So I went over to the tire company in Mesa and bought two Toyo tires for the front axle.. Steer tires as they are called, but that was just to tide me over while I drove home.... And they did drive home much better than the old original equipment Goodyears..
So I priced some more Toyos last week and they were much cheaper here in Kansas than they were out in Mesa about $350 a tire... Mesa charged $450 or so... I didn't find the original bill.. But then I didn't make up my mind and while I snoozed, the Toyos all sold out.... None in KC anywhere... Snow birds getting ready to go South....
So what to do.. Double Coin are Chinese but some truckers are running them and think they get better mileage.. Cost more than Toyos......... Looked up Hercules but didn't find very good reviews.. Again Chinese but stories about sidewall cracking at two years old...
The Coach came with G670 RV Goodyears, but the darned things are almost a grand a wheel.. So my tire guy said let's try some G661s which are Commercial Truck Tires and are back in the $600 a wheel price range... They might ride a tad stiffer, but I'm the only one riding in there anyway.. Besides these were made in the USA...
When we were changing them out, they looked just like the tires we were taking off.. But I am certain the tire compounds are different... But we never wear out the tires on motorhomes anyway, they rot out from sitting around. By the way it took two of those blue jacks just to pick up one of the motorhome's wheels...
Well anyway, that is one of the Toyos leaning up against the building and we put the new Goodyears on the outside of the rears and hid the Toyos on the inside... Then put the other two of the new Goodyears up front on the steer wheels.... So from just walking up to the coach it looks like they are all Goodyears.. Ha ha... Surprise...
We used bags of balancing beads inside the tires rather than use wheel weights... The little ceramic beads spin around inside the tires and find the right spot to balance things up.. When you start up they are in the bottom of the tire but spin out centrifically and find the right spot to balance things out.. That happens every time you start from a stop... Neat..
I first used the beads in my motorcycle tires, and there you can really feel them working in the handle bars.. At first you might get a little bit of shake, but then like a miracle, its gone... Heavy wheel weights are easy to throw off of a truck wheel, but the beads can't get out of a tire... Balanced for life..
I'm not sure your are supposed to put different tires on duallys like we did, but we'll know fairly quickly if they wear differently...
I drove about 10 miles on a divided highway North of Olathe and the new tires were smooth as glass... But my bank account is screaming in pain though...
Retired Rod
Interesting about the tires. I've recently heard some good things about those Toyo tires. Many, many, pros about Motorhomes but tire costs are not one of them, however I do feel safer on the road knowing I have those larger tires under me as opposed to the smaller tires on smaller rigs & trailers. Just my opinion of course:))
ReplyDeleteYep, that's a big ouch to the pocketbook, we've replaced the front tires but probably need to think about replacing the rears--a real ouch!
ReplyDeleteI'm dreading the same experience. Lost a tire on my Ram in June driving in Memphis. Road hazard. Of course it was ONLY $275. Firestones that came on my Ram. By the time I get to Mesa I will have 40K on the other three and they will be close to replacement time. My fifth wheel also will need tires next spring. Of course my tires are less than half of what yours cost, yet it still hurts. It's a lot of money to plop down.
ReplyDeleteThe money does hurt but not as much as the damage that could be cause by one of those bad boys. Like Gary we run a smaller sized tire but when you add up the cost for truck and trailer tires together we're close.
ReplyDeleteAs for the dually tires as long as they are balanced they should wear the same.
Be Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
Everyon needs new shoes once in awhile -- Glad you got new ones!!
ReplyDeleteI believe that the two dual tires must be of the same exact diameter to work as a pair.Otherwise one will turn at a different speed than the other and cause one to wear much faster. Personally, I would move the Toyos back to the front and match up the duals.
ReplyDeleteWe looked up the diameter of the tires and found them to be within a tenth of an inch of being the same diameter. With the Toyos being the smaller by that tenth.... So we felt that they would match sufficiently to be matched as duals.... Time will tell if that isn't the case.
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