sumitomo, Goodyear.  ranging in price  from  145 ea  to 300+ (Bridgestone&Goodyear highest)  I  went  with the Sumitomo's  and  came out the  door for 6, 155 ea, $1330 total.
I  only  drove  the  rig on the  freeway  about  5 miles  after the install,  The  difference in the  ride  was incredible!

Next  project,  Front  Air Bags.



From: ClydesdaleKevin
Sent: 10/1/2006 8:57 PM

Congrats on the new tires!  I bought mine last year, all new, including the spare, for a total of 7 new tires.  The brand was STA, Specialty Tires of America, a subdivision of Cooper, for 120+ a tire, mounted.  I didn't bother balancing them.

I got mine installed at Colonial Tire, located in the Virginia/Carolina area.  Good tires.

Kev



From: ClydesdaleKevin
Sent: 10/1/2006 9:02 PM

P.S.  Its a good idea to get new inner tubes and "flaps" (boots) at the same time...keep a few for spares, since you can change your flat tires on the side of the road (the inner tubes, that is)...

Kev



From: uralguy
Sent: 10/2/2006 11:16 AM

how necessary is balancing the tires on our winnies? i'm shopping for 6 new tires for my 73. thanks, scott



From: Elandan2
Sent: 10/2/2006 3:12 PM

Interesting you should bring up about tires.  This spring I noticed my Michelin XZA tires on the front had developed severe weather cracks.  These tires were new in 2001.  Five years and they were junk.  Needless to say I was not impressed.  The tires (XZA's) I took off were seventeen, yes seventeen years old and didn't look like these 5 year old ones.  Soooo, I thought I would replace them with another brand.  Here in Canada, we don't have the number of choices available in a 8R19.5 size.  Two brands were available here.  Michelin and Bridgestone.  Of course I chose Bridgestone.  Now, not even three months later one of the tires has splits in the sidewall. Impressed again!  Tomorrow, I am going to take it to the dealer to show them and hopefully get it resolved.  These tires cost over $430.00 apiece by the time I got out of the store.  I guess the moral of the story is it doesn't matter what you buy, there may be problems.   Rick



From: Enigma960080
Sent: 10/2/2006 6:40 PM

Rick,  I  put the Sumitomo ST 718  8R19.5's  I  dont  know  if  you run  your rig in the  snow,  but  this  is a  highway rib,  does  not look like  it  would  do much  for  snow  or off road  if things  got  sloppy...



From: Enigma960080 Sent: 10/2/2006 6:43 PM

ST 718



From: jazzin112
Sent: 10/3/2006 7:38 AM

I just replaced the rear four XZA's on our ElanDan...only three years old.  You could see cording in the cracks in the sidewalls!  I was NOT impressed either.  I was strapped for cash, and went with a similar tire to the Sumotomo, the Double Coin 8R-19.5.  So far so good, about 3000 miles, and in Eastern Washigtons's 90+ degree heat.  I only noticed that the new tires are softer than the Michelins, and handled differently than the old.  Some adjustments to the front air pressure, front end alignment (needed), and a tad more air bag pressure helped that along.  I have five year old XZA's up front (P-Metrics), and have not noticed any cracking ...yet.  Hopefully they will last another season.

John
'84 ElanDan 31RT



From: ClydesdaleKevin
Sent: 10/3/2006 8:23 AM

Uralguy,

You will hear differing opinions about balancing the tires on our rigs, so the choice will ultimately be up to you.  At the time I got mine, balancing them would have been over 25 bucks a peice, and I had already spent a fortune.  Over a year later, and my tires are still fine, and not being "balanced" doesn't seem to make any difference in the handling and tire wear.

About cracking:

So far, my tires are showing no sign of weather checking or cracking, even though I still haven't invested in tire covers for when we are parked.  Tire covers, but the way, are the ticket!  The sun is the worst enemy of tires, and if you cover them when you are parked, they will last a whole lot longer.

Kev



From: denisondc
Sent: 10/3/2006 11:37 AM

Have any of you folks with the 19.5 wheels used bias ply tires, instead of the radials? And how did they last? I have the 17 inch tires, and use bias ply. I might switch to radials if they were less expensive, but so far that hasnt been the case.



From: Enigma960080
Sent: 10/3/2006 5:02 PM

The Sumitomo's, like the Bridgestones  have a  steel belted  sidewall,  I am  not  sure  if the  double-coins  do  or not.  Maybe thats why they are  softer?

(no one I shopped  had one in stock  for me to look at and I couldn't find that detail on the internet). I hear  from other  rv forums  that the  cracking  sidewalls  is faily common in the Michelins. My Bridgestones  did not  show any cracking in the  sidewalls  after  9-10 years (DOT Age) I  hope  the Sumitomo's  last like that.



From: Enigma960080
Sent: 10/3/2006 5:09 PM

BTW,  I had the  front airbags  done at Camping World  this afternoon,  What a  difference.  The  ride  was already  much improved  with the  new tires,  but the stability  of airbags in the front  that "Actually hold air"  made the  ride  even  better.aside  from a panoramic  view, I only knew I was  driving a motorhome whe I  was  getting  push from passing  or being  passed by a  truck  or  riding  on a  rough  road...



From: Elandan2
Sent: 10/3/2006 5:16 PM

Went to the tire dealer today.  No argument from them, manufacturer's defect.  They ordered a replacement and will install it no charge.  Sure hope that is all the trouble I am going to have with these tires



From: scorpionbmw99
Sent: 10/18/2006 2:56 PM

BTW, I have a leak in the valve of the outside drivers rear duallly tire.
The tires nearly new so I thinks it's good I just new a valve.

