2012sam Report post Posted July 31, 2019 Which brand of tire would be best for a 42' tag axle Class A? Currently I have Michelin 275/80 R 22.5 XZA3 but the wife says they are a bit noisy. I'm unsure of what is out there that would keep the noise down, good wear and tear, and driveability. I need all 8 tires and I'm not looking for the cheapest but most certainly not the most expensive either. Thanks for any suggestions... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bowtie Report post Posted August 1, 2019 Best advice I've received is from a tire dealer insisting that I don't over-buy tires. Unless we are on the road full time and putting 15k miles a year or more, we will time out of the tire before wearing it out. UV and heat will kill the tire in 5 to 7 years and in many cases people still have lots of wear left on the tire. Cracks in the tread grooves and sidewall dictate the tire be replaced regardless of how much tread is left. He suggested TO'YO, Continental, Bridgestone, Cumho, etc. unless I would be on the road a lot. Michelin is by far the best tire in his opinion, but he has customers throwing away expensive Michelins with most of its tread still on the tire. I wound up trading the coach in on another before buying tires, so I can't say I prefer one over the other. Just passing on recommendations from an expert. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sstgermain Report post Posted August 1, 2019 Our current coach has General's on it. They are a good tire. Previously we had Dayton's which we purchased through Love's. Dayton is a Bridgestone tire and by purchasing at Loves' got roadside service anywhere in the country under their warranty if there were any issues. Those were also good tires. Our rig before that had Toyo's M144 on it. To be honest I did not notice any difference in noise in any of them. I agree with the poster above that they will need to be replaced in 5 to 7 years so don't spring for the big buck Michelins Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
richard5933 Report post Posted August 1, 2019 Lots of places in a coach which can cause noise. If your tires are not ready for replacement otherwise, I'd first confirm that they are causing the problem. Also, what are you using to set the pressure in the current tires? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fagnaml Report post Posted August 1, 2019 2012Sam -- Welcome to the forum! There are many good folks on the forum who have a lot of knowledge and experiences to share. To help get quicker answers, it would be good for you to create a signature block showing your motorhome type, what type of vehicle you tow, etc. I too am in the market to replace the 4-1/2 year old Michelin XZE2+ tires which are starting to have some sidewall cracking. The Michelins are OEM tires that Freightliner installed on my XCR chassis. The FMCA tire discount program offers some minor price reductions for Michelin and Continental tires and a big price reductions for Hankook tires. Your comment for over-paying for tires is spot on. For motorhome owners like me who only travel ~5,000 miles per year, a "Tier II" tire like a Hankook provides the quality and above all safety for low annual mileage. A motorhome owners needs to drive at least 30,000 miles per year to justify the higher cost of Michelin or Continental tires which have a tread life of 150,000+ miles over the course of a five year tire material life. For a lot of motorhome owners like me who are "weekend adventurers" with low annual mileage, a lower cost tire like a Hankook is the way to go as our tires will "age-out" long before they wear-out. Also, as Richard asked, what is the age of your tires? If over five years old they are nearing the 'age-out' time for replacement and definitely need to be replaced if they are seven years old. If the tires are not in need of replacement, then as Richard stated there are many others potential sources of noise. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2012sam Report post Posted August 1, 2019 A bit more information on my tires for those asking. My tires are OEM and my coach purchased new at the end of 2011. I run 100 PSI all around with approx 30,000 miles on her. She has been stored indoors the entire time other than on excursions. The tires look great with lots of tread and no cracking on the sidewalls or uneven wear. It's only because they are 8+ years old that I am looking. As for the noise, the wife says it is road noise, I'm not sure since my ears aren't like they used to be. Thanks ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fagnaml Report post Posted August 1, 2019 2012Sam -- Your tires are likely closer to nine years old as by the time a new chassis is built-out into a new motorhome, the tires provided with the chassis likely are already several months old before the new motorhome is sold. If you look at your tires, you will find the date they were manufactured (see image below). The forum's tire expert (Tireman) will always advise replacing tires after they are seven years old. Tires that are five years old need to be thoroughly inspected annually to assure they are safe to use until they reach the age of seven. Driving on your likely nine year old tires is a significant safety risk for you and your family. This is a video of what can happen when a motorhome front tire blows-out --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTufMmcqSwY Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
richard5933 Report post Posted August 1, 2019 Sounds like new tires are in order. Did you weigh the coach to come up with the 100 psi setting? If not, you may find that you have them overinflated based on the weight of your coach using the load & inflation table. If so, that would contribute to road noise. Could also be partially due to riding on tires that are 8-9 years old and not as flexible as they once were. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
five Report post Posted August 2, 2019 2 hours ago, richard5933 said: Sounds like new tires are in order. Did you weigh the coach to come up with the 100 psi setting? If not, you may find that you have them overinflated based on the weight of your coach using the load & inflation table. If so, that would contribute to road noise. Could also be partially due to riding on tires that are 8-9 years old and not as flexible as they once were. Agree. I have three axles and three different tire pressures. Each axle should have tire pressure noted in the appropriate manual using the heavy side of the axle. Most people add 10 lbs or 10% to that number. My Michelins were cracking at six and a half years, so I just had 315 Continentals put on the front and 295/80s Toyos on the rear. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
