HEEELLLPP! Tire Information Overload!

[N2WKENDS]

Hey Ya'll,

My husband and I have a super beautiful 2004 Monaco Diplomat 40 PDQ ( that we bought kinda recently). It currently has 275/70R 22.5 ( some oddball manufacture) that are way out of date. I am doing my due diligence in "learning" about not only RV tires but GIANT RV tires. I"m experiencing tire overload.  Continental, Michelin, Toyo? ...steer, non steer, 16 ply vs 18 ply, RV vs Truck tires. 

All this info, AND these things are insanely expensive! So we live in Southern California ( Santa Clarita). I'm not going to drive to Oregon to get tires ( we still work, and to spend that much to go get tires...NOT). 

1. Which is manufacturer is best...and I guess model number ( because they have like a billion diff types)

2. Anyone have any other info I can use? my husband relies upon's on me to do the legwork ( I"m the computer savvy partner).

3. Is it best to go with the FMCA discount or can I get a better price off of that if I KNOW what I'm searching for ( I like the hunt, just need to know WHAT we need). 

4. What are other charges typically needed to put these big pieces of rubber ON? 

5. Other than covering the tires when not in use ...what else do we need to do to get the most out of them? What do I NOT do to them?

Thanks for all the help ( as you can tell we are newbie's).

Heather 

[hermanmullins]

Heather,

Welcome to the world of Confusion. 

There will be many thoughts and Ideas for which is the best tire for a coach.

I will only tell you what tire I have and how I like them. I have Goodyear G670s on our coach 2 2002 Monaco Dynasty. They were the original mfg. that came on the coach. I have not had one issue with them. They ride and wear well. They were less expensive then others but still of high quality.  

Good Luck,

Herman

[richard5933]

I think that you meant this as a different kind of tire overload, but that may actually be the best place to start the conversation. Especially if you are trying to decide between 16 and 18 ply (or load rating for the tires in general), I would say that getting a current weight on the coach is the place to start. Until you know the actual weight front & rear it will be very difficult to properly choose the load rating needed. If you get a tire with too high a load rating you're wasting money and getting a harsher ride than necessary. If you get too low a load rating then you put safety at risk. Once you know the load rating required, you can start comparing apples to apples from brand to brand.

The only other piece of advice would be to find a good tire dealer near you that is not owned or associated with just one brand. Provide them with the information you have and ask for help selecting tires. You might spend a few dollars more in the end, but I've found that most dealers will work with you on price within reason. Best part of this is to establish a relationship with a shop that can help you when the inevitable problem arises down the road. There is nothing that can beat having a locally owned shop on your side when you need them.

[manholt]

There should be a plaque behind driver seat on wall or in closet, that will give you the name and size tires that came with coach. 

Richard is correct, have your coach weight front to back and each corner if possible (you might want to call CHP in your area, they usually have a portable unit & they will bend over backwards to help anyone that want's to stay safe)!

[tbutler]

As Carl says, find the original tire size on the wall behind the driver's seat.  That is a fixed requirement for your tires.  Next, answer - for yourself - how many miles you will drive your coach each year.  Being new to this, you may not have a real good idea, just think about your plans for travel.  Are you taking off across country and doing that year after year, or is this for weekends and the occasional week of vacation.  If your driving plans involve occasional short trips you will want a different quality of tire than someone who is traveling 10,000+ miles a year as we do.  Either way, you won't wear the tread off those tires in the 7 years that will be the age limit for the tires.  There are many foreign brands of tires on the market with strange names, some are good, some perhaps not so.  I've had Goodyear and now Michelin.  I like the Michelin better but they are the most expensive and may not be justified for your travel plans.  I have run the standard truck tires on our motor home, the Michelin tires we now have are a standard truck tire.  The Goodyear G670's that Wayne mentions are built specifically for motor homes.  I've had those, also good tires.  With high mileage you may see some uneven wear but for limited use you should never notice a problem.  That is basically all you need to know to select your tires. 

