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Tire Advice

Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 12:07 pm
by SwiftSpy
Hi all,

I recently experienced a drivers side rear flat with my BF and learned the folly of not having an inflated spare with me. Anyway, Goodyear road service came and put on two new tires on that side. When I was on the phone with them I told them what type of Goodyear tires I have on my rig and they told me that particular tire (G947 RSS) was discontinued, (though a recent search shows they are still available) but, that they would bring out a couple of comparable tires. The tires they brought out were Wrangler HT's, which in my opinion are not as good as the G947's. The Wranglers would not have been my choice to replace with. Since I should not run different tires on the same axle I am in a bit of a quandary on how to proceed. I should add that before the flat I had planned on getting all new tires later this year. I really don't want to go with Wrangler HT's all the way around. I like the Firestone Transforce HT's that have been recommended here, since they have both a higher max load rating (400lbs more per tire) and speed rating.
So, my options seem to be.

1) Replace all tires with the Firestone's and use one of the Wrangler's as a spare, (and having a second one just laying around).

2) Put Wrangler HT's on the rest and not really be happy with having an average tire at best.

3) Put Firestone's on all the rear's and the Wranglers on the front. I have read mixed opinions on having different tires front and rear, some have said it is fine, others say don't do it. The Wranglers are brand new so all tires would be new.

So, any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.

Re: Tire Advice

Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 1:31 pm
by whemme
Your tire size should be LT225/75R16E with E being the load range. The DOT requires that all tires of the same size have the same load carrying capability and will be 2680 lbs for this size tire and will be the same for both the Goodyear Wangler HT and the Firestone Transforce HT tire which is what I recommend. I am on my 3rd set of that Firestone tire and never had a blowout or tire failure. My TPMS detected slow leaks in two separate cases but both leaks were traced to the rubber valve stems now solved with Dually Valve all metal valve stems. If my TPMS hadn't detected those slow leaks, it probably would have led to a tire blowout.

Whether it is advisable to run different brand tires on your coach is debatable and I guess you will need to decide that for your self.

Re: Tire Advice

Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 5:33 pm
by lassen
If I were in your shoes, I'd have six Firestones installed, keep the best G947 as a spare, and sell the Goodyears as a pair.

I'm currently running Firestones per Bill's recommendation five yrs ago, and will be replacing them with another set as their time is running out.

Re: Tire Advice

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2019 8:45 pm
by lafons
I have had great experiences with Michelin and am on my 3rd set on my born free . Why Firestone over Michelin?

Re: Tire Advice

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2019 11:23 pm
by randallrae
For one thing they have had way more recalls than Firestone HT , they cost more , bad customer service.

Re: Tire Advice

Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2019 12:04 am
by whemme
Also because Michelin seem to have premature sidewall cracking.

Re: Tire Advice

Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 1:45 am
by SwiftSpy
whemme wrote:Your tire size should be LT225/75R16E with E being the load range. The DOT requires that all tires of the same size have the same load carrying capability and will be 2680 lbs for this size tire and will be the same for both the Goodyear Wangler HT and the Firestone Transforce HT tire which is what I recommend. I am on my 3rd set of that Firestone tire and never had a blowout or tire failure. My TPMS detected slow leaks in two separate cases but both leaks were traced to the rubber valve stems now solved with Dually Valve all metal valve stems. If my TPMS hadn't detected those slow leaks, it probably would have led to a tire blowout.

Whether it is advisable to run different brand tires on your coach is debatable and I guess you will need to decide that for your self.
Yeah, my mistake, I was looking at the load rating for a larger size HT.

Thanks for all the advice, I think I will just go with the Firestone's all the way around, and keep one of the Wrangler's as a spare, since I prefer having a new spare. I liked the idea of selling off the Wrangler's and keeping one of my existing G947's as the spare, but, those tires are almost 8 years old and were due to be replaced this year anyway.

One other question, what kind of valve stem do you put on the spare?

Re: Tire Advice

Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 10:44 am
by whemme
I have on my spare the rubber valve stem that the tire shop used when they installed my spare tire on a new rim. Certainly wouldn't hurt to use a metal valve stem however as those rubber valve stems seem to be a cause of premature slow leaks.

You can read about recommended metal valve stems in the Coach Modifications section of this forum on the topic titled Chrome Metal Valve Stems for your Born Free Wheels

Re: Tire Advice

Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 11:26 am
by stevek
I know this is been hashed over many times.
Any new thoughts of carrying just your spare tire without the rim?
Thanks

Re: Tire Advice

Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 1:20 pm
by Dallas Baillio
STEVE, the first thought that comes to mind—-

Will road service, when they arrive to change your tire, have the equipment to dismount your flat from your rim and then mount your spare? I had a flat halfway between Page, AZ and the Grand Canyon and the road service guy arrived in an SUV with a jack and tools. Did the job fine since my spare is on a rim. I do not know what percent of tire change vehicles carry equipment to handle a rim but I expect they are far fewer than those that have the usual jack and tools. You might be lucky enough to be near one but much more liikely to be closest to the jack and the tools guys.

Re: Tire Advice

Posted: Tue Mar 19, 2019 9:40 am
by tomzleapin
No new thoughts. This was brought up recently here:
https://www.bornfreervclub.org/bulletin ... f=4&t=6364