Lew Landry
Mundelein. IL
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Joined: 01/11/2001
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After almost 50K miles, 5 years, and a sidewall blowout of the right inner dual tire, it was time to replace my 22.5" tires. Having read all the tirals/tribulations of the Michelin crowd as related to sidewall controversy, I decided to move from Michelin to Goodyear since Goodyear now makes an RV tire (G670 RV 22.5) with a "G" rating, compared to the Michelin XRV's "H". A friend counselled me to move up in size from 235/80 to 275/70, so that's what I did since I would have a the benefits of a larger footprint with more rubber on the road. My wheels would also accomodate the larger size. So off we went on an 800 mile cruise (trip from Chicago to Forest City Iowa). Now here's my report and I'm not an expert. I'm not so sure that the new ride is as "cushy" soft, but not far from it. The real noticeably improved part of the ride was the lack of sway in turns and curves. With the XRVs the turns gave a rock and roll sway that gave the feeling of a top heavy coach. The Goodyear's on the other hand kept the coach much much more steady, without the roll. I don't know whether this is due to the sidewall difference or the wider footprint. Let's take a minute to describe the sidewall difference... I'm told that the XRVs (sidewalls) have both fabric and steel sidewall construction while the Goodyears have steel on steel make up. Perhaps that would explain the better rating of the Goodyear (Again, I'm no expert). At any rate in addition to the sway factor I believe the handling to be improved. NOw, here's something else I noted... Having had a PressurePro tire monitoring system on board since January I have had the opportunity to monitor pressures in all tires. I noticed that the pressure increase while traveling is greater in the Goodyears. My rear duals added 12 puonds while the fronts added 9 pounds. That compared to about only 5 pounds all around with the old XRVs. This is probably due to more surface to surface road contact, steel on steel sidewalls, and less spacing between inner duals due to the wider tires. As another aside, The Goodyear's are noticeable wider when viewed from the front. I always thought the old tires front tires on my DP looked a little skinny. Not any more. Well, there you have it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! I am a happy camper with a new ride. If you have any questions you can email me directly at allkl@aol.com. BTW, I would have saved a few hundred bucks had I waited to make the switch at the rally I just drove 800 miles to attend. Oh well, guess I would have just spent the difference on candy anyway. One more thing of major importance... I was told by my tire dealer that my choice of a larger tire with a higher rating was a wise one due to the fact that my tires were right on the edge as far as weight capacity. He also explained that after 5 years, RV tires have only 50% of their original strength remaining. That's when they start failing with regularity.
* This post was
edited 07/24/04 07:39am by Lew Landry *
Lew
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Grayneon
Central Texas
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Joined: 11/17/2003
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Lew, thanks for the great update. There are a lot of us with XRV tires that are concerned about long term reliability based on previous posts on this subject. One question with the wider foot print, was there any clearance issue between the rear dual tires?
Jerry & Tammy
Two yellow labs (Tucker & Jake)
2004 40' Phaeton RH 
2002 Jeep Liberty "Toad"
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Triker33
Homestead, FL
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Joined: 11/30/2002
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Good report. Now don't forget to give us a update when you have 50,000 miles and 5 years on the Goodyear.
How much more did the Goodyear cost per tire then the Michelin?
And have you had any problem with the PressurePro with signal from tires to the monitor?
* This post was
edited 07/23/04 09:27am by Triker33 *
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Lew Landry
Mundelein. IL
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With regards to the quetions of price and rear dual clearence... here goes... I paid $2,285 for six tries, out the door. Didn't do a lot of shopping sicne I was between trips. Could have bought same tires well for under $2K at the Winnebago GNR, installed. I think the Goodyears are less expensive than Michelin but didn't price them since I had my mind made up. Don't forget when comparing prices take into accounty the rating. I think Michelin came out with a better rated tire (XZ something).Regarding the rear dual spacing clearence, the tire dealer was concerned. After several measurments and phone calls to manufactures they determined that the tolenances were within the specs. My steel rim can accept the 275/70 tire. Some can't. Make sure your rim (wheel) will handle a larger size.
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Grayneon
Central Texas
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Lew, thanks for the follow up.
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conbar
Monroeville, NJ / Mims FL
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Joined: 12/19/2003
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I also changed from the XRV to Goodyear tires after a blow out and like them very much. I would be interested in the type of RV you have, and the tire pressure you are running front and rear.
Barry
NC2V
2005 Dutch Star 4023
05 Acura MDX
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jheath
Southwest, MT
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Joined: 04/14/2003
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Not 22.5 tires, but I switched from the Goodyear G159 19.5 inch tire to the 670 and the heavier weight rating. RV seems to handle better. Possibly due to stiffer sidewalls. Only have about 50 miles on them so far, so don't know how they'll stand up.
2000 Bounder 34T
09 Ford Mustang & 87 Vanagon toads
2009 Ford F250
2010 Northstar TC800
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Lew Landry
Mundelein. IL
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Barry,
I have a '99 Winnebago Chieftain, DP. Last time I weighed in the weights were as follows: Front axel = 6600 Drive axel = 15,280. I run all the tires at 85 PSI. 85 PIS is the minimum tire pressure on the Goodyear chart for that tire (allows plenty of cusion). It is best to have your coach weighed at all four wheel positions and inflate each tire on the axel axel to the highest wheel position weight. I haven't gotten to a scale that weighs all four sides yet. Also make sure that you are full of fuel, fresh water, and have driver/passanger on board (plus cat/dog).
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FredC
cincinnati, oh
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Joined: 07/15/2003
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Did moving up to a larger tire affect the clearance in the wheel wells? How about the spacing between the duals in the rear. Is there any change they might "kiss" of heat up from less space between them?
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