You will want the front tires balanced (for smoother ride) and aligned (for better steering).  You can also have the rear tires balanced.  I've done it both ways and now have the rear tires balanced.  Since you are new to the coach, I would have an alignment done.  Once you experience driving with a properly aligned coach, you will be in a good position to judge when the next alignment might be done.  I always align new tires when I put them on just to make certain that I get the best life from the tires.  Poor alignment can cause uneven tire wear and if bad enough can make the tires unserviceable in short order.  You will have to request these services as an extra expense, most tire dealers will tell you that truckers don't have their tires balanced.  You want your coach to ride more like a car than a truck.

Weighing your coach is necessary to determine the proper inflation for your tires.  Your tires will be capable of carrying a greater load than will be on the tires.  Inflating them to the maximum allowed may result in a stiff ride which can be uncomfortable.  You can get tire loading charts from the tire manufacturer's web site or perhaps from the dealer where you purchase your tires.  Inflate your tires to support the weight you get from your weighing.  Add 10% to the tire pressure again to ensure safety.  Slightly over-inflated tires will be safe.  Under-inflated tires will fail, sometimes catastrophically.  Because these are large tires, small differences in temperature can make real differences in tire pressure so it is good practice to check the tires each time you travel in the coach.  Yes, that does mean when you are in a campground for a weekend and start to leave to return home you should check the pressure of each tire to ensure it is properly inflated.

Before you weigh your coach, you should load it with fuel, propane, water and all the things you plan to take with you on a trip.  It is important to know what weight the loaded coach will be carrying.  If the weights show considerable variation from one side of an axle to the other side, try to adjust the loading to get them closer to the same.  It will not be necessary to get an exact same weight, 10% or less difference would be ideal.  While we are at it, go back to the information on the wall behind the driver's seat in the coach.  It lists several weights for your coach.  You want the total weight for your fully loaded coach to be less than the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating).  GVWR does not include anything you are towing.  That would be the GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating).  The chart also lists limits for each axle separately so check your weigh ticket to be certain neither of your axles is carrying more than its limit.  If that is the case it will be necessary to shift some of the things you are carrying or to leave more stuff at home.

Then, start with the weight of each of the tire locations.  We refer to that as corner weights.  Because motor homes can be loaded very unevenly, you need to know what weight each front tire is carrying.  The same is true for each pair of rear tires.  The weight and inflation  chart will show the weight dual tires carry differently but it is the weight for each tire (half the weight of that end of the axle on each tire).  For each axle you will use identical tire pressure for all tires on that axle.  All tires must be able to hold the weight on heaviest end of the axle they are on.  If you are unable to find a location where you can get corner weights, go to the local truck stop and get axle weights, divide by 2 and add 10% to get a reasonable estimate of your required tire pressure. 

Welcome to motor homes.  Don't let all this overwhelm you, take it one step at a time.  Buy your tires, have them mounted, weigh the coach, adjust tire pressure to match the weight of the coach.  Go out and have a good trip!

[elkhartjim]

Great write up, Tom. 

[N2WKENDS]

Thanks ALL!...you guys are worth the price of admission to FMCA! I"m always telling my husband...oh we have to see what everyone else says on FMCA! 

Thanks,

Heather 

[wildebill308]

The only thing I will add is when you get the alignment done get an all wheel alignment.

Bill

[lylefikse]

We put new Michelin tires on our 40 DP through the FMCA tire program.  Saved a few bucks on the tires going through FMCA.  Compared to the Goodyear tires we had before the Michelin tires gave us a much nicer ride.  You can buy cheaper tires but I am sold on the Michelin tires.  Make sure who ever you have replace your tires that they know how to do it on a motorhome.  We got ours back with a cracked windshield because they jacked up the front end separately.   Of course they denied breaking the windshield I we stood the cost of the replacement.

[manholt]

Like a car, it should all come off the ground at the same time! 

[wayne77590]

When  I had a blow out in CA I used Pacific Tire. The one I dealt with was in WA and they were great. They were also cheaper than any other place for the Michelin replacement.

