Finding Tires 255/70R22.5

[rsbilledwards]

To make this shorter I will leave out the why this started except to say one rear tire needs to be replaced. Yes I ordered two and put them on the front. Since my 2001 Zanzibar uses as original a 255/70R22.5 sized tire I wanted to stay with it and not change to what appears to be an easier size to find. I thought I wanted to use a Michelin and when I looked at their Advantage Program I was flabbergasted! I haven't bought a tire retail for years. Now I was on the hunt for something more affordable and accessible. I found the Toyo M120z which are currently on my coach were no longer available and on it when I bought it. I looked all over the country for one and discovered another disturbing fact. "All" tires are speed rated...and since we are talking motorhome I will offer big tire ratings, They start with J, K, L, and M with respective speed rates of 62, 68, 75, and 81MPH! This as it turns out, this is really quite important. I discovered the tires on my coach were rated at the H load level J speed rated at 62 MPH, WHAT?. I will admit they have seen a lot more speed than that and they handle fine and are soon to be replaced with an L version which is what should be on the rig.

I also discovered that the tire techs were less than knowledgeable about speed rating of these big tires and I am sure that is how the M120z tires were placed on this coach of mine by the previous owner. I discovered that this 255/70 tire is a bit less common now as well. I learned or was mentally refreshed that one way the tire sales world expands the list of sizes available as in this case is by dropping one size 255 to 245 and up one in the aspect ratio 70 to 75, one gets another tire of very close to what one was searching for with out having to work as hard looking through numerous manufacturers literature or their available inventory for an appropriate tire meeting given specs. I discovered while speaking to one of the techs at USAutoForce in Denver that they had a 122Ms in a Toyo in Denver with a J rating, not suitable... It was not until I had visited Toyo" web sites several times did I find a page with medium duty trucks and light duty trucks did I discover that the 122M was made in an "L" version suitable for 75 MPH as is desirable for our application. When I called back to check on that one he did not know they had them in stock as well. As far as he was concerned they were the same. When I ordered I used the manufacturers "Product Code" from the web site. I looked at numerous sites and ended up sorting through numerous tires to find potential candidates. Nearly all have them, Bridgestone, Firestone, Michelin, Goodyear and so forth, but it takes a lot of time to find them so when the retailers say it is not made any more...spend some time to confirm the statement.

Lastly check the date of production yourself, do not take the word of the tech selling the tires, look at each tire and verify it for yourself. Many of these tires have been on the shelf 6 months or a year before sale. Plan ahead, special order so you will get your moneys worth since most of these tires will age out before being worn out.

Thanks to the Tireman9 for his input during this quest. B

[Off2Work]

Thanks for posting yet another RV tire related experience and agree with the points you have made. As indicated it's an exhausting process to get what you need for your coach. I was fortunate to have had the benefit of my later father being in the tire busines for 54 years. Kudo's for him taking the time to pass on his tire knowledge on this subject matter. So, what does it take to get manufacturers to make make a better product? I suspect it's like fighting city hall and we'll continue to struggle on this subject for ever expecially on lower mileage coach's

Regards