Tire Story & Prices..

[pameridan04]

Hi Guys:

Well I took my coach to my RV dealer for the yearly inspection sticker here in PA. To my surprise he said my coach would NOT pass inspection because of the CRACKS in my front tires.

Since my tires are over eight years old I decided to bite the bullet and order new Michelins XRV's 255/80R/22.5 G's

WOW talk about sticker shock. First Michelin dealer I called wanted $4,012.35 All up all in for SIX tires.

The second Michelin Dealer wanted $3,750.00 all up all in. Better but no banana.

The THIRD dealer wanted $3408.00... better price. But then a light bulb went off in my old depleted brain and I remembered I am a member of FMCA and they have a member Michelin Tire Adavantage Program. It says with this program my tires are approximately $476.91 each, plus mounting and balancing. That should put it some where around $3K+ mark. I will let you know when I get my final bill. You have to register your charge card with Michelin and they bill you direct.

It just goes to show you, prices can be all over the board.

Regards PAM04.... Jim P.

[Pelledan]

Pam04,
I too was shopping for tires the same size as yours. If you haven't already done so, check with your local COSTCO. You're very correct in that tire prices are all over the map, but the best price I was able to get on Michelin XRV 255/80R/22.5 was through COSTCO. They were special ordered at $424.36 per tire plus FET & sales tax and plus mounting & balancing which COSTCO will not do. That price included taking advantage of COSTCO's $70.00 rebate on a set of 4 (or more) Michelin tires plus using the COSTCO credit card to get an additional 2% cash back on the purchase. All things considered, COSTCO was able to beat the FMCA price by $52.55 per tire. The Michelin/FMCA deal does not allow the selling dealer to profit from the sale of the tires. This is where much of the FMCA savings comes from. As a result, any tire dealer in the program will profit from the mount & balance labor only. This works well when the tires are purchased elsewhere. They can still be brought to a program dealer for installation without ruffling their feathers since they would have made no money off the Michelin deal in the first place. Mounting & balaning prices are all over the map too and it pays to shop so long as the distance involved (fuel to get there & back) with the best deal doesn't surpass the cost of having the work done locally at a moderate increase in cost. I had the tires mounted & balanced at a cooperating Michelin dealer with new metal stems for $39.00/tire.
Also as a side note, consider keeping one of your old tires and carry it with you as an unmounted spare. Typically one of the two inner rear tires will have the least amount of sidewall cracking because it was kept out of the sun. If you ever do have a tire issue on the road, the local area may not have a tire your size in stock and you'll be stranded until they can order one in. If you carry the spare, they can just change out the tire and you're on your way again.

Dan

[pameridan04]

Hi Dan:

Thanks for the info. To bad I don't have any Costco stores that are close to me. Then it would be hard for me to get get the 6 tires to a Truck Tire place to get installed and balanced. I would need at least a pickup truck to get them there. No gots.

Where on earth can I store one of these huge spare tires. I don't think it will fit in any of my side bays? Maybe underneat the bed, it lifts up, I might be able to put it on top of the engine cover?

Where is yours?

Regards Jim P.

[Pelledan]

Pam,
A spare tire will fit in upper top section of the second bay that strattles the center of the coach. That's the bay without the water pump in it. It's a snug fit, and I would not suggest you do it. The tires are heavy, so let someone else do it for you. Yes, you will lose some storage space, but that's one of the compromises of carrying a spare that won't stop your trip.
Dan

[fun time]

Dan,
I have never been to a Costco so please forgive me when I ask this question: I assume from your post that Costco must have some pretty big equipment i.e. tire balancers, tire changers, and deal with large trucks frequently? Most big discounters similar to them that I have seen know little about large truck type equipment which is why I have always avoided them but from what you are saying it sounds like they are well equipped to handle large MH's? Is this what you found from your experience? Thanks for sharing.

[Mr_D]

None of the Costco's around here will work on MH tires, at least the 22.5's, not sure about the 19.5's though.

[Mr_D]

We replaced all six tires about 18 months ago, two 305/70's and four 275/70's, all Michelins. Out the door was right at $3,200. The 305's were $600 and a few ¢, the 275/70's were $512 and change. That was before the price raise and before FMCA had their Advantage plan.

[Pelledan]

Funtime,
As Mr. D has said, COSTCO will not mount or balance 22.5 MH tires. When I was there I asked what their limiting factor was and suprising to me, it was not the actual equipment to break the tires off the rims and mount new ones, nor was it an issue with balancing them. Their main concern is the weight limitations of the floor jacks they use to lift the MH. Any MH, Class C or A, will not fit in their service bays. On Class C's, they will do the work outside the bay and use floor jacks because their weight is within jacks ability to lift. COSTCO constantly rotates their sale on tires from the various manufactures they carry. You just need patients to wait for the manufacturer you want to go on sale, then make your purchase.

Dan

[CaptBill]

Originally Posted by pameridan04

Hi Dan:

Thanks for the info. To bad I don't have any Costco stores that are close to me. Then it would be hard for me to get get the 6 tires to a Truck Tire place to get installed and balanced. I would need at least a pickup truck to get them there. No gots.

Where on earth can I store one of these huge spare tires. I don't think it will fit in any of my side bays? Maybe underneat the bed, it lifts up, I might be able to put it on top of the engine cover?

Where is yours?

Regards Jim P.

I carry a mounted spare tire between the frame rails under the motorhome, just behind the fuel tank. It fits perfectly, and is suspended there via a steel bracket that hangs from the top of the rails, and has long steel bolts through the bracket, and holes in the wheel. I placed it there using a hydraulic jack, and if it has to be used, the roadside tire guy can lower it down.

The bracket was made by a forum member (Joe K.), quite a few years ago, and it has worked well. I can try to put a few pics up if anyone is interested.

[pameridan04]

HI CaptBill:

Yeah... I would like to see a pic or two of that that setup.

Pelledan I wouldn't bother putting that big tire in the bay and loosing all that storage space. I could still throw around the weight, I am not that elderly yet. I just need the storage space more.

Regards PAM

[pameridan04]

Hi Guys:

Update. Well when it was all said and done I didn't use the FMCA Michelin Advantage Program. By the time I added the tax, balancing, Mount, Dismount, Casing Disposal, exct... It would have cost me about $40.00 more than Highlands price. I just went with their price they gave me. It was $3,363.02 all up all in tax included. Just an FYI my manufacture date is 1712 on all the tires. That is the 17 week of 2012. That is aroind April 2012...

I did save one of my tires just in case I want to carry it as a spare. They are BIG suckers... LOL

Regards PAM

[pameridan04]

HI Pelladan:

I took your advice. I kept a spare tire from my old set. And for you guys that have a DP Winnie/Itasca Meridan/Journey 36G with the Sleep Number bed guess what. That big 255/80/22.5 XRV JUST FITS underneath your queen bed!!! The bed flips up to expose your engine cover. Just lay the tire on top. Tight fit but it works.

Now I have a spare just in case I blow a tire 200 miles from nowhere, and the tire I need is not anywhere to be found.

Regards PAM

[Pelledan]

Great news Pam! The knowledge that the spare is there should provide you with some good peace of mind in your travels.

Dan