Use of Super Singles in the RV Market

[David Carrol]

I have questions concerning the use of the super single tires and I'm sure others do also, I am wondering if anyone has any info concerning there use in the rv market. I myself don't understand why super single tire usage has not been utilized when you consider how many OTR drivers run them. Any information is much appreciated.

Thanks,

David Carrol

[Newell Attack]

I too was wondering about this and will follow this thread.

Jeff

[afrench45]

I asked Featherlite once and they said they don't offer the same load capacity that is needed from coaches with slides.

[77newell]

I've investigated putting them on my 77 coach. I had two interests; 1) they might look incredibly cool, 2) there are some fuel mileage benefits - small but real. I have yet to do it because there are other things I'd rather do first and I've been trying to ascertain the availability of tires in case of an on-the-road problem.

In terms of cost the tire prices for a rear axle would be about the same for wides versus standards. However, you would have to sell the existing rims (and tires if there is useful life left) and then add a bit of money to purchase the wide rims. Economically the calculation showed that given the miles I drive the tires would age out long before wearing out and there are not enough miles with fuel savings to recover the initial added costs.

One additional advantage I've seen reported is that despite the wide tire's overall narrower track the total stability is greater due to the average leverage of the tire being wider.

[Neweller]

Jon, that is a very rational observation of thought. The subject came up on here a few years ago and their are folks interested in them. Since cost of starting out with them is relatively the same as running a set of duals, we are starting to see many tour and over the road buses running them. I have heard gains from Prevost fleet owners of a 6-8% savings on fuel, but like you said it may not pay off for the guy that don't run the miles.

I noticed at the last Nascar race I attended there were at least three racers running them on their Prevost conversions and those were all slide units. I believe they are very stable running 20 ply's. They could be a tad stiffer, but with air suspension you are not going to know. One driver had told me he felt it to be a more tuned ride. I was thinking I posted a picture on here with them installed on a newer Prevost. We will have to compare the load capacities and see if that is currently any kind of issue.

[chockwald]

This topic was discussed here (http://www.luxurycoachlifestyle.com/forum/general-technical-discussion/79-large-single-tires-instead-duals.html) back in 2006.....good information already on the site.

[NewellCrazy]

FWIW, I have spoke to 3 different prevost owners who use super singles and all have said they drive fine and that you couldn't tell any difference between duals and super singles when speaking about ride quality.

No one has admitted it yet. We all seem to be biased, because it took so long for someone to make a single heavy enough, and we all got hooked on duals.

And now we are suspicious of a singles???. The only reason coach manufactures decided on duals was to carry more weight than a single could carry.

You don't think there were folks who didn't believe in duals way back when?

happy traveling!

[Gimpy]

Both wide tires and wide wheels are a lot more expensive. Supposedly the wide tires are less prone to blowouts.

[77newell]

Gimpy: when I was looking into this about a year ago I found that wide tires for my coach would cost about the same as two narrow tires and since I would be using them only in place of duals the cost wasn't that much different. As I recall the same was for the rims/wheels though there may have been a bit more of a bump. In total if I had to buy new dual rims and tires the super-wides would not have been that much more, at least not enough to prevent me from doing it.

[NewellCrazy]

X One XRV Tire
wheels approx 600.00 each
tires approx 900.00 each
3828


Description

Engineered to replace duals on highway and regional trailer axle fitments.
Features Michelin's patented Infini-Coil technology™, incorporating a 1/4 mile of steel cable to help eliminate casing growth and ensure a consistent footprint.
Reduces energy consumption and unsprung vehicle weight.
Offers new degrees of freedom for recreational vehicle manufactuers to include additional storage space.
Improved maneuverability in campgrounds to get into those tight spaces.

[Will Procter]

What is the load capacity????

[Neweller]

I was thinking the ones on the semi's were around 22k each but there are lighter ones depending on the application.

[peneumbra]

One reason for NOT going to the OTR super singles is that they're still not that common - if you have a tire failure in the middle of nowhere, and call the local tire guy to bring you out a new tire, he might not have one. Which could be a problem.

So, okay, you're going to carry your own spare X-1 or whatever to get around that issue. Can be done, but those things are REALLY HEAVY!! and you might find that getting it out of the bay becomes an unpleasant task, even with the local tire guy assisting. And you'd need yet another spare (if you wanted to feel balanced, Cosmically) for the steer/tag axle...