Michelin RIB or Goodyear G614?

[Jimsryker]

The dead horse shall be beat again! After reading all the differing points of view, I am going with an LT tire, but the final choice is between these two manufacturers. I thought the GY was the gold standard but I have seen several posts about them blowing. I don't recall one post of a Michelin RIB blowing however...

While it sounds as if I've answered my own question here, I am still on the fence because of the load capacities of the two. I have a 2013 Cyclone 3010 with a max GVWR of 15,000#. I don't see myself getting that heavy but famous last words, right? The RIB is 3042# and the GY is 3765#. The price diff. is small enough to not matter.

I guess the question is "who out there has what with my type of rig and has it been enough"? I'm partial to Michelin. That's what my TV has and the ride was a huge upgrade after I put them on. Plus, they are US made and tire salesmen have nothing but great things to say in regards to them.

One more thing... I always see posts of "4" tires being put on. Is everybody sticking with their Carlisle or Tow Max spare tire? I got a quote for 5 tires mounted and balanced. Do you feel you can get by with spare as is or do you recommend swapping out the spare too?

Thanks in advance.

 

[jmgratz]

I think you forgot to mention the Michelin is an E rated tire and the GoodYear is a G rated tire hence the difference in carrying capacity. In order to use the G rated tire you might need to change out your wheels to be sure they are G rated wheels. This will increase the total cost if you have to buy new wheels. I have had both GoodYear and Michelin and have had both tires fail. Any tire is subject to failure. IMHO

 

[Jimsryker]

In order to use the G rated tire you might need to change out your wheels to be sure they are G rated wheels. This will increase the total cost if you have to buy new wheels. I have had both GoodYear and Michelin and have had both tires fail.

You're right Jim, I did forget to mention that. I did call Tredit about the rims on my trailer and the T07 8-Spoke's I have are rated to 110 PSI so I can go with either tire. I feel anything manufactured can fail, but I do believe that some are more prone than others. I'm not an expert obviously, but I think these two manufacturers are some of the best. I don't want to open this up to ST vs. LT as there are many threads on that. I think I'm down to these two because I have no faith in anything made in China. I didn't buy ceramic water bowls for my dogs from there because I was "paranoid" they may have used lead in the glaze. You could call me crazy I know, but some things I don't want to risk. My new trailer is one of them since I had two blow outs on my old trailer with "China Bombs". I don't want that damage done to my new trailer.

It's disreputable that after buying a new trailer, you then have to go out and spend a lot more money on tires and a bed. What they put in and on are just mock ups of the real thing....

 

[jmgratz]

You're right Jim, I did forget to mention that. I did call Tredit about the rims on my trailer and the T07 8-Spoke's I have are rated to 110 PSI so I can go with either tire. I feel anything manufactured can fail, but I do believe that some are more prone than others. I'm not an expert obviously, but I think these two manufacturers are some of the best. I don't want to open this up to ST vs. LT as there are many threads on that. I think I'm down to these two because I have no faith in anything made in China. I didn't buy ceramic water bowls for my dogs from there because I was "paranoid" they may have used lead in the glaze. You could call me crazy I know, but some things I don't want to risk. My new trailer is one of them since I had two blow outs on my old trailer with "China Bombs". I don't want that damage done to my new trailer.

It's disreputable that after buying a new trailer, you then have to go out and spend a lot more money on tires and a bed. What they put in and on are just mock ups of the real thing....

We had Michelin tires on our Alfa Gold (3 axles E rated) and during the time we had it had one fail. Our 2007 Landmark came with G rated Chinese made tires and had 2 blowouts. Replaced them with the Goodyear G614 and over a 5 year period had 2 fail. Goodyear paid for damage to the RV and replacement tires. Our current Landmark came with Goodyear G614 16" G rated. We replaced them with 17.5 Goodyear G114 H rated (we bought them for our previous Landmark.) Love the G114 H tires. If it were me, if I had to buy new wheels I would go ahead and get H rated 17.5 tires and wheels. They are almost the same size but you have much more weight capacity. Good Luck.

