How to get started finding replacement tires?

I'm having difficulty finding a tire dealer to buy a new set for my motor home. The tires are a normal size, 225 70-19.5, but I'm not in an urban area, or one with any motor home dealers. I want a dependable shop that will do the job right. How should I get started? The best place (car and light truck tires) near me does not have either an inflation cage or a large enough balancer.

Another area business is available, but the floor is filthy, generally messy, and the one and only guy to talk with about RV tires was basically unaccounted for during business hours; he was somewhere doing something not related to selling or installing RV tires.

I thought I'd start with an internet search, but Tire Rack didn't list prices for the two tires it carries; I didn't find a way to access their approved installers before committing to buy the un-priced tires.

What would you do next?

BTW, my current tires are toast. One blew out, revealing steel belts exposed to moisture. They are also aged-out. The spare I'm using very temporarily is even older. I guess I need six tires plus an identical new spare...?

Suggestions appreciated.

It may help if you give a rough location of where you want to shop for tires.

#1 RV tires are like any other tires , nothing special
#2 where do you go for tires for the Mazda or Miata?
#3 Maybe a TIRE STORE??
#4 Motorhome dealers are not tire specialists with a selection you might need.
#5 a 19.5 size tire is no longer "normal",, they are getting hard to find and many stores don't carry them, a dealer will have to get them from a warehouse.

Call some local trucking companies and ask where they buy tires. That's the level of expertise needed for motorhomes, not the kid on the corner.

HappyWanderer said:

Call some local trucking companies and ask where they buy tires. That's the level of expertise needed for motorhomes, not the kid on the corner.

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x2. A shop that services commercial trucks (whether semi tractors, tow trucks, delivery trucks, etc.) should have no problem finding and properly installing motorhome tires. That's where I got mine done when I owned a MH, along with alignment and some other suspension work that I preferred to leave to a big truck chassis expert.

Don't go to an RV dealer for tires.  They almost never carry them.  What they will do is take your motorhome and keep it for a few days while they drive it to a tire dealer. Then they will charge you extra for taking to somewhere you could have taken it yourself!!

Surely there are commercial (truck & heavy equipment) tire shops in the region, even if not in your town. It's not a big deal to drive to a larger town, is it?  Maybe combine it with a camping trip, figuring 2-3 hours out of one day for tire replacement.  Yeah, commercial tires shops aren't pretty - they are working shops, not consumer emporiums.

If Tire Rack isn't being helpful, try Simple Tire, but you still need to find an installer near enough to be practical for you. if you don't want to go to the dirty local shop, go further afield.

PS: I had no problem getting a Tire Rack price quote for a 225/70R19.5 tire. They offered two models of Continentals and one Michelin. You have to enter a zip code to get a price.

JudyJB gave good advice - do not buy thru an RV dealer!

Tire cage? I thought those went out with split rims.
I buy my 19.5 on the internet from Chicago tire and have them shipped to a truck place near me for installing

19.5 not hard to find but if they are at a dealers they probably have been there a while.

BIG O and  Discount tire all have access to them as well.
Again where are you

OSHA now requires use of a tire cage when inflating larger or higher pressure tires.

I had a lot of shops offer to send out a truck and install them remotely.  Even though I took it in to the tire shop, they do all the big stuff outside.  If your tires are toast, you might consider onsite install.

The last time I bought tires I went through the discount tire program at FMCA. I saved over $600.00 but my tires were 22.5. There is a number to call to find dealers in your area. Never buy from a RV place unless money is no object, always buy from a big truck tire dealer. Also make shure you check the date code so you get fresh tires, and tell the dealer you don't want anything over 6 months old.
Just for grins I looked up your size in Continentals. Continental 225/70R 19.5 Conti Hybrid HS3 List $429.06 FMCA price $303.48 Load range, G Savings $125.58
Bill

Thanks to all for the replies. I'm still working on buying the tires, but a question has come up: I contacted Mavis Discount Tire which has many, many stores across a wide swath of the country, including one near-enough to me. When I told the guy on the phone the 19.5" tire size (one listed on their website), he said they don't mount (or sell) in half-sizes. Why is that? He said he didn't know, but it is corporate policy. What would be different about mounting a 19.5" tire than a 19" or a 20"? He said they'd had "trouble" and no longer mount them.

