Minnie Winnie tire recommendations

[Kacordy]

I have a 2018 MW with the F-350 chassis. It’s has the original Hankook 225/75/R16 tires on it with 19k miles. What replacement tires would you recommend that has a great ride and is of premium quality? Thanks, Allen

 

[Eagle5]

Hi Allen,
Just out of curiosity, it seems like you are replacing your Hankooks a little early. Are you having problems with them?
I checked on Discount Tire and found these:
Michelin Agilis CrossClimate 225 /75 R16 121R C8 BSW
Thanks, Eagle5

 

[Kacordy]

Good Evening Eagle5, I do not like the look of these cracks on just one tire. I’m planning on replacing tires every 5 or 6 years to be safe. My MW does not sit in the sun and is fully covered by a metal RV Shed. Thank you for your response, Allen

 

[Eagle5]

Hi again Allen,
Having a full metal shed is a great idea!
I better keep an eye on my 1-year newer Hankooks. I agree; I do not like crack lines in the sidewalls.
Thanks, Eagle5

 

[akeagle]

Hi again Allen,
Having a full metal shed is a great idea!
I better keep an eye on my 1-year newer Hankooks. I agree; I do not like crack lines in the sidewalls.
Thanks, Eagle5

What might be the conventional wisdom here: Would frequent applications of 303 help coax a tire like this to the "standard" 7-year replacement point, or should it be considered inevitable that it will fail prematurely?

 

[Kacordy]

What is 303? Thanks

 

[TATANKA-GSO]

Allen, do you have a full size spare tire underneath?

If so,
You might consider using the cracked sidewall tire as the spare and installing the spare on the coach.

 

[Kacordy]

Peace of mind. I found a set of Michelin Agilis Cross Climates in town.
I want to thank everyone for the help and suggestions, Allen

 

[Eagle5]

Hi Allen,
Those tires look really good! Glad you found them.
Eagle5

 

[Harvester-WO]

I have a similar setup and decision point on a 2020 Minnie Winnie 22r (with 2019 E-350 chassis). This RV also came with the Hankook 225/75R/16 tires, and are approaching the 5 year age (manufacturing date: Oct/1. These tires have 26K miles, and are starting to show a little uneven wear. It's also worth noting that I've never had them rotated. The other factor in my decision, is an upcoming cross country adventure of over 5000 miles through various terrains and temperature conditions.

Two different RV tire shops have recommended the Michelin Agilis Cross Climate tires, however one was suggesting the Goodyear Wrangler Workhorse HT as an alternative - especially for extended gravel/dirt road travel. I've also got the Toyo Open Country HT, and Kuhmo Krugen HT51 on the list.

For me, I've had a less than positive experience with Michelin tires (Premiere LTX All Season) on our Subaru Outback. They gave a nice, quiet, almost "spongy" ride, but reduced the handling on turns for that vehicle. After 20K miles they were wearing unevenly on the edges - even though I rotated every 6000 miles. They were replaced under warranty, and I went back to the original Bridgestone tires that come with Subaru Outbacks. It's much better with the Bridgestone tire. That said, I understand that a Minnie Winnie is quite different than an Outback...

It may be too soon for feedback, but was wondering how the Agilis has been doing on your rig?

 

[Kacordy]

Hello Harvester, I’m extremely happy with my new Agilis tires. Just put the first 500 Mile trip on them. I tow a 20 V-Nose tandem double axil travel behind my Mini. It drives so much better than the Hankooks. Much smoother ride and I’m not darting all over the road anymore. So hopefully I can get the service life out of them. I’m only going 5 or 6 years max for safety reasons.

 

[Harvester-WO]

Thanks for the feedback! I'm very much leaning towards getting the Agilis tires.

One other small detail I wanted to ask about. From carefully looking at the tire tread in the photo, it looks like you didn't go with the "commercial" rated version of the tire that Eagle5 posted the link for. My RV tire shop here in Texas has both versions, and the commercial rated tire is about $600 more for the whole set. I'm pretty sure I can go with the regular version as it appears you have.

 

[Kacordy]

Your absolutely correct. I have the regular tire not the commercial. The commercial tire is overkill. It had a super high weight rating. The commercial tire is designed for abuse and it would not have the ride quality etc. If you want to send me a PM with your number I can text you a photo of my receipt that shows the detailed specifications and part numbers of the tires I bought. Allen

 

[bigbolide]

How are the tires doing so far? I have a 2016 22R with 43k miles, bought it last year and put about 20k miles onto it. Looks like the tires are due for replacement.

 

[Kacordy]

Your a very brave individual. You were due for tires years ago. 20k miles ago. For your protection and those driving down the highway next to you, please replace your tires.