 

[scottyb]

If I had a 2 axle traIler, I would spend the extra $800 and go with the 17.5's. On a 3 axle the Ribs have a high enough load rating to match the 6K axles but I still will consider going to a 17.5 next go round. I just turned 10K on my Ribs w/o incident.They rarely even require any airto be added and they are showing very little wear. The Ribs are a completely different tire from other E rated tires. They are a commercial LT with full steel casings. I run LTX-2's on my trucks and there's no comparison, although I love them for that application.

 

[chiefneon]

Howdy!

I totally aggree, if you have 2 axles go with the 17.5 rims and G114 Goodyear tires. I suffered with tire problems on my large 2 axle 5er and tires for years. When I went to the 17.5 rims and tires I had no more problems afterwards. I just placed an order for a new Cyclone 4000 and I with with 7000# axles and Goodyear tires. I am waiting to see if they can put 17.5 tires and rims on it. If not I will do that up grade myself.

"Happy Trails"
Chiefneon

 

[Jimsryker]

Thank you everybody for your replies. For me, the plot thickens! Now we're talking new rims as well. I do have two axels and I did have concerns on the load range of the Michelins. I was quoted $1678.41 for 5 tires mounted and balanced. Out the door. Now I can only go up from there with new rims and H rated tires. Maybe this will have to wait until after Christmas! LOL...

 

[jmgratz]

Thank you everybody for your replies. For me, the plot thickens! Now we're talking new rims as well. I do have two axels and I did have concerns on the load range of the Michelins. I was quoted $1678.41 for 5 tires mounted and balanced. Out the door. Now I can only go up from there with new rims and H rated tires. Maybe this will have to wait until after Christmas! LOL...

In order for you to help plan here is where I got my 17.5 inch wheels and Goodyear G114 H rated tires. http://www.trailertiresandwheels.com/17.5-radial-tires I know several others have used them too.

 

[CrazyCooter]

I was toying with Chinese 16"G's, G614 and the 17.5 upgrade last year. I went the G614 route cause I was short on funds, I had a big trip coming up, and it was somewhere in the middle best bang for buck. They have been on there for 1.5 seasons without incident and one time I was over that tire's rating for 600+ miles!

I wouldn't do the Michelins in your case as they are not rated for your axle's capacity. You may think you will never load that high, but it's just too easy to do and not know. Now that I have added an additional axle to my rig, I will likely do Michelins or possibly the Bridgestone R250's next time around and save a few $$$$.

 

[TravelTiger]

To answer about the spare-- get matching. You never know how long before you can get your tire repaired or replaced when you need to. I would not trust the TowMax as a spare. Our spare was on the ground because we had an irregular-wearing TowMax. Less than 600 miles later, I noticed the spare tire had a bulge, which then turned into a hexagon-shaped tire once removed. Just because the spare isn't used doesn't mean it isn't suffering some kind of deterioration/age.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JanAndBill]

Just put on G614s this week. Mounted, balanced, new valve stems, and tax out the door was right at $1400. I have a long standing friendship with the business, which resulted in a lower price, but even the highest price I found here was $1550. I didn't change out the spare because it still has the sticker on it. At some point I'll need to I guess.

 

[Jimsryker]

Just put on G614s this week. Mounted, balanced, new valve stems, and tax out the door was right at $1400. I have a long standing friendship with the business, which resulted in a lower price, but even the highest price I found here was $1550. I didn't change out the spare because it still has the sticker on it. At some point I'll need to I guess.

Congrats on your new tires! That's a heck of a good price. I did look at doing all 5 of my tires so my quote was higher but don't count out lovely Calif.! They never miss an opportunity to add taxes to fund a special interest group! LOL!! Looking at my loads and the needed capacity, I think i will either have to go with the G614's or upgrade tires and rims to the 17.5" G114's.

Thanks for everyone's input. Gotta love a forum where you can get real world experiences to help make decisions.