Goodyear or Continental?

[folivier]

I need to replace the 4 rear tires on my '93, 11R24.5 load range H. Here in San Antonio it looks like the best prices are about $520/tire + mounting, disposal, etc.
Goodyear or Continental are the only options I've been able to find so far in San Antonio.
Anyone have anything good or bad about either brand?
Or other options near here?
We're heading west on Hwy. 90 and down to Big Bend when we leave here so I'd rather replace them here than take a chance out of town, may not have any better options until we get to El Paso.
I stopped at a couple truck stops and it's scary when the guy says "I've never done a motorhome before, how do I jack it up?"
I guess the coach has a jacking pad on the frame? I know if you jack it up on the axle it just jams the tire into the wheel cutout. So what's the best place to jack it up to change tires?
Thanks!

[prairieschooner]

I have Goodyear LRS tires on our coach. I really have nothing to compare them against since I put them on right after buying the '82 (the Bridgestone tires were badly weather checked).
When I bought them I found a Tire Shop that would Spin Balance them after getting more than one bit of advice on this. There was only one Tire Shop in Yuma that could do this, Purcell Tire and the do have one in Austin, TX;
http://www.purcelltire.com/retail/locations.aspx

They didn't even blink when I rolled up with the Newell Bus!

[fulltiming]

Forest, in my previous conversations with Newell, they commented that the Newell Coaches with 11R24.5 tires had excellent service from Bridgestones (H rated). I don't recall Goodyears in 11R24.5 being a problem either. Remember that on the front axle, never run with less than H rated tires on the 11R24.5's. I have changed my front tires over to 305/75R24.5 Michelin's to gain some extra tire security as the weight rating goes up about 700 lbs/tire over the 11R24.5 at the recommendation of Boyd Vanover, VP of Engineering for Newell. The 305's are J rated.

Others note, this advise is NOT applicable to the 315/80-22.5 tires on the steer axle of the later (heavier) coaches. Newell experienced failures with 315/80-22.5 tires in both Bridgestones and Goodyears and had a NHTSA recall on 149 coaches (manufactured 7/1/95 - 9/30/99). The Bridgestones and Goodyears were changed out for Michelins (L Rated) at a recommended pressure of 130 psi in winter and 140 psi in summer with a warning not to drive over 75 mph (later downgraded to a recommendation of a maximum of 65 mph). In 2009, the 315's were increased to 365's and the maximum of 75 mph returned for the 365's only. The 365's have a capacity of 10,500 lbs/tire rather than the 9,080 lbs/tire of the 315's.

[express1]

lForest, nothing like shopping on the road! Same size as mine....I compared a lot and settled with
Toyo. Ive had great luck, however Ron Skeen tried them and ended back with the best money can
buy. Michelins
I paid 34 something for all eight.
SPUN BALANCED ON THE COACH.

[77newell]

Forest: I have Continental HSL's on my 77 coach front axle for two years. The coach handles as well as it did with the Goodyears that were there before. My front is not heavily loaded as 85psi works just fine for the load.

Jon
77 Newell, Civic Toad

[folivier]

Thanks guys for the advice. The Goodyear place has 21 in stock so I guess they sell enough to have fresh stock. The only other place had Continentals for a few bucks more. So I'll be at Goodyear tomorrow morning bright and early!
Yeah Matt, shopping on the road ain't much fun. The tires could probably go a lot longer but we're headed down Hwy. 90 to Big Bend and it'll be a week before we get back to I-10. I'd rather not have tire trouble down there in the boonies. On another note during my walkaround I saw a little bit of antifreeze on one of the big cooling hoses. The hose looks good, antifreeze was around the top of it so I tightened the clamp and will watch it for a while. Doesn't look like I lost any coolant.

[zcasa]

Hey Forest:

Pick the four with the newest date stamp on them. When I attended the Newell rally, the NSTB guy said that six months old is reasonable for manufacture to Coach.

Good luck

David

[GORDON HUMMEL]

Forest,
Almost a year to the date, I had my water hose leak that goes from the water pump to the radiator on the drivers side. There are 2 identical hose with a 45 degree bend with a straight metal tube connector between them. Mine was leaking at the water pump and even 2 clamps would not stop it from leaking. Newell flew 2 hoses to me at the Vegas race track, but I was only able to get the top one on, that attaches to the water pump. I had to trim it a little to fit without removing both hoses.
Gates # 21420
Dayco # 71004

Good luck

No fun working in a parking lot.

[Ron Skeen]

Hi Forest,
I have used the 24.5 load range H for the past 11 years on my 89 for 5yrs then on my 96. I have had Dunlop, Bridgestone, Goodyears, Toyo, and now I run Michelins XZE2 . Paid around $350 to start with and now up to $650 for XZE2 LR H 16 Ply. I have had one Blow out on the right front with a TOYO and have had some irrugular wear and punctures on the others brands. I drive about 20-25K mile anually. and have just installed the Michelins on all axles except the tag. I have always run Pressure Pro monitoring and usally let Newell check the alienment every 3yrs. I will be leaving for the West Coast in two weeks and will be my first test for the Michelins. I have run Michelins on all my other rolling stock and have been very pleased. You should be able to purchase Michelins for around $650 mounted and balance plus tax.

