Turns out my steer tires were much older than I thought, I don't know why I couldn't find the date code before. Turns out they were 11 years old, yikes! I do run all my tires 90+ psi just to stay on the safe side of building heat and all that.
Anyway, my local tire place that does some sort with trucks and RVs, they found a variety of tire options, some no name brands I've never heard of and then the top option (other than Michelins ) they had was Yokohama in the 12r 22.5 . Are they still a nice tire? Seemed like it.
Then my plan is to move the current steers to the tags. My tags are nearly bald, getting chewed up on tight corners and all. Then just keep buying a new set of tires ever few years and march them back.
Yokohoma is one of the better tires I ran those on my mixer trucks for years never a problem,join FMCA and you can get a deal on Michelin's or Cooper.and Coopers are good tires + cheaper than the Michelin's
Quote from: luvrbus on May 17, 2018, 10:45:40 AM
Yokohoma is one of the better tires I ran those on my mixer trucks for years never a problem,join FMCA and you can get a deal on Michelin's or Cooper.and Coopers are good tires + cheaper than the Michelin's
I second that list, and I would add Dunlop's.
You can get your own Michelin Advantage account it's easy. Why toss money else where ?
https://www.michelintruck.com/services-and-programs/michelin-advantage-program/ (https://www.michelintruck.com/services-and-programs/michelin-advantage-program/)
Just curious, what are the tire brands being dismissed for lack of familiar name ?
Quote from: eagle19952 on May 17, 2018, 12:05:51 PM
You can get your own Michelin Advantage account it's easy. Why toss money else where ?
https://www.michelintruck.com/services-and-programs/michelin-advantage-program/ (https://www.michelintruck.com/services-and-programs/michelin-advantage-program/)
Sure you can but Michelin's are your only choice lol and I don't much care for paying 2 separate times once to Michelin and then to a tire shop and you can save the 60 bucks on 1 tire.I am not a huge fan of FMCA but the tire deal is good
Quote from: luvrbus on May 17, 2018, 12:21:46 PM
Sure you can but Michelin's are your only choice lol and I don't much care for paying 2 separate times once to Michelin and then to a tire shop and you can save the 60 bucks on 1 tire.I am not a huge fan of FMCA but the tire deal is good
uhm..no. I have one.
Firestone is also on the list.
As well Michelin and I think others but Firestone for sure.
I pay direct to Michlein nothing to the dealer.
Quote from: eagle19952 on May 17, 2018, 12:30:57 PM
uhm..no. I have one.
Firestone is also on the list.
As well Michelin and I think others but Firestone for sure.
I pay direct to Michlein nothing to the dealer.
I don't how yours works but I pay Michelin for the tire they ship to a dealer and I pay the dealer to mount and balance plus they always hit me for 15 buck valve stems,mine is not good for Firestone Tires I guess I better check to see why not
If there is one thing I've learned it's to keep helpful people employed if you can. So my local shop has so far never done me wrong, I plan to keep supporting them as long as it's not stupid expensive. Right now in the area they where the cheaper option.
Thanks everyone, I feel good about the purchase, just wanted to make sure.
Quote from: luvrbus on May 17, 2018, 03:30:24 PM
I don't how yours works but I pay Michelin for the tire they ship to a dealer and I pay the dealer to mount and balance plus they always hit me for 15 buck valve stems,mine is not good for Firestone Tires I guess I better check to see why not
I walk into the dealer, tell them what I want, get a price, then give them my acct # get the Advantage price...and they frown...then they process the order and Michelin debits my account/credit card... and they get the tires out of their stock. I suppose the dealer gets paid by Advantage.
Sure I pay for the rest...mount balance new rims etc. what ever.
The price is always less than the walk in amount.
the account is free.
Quote from: eagle19952 on May 17, 2018, 04:18:03 PM
I walk into the dealer, tell them what I want, get a price, then give them my acct # get the Advantage price...and they frown...then they process the order and Michelin debits my account/credit card... and they get the tires out of their stock. I suppose the dealer gets paid by Advantage.
Sure I pay for the rest...mount balance new rims etc. what ever.
The price is always less than the walk in amount.
the account is free.
