New Tires

[Bob&Patty]

No Ray, What I meant, anytime the tires are not turning they buldge out at the bottom. I was told that weakens the sidewalls and could contribute to a sidewall blow out if the tires sat for long periods of time with out turning. Mine sits on concrete, but wood would be better, just use a 2X12 so it is wide enough for tire width. Bob

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Bob, I have to say I've never heard about that problem. I've read several articles from the "experts" too. I suppose it's possible because the tire would be in the same position for a longer period of time. I know the older non radial tires would develop "flat spots" till they were warmed up by running them for a while. I know there's a lot of us out there that park for months at a time being full time and all. I still think though that the greater concern would be full footprint support. Who knows though????

 

[jpmorgan37]

One thing that is in most articles that I've read. Make sure the tires are inflated to their maximum pressure stated on the sidewall (provided the rims will take it) and check them periodically.

 

[iefpro01]

I replaced my China Bombs with 4 new GY G614's. Some of you may remember my old post that I had two flats within 250 miles of leaving the dealers lot... LOL. Turns out there was a problem with the axle - and the delivered tires may have been fine - but I went ahead and bought the GY's. Just finished a 5K trip in October all over the place - and the tires still look new. So I know they run well on the unit I have.

Oh and I have to put my two cents worth in here. I have had nothing but great service from Heartland - now the dealer is another story.

 

[creeper]

If you do a google search you will see many tire explosions. Chinese made tires seems to the common denominator.

Goodyear G14's seem to be having the same problem. LOTS of them detonating.

A couple of tires that you can't seem to find exploding down the road are the Michelin Ribs and it's counter part or Coopers.

 

[ct0218]

The problem with comparing the Goodyears with the Mich ribs, or any of the others, is the load range or application. They are made for different weight vehicles. If you need a LR G tire, you really have no choice. The Ribs and Coopers are LR E and lower.

 

[cdbMidland]

Got back from winterizing my 5er this afternoon. My portable compressor just had enough to finish blowing out the water lines before I added the pink stuff, and it will not work with the inverter that I carry in my truck, so I just was able to check my GY 614RSTs. On the door side, both were at 95 psi, while on the off-doorside, they were at 96 and 98. Trailer had been sitting since first week in August.

For what it's worth...

When I had Trail Americas, I never had one go down at all during storage.

 

[jbeletti]

Chuck,

My experience was the opposite of yours. In the first two seasons, I adjusted the air in my TAs regularly. In the one season with my GYs - they held steady all season long - within 1 PSI every time I checked them cold.

Jim

 

[jpmorgan37]

One thing that I have found is that the ambient temperature will affect the pressure of the tires by a several pounds. Check them (tires cold) when it's 75 and check them when it's 45. You may be surprised at the difference.

John

 

[cdbMidland]

Ambient was a warm (for Michigan) 56 degrees today. It was about 80 when I put it into storage.

 

[cdbMidland]

Bob;
I know you didn't ask me, but the information that has come from several tire manufacturers is, if you are parked for any period of time, put the tires on boards since parking on cement, asphalt or even gravel will leach some of the natural oils out of the tires, making them more brittle and subject to premature failure. Here is one website: http://www.kendausa.com/specialtytires/Safety_Tips.pdf

John

I just finished reading the Goodyear information that Mark Comer had links to in another thread, and there is no mention of placing boards, or whatever between the tire and the hard surface. All Goodyear stated was to put the unit up on blocks, if possible, if it is to be stored for any length of time, or move the unit after three months to avoid stress. Another link from Discount Tire also did not mention this.

How reliable is the information quoted in this tread.

We seem to get different opinions from different sources. Another one is the cold psi - should it be the tire sidewall marking or the Heartland sticker. They are quite different on my unit (Heartland - 80 psi vs Goodyear - 110 psi).

What's a person to believe

 

[jbeletti]

Chuck,

I too found that Goodyear document that Mark found, very informative.

To your point of using boards under the tires or not, I've read the same thing about car batteries:
Never store them on cement, always store them on a board.
It's okay to store them on cement, forget about the board under the plastic case.

