Samson 8R19.5 Tire Question

[Rickf1985]

The fact that a 19.5 is a tapered bead you really do not need a tire machine. Once the air is out of it just push hard on the bead with your foot and it will pop off and then you just take the tire off with tire irons. The problem will be seating the bead without a air blaster sometimes. I am NOT a fan of the old ether and flame trick. We all used to do it back in the days of big 4x4 tires, I owned a 4x4 shop and did it a lot. I was one of the lucky ones that never got hurt. A friend that had another shop in another state was not so lucky and lost his right hand when a tire exploded. I have not done it since. They did not have air blaster cans back then and I think that is one of the reasons they now have them. New tires are generally soft enough that you can wrap a tie down strap around it to expand the bead enough to get air in it to seat the bead if you don't have the blaster.

[bluebird]

Don't know if he has a bead blaster or not. But I don't think you can use it anyways because we're using beads to balance with. We'll probably use a ratchet strap to expand the tires. Getting pretty cold here so we may be in for a little more work, but we have both worked at tire replacement before when we were young. Just not tires this large. I can't even lift one of these 19.5 tires by myself, but he can, and he's 6 years older than me. He's pretty stout for a 70 year old guy. His brother is going to help us and he's 62, so 3 old farts changing tires, hehe. His brother says if ya look up cheap in the dictionary Johns pic is on one page and mines on the next. I call it thrifty, never pay someone for things I can do myself. 

[M & J]

Old farts. LOL We can relate...

[Rickf1985]

I did heavy towing and changed many a 20 up through 24 inch tire on the road. You OLD farts remember 20 inch tires on tractor trailers? And Dayton wheels? They were a real treat to change on the road. Not only did you have to worry about blowing yourself up with the rim but then you had to get the dang thing on the truck straight. You can use a bead blaster and put the beads in through the valve stem.

[bluebird]

The beads I bought won't go through the valve stem. They are too large, for use in broken down tires or new install. That's what was recommended on the dyna-beads web page.

[Rickf1985]

Interesting, I will have to look into that since I am planning on using the straight rims from the Pace Arrow I am going to be parting out and I was going to use the beads.

[DRMousseau]

I had 7.00x20's on my old Chevy 1 1/2ton flatbed,.... think I bought the last two tires available in the state here in the '70s.

yup,... a REAL old Chevy!!! A 1935 Stovebolt 6, all original rust and quite classic, cost me $35 and a lot of fixin'!!! Tires weren't nearly as important,... never went over 45mph and mechanical brakes never really skidded more than two tires.

Old farts,... HA!!! At least I could fix and mount my own tires with boots, vulcanizing patches and split-ring rims then. Now it costs me whatever they wanna charge!!!

[bluebird]

I went out to see if I could break the tires at home. No way, not going to work that hard. We'll load them up and use the tire machine. My tires just showed up from simple tire and the date codes were 3rd month of 15, couple of different days, but all 12 tires were 3rd month. Good looking tire, with a load rating of 3970 lbs and a speed rating of 87 mph. Way more than I need.

[Rickf1985]

They may have glued the beads when they mounted them, if you find that is the case be sure to get all the old glue off before mounting new tires. I would also suggest putting just the rim on the balancer to make sure they are straight, if they are not you will never get rid of the vibration. Oh, and new BOLT IN valve stems! I have seen far too many people use rubber valve stems on high pressure tires and that is a recipe for disaster.

[bluebird]

Mine already has steel stems, won't be changing them. My buddy has measured the rim and the new tire and thinks we won't have a problem mounting them. Guess we'll find out next week. Waiting on the beads to come in. My coach didn't have any vibration on the way home from MI. so it shouldn't have any with the new tires. It did have some until the tires warmed up when we left but as soon as the tires warmed, it was smooth sailing. Now my buddies coach has some vibration in the front but he has had his wheels checked and the tires balanced twice with lead weights. He's anxious to see if the beads fix this, but won't know till spring because his is in storage. 

[Rickf1985]

Well when you go to put the beads in his be sure to check the rims, be a shame to chase that demon after all that work when you just had them off.