Not all Michelin dealers will honor the Advantage card there is 1 out 6 were I live that will.all prepaid and shipped to his shop though
Quote from: luvrbus on May 17, 2018, 04:32:16 PM
Not all Michelin dealers will honor the Advantage card there is 1 out 6 were I live that will.all prepaid and shipped to his shop though
hmm. Hopefully I am in the right place next time.
The last I bought was at Loves. In Mississippi.
I used to use Dunlop tires, but now they are being made by Goodyear (which I wouldn't use). Price out Hankook tires-they are the standard tires when buying a new Freightliner truck. I just put 6 on my bus (AH37-which look alot like Michelin XZE) for $1,200 less than what Michelins would have been. Good Luck, TomC
Reminds me of the past margarine ads. " just tastes like butter" lol
Really, probably any of the tires mentioned should do fine. They were designed to operate for tens of thousands of miles at max rated loading.
I think the main concern would be to monitor for a low tire on any brand.
Who here has worn out a tire before t aged out ?
We used to do 20 to 25k a year in the bus I could wear a set out,now we are down to 10k a year
Maybe Scott and Heather. When fuel was under $1.00 per gallon, many racked up the miles. Not so much anymore.
Quote from: eagle19952 on May 19, 2018, 11:40:48 AM
Who here has worn out a tire before t aged out ?
That is like expecting Diogenes to find an honest man before his light burns out. ;)
QuoteAH37
Regional all position tire for extreme mileage & fuel efficiency
It'd be even better to state extreme longevity rather than mileage as we all nearly age out first.
Quote from: eagle19952 on May 19, 2018, 11:40:48 AM
Who here has worn out a tire before t aged out ?
I'm at 16 years, on my drive tires. They still have about 75% tread left and still doing a great job for me. Thinking I may replace them this year, though still not sure.
Quote from: gumpy on May 20, 2018, 02:31:02 PM
I'm at 16 years, on my drive tires. They still have about 75% tread left and still doing a great job for me. Thinking I may replace them this year, though still not sure.
Finally someone admits running tires over 7 years old. ;D ;D,I see in the shop all the time owners tell me their tires are outdated and they are going to buy new tire,low and behold next year when they come back they still have the same tires
Guy's ; MY Prevost had two Goodyear RV tires on the steer tires that are 2006 models Still look great with no cracking .IF these are still available ,would love to use these
The inspections we do or have to get done should be considered the minimum safety standards set in law. As always are next good limiting factor is whatever the vehicle or equipment manufacture recommends.
In any case the owner is recomended, required and in all honesty responsible. So its our best judgement following a tire inspection yearly minimum. Heres a link below and probably on the dite here seversl places, but always good info getting ahead of the travel season.
http://www.moderntiredealer.com/article/312312/final-words-on-tire-aging (http://www.moderntiredealer.com/article/312312/final-words-on-tire-aging)
I would say if a tire is in question ask your local state licensed inspector mechanic/dot sticker personnel their recommendation.
Good day
Floyd
ps: i sure wished tractor tires lasted longer before cracking up
Bus people buying tires are a rare breed,I have this buddy that buys tires for his bus and he he keeps it's to the bare minimum with the weight the tire will handle he would rather run higher air pressure to save 20 bucks on the FET tax on a tire, since that tax is based on the carry capacity of the tire 14 ply is his limit (he is tight) ;D
I apologies for sounding ignorant. What is the issue of 7 year limit on tires. Does the rubber decay? What is it about the magic 7 years that makes a tire unsafe. Does it make a difference how the tires are cared for, vehicle stored inside vs outside tire covers vs exposed to the elements, weight on the tires etc. Is the 7 years a standard number of years, or is this a federal law on tires?
Thank You
Dominic
Quote from: DominicM on May 21, 2018, 08:24:50 PM
I apologies for sounding ignorant. What is the issue of 7 year limit on tires. Does the rubber decay? What is it about the magic 7 years that makes a tire unsafe. Does it make a difference how the tires are cared for, vehicle stored inside vs outside tire covers vs exposed to the elements, weight on the tires etc. Is the 7 years a standard number of years, or is this a federal law on tires?
Thank You
Dominic
Rule of thumb, particularly on steers.
