up-grading Montna tires - Montana Owners Club

harleyrider · 04-03-2005, 01:04 AM

Even though my Montana has very few miles on it.my tires are starting to show some wear on the side walls.I was thinking of going with the G rated tires in place of the E rated tires.Any thoughts on this up-grade so to speak???

richfaa · 04-04-2005, 07:08 AM

Harleyrider..I have been looking at the cams from rvcams.com . considering geting one..Which model do you have and how is it working for you.. In your opinion is it worth the money, in terms of satety, to have the cam system vs the ..wife with the radio system...

harleyrider · 04-04-2005, 12:32 PM

Rich

The model I have is the color one with the 6 inch LCD screen.It works wonderful.I use it mostly Rich when traveling down the high way.I can see 3 lanes of traffic behind me.I have the camera mounted on the top of my rear ladder.the picture is very clear and surprizly steady.As far as backing in to a camp site,it helps but I don`t rely on the camera a whole lot when backing.But it can`t hurt thats for sure.But its a nice system and "rvcams" is a good place to purchase.Tim the owner is very nice guy and will answer any question you might have.I also purchased the Tire pressure monitoring system from him as well.Hope this helps you rich.take care.

sreigle · 04-09-2005, 04:59 AM

Harleyrider, I don't think it's a problem with the rating. Something must be wrong to be creating this problem. Our Montana is heavier than yours and it actually was delivered with D rated tires, not E, and still has D. The rating on this size tire does meet the max for the axles so it's not a problem. I wonder what kind of wear you are getting on the sidewalls. Is this wear on the edges, maybe from underinflation? Or are the tires scrubbing during tight turns? Could you describe the problem a bit more?

Thanks.

richfaa · 04-09-2005, 05:06 AM

Check for axels out of true..Are all the tires showing wear or just one axel???Had that problem on a coachman...

harleyrider · 04-10-2005, 11:41 PM

Steve

Even though not very many miles on my tires,they are 4 years old.The wear I`am talking about is the side walls are cracking.I`am guessing from sitting on the lot for 3 years and the sun causing the cracking.The tread is fine.The new dealer said any where between 4 years and 7 years is usually the life of these tires.

Well any way went to camping world Sunday and am having them replace my tires with Michelins E rated.They had to order them.So maybe in a week or so i`ll have new rubber.While its their they are going to repack the wheel bearings.i`am sure this will be the first time its done.They charge $140 bucks for the repack.The tires are a pricey $220 a tire.

As a side note went up to the storage area today and installed the fire place.I have to pat myself on the back because it looks very cool.Also put all the stuff back in the Montana.It really felt good to have the Montana back.Spent most of the day up their cleaning the outside.She sure is shinny now.After I was done I just stood back and looked at the Montana for a while.Of course with a smile on my face.i`am going to replace most if not all the screws with new stainless steel ones.Have quite a few that are rusting.Almost all the screws that hold the ladder on are badly rusted.

Montana_2785 · 04-11-2005, 01:07 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by harleyrider

Steve

Even though not very many miles on my tires,they are 4 years old.The wear I`am talking about is the side walls are cracking.I`am guessing from sitting on the lot for 3 years and the sun causing the cracking.The tread is fine.The new dealer said any where between 4 years and 7 years is usually the life of these tires.

Well any way went to camping world Sunday and am having them replace my tires with Michelins E rated.They had to order them. [...] The tires are a pricey $220 a tire.
[...]

Tire covers will help a lot with sidewall cracking. Keeping the sun off rubber is a GOOD thing.

$220/tire? I think I would have done some shopping. I replaced the 4 tires on my truck (Michelin E just slightly bigger than the Monty uses) for a little over $700 a couple of years ago. If you need to have the shop remove the tires from the Monty for you then that will limit your choices. The last time I replaced tires for my old TT, I took the tires off myself and went looking for the best deal in the area (even if they couldn't handle Mongo Manor(tm).) I'll do the same for our Monty when the time comes.

