Used tires?

[Nel]

There's a listing on Craigslist in my area that is selling "used virgin 12r22.5 tires" for 85.00 each. I never bought tires for my 4104 but I know they are weather checked on sidewalls, of course the tread is like new.
What should I look for if I go check them out beside the tread wear, or is it just not worth it, also what are other tire sizes have you 4104 owners had good results with that are more economical.
Thanks, Nelson

[Bill Gerrie]

Look very carefully at the line on the side of the tire starting with DOT........ the last figures are the date. Week of the year and the year. 4713  47th week of 2013

[muldoonman]

Weather cracked would be a deal breaker for me no matter what the born on date would be. It's hurts the pocket book but I will try to change mine out every 5 to 6 years in stages.  Doesn't hurt as bad. Will have some (12R22.5) to give away next summer if somebody needs them.  Probably will have 45,000 miles on them at that time and thread looks new now, no cracks. There's too much stuff under coach to have one explode/blowout at 65 or 70 mph and rip everything out.

[bottomacher]

12/22.5's are bigger than you need anyway, harder to find when you need them, and more expensive. If they're virgin at that price, they will most be likely too old to use.

[RJ]

Nel -

I've said this before, but here I go again:

The powertrain in your 4104 was engineered around tires that turn 495 revs per mile.  For OEM performance, you want to stick to that number as close as possible when replacement time comes.

Tires that turn MORE than 495 will lower your speed in each gear, plus increase your fuel consumption.

Tires that turn LESS than 495 will have the opposite effect, with one additional factor - in certain situations (rare) it will make it a little more difficult to get the coach rolling.  But again, those situations are rare.

Take a look at the tires, then call a local dealer and ask him to look up the revs/mile spec in his tire book for that model tire & size.  Then you can make a more informed decision.

FWIW & HTH. . .

[HB of CJ]

My old Crown had 12Rx22.5 tires.  If failing memory serves, the BUDD type wheels were one half inch wider than normal.  All 10 wheels were the same width.  I do not know if this was a Crown thing or not.

We came close to updating the old existing 12Rx22.5 tires and wheels with very nice "Take Offs" 11Rx24.5 Michilens (sp) (speell chzk not worth a darn) on polished nice Alcoa aluminum wheels.  Tire age nixed it.

Sometimes a heavy duty truck wrecking yard can be your friend.

[Nel]

Ok, Thanks for the advice Guys, Nelson

[bigred]

What about the Chinese imports I have seen the guy's talk about on here?One man said that a place in Florida had them for 350.00 dollars each out the door. The used tires would be alright on the rear or tag axle but I would sure put new tires on the front.According to what I have read on here ,the Chinese tires are a very good tire.Another option would be to put tubes in the used tires.Let me play the Devil's Advocate here for a minute I have saw on here where putting a different width tire would change the number of revolutions the tire makes .I have always thought the diameter of the tire was what dictates the number of revolutions of the tire .In other words an 11.5x  22 should rotate the same number of times as a 12x22 .Am I right or wrong?? I ask this because I have every intention of putting 11.5's on my Prevost.I honestly can not understand what 500 th's of an inch would make a great difference.

[TomC]

The real way to tell what tires you should run, weigh your bus fully loaded front axle and back axle. I know I didn't need the 12R-22.5 anymore. I switched to 11R-24.5 mainly to get a bit taller tire and more speed (transits are lower than highway buses).
As to buying used tires-maybe for the rear. But always buy quality (read non-Chinese) tires for the front. You have this big investment of a bus with gigantic weight with the tires being your attachment to the road for fuel mileage, traction, ride, etc and you want to buy a used tire? I would possibly run a Bandag retread on the rears. But stick with new tires on the front.
Tires are much more than big round rubber things that hold air. Michelin makes over 50 different models of truck and bus tires for specific uses and sizes-just to give you an idea. Stick with the name brands. Stay away from the El Cheapo Chinese, Russian, Yugoslavia, etc tires. Good Luck, TomC