[blakeloke]

Heather,

Good advice from members here.  Given you don't want to drive too far to get new tires check out Tyack Tires in Bakersfield.  Probably about an hour from you and easier to maneuver down there instead of LA traffic.

https://tyacktires.com/

Blake

 

[alohabobbyandroze]

Heather,

Add me to the list saying read the data plate and get weighed.  We bought our coach used.  I had it 'truck stop weighed' and set my tires.  Noticed that the speedometer didn't seem right, and used a phone app to check.  A year later when we bought tires (aged out) the installer thought the new tires wouldn't fit - too big.  Turned out the last set installed were too small.  Gee, the speedometer now reads correctly.  The tire shop inflated them all to 100 psi, and the coach was squirrelly.  Had the coach corner weighed and set the pressures for the correct weight and the coach now drives fine.  Chose Toyo for our coach, saved $600 over Michelins.  I had Michelins on my pickup and got 97k miles before one failed, and still had tread on all four.

We had Goodyear before the Toyos, with no complaint about the ride - just the size.  A friend has Firestones.

As to balancing, I went with DynaBeads.  They go inside the tire and continuously balance as the tire wears.  Had them for a year now, and still satisfied.  Also recommend you get a TPMS to go with your new tires.  You'll get a bit of warning if something bad is about to happen.  Consider having LONG valve stems installed on the inner duals.  It will make inflating and checking the inflation much easier.  I spent a long time finding valve extensions for mine.

[tbutler]

TPMS = Tire Pressure Monitoring System.  Sometimes you get some warning.  I had a blowout several years ago, the tire monitor didn't alarm until we were stopped.  Great for catching a slow leak, even a fast leak but may not give any warning before a blowout.  I put a system on our coach after we had a blowout on the left front tire.  Don't want that to happen again but then there is no guarantee.  The alarms have been well worth it for the several puncture/leaks that we had.  Stopped before significant tire damage, no damage to vehicle.  In one case, we were headed off into never-never land, hundreds of miles to next service.  The alarm when off right at the road that was our last chance for repair before going into the wilderness.  Back on the road in three hours.  Without it may have been days and who knows how many hundred dollars more to get the help we would have needed.

We have Pressure Pro, there are many other brands, each with their own differences.  Search the forum (top right on this page for search box) for TPMS or for tire pressure to get quick access to past discussions and thoughts from others on different brands.

As far as valve stems, Monaco at the time of your coach manufacture used flexible valve extensions which attach to the wheel hub, about as convenient as you can get.  If your coach still has them, I'd use them.  We haven't had any problems with our is 14 years.  I am in the process of replacing them this year.  I ordered a set from Monaco.  Despite the bankruptcy (post 2008) and several sales and reorganizations, you can still call Monaco Customer Service at the phone number in your owners manual, 877-466-6226 to order parts.  They will want your coach serial number (not the VIN) and will be able to look up all the parts that were used to build your coach.  I had my coach in the shop, had the parts person call, he did use the VIN, got the correct parts to replace a couple of corroded dock lights on our coach, exact replacements!  If you need replacement extensions or other items, try them first to get original equipment items.

[ispjs]

Can't really add much advice than has already has been given.  Like others have said, the very first step when deciding on tires is to have the coach weighed.  The easiest way to do that is to stop by your closest truck stop (Love's, Flying-J, Pilot, or any with a CAT scale).  Just go in and tell them you want to run across the scales.  It is usually a $10 or $11 charge.  You drive onto the scale area, listen for them to tell you via the speaker that they have the weight, then pull off and park.  Go inside and get your weigh ticket.  The ticket will break down your steer (front) axle weight, drive axle weight, and tag if you have one.  You are not getting individual weights from each tire (corner) of your coach but a regular scale will get you close.

