Mission Tires - Montana Owners Club

Cat320 · 08-11-2006, 02:36 PM

I've heard lots about Mission Tires. Then folks started talking about the 'new' Mission Tires. When I googled them, got nothing but threads about blow outs, how really terrible they are/were, and that they should be replaced ASAP.

My new 3400 has them (rig came with no tire paperwork)...I assume the 'new' version. What's the straight informaion? Are they okay? How 'bout a web site?

indy roadrunner · 08-11-2006, 03:02 PM

IMHO doesn't matter what the name is on the tire - if it is abused it will blow. Load Factor or load rating, proper air pressure are the keys to "happy" tires. I have heard so many horror stories about blown tires but they don't always relate the issues. Are they over inflated, under inflated, are they over 5 years old? People like to complain about their "inferior" tires but they will never tell you how they cared for them. When I was running a class A I had Goodyears on my Fleetwood and stamped right on the side of the tire was Max air pressure 80 psi cold. But some believe (weight police) because they were putting more weight on the tires that you should increase the air pressure

Then their tires blow out and they blame the tire manufacture. Go figure. I have Missions on my 5vr and until they indicate they are giving me trouble - I just make sure I have the proper air pressure in them, inspect them before every trip - so far so good.

Phill & Gladys
Sometimes me sits and thinks - sometimes me just sits.
06 GMC 2500HD Duramax 4x4
06 Montana 3400RL
Bichon - CEO

Hemlockusa · 08-11-2006, 04:09 PM

I guess I would have to agree with Indy. Proper Pressure and weight issue's will either make or break a tire. I know a lot of folk's that just take them for granted, when that happens you have problems. I spent the extra money to get [accurate gauges} I have seen a lot of RVer'S using the cheapest tire gauges they could buy, Heck you could have ten of them and not two would match pressure's. I am not saying that those tire's which the Montana comes out with are the best built, probably not - but if you have them - it's kinda like a marriage. you have to pay attention and take care of it to make it last....
Safe Travels John H

2005 Dodge 3500 4x2 Dually Cummins Diesel, Line X /2005 Montana/""MOC TRAVEL ASSISTANCE VOLUNTEER"" ""TOPEKA, KANSAS AREA"" 3650RK

Wrenchtraveller · 08-11-2006, 04:23 PM

There has been quite a few threads on the Mission tires. I was skeptical of them at first and almost bought new ones before trying them out. I got mine balanced and they needed it and then I did a 3200 mile trip and they held their pressure ( 80 PSI )for the entire 6 weeks we were on the road. They ran cool and showed no signs of wear. I think I will run them a couple more years.

Take care, Don.

Don & Donna
Vancouver Island
2005 Ford F350 V10 Lariat CC 4x4 LB SRW 11200 GVWR
2006 Montana 2955RL

click on the little pic to see a big pic

Mac · 08-11-2006, 04:30 PM

Mission's for a year here, weekender only, but NO problems with them or the aluminium wheels!

1999 Silverado LS Extended Cab, Prodigy Brake Controller
2006 2955RL

rickfox · 08-11-2006, 04:48 PM

Good Evening,

I was the one who mentioned the new ST Mission tires. I was using the term "new" to distinquish them from the LT tires that were previously being installed on the Monty's before they began using the Mission tires.

The state side distributor for Mission is Tireco - www.tireco.com. The model no. is T108.

According to them and according to the info on the tires, each tire is rated at a max. weight of 3520# at a max. pressure of 80psi. Since the axles are rated at 6000# each, or 3000# per hub, the tires, if aired to 80 psi are technically over inflated. A Goodyear tire inflation guide suggests the tires should support 3000# at 65 psi.

This is compared to the tires that used to be used on the Montys which were rated at 3040# at 80 psi.

We initially aired our Missions to 80 psi, but have now backed the pressure down to 70 psi. We now have about 5,000 miles on the Missions with no issues thus far - and there seems to be a noticable improvement in the way the trailer and its contents ride.

Rick & Wanda
2003 2500HD Crew Cab
Duramax with Allison Trans.
Firestone Airbags
Glide-Ride Pinbox - It's Great!
2006 3400RL - We Love The Trailer!

Montana Customer Service?

MAMalody · 08-11-2006, 07:10 PM

I will be replacing tires next year. Should I make sure they are ST tires and not LT tires? What is the difference, sidewall performance?

