1985 Winnebago Cheiftan - what tires

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magpiemini

magpiemini

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Joined
Apr 5, 2010
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I need to replace all my tires on the RV, they are getting old. I want good highway mileage and tread wear.  What to you recommend, brand and size please.

 
What kind of vehicle are you putting the tires on, what size are the existing tires, how many miles a year do you put on the tires, any budget issues, have you had your RV weighed and are you fully loaded when you travel? A lot of additional information is needed before even thinking about any suggestions.
 
Well the title says 1985 Winnebago Cheiftan, and its a 27 foot.  I will use it for weekend races about 8 times a year plus a family trip of about 2 weeks. The existing tires are old and crappy and not relevant to the situation.  I was looking for some one who knew the vehicle or some thing similar, if you don't know, don't comment.
 
What size tires are on the motorhome now?  Do you have reason to believe that they aren't the right size?

As for brands, most every brand has its fans, but I would stick with the better known ones.
 
magpiemini said:
I was looking for some one who knew the vehicle or some thing similar, if you don't know, don't comment.
Click to expand...

Wow, I'm pretty sure you are going to make a lot of friends here that will be unconditionally willing to help you!
 
They are very wide.  The previous owner was more worried about driving on sand in a dry lake bed than highway use.
 
magpiemini said:
if you don't know, don't comment.
Click to expand...
If that is your expectation for The RV Forum community, then you might be greatly disappointed.  There are a whole bunch of folks here that have a wealth of knowledge and God bless em', they are willing to help.  Finding several tire opinions of people that happen to have a 1985 Chieftain I suspect will be extremely difficult.

Salient information required for an intelligent response is your chassis model, tire size, and Gross Vehicle Weight.  If your requirements are to only have a response from a 1985 Winnebago Chieftain  owner, you might have better luck with the classic Winnebago forum - link above in the Winnebago Resources post.
 
Thanks John I will do that.  I should have been a bit more specific on what I was looking for. I am use to forums where people would reply ONLY if they had the same or similar vehicle.  Getting opinions from some one with a 2008 Diesel pusher would be completely worthless to me for obvious reasons.
 
The selection of tires is not related to the particular RV that a responder owns.  As John says, it depends on your GVWR, more specifically the GAWRs and wheel size and clearances.  Knowing what the manufacturer recommended tire size will help us help you select the right tire.  If you wait for an owner of a 1985 Chieftan to respond, you'll be waiting a long time.  Give us the requested information and we can help you.
 
If the existing tires are very WIDE, the actual wheels were probably changed as well. Who knows.

  A standard tire for that rig may probably need new wheels as well. Who knows. I suppose a tire shop can clear up this mystery.



 
Hopefully, the original chassis placard is still in the motorhome that shows the original tire size.
 
The wheels were not changed, the tires are just old and the side walls are sagging. the chassis placard has been removed however there is a copy of it in the paper work the previous owner supplied me.  The VIN matches so I am assuming it is the correct one.

Please excuse my RV rookie-ness and yesterday I was in a very bad mood because one of the inside rear tires exploded and caused some damage to a vent pipe and ruptured the black water tank.  When I bought "Betsy" I planned on sinking some money into it to restore it.  Up until the tire explosion, it has been great as I have been fixing her up.  I guess the tires should have been closer to the top of my list.

Ok, so let's try this again.  I will be driving Betsy (I name all my vehicles, don't know why) to at least 6 weekend vintage car races a year, each 400-700 miles round trip.  It tows my small open trailer with my classic Mini Cooper race car with no problem.  Then my wife and I will be using it for at least one vacation, this year we plan on a caravan with two other RVs from the San Diego area up to Crater Lake in Oregon.

The placard reads as follows:
GVWR 12,300
GAWR Front 4880 Tire 7.50x16.00 Single
GAWR Rear  7500 Tire 7.50x16.00 Dual

 
Hello fellow 1985 Winnebago cheiftain owner. Love mine!
I was changing the oil filter, noticed, airbags under my wheels.
Has a vendor underdrive overdrive, a Kelley brake , and a cb with 2 Smokey and the bandit long antennae to boot. I was thinking, what the f was this fella hauling!? LoL.
Anyho I'm in the boat you were in, no blowout yet, but, thank f for the airbags, I got outside back tires sagging with cracks the size of moon craters
I'm curious, also in need of some tire ideas, what did you go with.
Sux they left ya hanging, it probably wasn't that long b4 a Winny 1985 breaking bad year and model owner replied to you was it? BTW, I'm a girl. I love restoring RVs. I do everything myself.
I was an FFA mechanic shop class heshin growing up, 😁
 
magpiemini said:
The wheels were not changed, the tires are just old and the side walls are sagging. the chassis placard has been removed however there is a copy of it in the paper work the previous owner supplied me. The VIN matches so I am assuming it is the correct one.

Please excuse my RV rookie-ness and yesterday I was in a very bad mood because one of the inside rear tires exploded and caused some damage to a vent pipe and ruptured the black water tank. When I bought "Betsy" I planned on sinking some money into it to restore it. Up until the tire explosion, it has been great as I have been fixing her up. I guess the tires should have been closer to the top of my list.

Ok, so let's try this again. I will be driving Betsy (I name all my vehicles, don't know why) to at least 6 weekend vintage car races a year, each 400-700 miles round trip. It tows my small open trailer with my classic Mini Cooper race car with no problem. Then my wife and I will be using it for at least one vacation, this year we plan on a caravan with two other RVs from the San Diego area up to Crater Lake in Oregon.

The placard reads as follows:
GVWR 12,300
GAWR Front 4880 Tire 7.50x16.00 Single
GAWR Rear 7500 Tire 7.50x16.00 Dual
Click to expand...
Well, there you have it! Since I believe the 7.5x16 is no linger made, and that MH probably has split rims iys going to be a giant pain to try and find someone to even service them. Go to your local friendly large tire shop that also services trucks and ask for a comparable tire. If you get one brand you will be lucky.
 
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