MISSION TIRE PROBLEM - Montana Owners Club

Paintpro99 · 02-07-2010, 07:00 AM

Well, what I hoped wouldn't happen did. After reading about all the problems everyone has had with Mission tires, I can now join the club. On our trip this winter to Florida, we stopped at a Rest Stop in North Carolina. I always check my tires when I stop and upon inspection, I noticed that one of them had a large bulge on the face and the rubber was starting to separate. Since I was afraid of a blowout, I put the spare on and hoped we would make it to our nightly destination, which we did. When we arrived, I scouted out a tire shop and purchased four new BF Goodrich Commercial TA Tires, LT 235-85R16-E-rated. There seems to be lots of clearance in the wheelwells to accommodate these tires - less than an inch difference in height. I was wondering what you guys think of these tires. Also, has anyone tried to get reimbursed from Tire-Co regarding these crappy Mission tires. I only had 7000 miles on them. Looking forward to hearing what you guys have to say. Thanks.

jimcol · 02-07-2010, 07:57 AM

I noticed one Mission going bad when I had the bearings packed. Went with the same tires you did and after more than 6000 miles I am very happy with my choice. Tires holding up well and not showing much if any wear. I contacted Tireco. They offered 4 new foreign tires. Told them I had already changed the Missions to something else. They arranged to have all 4 Missions returned to them. They only found 1 to be defective and reimbursed me about $100. I was happy with that because despite their reputation I could only see one tire that looked defective. They had about 17,000 miles on them.

SlickWillie · 02-07-2010, 07:57 AM

One of my neighbors had a blowout with damage. They agreed to pay for damage (Tireco) and the bad tire. They would not talk about the other tires; told him they would deal with that if they blew out. This is an apparent change in their policy. Last time I talked to him, he had never gotten a dime. Trailer still has the damage. Happened 4 or 5 months ago.

richfaa · 02-07-2010, 03:07 PM

We are among the lucky ones. Did over 10K on the Missions with not a problem but changed them out as we did not want to tempt fate. If I am not mistaken there is a MOC 07 3400 Montana a couple of sites down from us that still has the Missions on it with many miles and no problems...?????

winter texan · 02-07-2010, 03:23 PM

I got Tireco to play $167 for one tire after numerous e-mails, return of the tire that had cracks in the side wall, and proof of purchase of 4 new Goodyears @ $167 each. Process took from Nov to June before I got a Check.

exav8tr · 02-07-2010, 04:10 PM

Two Years ago I submitted a claim to Tireco and they told me to buy 4 new tires. I went to Les Schwab in Spokane and purchased 4 new tires and left the Missions for them to be sent back to Tireco. I had to make several calls to them, But, after a couple months I received a check for $480.00. I'm not sure what they are doing now but it is worth a try.

PapaBeav · 02-07-2010, 04:39 PM

Last year we replaced our Mission Tires after about 20,000 miles on them with never a problem. I only replaced them because of an axle problem that caused severe wear on one tire. I also replaced them with the Commercial T/A's and now have about 8,000 miles on them with no problems and they are wearing great.

Paintpro99 · 02-08-2010, 04:26 AM

Thanks to all who answered my query. I am relieved to know that I made a good choice for tires, after hearing that others have had good luck with BF Goodrich Commercial TA's. Unfortunately, I had to leave the old Mission tires with the tire shop in South Carolina as I had no way to take them with me to Florida. When you are just starting out on a trip, it is impossible to carry around 4 extra old tires with you for three months until you get home. So I probably won't have a leg to stand on to try to recoup some of my losses with Tireco. Anyway, thanks again.

mail2us · 02-08-2010, 04:41 AM

The BF Goodrich TA's are given good marks by Lonnie who is the MOC resident expert on here. He listed about 5 or 6 tires that he felt were good for our 5th wheels and BFG's were included.

