Michelin Tires

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myturn

Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2010
Posts
19
I need to replace the tires on my 31? class C. 
Two tires shops (just out side of Vegas) said they did not stock Michelins due to cracking.

I've had good luck with Michelin, great mileage / tread wear on my work pickup, Toyota 4runner and sports car.  With the satisfaction that I've had, I will only buy Michelin tires for these vehicles.

What's your experience with Michelins on RVs ? 
Should I consider other brands? 
 
We are the original owners of a 2003 motorhome, have used Michelins only and not had any problem with them.  Our first set, which were the originals, did have some checking.  The checking started right at the time we were going to replace them, so it wasn't a big deal.  The ones we have on now do not have any checking at all and have done very well.  We run Michelins on all our vehicles; a small SUV and a 3/4 ton diesel truck. 

Marsha~
 
I see a lot of complaints about checking (cracking) on Michelin sidewalls, but we had them on two coaches with no problems. Best I can say is that the Michelins seem more susceptible to cracking than others, and Michelin won't warranty them unless the cracks are deep. They even have a spec for acceptable cracking - see their RV Tire guide.  I can readily understand why the dealers would not want to get caught in the middle between Michelin and an unhappy customer.

I guess it's up to you.

Michelin RV Tire Guide - see "Weather Checking"
 
I have Michelin's and two are showing sidewall cracking. Bought them 4 years ago at Costco. Had them rotated last month at Costco and was told the cracking was "cosmetic" and not to worry about them. Will most likely replace those two next year at rotation time anyway. However, have never had to replace a Michelin on either my Jeep or MH in all the years I have been buying them. Their time life has always gone before their treadwear life.
 
I just replaced the Michelin tires on my 30ft 95 challenger this week. I couldn't see putting $3600.00 in a set of tires on a coach that's only worth $10,000 at best. Some of the Michelin tires were made in 92 and were in very bad condition as were some that were only 10 years old. Couldn't really tell the difference by looking at them. I thought they were all the same date codes, but the po just put tires on the outside duels and the front. I replaced the front a couple years ago with some used Bridgestones I bought cheap at a tire store here in town. They were getting old as well, but didn't have any sidewall cracking, so I just put on a full set. After reading all the posts on the forum. I bought the new Bridgestones for 1/3 the cost of the Michelin tires . My tire dealer don't recomend Michelin tires  either for rvs or heavier trucks.
 
I put Michelins on the back of our coach last season and after paying the bill I complained about the price to the tire shop owner. His response was, Michelin is charging whatever they want now because they can. People are still buying them. I have Michelins all around on the cars and coach and really like them, I just do not like the price.
 
recently purchased a set of 6 Michelin XPS Rib, load range E for our class C, our 3rd set in 15 years. didn't consider others as we like the quiet ride and handling of the Michelin's. either 16" or 16.5" rims,  I forget which right now. $2000 for 6, inc Discount tire road hazard warranties, lifetime spin balance + rotation.
 
On a previous coach we put on a set of 19.5 Goodyear G670's and had a terrible experience with bad tire and ride quality. On this coach we put on a set of Michelin XRV and so far have very good ride and zero problems. Also purchasing using the FMCA discount program, I saved about $150 per tire.
 
My coach which I bought new in 2005 came with 6 Michelin tires.  I did indeed have cracking and replaced 4 of the outside tires with Goodyear and rotated the inside Michelin tires to the front.  I also became a believer in tire covers.  I don't believe the Michelin would have cracked has I been using tire covers.  Proof is the inside tires did not crack.

The Goodyears have been running successfully for two years now and I saved significant money by switching to them.  I plan to continue my rotation program and eventually will be 100% Goodyear because of price.,

I think it is true that Michelin charges more because they have built their reputation on a huge advertising budget.  If they ever become less expensive than Goodyear I would have no problem switching back now that I am using tire covers.

If you are on the move every month you will not need tire covers.  It is sitting still in the sunlight that prevents tires from naturally lubricating and they wear over time due to sun radiation.

Smoky
 
Somewhere in the 2008-2009 time frame, Tiffin Coach Manufacturer began to no longer put Goodyear Tires on their new coaches.  They claimed the Goodyear tires, used as steering tires, were not holding up; but wearing and cupping.  So we remained with Michelin.  Not sure that still is the case.  The next time I get "new coach envy", I'll check.

Marsha~
 
Gary RV Roamer said:
I see a lot of complaints about checking (cracking) on Michelin sidewalls, but we had them on two coaches with no problems. Best I can say is that the Michelins seem more susceptible to cracking than others, and Michelin won't warranty them unless the cracks are deep. They even have a spec for acceptable cracking - see their RV Tire guide.  I can readily understand why the dealers would not want to get caught in the middle between Michelin and an unhappy customer.

I guess it's up to you.

Michelin RV Tire Guide - see "Weather Checking"

I just looked at our Michelins... pics below... are these the checking/cracking that you are describing?  These look like I need new tires, soon. Ugh.
 

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If you don't mind checking what are the DOT dates on those tires?
 
I?ve also used Michelin?s for years without problems. They have always been very competitive on pricing and always came in lower than the Goodyear?s and others I was looking at. As stated above, shop around. The prices vary by a large amount. Like most other things you have to take care of them also. I?m not much of a believer in covers because of where I am but, if I was parked in the hot AZ sun you bet they would be covered.

Taoshum, the bottom 3 pics wouldn?t concern me on tires that were at least 8 - 10 yrs old. That seems to happen more to tires that sit than to ones that are used often but that?s just my experience. The top pic is hard to tell how deep the cracks are but the biggest concern to me is it seems like there are many cracks in a small area. My first thought is the rest of the tire must look pretty bad also. I would let a dealer check that one over very close just to be on the safe side. Don?t forget the inner sidewall also, good luck.
 
Hi Smokey: I too like Michelin Tires . On my 2011 new truck the side walls were cracking under 10,000 miles.  I can't blame the sun though as the spare which is hung up under the floor of the pick up box and never was out or saw sun was also cracked . Michelin did warranty all 5 tires.  The truck was built in Michigan and tires from USA. The warranty tire were exchanged in Ontario Canada. They were also cracking almost immediately and the dealer held me off to get 5 with the newest code date possible. That said Michelin has a cracking problem and has had for years and appears more pronounced on smaller tires .
My other pickup came with Bridgestones and no problems what so ever. Unfortunatly in the 18 inch size the only two choices far exact same outside diameter was Michelin and Goodyear. On transport tires I had good results with Michelin and Bridgestone. I think the fine cracking is more irritating than life threatning considering what you pay.
 
Jeff said:
If you don't mind checking what are the DOT dates on those tires?

Jeff:
They are the OEM tires.  DOT date is 2006, week 43.  So they are about 6 years old.  I'm planning to change them out in the spring.  ~22,000 miles...  As a test, I put some TOYO's on the front last spring, seem to be easier to drive than the Mich's.  So, I'll likely put TOYO's on the rear...  Based on the tire load tables, we could run at 85-90 psi but I keep them at 90-95 psi.  While it is parked, I try to put the jacks in position to take most of the load off the tires. 

Mav,
The pics show all of the cracks on that tire and the other (outside) tire is similar.  I haven't tried to look at the inside tires.  re: sun, we live at 7500 ft so the UV is much more intense than it is at sea level.  I cover the tires, at least on the south side...  the sun is much lower in elevation in the winter so it's less of a factor.

thx.
 
That's interesting and a bit surprising for 6 yr old tires. I guess if that is the extent of them and they are just surface then probably nothing to worry about. The tire dealer will still give them a look for free and wouldn't hurt to have someone have a look at the inside sidewalls.
 
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