tireman9

Ray, you need to careful with data. It is probably true that a majority of FMCA owners have Michelin tires so obviously a majority of the tire failure reports would also probably be Michelin brand. Also are you certain that the analysis of any failures was done by some trained in failed tire analysis and can differentiate between a structural failure and a failure due to low inflation and/or overload?

Maybe a better question might be to ask those companies with R&D budget who are advertising and making claims about the protective nature of the material they are selling, where are the pictures and data from their controlled testing?. There is no question in my mind that protecting tires from direct exposure to Heat, Ozone, and UV is a good thing. I have seen tires completely destroyed by being in an Ozone chamber. Tire companies have test fixtures that can expose samples to UV, and of course, we all know that heat can accelerate the aging and loss of strength of rubber. On my 2008 MH the gel coat on the fiberglass side that was always parked toward the south developed cracks to the point that I needed that side re-painted while the side away from the Sun was OK. I have written in my blog about both white vinyl covers that I use on my Class-C and just last Oct presented the data and showed the advantages of using Mesh material which for large Class-A Motorhomes is probably easier to handle. Maybe you might want to review some of my posts. External cracking I have seen on RV tires even as bad as in this post does not constitute a "failure" of the tire. You can still drive on them. BUT the external cracking can be used as a predictor of probable loss of strength of the internal structural rubber and as such should be considered a warning of increased potential structural failure such as a belt separation. Maybe you can think of sidewall cracking as you might think of high blood pressure reading. Do high readings mean you will have a heart attack in the next 10 minutes? Probably not but high readings do suggest that you may need to take action (surgery or stent or at least some drugs that can control the high pressure) and for tires, they indicate that you need to plan on replacing the subject tire.

I cannot imagine those cracks "healing" themselves. IMO those tires should be or have been replaced. RE The presenter statements about the cracks going away. I think the answer "The cracking is not the tires themselves, but the additive in the tire. " was not completely understood by the folks in the seminar. The protective chemicals built into a tire is a wax-like material when you get it in volume it may look more like candle wax or beeswax in its raw state. Yes, this "wax" migrates to the surface and it helps protect the tire surface rubber from attack by Ozone and UV. Under certain conditions, I can see the wax if thick enough possibly giving the appearance of "cracking" but the depth of those cracks would probably be in the range of 0.01" to 0.03" deep. I have also seen tires turn "brown" as the chemicals move to the surface and interact with UV and Ozone. On a small sidewall passenger tire, you probably do not notice the discoloration or the small surface cracks in the rubber. But when you have a 22.5" tire the "canvas" is larger and there are wide areas of sidewall now presented 2' closer to your eye level as you walk around your vehicle so even small cracks catch your attention. RE "cleaning" of the tire sidewall. While it is a good idea to remove road oils from your tires as you would remove those materials from your paint job, you need to be careful to not do too much scrubbing or rubbing as the abrasion will remove the wax protectants that have moved to the surface. Yes, a shiny "wet" look is something people seem to want to see but I know that I have seen more than one coach at FMCA Conventions just shining with excessive "Tire Shine" material. In one case I ran my fingernail across the sidewall and it came away with a small oily "lump" of material that looked and felt like a mixture of oil and something like brake fluid. You may wash your tire and wipe it down with some "shine" material but that "wipe-down" is probably removing the tire wax. You say the cracking started 5 years before the picture was taken. So how old were the tires? 9 years or more?

To my knowledge, all tire companies put chemicals in their tires to prevent attack by Ozone and UV. Different levels of different chemicals are used for a variety of reasons so it is almost impossible to confirm any claim of 'We use more". without knowing more than what? What is also true is that many times the RV owner themselves can cause an increase in cracking. This can result from the use of chemicals or cleaners that actually remove the protectants on the tire outer surface so the very act of "shining up" or "Cleaning" the tire so it looks better can result in more cracking due to rubber degradation as time goes on. In addition to Ozone and UV, heat can also degrade the rubber and I have never seen ANY tire treatment that can lower a tire's temperature other than maybe spraying it with white latex paint (I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS) White cover or a mesh screen will keep the tire cooler which will increase tire life. I have posted the test results on my blog. Keeping the temperature down will also extend belt life and there is no tire treatment that can do that.