Mike

F350 7.3L LB
2003 3575RL

Glenn and Lorraine · 08-11-2006, 09:00 PM

Are the ST tires ST235/80R-16 load range D or E??

If they are D - 8 ply rated they are rated at a max load range of 3000 lbs at 65 PSI

If they are E - 10 ply rated than they are 3520 lbs at 80 PSI

Now that we can start comparing apples to apples and not apples to oranges we can deal with the tires themselves.

Mission tires are just as good as any other tire on the market.

"When I googled them, got nothing but threads about blow outs" I will bet you my Monty against yours that 80% of these folks cannot prove what caused the tire to fail. Once a tire has lost it's air pressure and gone flat it is still being dragged down the hiway at 60 MPH. By the time we get the rig to a stop the tire has nearly disintegrated making it ABSOLUTELY impossible to find the reason for the air loss.
Manufacturers Defect?? Maybe but unlikely.
Valve Stem?? Slim Chance.
Owners lack of attention to proper care?? Better chance.
Road Hazard?? Most likely.
Road Hazard can be anything from a nail to glass to anything ran over in our travels.

When they first started using the Tacoma's on the Montana they also got a bad rap. I've had Tacoma's from day one and other that a screw puncture, Road Hazard and not the tires fault, I have had no problems. Now that the Tacoma's have proven themselves the heat is off and the Mission is next in line in the barrel.

I don't want to burst anyone's bubble here but just because it doesn't say BF Goodrich, Firestone/Bridgestone, Goodyear or the infamous Michelin it IS NOT a bad tire. The only advantage to the brand names is availability. When on the road most cities have tire shops that carry the major brands where the off brands such as Mission are harder to find. Keep in mind the only reason to deal with the same brand is a warranty issue and seeing as how the tire has nearly disintegrated there is no warranty as you cannot prove what caused the tire to fail. Other than that, any tire of the same size and load range can replace the failed tire.

In the tire industry there is a saying "Take Care Of Your Tires And They Will Take Care Of You"

One last thing...
"We initially aired our Missions to 80 psi, but have now backed the pressure down to 70 psi. We now have about 5,000 miles on the Missions with no issues thus far - and there seems to be a noticable improvement in the way the trailer and its contents ride."
An underinflated tire will give you what appears to be a softer ride but what appears to be a "noticable improvement" may be an accident waiting to happen. When a tire is run at normal highway speeds but underinflated it flexes way too much and builds up heat much faster. This excessive heat will go beyond the prescribed limits of endurance of the rubber and the radial cords. This heat also damages the inner liner, casing and outer sidewall of the tire. If not remedied quickly, the tire will be irreparably damaged. This damage could result in sudden tire failure. A tire that is underinflated will also cause rapid and/or irregular tire wear, and a decrease in fuel economy.

Glenn
Montana Owners Home Page
RV Related Links

Glenn and Lorraine

M O C - 4 2 0

We are using a 2005 White GMC Sierra SLE 2500HD Extended Cab, Short Bed, 4X4
with the Duramax/Allison Combo and Firestone Ride-Rite air bags
to drag around our 2004 Montana 2955RL 32'
using a PullRite 16K SuperGlide Automatic Sliding Hitch

"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us!"
You know you are retired when you wake up in the morning with
nothing to do and go to bed at night with it only half done.
BUT, Keep in mind, doing nothing can be a very
tiresome job because you can't stop to rest

Glenn and Lorraine · 08-11-2006, 09:14 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by MAMalody

I will be replacing tires next year. Should I make sure they are ST tires and not LT tires? What is the difference, sidewall performance?

Mike

It doesn't really matter. My Monty has LTs and the new 2955s have ST. So long as the tire has the same load capacity as the OE tires there is no significant difference and LT tires are a lot easier to find. BUT this would not apply to your TV which has LT's on it. STs are strictly for trailers.

JH Sechelt · 08-11-2006, 10:27 PM

We have 5300 Kms on our Mission tires and no problem what so ever. ( so far ).
I check the tire pressure before any longer trip and it seems to stay around 80 PSI.
Wear is even and at this point I think they should last for a few years yet.

