2013 Michelins go boom

[Joe-FL]

With those date codes your tires were obviously under 5 years old and not high miles. Living in SW Florida I have come to realize that just about everything gets damaged faster by constant UV. Our new pool pumping equipment which is just a year old looks like it is 5 years old from UV damage.

I have only lived and stored an RV down here for 2 years. I keep 303 on my tires and I keep them covered when sitting for long periods of time. My tires have right at 5,000 miles on them and show no wear or cracking, plus they are soon to be 4 years old.

When initially storing down here I got some tips from fellow RVers at the facility I store at. Several of them not only use 303 on their tires but they use it on plastic and skylights on their roofs to protect them from UV damage.

[blw2]

Originally Posted by Joe-FL

With those date codes your tires were obviously under 5 years old and not high miles. Living in SW Florida I have come to realize that just about everything gets damaged faster by constant UV. Our new pool pumping equipment which is just a year old looks like it is 5 years old from UV damage.

I have only lived and stored an RV down here for 2 years. I keep 303 on my tires and I keep them covered when sitting for long periods of time. My tires have right at 5,000 miles on them and show no wear or cracking, plus they are soon to be 4 years old.

When initially storing down here I got some tips from fellow RVers at the facility I store at. Several of them not only use 303 on their tires but they use it on plastic and skylights on their roofs to protect them from UV damage.

just under 4 years, so they must be just a bit younger than mine were, but close Curious....are they michelins?

Regardless, my inner tires were the same vintage and showed little to no signs of cracking
I think maybe I'll order some covers and try it with this set when stored to see if it helps. I had been reluctant to do it since much of the opinion and research I did before had pointing to covering alone not to be such a factor over the short lifespan of a tire which is made to be exposed anyway....

[Metalman]

I have read that if the vehicle is driven on a regular basis, the flexing of the tire will cause the chemicals in the rubber have an opportunity to mix and will allow the tire to last longer without as many detrimental effects as would be the case if they sat for months at at time.

[nautiquecowboy]

Used to drive trucks for a living two blowouts at different times on the front both times Michellins tires when I bought my motorhome saw Michellins on there it was almost a deal-breaker!!! Really makes you think!!!

[Metalman]

We had Michelin tires on our RV when the left front tire failed at 17,000 (three years old). After talking to several tire "experts" it seems that Michelins at that time were having a disproportionate number of failures called "zipper tears".

[Chance]

Originally Posted by Chance

That's the biggest problem I see with replacing tires every 5 or 6 years regardless of mileage. Many motorhomes get driven very little, so you'd be retiring tires with most of their useful life left on a wear basis.




I'm way past due by age, but hate to buy new tires if I'm going to trade. When I had van in for repairs at Ford recently, I asked them to do a safety inspection and they didn't say anything about the tires. Two months ago I took van in for State Inspection and again no issue. Since inspection was at a tire shop, I asked them afterwards about tires, whether it would prevent passing. They said cosmetic cracks would not cause inspection failure.

Still, I look at 10-year-old tires (maybe more) with about 80,000 miles on them and they concern me some. Cracks are limited to area just below tread, are not deep, and are considered cosmetic. Still?

Interesting that if damage is caused by UV, the outside of tires should show more cracking. Mine are the same on inside and outside, suggesting sun hasn't played much of a role.

Likely damage is due to millions of cycles of rubber at shoulders flexing with each rotation. Obviously, when tires are loaded heavily they flex more, and they get hotter too, which speeds up the cracking problem.

Well, I shouldn't have waited so long.

Driving back from Florida to Texas, my right rear suddenly came apart in many pieces with a loud "boom". Fortunately I was traveling straight on I-95 at about 70 MPH and the van handled great.

I'd always feared a rear blow out with SRW large vehicle but it wasn't an issue. Given the option I would not hesitate buying a small MH with SRWs as long as it had proper weight distribution and center of gravity is fairly low.

I did have a spare tire that I changed within 30 minutes or so, which got me to a tire shop within 20 miles.

Despite the blow out, I still feel Michelins are the best, so I bought four new ones. I got about 85,000 miles and over 10 years out of them, and only wish I had replaced them sooner.

Anyway, even though they looked "ok" and passed two inspections, and had significant tread left, it's not a good idea to let them get quite so old.

I was also glad to have a spare, and that my rear axle has single tires.

[Dragon70]

Next time your coming down a long steep grade rounding a slow sweeping curve at 60 70 mph imagine a front tire blowing. Now think about how old your tires are and if you have even the tiniest inkling they should be changed spend the $1500 and do it! My son-in-law just blew two tires in a span of 30 miles. The tires were barely 5 years old, had fewer than 10,000 miles and showed very little signs of sidewall cracking. Thank god they were both rears but very easily could have been a front. He immediately stopped in
the middle of his trip counted his lucky stars and got new rubber all the way around.

[blw2]

yeah, there were some michelins back then that were made well
My dad had a set on an F-150 probably near that same ballpark vintage, just a bit before
of course he drives like an old man, but He ran those things. I forget the numbers but I believe it was well north of 10 years and well north of 100k mikes if I recall correctly. My jaw literally dropped when he told me the numbers

[Mauserdude67]

I bought my 2015 Axis 24.1 on a 2014 E350 chassis in January of this year. It only had about 8500 miles on it when I picked it up. I bought it from a consignment lot near San Antonio. The RV was bought in San Antonio and was owned by a couple in the area. I took delivery and drove it the 500+ miles home after a pretty comprehensive PDI on the lot. Fast forward to June and my wife & I take our maiden trip in it. That road trip was right around 600 miles total. During that trip I realized that the alignment was not quite right. This is also the trip that the shifter cable melted all the way through, so I wasn't completely focused on the state of the tires.
When I took it to the local Ford dealership I asked to have the front end aligned while they were changing out the shifter cable. They called me back the next day to tell me the front tires needed replaced. I told them to go ahead and replace them with new Michelins and to keep the old tires for me, I have a friend that runs that same size tire on his horse trailer.
When I went down to pick up the old tires and pay for the alignment I was in for quite a shock. The left front tire was so worn on the inside shoulder that the steel belts were clearly showing. The right front was worn on its inner shoulder, but was good enough for my friend to keep as a spare for his trailer. These were the original Michelins. I had taken great pains to get the RV ready for our trip, but I missed looking at the front tires closely enough to detect a problem. We were very fortunate that we didn't have a blowout on our trip. I have since installed a Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer, Sumo springs front and rear and a TPMS system. Hopefully, I'll be able to feel and catch a tire issue earlier this time around.