f442485 Report post Posted August 2, 2019 I had Hancook tires when we bought the coach, but they timed out. We replaced the tires with Hercules tires and the ride and noise remained about the same. the only difference that i noticed was the wandering almost went away. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jleamont Report post Posted August 2, 2019 7 hours ago, f442485 said: Hercules tires What size and model Hercules tire do you have? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted August 3, 2019 BF Goodrich, 8 new in June, on 45', 2/3 cost of Michelin, built by Michelin, 315/80/22.5...my August 2014 Michelin's was cracked and not safe, that's less then 5 years! I roll 12,000+ miles a year, this year will be over 17,000! BFG, no road noise, smooth ride, carry 110# on all 8. Thanks Joe L. for recommendation!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tireman9 Report post Posted August 3, 2019 Not sure how to answer the OP question. I spent a good portion of my career trying to develop tires to meet the various targets from different car companies. One challenge was to get a list that prioritized the different goals when many times the customer considered all targets to be equally important. One problem is that without doing a direct comparison of two different tires on the same vehicle, it is almost impossible to do a "clean" comparison. You might read http://www.rvtiresafety.net/2019/05/why-no-tire-reviews.html to get a better appreciation of the problem. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
f442485 Report post Posted August 3, 2019 My Hercules are 275/70R-22.5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
f442485 Report post Posted August 3, 2019 Hercules Strong Guard, sorry,i did not read your whole post. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
markstella Report post Posted August 3, 2019 Are they the H-902 Load range H ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jleamont Report post Posted August 4, 2019 17 hours ago, f442485 said: Hercules Strong Guard, sorry,i did not read your whole post. That’s a tire brand I forgot about. A previous employer of mine ran those and Hankook. Good tires! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildebill308 Report post Posted August 4, 2019 Have you heard of or had any experience with Triangle? Bill Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
f442485 Report post Posted August 4, 2019 If you are asking me about Triangle tires, no i have not heard of them. My tire guy has, but he said that no one in Southern California stocks them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
richard5933 Report post Posted August 4, 2019 Is there any type of centralized database showing problems with the different brands of tires? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rayin Report post Posted August 4, 2019 6 hours ago, richard5933 said: Is there any type of centralized database showing problems with the different brands of tires? Yes, however they all appear to be owned/operated by law firms but this one: https://recallinfo.ustires.org/ A side note to "which is the best tire" is this presentation made in 2014: https://www.ntsb.gov/news/events/Documents/2014_Tire_Safety_SYM_Panel_4b_Kane.pdf Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tireman9 Report post Posted August 11, 2019 On 8/4/2019 at 6:40 AM, richard5933 said: Is there any type of centralized database showing problems with the different brands of tires? NHTSA does have a list of tire "complaints" Remember that some/many complaints may have nothing to do with the actual quality of the subject tire but may be a complaint based on a tire not being able to function because of external damage such as puncture or overload or under-inflation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fagnaml Report post Posted August 12, 2019 I'm in the process of purchasing a new set of Hankook AH37, 275/70R22.5 tires for my motorhome from Southern Tire Mart near my home in Katy, TX. The FMCA discount pricing (~40% discount) for Hankook tires is a better than a price that Southern Tire Mart can offer for "Tier II" tires such as Hankook, Yokohama and Firestone. The sales manager at Southern Tire Mart told me he very rarely recommends nor sells "Tier I" tires for motorhomes (such as Michelin, Continental, Bridgestone) given that his "typical" motorhome customers only drive their motorhomes ~5,000 miles per year. Southern Tire Mart does not sell the least expensive "Tier III" tires (brands most folks have not heard of) due to safety and quality concerns. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
five Report post Posted August 12, 2019 9 minutes ago, fagnaml said: I'm in the process of purchasing a new set of Hankook AH37, 275/70R22.5 tires for my motorhome from Southern Tire Mart near my home in Katy, TX. The FMCA discount pricing (~40% discount) for Hankook tires is a better than a price that Southern Tire Mart can offer for "Tier II" tires such as Hankook, Yokohama and Firestone. The sales manager at Southern Tire Mart told me he very rarely recommends nor sells "Tier I" tires for motorhomes (such as Michelin, Continental, Bridgestone) given that his "typical" motorhome customers only drive their motorhomes ~5,000 miles per year. Southern Tire Mart does not sell the least expensive "Tier III" tires (brands most folks have not heard of) due to safety and quality concerns. I just got new tires at STM also. Continentals on the front and Toyos on the rear. Excellent pricing....FMCA rate on the front and 21% off the rear. Due to a mix up on the rear tires, the wrong size were installed....partly my fault and partly STM's fault....they gave me a full refund on the incorrect tires, put the Toyos on with the discount and reduced all the mounting fees by 50%. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tom7020 Report post Posted July 24, 2021 (edited) Both Toyo and Michelin are great manufacturers of tires. If you need an all-weather tire, Toyo RV tires are a good choice because of their outstanding anti-slip grip. When it comes to warranties, Michelin tires are great because of their 10-year warranty. Both are good anyway. Edited July 31, 2021 by tom7020 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