J&D

[IMG]John & Dawn

Sunshine Coast, British Columbia
2006 2980RL &
2005 F350 Lariet, Crewcab
Shortbox Powerstroke 4X4

Wrenchtraveller · 08-11-2006, 11:27 PM

Glenn, your tire information is right on and the safest way to run tires is at max pressure.
Anybody who has ever used a pickup as a work vehicle runs maximum air pressure on the rear tires all the time , truck loaded or unloaded. It would be pretty inconvenient to deflate your tires every time you unloaded your truck.

Another interesting fact is that if you know that your tires are overloaded you are better to run them at 10 psi over the max inflation and many of us with slide in campers used to run our 16 inch 10 ply truck tires at 90 psi. When I go down and pick up a load of gravel in my utility trailer, I also go 10 PSI over and some of the loads I have hauled on that poor trailer, I have had over 1000 pounds above the tire's rating. This is not something I do anymore but when I was a contractor, I overloaded my pickups on a pretty regular basis as most contractors do. I even hauled 5000 pounds of building blocks in an 88 F250 8800 GVWR . I had 90 pounds PSI for that also. Thank heavans I got away with it and I don't have to do that any more.

I never have lost an LT tire but I have worn out lots of them in the last 30 years and I hope I get the same service out of my ST tires.

Don & Donna
Vancouver Island
2005 Ford F350 V10 Lariat CC 4x4 LB SRW 11200 GVWR
2006 Montana 2955RL

click on the little pic to see a big pic

Glenn and Lorraine · 08-12-2006, 12:23 AM

I'd rather have them 10 PSI over than under but you do want to be careful with these hi temps we have been having. When the temp is 100+ and the sun's been beating down on the road surface these overinflated tires will become even more overinflated and could cause you a problem. The overinflated tire's footprint or contact patch with the road has been reduced, thus reducing the traction, braking capacity, and handling. A tire that is overinflated for the load that it is carrying will be stiff and unyielding contributing to a harsher ride, uneven tire wear, and will be more susceptible to impact damage from curbs, pot holes, etc. Over inflated tires cause the vehicle to ride harsher and transmit more noise into its interior.

And NO, I don't reduce my TV's rear tire pressure after unhitching as it is a huge pain in the butt to reinflate after just a few days or even 2 weeks. However, when we are unhooked for the 6 month Flrida stay I do set the back tires around 60 PSI even though GM suggests 80 PSI.

Wrenchtraveller · 08-12-2006, 12:32 AM

Glenn, thanks again for the good information. Out west we are pretty cool right now but we had it warm a while back. Our climate is kind of like Seattle. Take care, Don.

Don & Donna
Vancouver Island
2005 Ford F350 V10 Lariat CC 4x4 LB SRW 11200 GVWR
2006 Montana 2955RL

click on the little pic to see a big pic

richfaa · 08-12-2006, 01:00 AM

What Glenn says..What Glenn says..Take care of your..Tires, Truck, Camper and they will take care of you. My tire guy echo's What Glenn says and since my tire guy and Glenn are both tire guys and I am not I would tend to take their advise instead of doing what I think is right. It is a strange thing but I have observed that a "expert " in a field seems to know more about that field than I do...I don't understand...

Rich& Helen N.Ridgeville,Ohio.

F-350SD, Lariat, V-10,4:30 Diff, tow command Long bed, Crew Cab Dually, 06 3400RL
Mor-Ryde Pin Box

sreigle · 08-12-2006, 04:55 AM

Every time we have a thread on Mission tires there seem to be no problems with them. So far I would conclude they are decent tires.

I've used both ST and LT tires. This time I went with LT on the Montana because I wanted a specific brand. To tell the truth, while I understand there are differences, I've never seen any detectable difference in ride or wear. So long as they meet the ratings I'm fine with either.

Anyone know where to find a load chart for the Mission tires? I'd like to air the tires to what is appropriate for the load. If these tires are rated at 3520 (14,480 for four) then perhaps it would be worthwhile to run less pressure. Until I find a chart and know the load on each tire I'll run mine at 80 psi, though.