[tireman9]

On 1/18/2018 at 11:16 PM, TBUTLER said:

TPMS = Tire Pressure Monitoring System.  Sometimes you get some warning.  I had a blowout several years ago, the tire monitor didn't alarm until we were stopped.  Great for catching a slow leak, even a fast leak but may not give any warning before a blowout.  I put a system on our coach after we had a blowout on the left front tire.  Don't want that to happen again but then there is no guarantee.  The alarms have been well worth it for the several puncture/leaks that we had.  Stopped before significant tire damage, no damage to vehicle.  In one case, we were headed off into never-never land, hundreds of miles to next service.  The alarm when off right at the road that was our last chance for repair before going into the wilderness.  Back on the road in three hours.  Without it may have been days and who knows how many hundred dollars more to get the help we would have needed.

We have Pressure Pro, there are many other brands, each with their own differences.  Search the forum (top right on this page for search box) for TPMS or for tire pressure to get quick access to past discussions and thoughts from others on different brands.

As far as valve stems, Monaco at the time of your coach manufacture used flexible valve extensions which attach to the wheel hub, about as convenient as you can get.  If your coach still has them, I'd use them.  We haven't had any problems with our is 14 years.  I am in the process of replacing them this year.  I ordered a set from Monaco.  Despite the bankruptcy (post 2008) and several sales and reorganizations, you can still call Monaco Customer Service at the phone number in your owners manual, 877-466-6226 to order parts.  They will want your coach serial number (not the VIN) and will be able to look up all the parts that were used to build your coach.  I had my coach in the shop, had the parts person call, he did use the VIN, got the correct parts to replace a couple of corroded dock lights on our coach, exact replacements!  If you need replacement extensions or other items, try them first to get original equipment items.

Tom. If your TPMS didn't provide a warning before your "blowout" are you sure the failure was not a "Belt/Tread Separation" those can sound like an explosion and the tire can then lose air. I cover the difference in detail in a number of the posts on my blog and cover in my tire seminars. Will be at Perry, Gillette and Glamarama this summer.

[tireman9]

16 hours ago, ISPJS said:

Can't really add much advice than has already has been given.  Like others have said, the very first step when deciding on tires is to have the coach weighed.  The easiest way to do that is to stop by your closest truck stop (Love's, Flying-J, Pilot, or any with a CAT scale).  Just go in and tell them you want to run across the scales.  It is usually a $10 or $11 charge.  You drive onto the scale area, listen for them to tell you via the speaker that they have the weight, then pull off and park.  Go inside and get your weigh ticket.  The ticket will break down your steer (front) axle weight, drive axle weight, and tag if you have one.  You are not getting individual weights from each tire (corner) of your coach but a regular scale will get you close.

Good suggestion. Just be sure you have the front axle on one "pad" and the rears on a separate "pad" otherwise you may not get an accurate reading. Pads are usually outlined in paint.

Heather

HERE is a link to CAT scale with sample info. and a video at bottom of the page.  If you have questions just park out of the way and go into the counter. the Weighmaster will be happy to help you.

Most truck stop scales are very similar.

[f448151]

We purchased Michelin for a prior 2014 Class A Hurricane through the FMCA tire program.  We saved a significant amount - well worth the money for FMCA membership.

[manholt]

F448151.

I can attest to that.  Over the years, have saved a lot of $$$, started running Michelins back in 1986, that's 7 coaches!  Prior to that, I used any tire out there that was available from 1967 to 1986!

[wajames]

If you haven't got new tires yet, try Pete's Road Service.  Michelin dealer and FMCA commercial member.  They have a shop in Victorville.

http://www.petesrs.com/

We have a similar coach and while our Goodyears were okay I love the Michelins and with the FMCA discount 275-70R22.5's are about $550 each before taxes and installation.

Keep them clean and use 303 on them once it a while.

If you have a 4 bag suspension, look underneath and see if your trailing arms have been upgraded from bent tube to these:

[wolfe10]

Yes, for more information on Important Safety Issue: Monaco, HR & Safari Chassis:

 

http://community.fmca.com/topic/569-important-safety-issue-monaco-hr-safari-chassis/