Simple tire has the tires but I'm still trying to verify whether there is an acceptable installer they can ship to. Their website claims "thousands" of installers, but when I put in my zip code, it said none were available regardless of distance. So, I contacted them and have been e-mailing back and forth to resolve the installer issue. They responded claiming a shop in my town would install them, but it didn't sound right (as I know the shop), so I called them. "Yes, we will install for Simple Tire, but only passenger car tires, not heavy duty tires."

A couple of guys I know locally who are familiar with HD truck tires have suggested some local installers, so I'm checking there as well.

So, if you know what is different about a 19.5" rim/tire size, please tell me. thanks.

If they won't install "half sizes" then they certainly don't do any large motorhome or commercial truck work! Since they all have 19.5 or 22.5 as the industry standard...

You need to contact a truck tire dealer.

He is telling you they don't work on trucks or install big tires. Same with Discount tires and a couple more.
Bill

OSHA 1910.177 tire cage regulation.

1910.177(a)(1)
This section applies to the servicing of multi-piece and single piece rim wheels used on large vehicles such as trucks, tractors, trailers, buses and off-road machines.

According to this link to the Better Business Bureau, simple tire has some issues:

https://www.bbb.org/us/pa/fstrvl-trvose/profile/tire-dealers/simple-tire-llc-0241-236006121/complaints

03/15/2019

I cannot get anyone from SimpleTire to respond. I bought tires from them on 2/27/2019. I received the tires on 3/1/2019. Immediately I checked their manufacture dates. These tires were made in 2009!!! Tires over 6 years old are NOT to be used on the roads. They are dangerous and can come apart. SimpleTire's website states this as well and they claim they don't sell tires older than 4 years old. Trying to contact anyone is a futile process. Calls go unanswered. Emails go without a response. Eventually I got a reply to a form I filled out with FedEx labels to return the 10 year old tires. (I sure hope that they don't try to sell these to someone else) I sent the tires back and they received them on 3/7/2019. It is now 3/15/2019 I have not received a refund. I have not received a notification. Calls go unanswered. Emails go unanswered. They still have my funds for the tires they sold me which could have killed me or my family. And they also have those tires as well.

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In their own defense, part of Simple Tire's response to problems:

All of our tires are new, never mounted, never driven on, and shipped from climate-controlled facilities. All manufacturer warranties are still in effect for the tires we sell, and our policy is that the tires our customers receive will have a DOT date within 4 years from receipt of the tire. If a customer receives a tire they don?t want to use for any reason, we offer free returns of any unmounted tires within 30 days. If the tires have been driven on but our customers believe the tires to be defective, we will work with our customers to ensure their satisfaction.

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Happily, I found a local dealer and installer close enough to me to R&R the wheels from the RV myself in my driveway and deliver them to him, first three, then two and lastly two, enabling me to only have one corner of the RV lifted at a time. I did not trust the remaining six seven-year-old tires to travel about a hundred miles to an alternate dealer. It turns out that was a lucky decision because the inside sidewall of the outside rear dual had a bulge the size of a small fist, which I couldn't see until it was off the RV. What a shocker, but OTOH, perfectly in line with the possibilities with old tires. The best outcome if I'd driven the RV to a farther away dealer and IF the tire had blown, was to be stranded without a spare tire, resulting in-- again AT BEST-- an expensive tow.

Dealing with this local tire store has been a joy. The tire I chose to replace the old Michelins is a Toyo M154... seven of them.

Good to hear you were successful - and safe!

Gary RV_Wizard said:

Good to hear you were successful - and safe!

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X'2....Glad you got it worked out...

It took me a minute to figure out how you did it...But I got it now.