 

[bigbolide]

Your a very brave individual. You were due for tires years ago. 20k miles ago. For your protection and those driving down the highway next to you, please replace your tires.

Yes, you are absolutely right. I went to DT today and got a PM from costco for the Michelin Agilis Cross Climates as recommended, $1410 plus tax with Hazard warranty. Will go and replace them tomorrow morning.

FYI, the costco one is not exactly the same (with different thread) and DT CSR told me costco one are actually on recall but still happily PM for me.

 

[Harvester-WO]

Update On The Final Decsion

Earlier this year, I was trying to decide what tire to replace the Hankook LT225/75R16 tires on our Minnie Winnie E-350 chassis. I received some good feedback - special thanks to Karcordy who PM'd me with the details on his Michelin tires.

So here's the update... I went to a locally recommended tire store for trucks and RVs here in the North Houston, Texas area - Southern Tire Mart. I was intending to put the Michelin Agilis tires in preparation for my 5000 mile trip to New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada. They inspected my Hankooks and encouraged me to take that trip first since they were in fairly good condition - even though being more than five years old. That turned out to be a good call, and helped squeeze out a bit more life on the Hankook's. They also highly recommended I go with the Toyo 225/75R16C H08+ commercial grade tires. This apparently is their go-to default tire on Class C RVs or similar, and they get virtually no complaints or returns. The interesting point for me was the price - roughly $800 less than the Agilis.

Since they were so much less, I was concerned about the quality - or some other gotcha. In any case, after further research with Toyo, Ford, and Winnebago customer service, I decided on the Toyo's. So far will have to say that I'm quite satisfied with the decision. I'm getting better gas mileage, ride is smooth, and handling/tracking is much improved over the Hankook's. The only thing I do notice is a very slight increase in tire noise - a kind of high pitched hum, especially on concrete roads. Other than that, they appear to be a very high quality choice. However, time will tell. I've got some long journeys to Montana and other places coming up in the next 5-6 months, and will try to report back on how they're doing.

https://www.toyotires.com/product/h08-plus/

 

[Eagle5]

Hi Harvester,
Great report on the Toyos. The tread has a slight All-Terrain look to them, so I can see that they might sing a little.
Thanks, Eagle5

 

[akeagle]

Before the driving season starts next year I'll be getting new "shoes" for our Minnie Winnie. We've been using Michelins for many years on various 4-wheel vehicles and have found no faults with them. The latest one was a 2013 Ford Escape that we bought 2 years ago. The Toyo tires that were on it definitely needed to be replaced, and one reason was excessive road noise which the new Michelin's virtually eliminated.

Our Minnie Winnie currently has Hankook LT225/75R16 tires which look good, lots of tread remaining, and have virtually no sidewall cracking, but the date code says 15/2, so, I know they're overdue for replacement. I always inspected them meticulously and used 303 as a sidewall treatment. My ONLY complaint about them is the road noise.

My question here is whether the equivalent Michelin's would be so much quieter as to justify the additional cost over Toyos or other equivalent brand? I know that's a subjective question, but I'm interested in the opinion of others.

 

[Harvester-WO]

Dirt and Gravel Roads

Hi Harvester,
Great report on the Toyos. The tread has a slight All-Terrain look to them, so I can see that they might sing a little.
Thanks, Eagle5

That's another point I should have mentioned that was part of the decision process. I occasionally end up on dirt/gravel roads, which prompted me to at least look at some of the AT tire offerings. Even though going down these kinds of roads is a rattling/shaking experience inside our Minnie Winnie, the Toyo H08+ handles these types of roads better than the Hankook's.

On another point, should have mentioned my decision on the tire pressure PSI. Of course, my reference point on this is always the yellow door sticker, and in the case of the MW 22R, Winnebago specifies 65 PSI on all six tires - even though the OEM Hankook's were rated for 80 PSI. It's interesting to note that the Toyo H08+ commercial grade tires are rated for 83 PSI.

After reading a number of posts from "Tireman" on all matters of PSI and other related tire topics, I came away the impression that this PSI could essentially be exceeded by a small amount depending on a number of factors (e.g. after performing Cat Scale weight distribution readings, etc.). Since the Toyo H08+ can handle a bit more pressure, I've unscientifically decided on 67 PSI for all six tires. This has further helped gas mileage performance. With the Hankook's getting an average of 8.6 MPG, I'm now getting 9.5 MPG with the new tires. Still not great, but I'll certainly take it! All that said, I keep an eye on this - especially when traveling down blazing hot highways in the Texas summers.