Hi...We are planning a trip to the s east US from Anacortes WA (n of Seattle) to Huntsville and our Michelin 22.5 x275 radial tires are going on 6 years. We have been advised to change the front tires now and maybe wait a year or 2 to change the rear duals. We can drive thru Oregon where there is no sales tax (vs 8.4% here in Washington) which is a substantial amount. Does anyone have advice on an easy off of I-5 tire shop that can sell and install with a spin balance new Michelin for our coach. We will have a car on a dolly in tow (don't ask) so I must be strait-forward....which might rule out the Pacific tire shop in Portland. We would also like to get the wheels polished but that is less important. Any advice on this topic or killer deals I should investigate? Am I being overly cautious in putting new rubber on the coach. Finally, locals tells me that Les Scwab is maybe not the best place for these large commercial tires....true?
Carl,
Check on the FMCA Fleet program with Michelin. There are dealers in Oregon on the program.
Michelin Advantage (http://www.fmca.com/benefits/michelin-advantage.html)
If no a member, well worth joining if for nothing else.
If you do decide to join, one of the questions is "referred by". You are welcome to use my name and FMCA number if you like-- I am Chairman of the FMCA Technical Advisory Committee.
Brett Wolfe
F252125
Les Scwab in Puyallup has a truck bay around back. Did a good job for me. Even matched Oregon price(no sales tax).
I would look for one on I5 in Oregon and call to confirm they have the truck service bay and the correct load range and size tires in stock.
I think they have one in Eugene.
Then see what kind of deal they will make.
They may be able to do the FMCA deal there.
You'd be money ahead to have all four corners weighed before picking tire pressures. ^.^d You can weigh, free, at Washington and Oregon weigh stations after hours, they keep the scales on.
Are the tires weather cracked or otherwise damaged? If in doubt take the coach to a diesel mechanic (who doesn't sell tires) and ask him. If your tires do need to be replaced there were 13 of those Michelins in your size in stock at Phoenix Tire in March. They were brand new take off tires that were about a year old. I wrote the exact date code and price on a post that you can find if you look through my stuff on this forum. They were priced way less than new Michelins, even though they actually are new. I bought one to carry as a spare. My tires are over ten years old with no weather cracking and they're about half worn. I'm gonna wear them out despite what everyone on this forum says. I've lost brand new tires several times so I don't believe new tires are any safer than the tires I've been running all these years as long as they're still in good condition and properly inflated. I check my tires constantly, visually and with a "real" tire pressure gauge, which is very important. When you hear stories of people losing tires it's usually because they didn't check the tire before they started driving that morning. I can tell you from personal experience that the dual tires look exactly the same even when one of them is completely flat... no really, you can't tell the difference without putting a pressure gauge on it... I'm the only person on this forum who dares to disagree with the new tires every three years crowd, but somebody has to. Truck drivers and diesel mechanics laugh out loud when I ask them about RV owners who buy new tires every few years.
We always buy our tires from the Les Schwab dealer in Junction City, OR. They are used to handling coaches (they are just down the street from Country Coach (or what sort of is CC), Oregon Motorcoach, etc. We put Toyos on our coach this last time as, even with the FMCA discount, they were considerably cheaper than Michelins with no loss in quality (IMHO).
As Brett Wood say, do not confuse getting away with something as a good operating practice. 7 year old Michelin steer tire blew out on me. $6K insurance claim, stuck on side of road, extra tri from Chicago to NAC for Xtreme repair of damage.
Never ran low on air, just starting out in AM on cold tires, blew 5 miles into day @55 mph.
Steel inside tire rusted out. No inspection would show that.
Learned my lesson. Others can have other views, this is still America!!
My (new to me) FT has 9 year old Bridgestones. They will be replaced before any long travel, but are doing just fine around town. I would never get new Michelins, too many stories of young ones blowing out and wallets being totally empty after purchasing. I also dont think id replace them at six years of age, i would get another year or three out of them.
I talked to my local tire dealer (Bergeys tire center) and he mentioned several brands that were the same size I have now, made in USA and priced hundreds below Michelins. All brands he recommended based on thousands being sold per year to trucks, buses, and rvs. He assured me when the time came he would have six young, recently date coded tires ready to go at a great price. Now if only I could get other shops to be so easy to work with!
Call around, compare prices, and even offer to pay in cash. It all may help! Do what makes you happy.
I gots to know,what is a real tire gauge? I think the consensus is a little longer then 3 years.
I just used Superior Tire in Eugene OR (just S of City Center, 1/4 mile off I5) for 6 new Michelins. Dry camped in their parking lot the night prior, tires installed in the morning. Hrs 7:30 to 5 PM.
7 years ago I used Superior Tire in Portland. Next time I need tires in PNW it will be the Eugene location again.
They wash your wheels, but if you want them polished they send them out with return next day. I used the Michelin Advantage program. Went to breakfast in the Toad while they installed..
X2 for Superior tire and Michelin Advantage.
Good Morning Carl
I bought a full set pf Toyos for my U270 last year at Les Schwab in Edmonds, Wa. Really nice experience, asked if they could match the quote from Eugene. To my surprise they did. I had checked pricing down the coast into Oregon as we were head S. They also credited some for the old tires. $50 per tire, if I remember correctly. It pays to ask.
Total bill, with the credit, was around $2700. I like the Toyos ride and handle well. My only objection was they smelled like dog sh*t for the first couple of months. No I didn't run over Rover. :))
Good Luck, see you down the road Ric 8)
Hey Carl, just got a price on a pair of Toyos from Les Schwab in Cedro 295 75 22.5 load range H 465.00 ea plus tax and mounting.
I have run tires on many pieces of equipment over my working years, The front tires are the most critical.
I have always run front tires down 20-30% and then put new ones on. I move them to the the rear left or
right. Then the next newer ones go to the other side. That keeps you usually under the 6 year rule and makes
it much easier on the checking account. Have never had a blow out on the steering axle doing it this way.
I have read about people using nitrogen as the inflation gas, I am not sue if this would prevent rust, it is
dry??
Carter Langford
Nac
Got a new set of Toyos load range G in Chicago in August,smelled like japaneese tires.
They did use the 1 pound package of balancing beads in each tire.
Soy sauce?
Will be getting 6 Toyo's @ Les Schwabs in Salem tomorrow or Monday, will move the steer tires (dated 2015) to the tag