You should be keeping the warranty paperwork for the tires with the coach. If you sell the coach and the buyer asks about the tires you would then show the warranty info and the dated sales receipt.

I am following up directly with NHTSA on my oversight. Hope to have an answer early this week. I will update my blog and post the info on registration here. UPDATE 11/22 Thanksgiving week and many folks are out so am not getting answers to my questions. I did confirm that for many brand tires you only need the DOT serial and not the tire design name - Except with Michelin. Soooo I am going to ask Michelin about why they need people to select the design AND supply the DOT.

A yes inflate the tires to the sidewall max if parking for more than a couple weeks. This will decrease "flat spotting (tire gets a permanent or semipermanent set. In order of priority to avoid for what to park on 1. Oil based stuff 2 Stuff that holds or transfers moisture (dirt and sand fall in this category) 3 Concrete that was poured os set directly on wet sand/dirt and is not well drained. Then much further down the list (not such a big deal) everything else like wood and such. My 'SHED" is open and the ground under it was wet sand. I had 4" or crushed concrete placed on top of the sand and I have 6 pieces of treated 2x8x12 boards that fully support the tires on my Class-C. I have never seen the boards appear wet so I am satisfied all is OK We really do not need to make this such a big deal if we use some common sense.

I watched the videos and discovered the problem was the motors were "out of sync". This is something I should have been told about by dealer - General RV, and the manuals should have been included with the Forest River purchase but no manuals and no instruction were the cause of the problem. Luckily the error was fixable without a trip to the dealer and $70 - $100 /hr labor to fix the problem they caused.

Good info. I note they are including the proper "Patch' type repair that requires dismount and mount. If "roadside" service would tell you they "plug" tires you might point out that by doing that un-approved method they are accepting responsibility for any subsequent failure or loss of warranty from the tire Mfg for the use of "improper" repair. Those that have attended my seminars know why plugs are not considered a proper repair.

Ya this is way early but I will be at Gillette. Am planning on giving my two different Tire seminars and 3 or 4 on Genealogy. Hope some of you stop by and say Hi. Also, hope to be able to again offer my pressure gauge accuracy check.

I will be at Perry. Am planning on giving my two different Tire seminars and 3 or 4 on Genealogy. Hope some of you stop by and say Hi. Also, hope to be able to again offer my pressure gauge accuracy check.

If you have a Kidde brand or fire extinguisher made by them and sold under another label you should check the info on THIS web page. I discovered I have one model so it is being replaced.

While I haven't used roadside assistance my self, changing a "truck tire" on the side of the road should be a relatively easy task for a properly trained service person. Your plan to carry your own un-mounted spare is a good one. While you already have your tire others may want to consider getting a used tire to carry around. Less expensive, a little lighter and you won't be aging a "new" tire. You really only need the spare to get you home so you can review your tire situation and shop for a good deal.

Will admit I don't work with Class-A air brake systems but I assumed they have an air dryer system. Do they?

You need to know that identifying the minimum CIP in trailer application is different than how you identify the minimum for MH. I have a number of posts specific to trailer application. Rather than take up space and go off topic I suggest a visit to my blog and use the list of topics on the left side.

x2 to Brett's comment A few more blog posts that may provide answers to some questions Ambient Cold Inflation and part 2

There are a number of Youtube videos on the various systems from Lippert such as Schwintek. These include how to check the error codes, how to get to the slide motor so you can push the slide back in. My Schwintech slide failed this weekend. (less than 20 uses but of course out of warranty.) Luckily ? it failed when closed so we could return home with no real problems. Weather is supposed to be better tomorrow so will be digging into the system myself.