The mattress marketers think we should get a new mattress every eight years, but do we? Of course, our mattresses don't blow up suddenly and throw us off the bed into a ditch. Rotating new tires in through the steer tires makes sense, but in reality our tires can be okay for ten years or more. We do not load them as severely as a truck does, or suffer as many cuts and bruises in rough warehouse yards. We might also keep them out of the sun more than a trucker would.
I think that's just it, even if it's 95% chance they are safe, I've got a 30,000 lb vehicle at 65 mph that is my responsibility to keep under control for my sake, for my family's sake and anyone else within rolling distance.
TPMS is on order and I generally sacrifice bit of ride quality for PSI insurance. From everything I read, the biggest factor to catastrophic failure is heat from overloading via low tire pressure.
It sucks for me right now because I bought a coach with all older rubber so I'm having to spend more this last year and maybe next. When I think about it, it's not that bad, spend $1200 on 2 tires every 3-5 years? That might be the cheapest bit of maintenance I have !
I moved my steers to my tags, they were in the worst shape. I carry a mounted spare as well, hoping to get that 58:1 gear reduction dingus so in a pinch I could change a tag or drive tire myself.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It's a safe bet that there are a lot of threads on tires and when they should be replaced. You can see in this thread alone that some agree and some don't. I'm glad the person that made the mattress analogy admitted this time that there is quite a difference between an catastrophic mattress and tire.
Like I've said before on the topic, I will err on the side of caution and replace tires at 7yrs b/c the risk isn't worth the reward. I personally don't know where the 7yr rule came from but I trust my uncle who has full timed for over a decade and drove trucks before that. Course that doesn't do anything for anyone else but I trust him.
The effect of tire aging is a frequent topic on the forum. As the tires on my coach are now 8-9 years old, I wanted to satisfy myself about the safety of older tires. After a couple weeks of dedicated research, talking to tire dealers, tire recappers, manufacturer documents, and academic research papers, I am comfortable running older tires that have plenty of solid tread and unblemished casings.
The academic research, scientific studies, and lab testing clearly identify heat as the number one cause of rubber tire degradation. These findings are consistent with common observations from those living in hot arid areas such as Arizona. Many tires from these areas develop cracking and other visible and possibly internal, structural defects.
Tires from mild and cool climates experience this less often.
There is no DOT, governmental, or other regulatory agency that date expires tires. This is why no highway truck checks look at tire dates. What I discovered is the retread industry self-regulates and maintains quality control of the retread product.
Retread tires have had a checkered history, evidenced by the vast number of tread delaminations littering the roadways. After speaking with several tire shops and the recap shops that service them, what is clear is they are very conscientious about inspecting and accepting casings for recapping. Tires are inspected visually and with machines. Xray machines inspect the internal condition looking for any defects.
No recapper I spoke accepts tires older than 7 years, some even said 5 years, stating that allowed for a couple years of life on the recap.
Another angle I did not research is product liability. Certainly, there must be plenty of court cases that introduce the concept that failed tires caused the accident. There must be case precedence providing legal guidance on what is generally accepted as due diligence with respect to tire condition. I'm guessing that the tire industry uses seven years as a guide point, around when tires generally should be decommissioned. But tires forensics and expert testimony will surely be utilized to determine the precise condition of the evidence.
One last thing. I asked the recap shop if I could pay to get the tires inspected. Never got a clear yes/no but decided not to pursue due to the expense and effort to get tires dismounted, checked, and remounted.
At present, my plan is to replace two steers with all position tire tread each year. Will get current in a couple seasons.
The retread industry claims the treads littering the highways are not from a retread, unless run low on air. They claim they are coming from non-retreaded tires.
I can think of one retread that failed that did not have low air. The truck outfit that I drove for put on a new retread on a drive axle before heading up north from Columbus, Ohio (not heavily loaded). I got about 30 miles away when the tire blew catastrophically, blowing rubber shrapnel across three lanes. There were not any sizable pieces left. I don't know which outfit recapped it, but I doubt that it was Bandag. When I called in, the shop manager thought I was pulling his leg, telling him it only lasted 30 miles.
Quote from: windtrader on May 22, 2018, 03:26:44 PM... Retread tires have had a checkered history, evidenced by the vast number of tread delaminations littering the roadways.
Nope. The "vast number" of that "vast number" of
gators are newer, undamaged, visually-solid tires that were run under-inflated while heavily loaded. The number of recently applied retreads on solid casings run with proper inflation and reasonable daily checks is miniscule.
Quote from: windtrader on May 22, 2018, 03:26:44 PMAt present, my plan is to replace two steers with all position tire tread each year. Will get current in a couple seasons.
IMO, that's a good plan. Plus, about the best thing that most of us can do is to install a good Tire Pressure Monitoring System.
QuotePlus, about the best thing that most of us can do is to install a good Tire Pressure Monitoring System.
Absolutely the very best recommendation and top of all busnut list of must-haves. Clearly, a lot of tire failure is due to improper inflation or not knowing real time what is happening with the tires. TPMS puts eyes and ears on rolling rubber.
Bruce and Don.
That is when they work... We have them on the new Prevost and MCI cars. They cannot be trusted because you don't know if they are working properly. You still have to check tires at the pretrip, and during the day. I am not convinced that they are such a must have. There is additional complexity with sensors and wireless communication which is not always reliable. They were invented and mandated because people don't check tires...
JC
Quote from: lostagain on May 23, 2018, 11:38:25 AM
Bruce and Don.
That is when they work... We have them on the new Prevost and MCI cars. They cannot be trusted because you don't know if they are working properly. You still have to check tires at the pretrip, and during the day. I am not convinced that they are such a must have. There is additional complexity with sensors and wireless communication which is not always reliable. They were invented and mandated because people don't check tires...
JC
Agreed. nothing beats a tire gauge and a thumper and IR temp gun
these every bus owner should already have :)
in-fact car owners should too :)
Those are static checks which should be done.
Everyone here has more actual bus driving experience than I. It just seems that while rolling, a bus can run over something that causes some sidewall defect and starts losing air fairly quickly. If the driver did not feel anything, the tire can lose enough pressure to cause a failure.
Sure, regular pre-trip inspections are done. Just seems like that extra safety is worth the cost and effort to monitor, especially with all the brouhaha over not running tires aging out at 7 years. Personally, those who are adamant about not running 7+ year tires and do not have a TPMS, seem to need to adjust their priorities.
The new buses, like the new luxury cars, have so many screens, monitors and gauges in front and around the driver, that if you looked at them all, you would't have time to look at the road... As a matter of fact, there isn't enough room for them all. On the Prevost now for instance, the TPMS monitor is covered by the Saucon ELD. So if you want to see your tire pressures, you have to swing the Saucon E log out of the way... And then now you would not think of driving without a large 7" screen GPS stuck on the windshield, making a blind spot so you can't see a pedestrian on a cross walk in front of you...
Can you tell I don't care for gadgets...
JC
Well I pulled the trigger and ordered 6 new tires. The dates were from 2002-2007 on the tires that I could read. I couldn't afford Goodyears sense I am replacing all of them so I ordered a set of Iron Man Tires. I sure hope I at least get an Iron Man decal for the rear window for the price of the tires.
I figured I will keep the newest and best tire as a spare. I know its not ideal but out of date spare is better than NONE.
Dominic
Lot of people I know run IronMan tires with good success here in the AZ heat
the first tire shop I called said not to run the Iron Mans. He stated that they are generic tires and that it is unadvised to drive on them for any distance.
I spoke to a friend that did point out that the tires is DOT approved so it meets the bare minimum and they are 18 ply. The couch doesn't have near the weight that a dump truck has and they are required to run 16ply so I should be more than safe with the Iron Mans.
Dominic
At least some of the sizes of Ironman tires are made in China. They are a Hercules brand tire which is owned by Cooper Tire in Ohio. If Cliff says they can do okay in Arizona, they are worth a try, but we will like to hear how you do with these in the coming years.
The IronMan tires don't seem to crack out here in the heat,only 98 today here
No problem, I have trip planned from Midland Tx -Baltimore MD for a couple days then to Nashville TN for a couple of days then off to Indiana for a a couple of months followed by a trip to San Antonio for a few months. Long story short they will get tested out this year.