As a suggestion Dan, I would call the South Carolina tire shop and seek their assistance to hold those tires. It's very possible once you contact Tireco and file a claim, that they will pick up those tires directly from the shop to be evaluated. It's worth the effort and time. See my separate email on this subject. Dennis

Cyrus · 02-08-2010, 04:56 AM

Last summer, coming back from FL, we had the same experience at NC rest stop. Determined I could make it to a campground for the weekend. Ended up in Lazy Acres Campground, Fayetteville NC. Got our tires at Black Tire service a few miles away from the campground. Good side is it could have been worse since they didn't blow and no damage to camper.

Got less then 9K miles on our mission when three when bad at same time.

scattershot · 02-08-2010, 10:20 AM

repeat after me... "Chinese tires are JUNK!"....Here endeth the lesson.

BTW, I replaced mine with the same tire you bought, and have been very happy with them.

sreigle · 02-08-2010, 10:25 AM

Dan and Darlene, we put those same Commercial T/A tires on our prior Montana. We only put about 9,000 miles on them before trading the rig but those tires wore very nicely and performed flawlessly. Handling seemed the same as with the prior tires, which, in our case, were Goodyear Marathons (I called them our nightmare tires). I'd buy the BFG again and probably will someday.

richard66 · 02-09-2010, 08:44 AM

You went with the most cost effective tire available. I went to LT tires years ago. Mich/Goodyear are just to expensive. I have run BFG Commercial TA tires on both my Featherlite and Montana with excellent results. Just remember age is a factor on any mfg.'s product. Tires my look good but be careful after three or four years. If you watch presures and don't abuse them they will give many miles of service.

soonerhooligan · 02-10-2010, 04:35 AM

Dan and Darlene you made a good choice. I went with the Michelin Ribs to replace my "made in China" gift from Keystone. I put the BFG Com T/A on the truck. By the way, did you know, BFG is owned by Michelin? Your Com T/A tires are made in a Michelin plant. I am biased toward Michelin. The Ribs are #1, but for the money the Com T/A is a very good buy.

boylanag · 02-10-2010, 05:40 AM

We had over 8,000 on our Missions and, like Papabeav, we had an axle problem.We discovered at last fall's rally that we had wear on one of the tire from this problem. Up to then, we had no problems with our Missions. Because of the axle problem wear, we then traded tires, after an alignment on the rig.

gobears · 03-08-2010, 10:23 AM

a little help understanding tires please. I'm looking for new tires to replace my Mission's no problems with them to date, but they are 4 years old and ready. So many people are recomending LT tires, BFG TA's for example. These tires are only rated for 3,040# My rig is 14K, with 2300 on the pin. That leaves 11,700 for the 4 tires, or 2,925# per tire. Safety factor is only 460#! Do I just have a heavy Monty? or do folks prefer to live on the edge vs a ST china tire?

TLightning · 03-08-2010, 11:55 AM

I just went through the tire buying process. The STs have higher ratings, but are ALL (that I could find) made in China. Got a set of LT 235/85R16 Bridgestone Duravis 500s...a bit less in the rating department, but a whole lot better as far as reliability goes.

rgreynolds · 03-10-2010, 01:04 PM

Well, the Goodyear Marathons that came on my 2008 3400RL weren't so great either. Went through all 5 in less than 18 months. Got 3 pro-rated, paid full price for 2 new off brand tires. The two replacement Maratons seemed to be doing well, but after my last blow out of one of the other tires 2 weeks ago, I went into Les Scwab and had them give me 5 new tires of the G rating. I'm now a convert to the LT tire versus the ST tire. Got a G rated LT for just about the price of an E rated ST tire.

richard66 · 03-11-2010, 02:15 PM

Just convert your trailer to LT tires and don't bother with the ST tires from any company. BFG/Mich make excellent LT tires and there are other brands that will give you more peace of mind and less trouble than ST tires. I have been running LT tires for years on my trailers with far less problems than ST tires.

sreigle · 03-12-2010, 05:35 AM

One thing to keep in mind, too, is that if you have to replace a tire on the road, an LT is easier to find in stock than is an ST. On the other hand, do watch the weight ratings.

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