Eric

harleyrider · 04-11-2005, 11:53 AM

Eric

I hear what you are saying about the tire price.i`am sure I probably could have got them cheaper some place else.but the hassle of jacking up the Montana and taking the 2 tires off the one side then bringing them to a shop for new ones then repeating the same for the other side wasn`t for me anyway worth the hassle.Also i need to have the wheel bearings repacked so i`ll just let camping world do the whole thing.i`am also going to have 2 fan/mate maxi-air covers installed on the 2 fan-tastic fans.Camping world just called me and some one cancelled out their appointment.So i`am going up this Thursday to have it all done.I do have the tire covers and will use them faithfully.Its kind of the price I`am paying for buying a new unit that sat on the dealers lot for 3 years.But the Montana is looking awesome.all the problems I`ve had are fixed to my satisfaction.And I`am a happy camper.I don`t have any money left(lol) but I`am happy.

Montana_2785 · 04-11-2005, 12:10 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by harleyrider

[...]And I`am a happy camper.I don`t have any money left(lol) but I`am happy.

I hear THAT loud & clear. We paid cash for our Monty. Then with the extra toys that we are decking it out with....

But we are happy!

Eric

palebluedot · 04-11-2005, 12:48 PM

Date Codes: Every tire has a date code stamped on the sidewall, which gives the date that the tire was manufactured. They look something like this: DOT PDHH MLOR 3403. The date code can be on either side of the tire, so you may have to crawl underneath the rig and look on the inward facing side. The date code always starts with the letters DOT and ends with a 3 or 4 digit number. That last number is the date code, which tells you when the tire was manufactured. The first two numbers indicate the week (out of 52) and the last one or two digits indicate the year. For instance, 3403 means the 34th week of 2003, or the last week in August 2003. Starting with the year 2000, the date codes have two digits for the year, prior to that, only one. A date code of 079 would indicate the seventh week of 1999, or the third week of February 1999.

Tires deteriorate with age, even when sitting on a shelf, so always ask to see the date code when you purchase new tires and insist on tires manufactured within the last few months. The tire dealer may give you a funny look because most consumers don't know about date codes.

harleyrider · 04-11-2005, 02:19 PM

Palebluedot

Thanks for that info.I will check out the codes when I go down Thursday to Camping World.For $220 bucks I want the ones that are made yesterday(lol)

The servive Manager also suggested to replace the spare tire as well.i`ll take a good look at the spare and decide then on that one.

stiles watson · 04-11-2005, 03:12 PM

Good discussion about tires, guys. Thanks for the info to be stored away for future use.

sreigle · 04-11-2005, 04:49 PM

That explains the sidewall problem. Thanks. Four years seems a little soon but I guess sitting out in the sun can do that. I also replaced our truck tires last Spring with Michelins in an LT265/75R16 LR E size for 721 including tax, installation, stems, road hazard warranty, etc., at a Walmart in the Portland, OR area. They didn't have the size in stock so I had to ask. But I'm not sure I'd let Walmart change the tires on our Montana. They'd probably jack under the axles and bend them. After all, Walmart jacked up our new truck by the skid plate instead of the frame...

harleyrider · 04-11-2005, 08:52 PM

Steve

I thought 4 years also was on the short side of the tire life.But as the service manager explained it probably just wasn`t the 4 years,it was the 3 years that the Montana was sitting in one spot not being moved.The manager at Camping World said he was surprized that their wasn`t a flat spot on the tires from sitting idle so long.

Montana_2785 · 04-11-2005, 11:33 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by harleyrider

Steve

I thought 4 years also was on the short side of the tire life.But as the service manager explained it probably just wasn`t the 4 years,it was the 3 years that the Montana was sitting in one spot not being moved.The manager at Camping World said he was surprized that their wasn`t a flat spot on the tires from sitting idle so long.

RE: Sidewall cracking...

