WHEN TO REPLACE MONTY TIRES

[Larry-P]

I would like your opinions on when I should expect to purchase new tires for our unit.

We purchased the Monty in Sept of 2011. At that time I did not know about the G614's but was told to replace the China bombs the unit came with, which we did. We bought Goodyear Wrangles HT, LT235/85R16, load range E. Total miles on tires is 15,100 (I keep accurate records)

I always torque the rims before leaving on a trip & check the tire pressure every morning when traveling. The tires are always covered when sitting & I always straighten the wheels when parking. Normal towing speed is 58-61 (why hurry, I'm retired) & only travel highways & paved roads.

So based on the above stats, I'm thinking replacement in another 2 to 3 years, if not longer.

What say you. This forum has always helped me & been accurate.

Larry-P

[mlh]

I don't know what your camper weighs but I suspect around 12000 pounds with a hitch weight of around 2500 pounds. If that is close you are good to go. You should replace those tires at 5 years no matter how good they look. I just bought a MH that is over 6 years old. It has been stored inside has 5000 miles on it. The tires look like new, no crawling nothing. They will be replaced before I go anywhere in it.
Lynwood

[BB_TX]

With only 15,000 miles and stored covered, if the tires are not starting to get age cracks and have no other signs of problems I would go another 2-3 years. But then I am an optimist. My Michelins are 7 yrs old, have no age cracking, and just under 20,000 miles. I plan to replace them next year even though they still look virtually new.

[mlh]

Both Chrysler and Goodyear and others say to replace tires at 5 years. Goodyear won't even fix a flat at 6 years. The reason is you can have sudden failure in a tire that old. They weaken with age no matter how good they look.
Lynwood

[RKassl]

I was always under the impression that you change trailer tires by TIME not wear unlike car tires. Has worked for me for many years.

[DQDick]

Here's what Goodyear actually says about it: http://www.goodyearrvtires.com/tire-...uidelines.aspx
You will notice they don't give # of years. G670's, however, carry a 5 year warranty on most stuff and a 7 year warranty on cracking in the sidewalls. 614's just carry a 4 year warranty. Both warranties are based on tread wear and that the wear isn't below the replacement marks. A Goodyear engineer said 5-7 years on my 614's based on my mileage of 10-15 K per year.

[rohrmann]

I think you need to replace them immediately. The weight on your tires, if perfectly balanced, is 3375 lbs per tire, which is just under an ST tire at 3420 lbs. Your LT Wrangler is probably rated 3042 lbs at 80 psi, so they are way overloaded. Sounds like G614's or Sailun's or an equivalent tire should be on your list. This is from the Keystone site: 12187 weight, 3373 capacity, and 2060 hitch, which I calculated to be 13,500 and that is 3375 lbs per wheel.

[Bill.vannuys]

I just replaced my Trailer King Tires yesterday that came with my unit that I purchased new in July 15. My tires had just over 10,000 miles with plenty of tread. I decided to avoid possible problems and installed Sailun S637s for $168.50 each mounted and balanced. Looks like a great tire, is much heavier, and strongly recommended by the dealer that installed them. Big improvement with the Max load capacity of 4080# which certainly adds a measure of safety.

[WaltBennett]

This subject comes up frequently. Tire mfrs say to replace them at 5 years no matter what they look like. Reason being that tires will loose weight capacity as a percentage from just sitting around, even indoors and not mounted. This is why everyone needs to go by the DOT stamp and NOT when they were purchased/mounted. I don't know about going 2 - 3 years more, but one or two more might work.

One of the issues that people don't think about is that LT tires are rated for much higher speeds than STs. If they were rated for the same speed, I'd bet the weights would be the same. Try putting over 3k on an ST and running around 75 - 80 mph and see what happens. Somehow I still believe they are made better.

Our Transforce tires are now 3 years old and have about 30k miles on them. They still look great and have given us zero problems. They were less than four months old when I bought them, and I'll probably replace them at the 6 year point.

[richfaa]

5 years no matter what.

[Art-n-Marge]

I bought Marathons for my rig after the first bubble occurred on one of the Mission tirebombs and took very good care of them myself. I kept them properly inflated even if they sat for a while. I replaced them after about 5 years 6 months. They looked good on the outside but I never looked inside, and I never could have seen what's inside the rubber, so 5 years was good enough for me. I have gone on to Maxxis and am using the same care with great luck, so far.

[JandC]

With my G614's I am going to stick with a 5-6 year change. If I divide that out I am still spending under $300 a year average to keep good reliable rubber under the Montana. I could probably stretch that out but I try to do everything in my power never to be the one sitting on the side of the road with a flat.

[richfaa]

X2 JandC.

[RKassl]

I totally agree with Rich, 5 years, tires are everything on an RV.

[kozzy]

quote:Originally posted by Bill.vannuys

I just replaced my Trailer King Tires yesterday that came with my unit that I purchased new in July 15. My tires had just over 10,000 miles with plenty of tread. I decided to avoid possible problems and installed Sailun S637s for $168.50 each mounted and balanced. Looks like a great tire, is much heavier, and strongly recommended by the dealer that installed them. Big improvement with the Max load capacity of 4080# which certainly adds a measure of safety.

Do those sailun's go right on the same rim as the trailer kings? I currently have trailer kings, and although id like to swap them now, I need to wait till next season. They are brand new I'm hoping to get a decent year out of them at least. ill just have to keep up on the PSI and inspections...

[Bill.vannuys]

My Sailun Tires went on the same rims as my Trailer Kings that came with the unit. My Trailer Kings were same size as the Sailuns - ST235/80R16. Check the back of the rim where 110 PSI should be stamped indicating the Max PSI for your rim.

I did the same as you - checked pressure every time I moved and drove 60 MPH or less. I just started worrying about the weight on the tires and the consequences of a blowout and insurance claim. Then my wife said, "Just buy them". I'm One Lucky Guy!!!

Good Luck.

[mlh]

I'll say this again. I've been a member here since 2004. Tires have been a major topic all that time. ST tires. Far too many have said they were going to watch the pressure not drive over some magic speed go a little tire dance only to have a blowout that took the side off of their camper. I don't recall but maybe one person having trouble with a G or LT tire.
Run ST tires at your own risk. Far too many people have blowouts with them for me to use them.
Lynwood

[kozzy]

I agree with you but only so much cash to go around this
My first month was a 2004 had it 3 years never had a blowout. My last 3 rigs never had a blowout.
I'm certainly not advocating using the junk tires , and I plan on getting new ones next season
Got a lot going on as far as things at the house and the new truck and camper. Have to spread the wealth all around lol

[richfaa]

We did not use our first 4 Rv's like we used the 06 3400 and now the 13 3402.Both of our Montana's got a lot of use on the interstates at speed.