Goodyear 159 tires... trying to help a neighbor

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carson

carson

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Joined
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Location
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I am trying to help a neighbor from a disaster.....

  He just came back from a 3-month trip (Yellowstone etc) back to Florida.  He had a good trip overall.

Since he is parked next to me in the compound, I decided to take a look at his tires. He is not cognizant of all the pitfalls of RV'ing.

He has a  35' Pace Arrow  - Vision built by Fleetwood. Engine is a V10 Triton

  I looked at his tires, while he wasn't looking and found the following:

  Thread depth was not good. The tires were  G159... 245/70R19.5. The DOC marking were as follows:  MJR  0509

I also noted that his RF tire was somewhat low in inflation.

I looked at the Goodyear site and found nothing on the G159 tire, although Google had bad reports.

What would be your advise to me to say to say to him.

  Just trying to confirm my ideas on how to proceed. Maybe something in writing from you guys/girls would convince him that he is in dangerous territory.

carson FL  97.4?



 
carson said:
I also noted that his RF tire was somewhat low in inflation.
Click to expand...

This is the first thing I'd bring up.  Everyone knows that low air is bad on a tire.  If he seems appreciative and interested, make a comment about how important RV tires are considering the amount of weight they are always supporting.  If it turns into a conversation, you can get more into age, tread depth, body damage risks from blowouts, etc.

OTOH if he says "thanks" and walks away when you mention the air pressure, unfortunately all other well-intentioned advice would probably fall on deaf ears... and he may have to learn a tire lesson the hard way.  :-\
 
The G159 has not been in production since 2006. For that reason, I can't make any sense of the 0509 data, which would seem to mean 5th week of 2009. Something is not right in the data provided here...
 
I can't make any sense of the 0509 data, which would seem to mean 5th week of 2009.
Click to expand...

Could it be the leading zero is actually a letter "O" and part of the manufacturers code, which would make the manufactured date way 509 (50th week of 1999)?
 
Yeah, I am confused too. Will be checking the numbers carefully again tomorrow. Might even take a picture. Life is full of mysteries. Going by the depth of the tread they might be of 1999 vintage.

I know it is none of my business but... something tells me it may be important.

carson
 
[quote author=carson]
I know it is none of my business but...
[/quote]

Carson, there's your entry..........

Simply say that you realize that it's none of your business, but, for his safety and the safety of others (state the facts as you find them) and state that you would feel worse if something were to happen and you had said nothing.  There's nothing more you can do if he chooses to ignore your warning.
 
Carson,
Sort of like the little talk we give at OSHA training classes. A new electrician reported for work after the OSHA training. He was assigned to work in a pit with water at the bottom. As he was laying out his work a foreman walked by and noticed he did not have a Ground fault attached to his extension cord. He(the foreman) shrugged and thought he knew the rules and left for the day. The next day the foreman found out the new guy was electrocuted. Its always better to stick you nose in someones business for safety than life with the doubt of not. Good for you Carson.
Jim
 
Just have him read this:

http://www.rvbusiness.com/2010/06/jury-rules-against-goodyear-in-2004-rv-crash/

That should do it.

 
Rex said:
Just have him read this:

http://www.rvbusiness.com/2010/06/jury-rules-against-goodyear-in-2004-rv-crash/

That should do it.
Click to expand...

How could there not be a federal recall on the G159's after a ruling like that?  :-\
 
Thanks, Rex... I have printed it out for him to peruse.

Further, I researched date codes from BF Goodrich on the web. I also sent them a web mail to confirm it from the source.  Might take a few days. Link here>>> http://www.ehow.com/how_5819030_determine-age-bf-goodrich-tires.html

Further, I looked at the date code again today and took a photo...below. I made a mistake yesterday...it is indeed a 3-digit code 059 (not 0509). That tells me they are old tires 1999.

I guess I have a good reason to talk with him..

  The only tire that showed the code was the right front. All others were on the inside.

Thanks for all your help and encouragement.  Will stay in touch. Probably good info for Newbies.

carson FL


 

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A little more info on my quest..

  I sent a message to Goodyear  to verify the tire age.

G159 ---245/70R 19.5        DOC  Date code 059

I received a reply from BF Goodrich....