The ST type of tire (Special Trailer) has a lot more of a compound to protect the tire from UV & ozone. This helps to protect the tire when they just sit for long periods of time. As I understand it, this compound will migrate to the outer surface of a tire as it is used (rolling down the road). When they sit still, the compound in the outer surface is used up by UV & ozone action. When enough is used up, the tire itself is attacked and the cracks appear.

Using tire covers will block the UV, but the tires are still open to ozone.

Our Montana's have LT (Light Truck) tires and so won't take as kindly to sitting as an ST type tire would.

When I know my rig will be sitting for months at a time, I like to jack up the frame and take most of the weight off of the tire. That helps to prevent the flat spots...

Eric

Bill Hill · 04-12-2005, 04:25 AM

Eric,
You said you have LT tires on your Montana, not ST or other trailer tires. How long have you had them and how do they handle? Our first trailer was a used 20' HiLo and the tires on it were quite old. I knew nothing about trailers back then and put new tires on that were not trailer tires. Later that year we (I) rolled the truck and trailer up near Bishop CA. There were lots of contributing factors, including size of truck (Dodge Dakota), weight distribution in trailer (holding tanks in rear full, fresh water in front empty), speed (65 mph), and a cross wind. But I also think that the use of the auto tires instead of trailer tires contributed to the fishtailing that eventually flipped us. Since then I've been somewhat paranoid about our tires on trailers.

Does anyone else have any thoughts or experience about this?

Montana_2785 · 04-12-2005, 08:28 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Bill Hill

Eric,
You said you have LT tires on your Montana, not ST or other trailer tires. How long have you had them and how do they handle? [...]

Bill,

We got our Monty used last fall. We have really only pulled it home (Illinois) from North Carolina. As far as handling, LT tires have a good stiff sidewall so handling isn't an issue. The only thing is that they may not stand up to long periods of non-use as well as an ST tire might. But even ST tires benefit from special preparation for long term storage (blocking up the frame and taking the weight off the tires, covering them from the sun, etc...) I haven't look hard yet, but I haven't seen ST tires large enough for something this heavy.

As far as I know, Montana puts the LT's on from the factory.

Eric

sreigle · 04-12-2005, 10:11 AM

Interesting info, Eric. Thanks. However, our Montana came with and currently has ST tires. But since ours won't sit still a long time, when it's time to replace I'll probably go with either ST or LT, whichever is available and has the best deal in a tire I'm satisfied will do the job.

Another question about ST vs LT. I learned the hard way mixing load ranges on the same axle can throw the axle out of alignment (cost me $150 to realign). I wonder if the differences between ST and LT might do the same? To be safe, I will always make sure to have identical tires on both ends of an axle. That means I will have to have five identical (size, type, load range) so I never have to cause a mismatch with the spare. Or carry two spares (not).

Countryfolks · 04-12-2005, 10:35 AM

That could have been caused by a difference in tire diameter, not just the ST/LT difference. I think different brands can have a difference in diameter for the same apparent tire size. For example, I was told by a dealer that Coopers have a tendency to run smaller than the others. I think I'll be having the spare on the 5er included in any rotation schedule.

Skip

Searchers · 04-12-2005, 10:49 AM

Our 1999 Montana was delivered with ST load range D tires which still appear to be wearing well with many more miles left in them. I will replace them this year though because of age. I believe Keystone and all the other manufacturers deliver their products with tires and other equipment from the supplier that gives them the best bulk price on each particular item. I think that's why we see different brand tires, axles, batteries, etc. on the same model year from time to time.

Steve, you mentioned in an earlier post about different tire load ranges having an effect on axle alignment, but I have a hard time understanding how that can be. Seems plausible to me that the tires would wear differently, but wouldn't be enough drag to bend an axle. I must be missing something.

I've also wondered how many of these axle alignment problems occur during delivery from the factory to the dealer. Have you ever seen how some of these rigs are transported? They move at a pretty good clip when paid by the mile and after all, it isn't their rig in tow.

You may also like: