One more question on 4104 tires

[Nel]

I think I'm finally going to pull the trigger on replacing my 12r 22.5 with 11r's, I see a good price on 11r semi trailer tires 16 ply, they look just like steer tires, can they be used as steer and drive tires on my 4104?  Thanks

[eagle19952]

no.

[TomC]

Well, you need to ask a tire man, but basically (and this is from me being an owner/operator truck driver for 21 years and 15 years as a truck salesman). Generally a steer tire can be used in any position. A drive tire should only be used on the drives, as with a trailer tire only on the trailer.
I have regional steer tires all the way around on both my bus and my truck. Steer tires will also be the quietest going down the road with the best ride over a drive tire. Good Luck, TomC

[richard5933]

Our 4108 came from the PO with Firestone FS400 tires all around. They are definitely overkill for our needs, but they are in great shape and will stay for now. PO was a bus operator, and I'm sure it's what he had on hand for his commercial units.

The only downside to running the same tires all around is if you frequent campsites with dirt/gravel roads. All position tires will not provide the same traction that some drive tires will.

The bigger question to me is changing the tire size. Have you checked out the new tires to be sure that they have the proper revs per mile?

[gus]

11 inch tires are stock for a 4104, 12" are too big and only make the too-high first gear worse.

It is easy to find all-position tires at any truck tire shop.

[chessie4905]

Careful if you have 4:11 rear axle ratio. Max speed of 69 will drop to 65 with 11:00x 22.5
If you have 3:55 rear, 11:00x 22.5 is perfect. Would be 75 max instead of 80.

[TomC]

Let's run some numbers here- if you have a top speed of 69mph with 12R-22.5 at 2100 (485rpm tires) then going to 500rpm 11R-22.5 will drop your top speed to 66.93 mph. Good Luck, TomC

[chessie4905]

These numbers are from gov setting on our 4104. Everyone's will be slightly different, but he needs to consider it when making a selection. And if his current 12:00's are significantly worn, the difference won't be as great. And, of course differences between brands on overall diameter.