[Chance]

Originally Posted by blw2

yeah, there were some michelins back then that were made well
My dad had a set on an F-150 probably near that same ballpark vintage, just a bit before
of course he drives like an old man, but He ran those things. I forget the numbers but I believe it was well north of 10 years and well north of 100k mikes if I recall correctly. My jaw literally dropped when he told me the numbers

I got 85k out of them in part because the tires were lightly loaded (which limits temperature build up), and also because we do a lot of highway driving. We also use the van occassionally as a second car so it doesn't remain parked for long periods. Apparently temperature and lack of use are contributors to tire dry rot -- assuming that was underlying cause of failure.

I normally drive more miles per year so tires don't last so long before needing replacement, but the last 5 years or so have been slower than normal. At 15,000 miles per year, for example, I'd get to 90,000 miles in 6 years; a commonly recommended replacement period. And most tires wont last that long -- new Michelins are rated at only 50,000 miles so should wear out before rotting.

[Metalman]

One thing to consider when owning a used RV is how well the previous owner kept tabs on tire pressure. Driving an RV with under inflated tires can cause permanent damage, and simply filling them to the proper pressure will not negate that damage.

One of the deciding factors I used for purchasing the Windstream (K27) vs, other smaller coaches were the 19.5 diameter wheels. Bigger wheels and higher load carrying capacity tires equals less potential problems.

However, that didn't prevent a blowout on a tire with 17K miles on an RV we had with 22.5 inch wheels. I have no idea how well the previous owner tended to tire pressure.

Most of my motorcycles have car tires mounted on the rear because of their higher load carrying capacity. I haven't had a failure on a car tire in more than ten years. I hate to think of the number of failures I've had on motorcycle tires in the past 53 years.

[Laco]

Since I last posted on this thread, in April, on my Ford Expedition, fortunately not the motorhome, I had a Michelin rear tire lose 80% of its tread on the freeway. I fought fishtailing, and finally got it stopped, managed to get off the freeway. It did $5,000.00 damage to the car, rear quarter panel and lots of internal metal pieces. Point is, yes they were older tires, lots of tread left on them, not a single crack anywhere on the tire, car is garaged when not driven. Body shop told me, they see that kind of damage from tires, and most are caused by a Michelin tire falling apart. My tire guy, have dealt with him for years, told me, unless you drive 40,000 miles a year, paying the extra for Michelin's is a waste of money. Trying Goodyear's this time will see, but the thought of a tire doing what this one did on a motorhome is a frightening thought. Just saying!!!!

[lazinskm]

I received new Michelin tires on my 2013 when I purchased used last fall. It was a nice little bonus. The former owners still had the recalled notice in their packet but never bothered to replace.

[Chance]

Originally Posted by Laco

Since I last posted on this thread, in April, on my Ford Expedition, fortunately not the motorhome, I had a Michelin rear tire lose 80% of its tread on the freeway. I fought fishtailing, and finally got it stopped, managed to get off the freeway. It did $5,000.00 damage to the car, rear quarter panel and lots of internal metal pieces. Point is, yes they were older tires, lots of tread left on them, not a single crack anywhere on the tire, car is garaged when not driven. Body shop told me, they see that kind of damage from tires, and most are caused by a Michelin tire falling apart. My tire guy, have dealt with him for years, told me, unless you drive 40,000 miles a year, paying the extra for Michelin's is a waste of money. Trying Goodyear's this time will see, but the thought of a tire doing what this one did on a motorhome is a frightening thought. Just saying!!!!

Regarding your Expedition, data does show that on Single Rear Wheel (SRW) vehicles, a rear blowout/failure has a higher probability of resulting in an accident. There are people who think front wheel blowouts are more dangerous, but data doesn't support that idea. Data for trucks with DRWs are not comparable to those with SRW.


Anyway, four new 16" Michelins cost me just under $1,000 total, including mounting, balance, stems, etc. They are a little larger than those used in most Class Cs, so I thought the price was reasonable. I didn't do a lot of checking on other brands like GoodYear since we were out of state and preferred tires in stock (I like Michelins so it worked out). Mostly I just wanted to get back on road quickly.

[Laco]

Originally Posted by Chance

Regarding your Expedition, data does show that on Single Rear Wheel (SRW) vehicles, a rear blowout/failure has a higher probability of resulting in an accident. There are people who think front wheel blowouts are more dangerous, but data doesn't support that idea. Data for trucks with DRWs are not comparable to those with SRW.
.

I've been aware for a long time, that a catastrophic rear tire failure is far more dangerous then a front tire. It was a wild ride, it wanted to spin, which I knew would result in a roll over, so I fought like hell to keep it as straight as I could. Fortunately everyone around me gave me all four lanes of freeway, which I needed, and did get stopped without anyone else being involved or hitting anything. All damage was from the tire itself, very scary ride. My wife and our dog were seriously shaken up, but we are all ok.