How the heck do I get the nuts off the wheel?
Granted I have HD jack stands and a good jack, i can't seem to track down a truck tire wrench large enough for the job.

What am I supposed to do if I have to change a flat on the road?



From: denisondc
Sent: 10/18/2006 4:48 PM

You dont say what year and chassis your motorhome is. But anyway, you need a truck wheel nut wrench. Kentool makes them, as does Snapon, and others. They should be for sale at any place that handles truck tires or light truck tires, or sells parts for light trucks.
You will need to know your wheel nut size. If you have the 8 bolt hubs used on the 70s Winnebagos on the dodge chassis, I believe the wheel nuts are 1-18th inch. If your RV has the 5 bolt hubs, you will need a double ended wheel nut wrench. One end will fit the 1-3/8ths inch front wheel nuts and rear axle 'outer' wheel nuts. The other end of the wrench will fit the 15/16th square 'inner' wheel nuts on the rear axle.
The wrench should have a hole through it at right angles to its length. This hole takes a steel rod, and with my Kentool wrench, it is a hexagonal steel rod. A rod made of just-any steel wont work, you will need the rod that is made to go with the wheel wrench. Pretty tough steel. I think my wrench cost about $30, and the rod about the same amount.
Then you probably want a piece of 2 inch or 2-1/2 inch steel pipe about 4 ft long. You put that pipe over the end of the steel rod that is stuck into the sideways hole in the wheel nut wrench. The wheel nut wrench is on the nut, and you jump on the end of the pipe - 4 to 6 feet back from the wheel nut. And with a loud screech the nut should loosen.
There are two things to be aware of though.........
1. Some of the motorhomes on the Dodge chassis had left hand threads on the wheel nuts, on the drivers side of the vehicle. If you look closely at the end of the wheel studs, you will see a dim "L". If you wire brush a nut that is left hand threaded, it might say 'left'on its side. These of course turn the opposite way from the usual right-hand threaded nuts.
2. If the nuts were tightened by the typical impact wrench at a truck tire place, and a few years have gone by - you might not be able to loosen them easily. I just loosened the wheel nuts on a Winnebago that had not been used for 12 years. Most of those nuts would not loosen, even with me jumping on the end of the pipe 6 ft out from the nut. I am about 190 lbs, so this would have been over 1000 ft-lbs of torque. With my oxy-acetylene torch I heated the nuts enough to make the paint burn, and then they would unscrew. If you dont have an acetylene torch and the nuts wont loosen, drive it to a truck place, and have them loosen the nuts - and carefully retighten them, but not over-tighten.
You should carry with you all of the tools it takes to get the wheels off the motorhome, and back on again. I find it is very handy to have a lever to lift the tire and wiggle it slightly, as I maneuver it back onto the studs. I use the same tire iron that is used for changing tires. Its called a tire-spoon, and is about 3 ft long.
With my winnie I have to jack up the frame, not just the axle. This is so there body is high enough to allow the wheel to come off through the wheel arch opening. So I also carry the 6 by 6 lumber pieces to keep the jack from sinking into the ground. I also carry 4 by 4 chunks of lumber for chocking the opposide wheels, to the RV wont roll over me when I get a rear wheel off the ground.
Sometimes it pays to have a jackstand to support the outer end of the wheel nut wrench, while you are jumping on it. An old scissor jack also works well as a support.
When you go to retighten the wheel nuts, they should be torqued to whatever the manufacturer required, but not over-tightened, as they commonly are. My wheel nuts require about 400 ft-lbs of torque. I dont use a torque wrench though - I just estimate it by standing on the end of the handle, almost 3 ft out - and jumping. Since you arent supposed to use lubricants on wheel nuts, they should make a loud screeching noise when they go back together.

If your other valves are as old as the one that is leaking, you might want to replace all of them.



From: denisondc
Sent: 10/18/2006 4:52 PM

I meant to say the wheel nuts on many of the 8 bolt hubs are 1-1/8th inch in size.



From: scorpionbmw99
Sent: 10/18/2006 4:59 PM

Thanks.
Ive got a 72 Brave '22 w/318
All the tires are practically new put on by the PO.
I'm assuming that I can get the nuts off with the pipe method.

I'll pick up a Kentool.
Kinda daunting working on something this large and heavy for the first time. I changed the tranny fluid last year and it was a breeze. Didn't even need a jack!



From: scorpionbmw99
Sent: 10/18/2006 5:05 PM

Looks like 8 bolts to me.

Now, to get rid of those "split" rims that the tire guys hate.

72brave.jpg



From: bluebird5750
Sent: 10/21/2006 6:14 PM

Hi, I'm new to the board. I don't know how you would ever convince a tire shop to do a tire repair on a split rim. Hec, I had a tube failure back in July about 80 miles from home. I tried 5 differant truck stops trying to just buy and have a tube installed. Not one of them would do it. I have tube type saftey rims on my rig. When I returned home, I had to buy a pair of front tires as the one with the bad tube was junk. I had all of the tubes removed and special brass valve stems installed, reballanced. The front tires the po had on it were a little noisiey anyways.



From: denisondc
Sent: 10/22/2006 10:59 AM

My solution to the prospect of a tire place that doesnt want to fix a flat for me is to carry with us all of the tools to do it myself. I usually carry two spares mounted under the frame and behind the rear axle, or one mounted spare and an numounted 2nd tire, with a flap in it. I also carry 2 extra inner tubes, since the tubes, like the tires, are not commonly in stock.



From: bluebird5750
Sent: 10/22/2006 4:32 PM

Toooooo much work for me. I don't even want to put the spare on if I can keep from it. My son-in-law and I had to end up putting the tube in my spare in walmarts parking lot in St.Louis, just to get home. They wouldn't even put the air to it. NO more tubes for me.