[Ron Skeen]

Forest,
You might try TCI Tire Centers is a wholly owned subsidiary of Michelin North America, Inc. and they are in the San Antonio area TCI TIRE CENTERS LLC
11589 N IH 35 SAN ANTONIO, TX 78233-5304
(210) 651-0077

You need to call after 7:30 am because now you will get emer. service. If I can be of any help let me know. (210) 651-0077

[Ron Skeen]

Forest,
You might try TCI Tire Centers is a wholly owned subsidiary of Michelin North America, Inc. and they are in the San Antonio area TCI TIRE CENTERS LLC
11589 N IH 35 SAN ANTONIO, TX 78233-5304
(210) 651-0077

You need to call after 7:30 am because now you will get emer. service. If I can be of any help let me know.

[encantotom]

i have run continental hsl's on my 90 and they are great. i am going to probably put on michelins on the 02. if yo get the michelin factory price stuff through fmca or dupree you can get them for about the same as others.

tom

[folivier]

Well yesterday was a very long day. Got up at 5:30 to drive to the Goodyear place for 7:30. The guys started, then took a taco break about 8, then as they were removing the driver's inside tire one of the "bud" bolts broke. So they tried for an hour trying to remove the broken bolt. Finally one of the road service guys came over and pulled off the old tire and put on the new one with the rim still on the coach. I talked it over with the service manager and decided to leave the broken bolt as it was and get it changed later. Not so fast, they broke 2 studs when they were tightening the rim. So me and Peanut went searching for 20 new studs. After an hour and trying 5 places we found them at Wabash Trailer supply. Went back and Peanut starting hammering the old studs out and hammering the new ones in. They didn't have and couldn't find a hydraulic press. (Let me tell you it's hard to take a nap with all that hammering going on.) Finally about 4:30 they finished. I settled up the bill, they charged me 4 hours labor (they actually spent 6 hours but were nice enough to knock off 2 hours) at $60/hour. I gotta admit with the problems these guys had they didn't give up. Every now and then someone would come relieve Peanut and give him a break. Overall I was pleased even with the problems they had.
Left there and tanked up at Flying J, drove over to Blue Beacon and had stuffed manicotti and corn on the cob while waiting in line (priceless). Got it washed and got back to the Escapees campground at 8:30. Had a bowl of icecream and a glass of wine and went to bed.
Sitting in Del Rio now at Holiday Travel Park for a couple days.

[chockwald]

Forest, how do you like the SKP park?

[folivier]

We really liked it. Very clean, very friendly people, very quiet. More fulltimers than travelers. Great price. We would definately return. Talked to a guy this morning that has a lot at the yosemite skp and he said not to miss that one.

[chockwald]

Yeah, I think it's near Coarsegold, CA, which is not that far from Yosemite.

[77newell]

Yeah Matt, shopping on the road ain't much fun. The tires could probably go a lot longer but we're headed down Hwy. 90 to Big Bend and it'll be a week before we get back to I-10. I'd rather not have tire trouble down there in the boonies. On another note during my walkaround I saw a little bit of antifreeze on one of the big cooling hoses. The hose looks good, antifreeze was around the top of it so I tightened the clamp and will watch it for a while. Doesn't look like I lost any coolant.

For a year or so I had small amounts of coolant showing up on the top of the big hose where it connected to the bottom of the water pump on the engine. What I didn't realize is that it was the water pump seal leaking and the coolant running down the outside of the pump inlet and collecting in top the end of the hose. I kept trying to get the clamps to provide a better seal until the water pump seal started gushing and it was obvious where the leak actually was. If coolant is collecting on the top end of the bottom radiator hose where it connects with the water pump it may be that the coolant is running down rather than oozing up.

Jon
77 Coach 6V92T, Civic Toad

[folivier]

Jon, I thought about that especially with Clarke's recent experiences.
I don't see any fluid coming from above the hose. Since I changed the clamp I'm not seeing any more fluid, but I will keep checking each stop. And I do plan to get that hose replaced when I get to Mesa.
Thanks.

[89Classic]

To all, Costco is now selling Commercial/RV tires from both Michelin and Bridgestone.

You can go to Costco.com or simply go to their tire shop to inquire. They can order both 22.5 and 24.5 16 ply radials. They do not have the ability to mount but the tire costs are very competitive.

[jack14r]

I don't know if the Family Motorcoach Association deal is still available but check into it,several POG members have saved thousands on Michelins on that deal.

[encantotom]

i believe it is. there are several places to get the certificate. it is called the michelin advantage program and when i talked to my tire guy he said it gives the best deal you can hope for and puts the michelins on par price wise with the other brands. you can also get it from dupree products if you go to their web site and of course from fmca.

i will be using it when i put new tires on the 02.

it is kinda a strange program as you dont really know what you are paying for the tire till you get the receipt but my tire guy says it is always the best deal. i have not done it yet so this is just anectdotal comments.

tom

[encantotom]

http://www.michelintruck.com/michelintruck/services/AdvantageProgram.jsp#advantage-program

[77newell]

With FMCA's program you can know the price before you buy. You can find out the tire prices for FMCA's Michelin Advantage by calling the FMCA office and asking to speak to the person with the prices. You give them the tire size, load range and style and they will give you the price.

Jon
77 coach, civic toad

[tuga]

Does anyone know if you can find out the manufacture date that is stamped on the tires BEFORE you buy them?

That is almost as important as the price IMO.

[77newell]

Tuga: I plan to tell the dealer I want recent tires and to ask to see them prior to installation, if they are not recent I will not do the deal. For my tires (11r22.5 LR-G) dealers tend to have lots in stock and so getting recent tires probably isn't and issue so much as for more unusual tires.

Jon
77 Coach, 07 Civic toad