I have a number of posts on my RV Tire Blog that mention TPMS including one titled "Best TPMS". There are many reasons for the best system for me is not the best system for you just as there is no "best" tire or "Best" RV or even "best" pizza. I do suggest that no matter which brand of TPMS you or anyone else ends up with you at least review THIS post on how I suggest you adjust the settings on your system.

You didn't provide the numbers. The % or psi increase can be used as a rough indication of how correct your cold inflation is based on your actual load. It's hard for me to guess as your "1 psi" margin might be the result of a pressure increase of 10 psi or of 20 psi. If you are seeing a pressure increase of 20% you need to have things checked out.add link What were your TPMS Temperature and pressure readings in the AM before you started driving and before the tires were in direct sunlight? What were the readings 2 hours later? It would help me if you could also provide tire size, Load on each end of each axle if you have a tag. Here is a link to posts related to temperature and pressure growth. HERE is a post on Max pressure.

Hopefully, you are adding less than 5 psi only a couple times a season OR LESS. If more or more frequently I think you may have a problem and it should be fixed. I would also hope you are running a +10% cushion above the minimum inflation needed for your coach based on your measured load on the heavy end of each axle. For example, 275/80R22.5 LR-H is rated 6,610 @ 120 psi I recommend a +10% cushion but you should not exceed the 120 on the tire sidewall. 90% of 120 = 108psi At 105 the capacity is 5,980# and at 110 the capacity is 6175 so if your measured heavy load is between 5,981 and 6,175 your minimum psi should be 110 psi and your set morning CIP would be 110 + 10% of 110 or 121 but you don't exceed 120. I would consider a working range of 5 psi so as long as you have 115 to 120 psi all is good. You would only need to add 5 to psi if and when the CIP drops below 115. If your load is lower than 5,981 to 6,175 you could, of course, have a lower CIP but you should still have a cushion in the +10% range. If your measured load is above 6,175 then you need to shed some weight or up size your tires or shift some weight from the heavier loaded area to a lighter loaded area of the RV.

For 19.5 and 22.5 size tires If you need to add more than 15% of the pressure needed I would rely on a service truck. If you have lost that much air there is some problem that needs to be fixed and just adding air will not fix whatever caused the air loss in the first place.

I have addressed the topic of TPMS "Accuracy" HERE I have also done some calibration checks after my seminars at a few FMCA Conventions using my digital gauges that are accurate to =/- 0.5 psi when checked against ISO laboratory gauge What we see is that about 10% of the gauges are off by more than 5 psi at the 80 psi level I use as a standard Some are off by 10 psi or more ! NOTE simply paying more for a gauge is no confirmation that the gauge is accurate. My three "Master gauges only cost $10 each HERE is a post on my test results.

Can black tire “covers” be used without causing damage?I have done tests over the years comparing the temperatures of tires shielded from the sun with white vinyl covers versus no covers versus (in a rough check) black plastic. I have observed (at Redmond and other conventions) some Class A RVs with what appears to be a mesh shield that hangs down off the side of the RV, as opposed to the vinyl “bag” that hangs directly over the outside of tires. This summer after the Indianapolis Convention I was given the opportunity to test a black mesh Tire Shade from ShadePro, Inc. You can read the test results on my blog HERE

I watched the video on the liquid balancer. Lots of claims. If they were true this stuff would be used by OE vehicle companies as they would kill for improved fuel economy. The stuff may work as an alternative to standard balance weights but IMO the other claims fall in the category of "Use this and there will be MAGIC" Also, it may be possible to remove most of the liquid but I have serious reservations about the ability to do proper tire puncture repair after this is all over the tire interior.

The key issue is to prevent moisture from being in contact with the tires. If outside protect tires from exposure to UV If indoors keep tires away from electric motor or any other source of Ozone.