I feel it's no biggie. I'd say, put it on boards if it gives you peace of mind or don't do it if you don't feel you'll lose sleep over it.

That article also led me to believe that covering tires in storage is not needed. I have covers. Should I stop using them? I'd like to - they're a pain to put on.

Just my two cents...

Jim

 

[Uncle Rog]

I guess we are pretty lucky, even though we are still working, our horn has very rarely not been used for a 3 month period. Jim, I still will not store a battery on concrete, old habits die hard and I always have some lumber or panel scraps laying around to use. Everybody says cover you tires even though they say to replace 'em every three years, once again I just take a couple of panel scraps and lean 'em up against tires enough to cover them and keep the desert sun off...............
That's my 2 cents too....Have a good weekend all.............

 

[jbeletti]

Yep - I hear ya Rog. I tend to do the same as you. Who's right and who's wrong? What does it really matter is my point. Do what you are comfortable with. Is it summer yet!

Jim
In cold and windy Chicago

 

[jpmorgan37]

Chuck;
I don't profess to be a tire or natural rubber engineer. I just try to pass on information from those with a lot more knowledge than I have. I know that the ideal will be to lift the RV completely off the ground so that the tires don't touch. Since that is not an option for all of us, (I park for up to six months at a time and live in our coach) the experts have recommended that we keep the tires off the concrete or asphault (as stated in the referenced article) and this has been a recommendation for a number of years. So with all that said, do what you feel best.

John

 

[talley]

Tire Pressure

I just finished reading the Goodyear information that Mark Comer had links to in another thread, and there is no mention of placing boards, or whatever between the tire and the hard surface. All Goodyear stated was to put the unit up on blocks, if possible, if it is to be stored for any length of time, or move the unit after three months to avoid stress. Another link from Discount Tire also did not mention this.

How reliable is the information quoted in this tread.

We seem to get different opinions from different sources. Another one is the cold psi - should it be the tire sidewall marking or the Heartland sticker. They are quite different on my unit (Heartland - 80 psi vs Goodyear - 110 psi).

What's a person to believe

I have a 3655RD and found that the exterior VIN sticker showed the unit to have 6000 lb axle land the PSI at 80 lbs. Actually, the unit has 7000 lb axle and PSI for the weight is 110 psi. The 3655RD model is supposed to have 7000 lb rated axle... my sticker was wrong and Heartland sent a new one with the correct information.

If your sticker says it has a 6000 lb rated axle... crawl under the unit and check the sticker applied to each axle. It will state the axle rating.

I have noted in this forum that a number of 3655 units have had the wrong sticker information related to axle and psi information.

Good Luck

 

[rick7t7]

Mystery Tire

Okay folks I've read all the comments about the tire issues. I am about to pull the plug and order a '09 Bighorn 3600RL, but the tire issue remains a scary prospect. Maybe Scott or someone from Heartland can tell me if there has been a change on the standard tires for the '09s, or can I expect the same 'mystery' tire everyone has so much heartburn about?

 

[caddojay]

We picked up our 3055 on December 1 and they have "Mission" tires on it. We got a 4 tire quote from Sam's Club for Michellin XPS for under $1000.00. After Christmas, we'll make the switch. If you don't have Sam's, Wal-Mart will order them and give you the same deal. Also looked at Discount Tire and Wheel. They were within a few bucks, but not located everywhere if service on tire is needed.

 

[Retyred]

Sam's Club

Did Sam's Club carry the Good Year "G" rated tires? I had seen on there web page that they were carring RV tires.
Retyred

 

[caddojay]

We didn't find G614's for replacements for our G rated tires at Sam's. We had bad experiences with the G614 tires, although Goodyear stepped up and paid for our repairs. We had a terrible time finding G tires around Illinois, Virginia, and North Carolina. We ordered them from a Goodyear dealer in Shreveport when we returned from our trip and the plants were on strike. It took 3 weeks to get the tires. G's are few and far between in 16" size. The RV tires at Sam's are for motor coaches and most are 22" size.