See another Montana or Mountaineer on the road? Flash lights twice, it might be one of us!
Steve Reigle (pronounced Regal)
Fulltiming since 3/21/03
'03 3295RK
'05 Ford F250 SD Lariat CC SB 6.0L PSD/TS FX4 4x4

Our RV Travels (now Firefox-compatible)

Wrenchtraveller · 08-12-2006, 05:12 AM

Glen,I have one more question for you about the Missions. I pulled my trailer home with a bad tire that had a plug in it. I guess the factory hauler had run over something and got it fixed.
My dealer shipped me a new Mission tire free of charge amd unmounted I could squeeze the beads together quite easily with one hand. I went to a tire shop and all the truck tires there , I could not even begin to get the tire beads squeezed together even if I used two hands. Also with one finger I could very easily push a bulge into the Mission's sidewall, Not so with the LTs.
The first tire guy I brought that tire to said it was a good tire. He also said that ST tires were far superior to LT tires for trailer use. He then proceeded to balance my tire wrong by using hub centreing instead of lug centreing. I learned from Steve R on this forum about the correct way of balancing and went to another tire shop and got that tire rebalanced properly as well as the other 3. This tire guy seemed to favor LT tires and after finding the Missions very difficult to balance, he suggested I did not run them too long. Both tire shops felt the aluminum rims were fairly good quality. My question.

Would a tire with a soft side wall such as the Missions be more prone to blow outs than the stiffer sided LT tires?

Don & Donna
Vancouver Island
2005 Ford F350 V10 Lariat CC 4x4 LB SRW 11200 GVWR
2006 Montana 2955RL

click on the little pic to see a big pic

rickfox · 08-12-2006, 05:18 AM

Good Morning,

I too like to listen to the experts. For those that are interested, click on the links below to read what the experts say.

a) http://www.michelinrvtires.com/miche...res/hom_us.jsp (lower left portion of the page is the load and inflation table link)

b) http://www.goodyear.com/rv/tirecare/index.html

My interpretation of the above info is:

1) Tires should be inflated to a pressure required to support the actual (measured load), not the max load allowed by the tire.

2) The max. air pressire embossed on the tire should never be exceeded.

Rick & Wanda
2003 2500HD Crew Cab
Duramax with Allison Trans.
Firestone Airbags
Glide-Ride Pinbox - It's Great!
2006 3400RL - We Love The Trailer!

Montana Customer Service?

rickfox · 08-12-2006, 05:28 AM

By the way, I also agree with what Glenn had to say. Under or over inflation of tires are both bad things.

My prior post was only to post additional info, not to disagree with what he had to say.

My point was that the Mission tires have a higher load rating than the tires previously installed on the Monty's, so thus do not need to be inflated to the same 80 PSI in order to support the weight.

And yes, my Missions are load rated E (10 ply). I'm guessing that all other Mission tires installed on the Montys are also E rated.

Rick & Wanda
2003 2500HD Crew Cab
Duramax with Allison Trans.
Firestone Airbags
Glide-Ride Pinbox - It's Great!
2006 3400RL - We Love The Trailer!

Montana Customer Service?

richfaa · 08-12-2006, 05:34 AM

Hummm.there seems to be a difference of opinion even among experts.I saved the links provided by Rickfox for more study.It seems to make sense that the tire should be inflated according to the load it carries..this requires more thought and more questions to the experts????

Rich& Helen N.Ridgeville,Ohio.

F-350SD, Lariat, V-10,4:30 Diff, tow command Long bed, Crew Cab Dually, 06 3400RL
Mor-Ryde Pin Box

rickfox · 08-12-2006, 05:46 AM

Steve,

I have a "printed out" load rating table for ST235/80R16 that goes up to load range E tires, but temporarily have misplaced it. I originally downloaded it from the Internet. When I find it, it should tell me the link address, and I will pass it along.

There are tables readily available that show the load vs. PSI up to the D rated tires (which shows the load is rated at 3000# at 65 pse). I believe the E rated tire figures just add onto chart, but will confirm that when I locate the actual table.

By the way, according to Goodyear, some of the differences between ST and LT tires are:

1) The ST tires actually have a stiffer sidewall in order to reduce tire side-to-side flexibility. This reduces possible sway and wag, a goo thing for the trailer environment. The more flexible sidewalls of the LT tires allow the tread to remain in contact with the road surface better, thus improving traction, a good thing for the vehicle environment. This is what "they" say.

2) The ST tires typically have less tread depth and thus weigh less. According to them, this is a good trade off, as few ST tires are retired because of worn off tread.

3) There was also some mention about rubber material and heat, but I no longer remember that portion. Age sometimes does that to a person.

Rick & Wanda
2003 2500HD Crew Cab
Duramax with Allison Trans.
Firestone Airbags
Glide-Ride Pinbox - It's Great!
2006 3400RL - We Love The Trailer!

Montana Customer Service?

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