[bluebird]

WOW, we installed my tires today. There is no way us two old guys could mount those tires without a tire machine. We had all we wanted and then some, glad this will be the last set for us. IF I'm still living or owning a coach when these time out I'll hire this done. Won't be doing much for the next couple of days, completely wore out. My wife has chemo tomorrow and that'll be an all day deal. The Lord had to be riding with me on the way home from Muskegone, Mi. as the tires I took off were shot. They didn't really look that bad until we got them off the coach. I didn't even have a tire good enough for a spare. These 14 ply Samson tires are much heavier than the Michelins we took off, can't believe anyone would pay that much for those tires. The ones on my Challenger were the same way, cracks in the sidewalls and in the tread. The Chinese tires on my buddies coach are 08s and don't have a crack in them any place. We'll both be using one of those for spares. 

[87Itasca]

I got eight of these (6 8-19.5, and 2 225-70-19.5) yesterday for $1060 even, and am looking forward to replacing all of the horribly cracked and flat-spotted wheels on my '87. It has a mish-mash of tires on there now, the newest being Goodyears from 2003, and the oldest being Michelin XZ4's, which, best case, were from 1997, or quite possibly, were the original tires for the coach.

I may try to put these on myself as I do have a tire/balancing machine, but I may just bite the bullet and spend a couple hundred and have them mounted/balanced at a truck shop in town.

[lonniep]

How are you liking the Samsons?  We have an 88 Holiday Rambler Alumalite & just got a price of $2750 for 6 Bridgestone.  It's a lot of $$ to us & we're considering the Samsons also.

[bluebird]

How are you liking the Samsons?  We have an 88 Holiday Rambler Alumalite & just got a price of $2750 for 6 Bridgestone.  It's a lot of $$ to us & we're considering the Samsons also.

I sold my coach last summer, but the guy that bought it took it to Oregon. He said it was smooth sailing there and back. My buddy has a couple thousand miles on his now and really like the Samsons. I just bought another coach but Samson doesn't make the size I need so I bought Yokohamas this time around. Bridgestones are a tier 1 tire and I had a set of those on my Challenger, they were a great tire. I would have bought Samsons again if they made the size I needed. The only company that makes a 235/80r22.5 is Michelin, and a set of those was $4300.00 installed. 245/75r22.5 are going to end up costing me $2200.00 installed with beads. Go for the Samsons.

[Rickf1985]

I like mine, Have had them for four or five years and most of it sitting which is what kills tires. Absolutely no sign of cracking or checking. One of our members on here has them and circles the country every year  and I know he raves about them.

[Hakman19]

So I bought a used 1996 adventurer 3 years ago with 5 year old Sampsonââ,¬â,,¢s. Iââ,¬â,,¢ve not had any issues with them. Tread is good no cracking. Iââ,¬â,,¢ve put 40,000 miles since buying it.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

So I bought a used 1996 adventurer 3 years ago with 5 year old Sampsonââ,¬â,,¢s. Iââ,¬â,,¢ve not had any issues with them. Tread is good no cracking. Iââ,¬â,,¢ve put 40,000 miles since buying it.

The Sampson tires we had on our old Holiday Rambler Imperial 35 were around 5 years old when we got a different RV...and they were still going strong with no cracks, weathering, checkering, and hardly any tread wear.  When we put new tires on our 1995 Itasca Suncruiser that we have now, we ended up going with Sumitomo tires in 8r-19.5s because of availability.  If the Sampsons had been available at the tire shop we were stranded near, we would have went with those again in a heartbeat.

Kev

[Rickf1985]

My Sampsons are now close to 8 years old and last summer I saw cracking in the sidewalls so this year they will need replacing. I think how much you use a vehicle has a lot to do with how long the tires last as far as sidewall cracking. As long as the rubber is being exercised it will last much longer. Mine was only used twice a year and maybe a thousand miles a year. Still, a LOT better than any of the Michelins!!!

[tarifachris]

Just bought two new front tires for my rig... Ughh the GL283a are now 149 usd incl. shipping from simpletire commercial! Just 3 years ago they were 110 usd a piece! It is what it is. (Advance is the commercial brand from Samson - same tire)

[tarifachris]

Last week Simpletire had the Samson/Advance GL823a 8R19.5 for 139$... Sure now they are out of stock.

[Rickf1985]

In stock but 160.19.