Here is their reply:

September 13, 2010



(Participate in our survey to become eligible  to win a BFGoodrich ballcap! A
random drawing will take place at the end of  each month. The winner will be
contacted via e-mail to verify the shipping  address. Instructions for the
survey are found at the bottom of this  message.)

Werner,

Thank you for your email. We welcome the  opportunity to serve you.We show that the last four numbers indicate  that your tire was manufacturedon the 5th week of 2009.

We appreciate  your future business.

It is our goal to ensure that your issue has been  resolved or your question
answered to your satisfaction.  If we can assist  you further, please respond
to this email or call us at 1-877-788-8899 (toll  free) between 8:00AM and
8:00PM Eastern Time Monday through Friday or between  8:30AM and 4:30PM
Eastern Time on  Saturday.

Sincerely,
Alvin
BFGoodrich Tires
Consumer Care  Department
Certified BFGoodrich Product Expert

  Please read the bold type.

I am now totally confused.  How can that be. (seems like Michelin, Uniroyal and BF Goodrich are all the same now). Where does Goodyear fit in?

How can that be?

Anyone know what is going on?

Carson FL



 
Can't be.  After 1999, tire date codes are 4 digits, before 2000 are 3 digits.  Those tires were made in week 5 of 1999.

Per our glossary:

Note: tires manufactured before July 2, 2000 had a 3 digit date code where the first 2 digits are the week of manufacture and the last digit is the year. Tires manufactured in the 1990s had a triangle following the 3 digit code while tires manufactured in the 1980s did not, i.e.: 282 with a triangle would indicate that the tire was manufactured the 28th week of 1992 while if there is not a triangle following the 3 digits it was manufactured in the 28th week of 1982. The newer 4-digit code eliminates any ambiguity in the year of manufacture and allows continuation of the system through the 21st century.
Click to expand...

Your photo wasn't clear, is there a triangle after the 059?  If not, then the tires were made in 1989.  Also, your photo says G159 BF Goodrich.  G159 is a Goodyear tire, not BF Goodrich.  You sent an email to Goodyear but received a reply from BF Goodrich.  I'm confused.
 
More info on trying to help my neighbor....

First, I am sorry I posted the wrong picture of the date code..  new one see below. Scroll right a bit to see it.

  I sent a "contact us" to a website. I was sure it was to Goodyear...Maybe I am slipping in my old years.

I received a reply from Michelin/Uniroyal/BF Goodrich.  It said that the tire was made in 5th week of 2009. (Date code 059)  What gives, a G159 is Goodyear).

  Now we know that is wrong. (3 digit).

  I approached my neighbor today and told him what I had found. As I suspected he was not sure of the age problems surrounding RV tires. He did know that a blowout can dot bug harm.

  Just recently, before his big 3-month trip, he took it to a garage and they told him that the tires were in good shape.
I guess it depends who looks at them and sees no cracks but never looks at the date-codes. 

  He was very interested in what I told him, backed up with some info prints from the web.

  He agreed with all I tried to say and thanked me a bunch for bringing it to his attention. I think now he is worried.

  He is a retired Army Officer so I have hope he has the sense to look into the matter in a serious way.

I provided him with links on the Web to research further. I guess I'll stay calm until I get a call from him.

  I'll sleep better tonight.

If anything comes up, I'll post it.

Don't hold your breath..

Carson FL


 

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You've certainly done your part, no doubt about that.

It's very discouraging that manufacturers and supposedly-reputable shops are giving consumers flat out wrong information about tires, that could have potentially dangerous consequences.
 
Good stuff, Scotty, now what are gonna-do-about-it.. Your turn to be a god Samaritan.

  I am sure you'll get a lot of help from all of us.  enuff is enuff.

  Let the revolution begin....  ;)

Carson FL

 
No triangle makes the date week 5 of 1989.  Stay away when he's on the road.
 
No triangle makes the date week 5 of 1989.
Click to expand...

Ned, that statement about no triangle apparently must not be true.  Here's a pic of one of the G159's that came with our 2001 Rexhall Vision.  There's no triangle after the date code and according to the date code, they had to have been manufactured in the 34th week of 1999.
 

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