| Author |
Message |
Henry 96A3 (Hank)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - 3:01 pm: | |
I'm looking to replace some or all of my tires this spring. I'm running 12R 22.5's Talked to the Pomp's guys in my area and pricing is roughly $350 for Firestone, $460 for Bridgestone and $490 for Michelin. They seemed pretty busnut friendly. Any thoughts on capping the drives? Specifically if I were to do that then I couldn't rotate my new steers to the back-or more to the point, I couldn't rotate my capped drives to the front. They charge $160 per tire to cap. I'd appreciate any comments, recommendations on brands and if these prices seem more or less in line (or if anyone knows of a place in my area [WI] that they recommend).
Thanks,
Henry 96A3 |
John MC9
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - 6:47 pm: | |
Why cap, when the tires are made to be regrooved? |
Henry 96A3 (Hank)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - 6:51 pm: | |
Wellllll....I don't know. I didn't ask about that. Judging from the heaps of caps I see on the side of the road regrooving sounds like a good idea.
Henry 96A3 |
Jim & Linda Callaghan (Jimc)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - 8:17 pm: | |
Hank
Check out J&L Tire located at Hwy 26 and Hwy 94, across from the truck stop in Johnson Creek. I bought a set of Cooper for the front of my 4106 and they treated me very well. I can't remember what I paid at this time, but If I reemember right it was less than $300 each mounted and balanced for 11R 24.5's. I'll see if I can find the reciept.
Jim 4106
Wisconsin |
David Hartley (Drdave)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - 8:20 pm: | |
It's not the tread you have to worry about..
It's the sidewalls. Hidden damage or degradation is your enemy. Most tire failures are sidewall failures. That's why you see long strips of tread laying on the road. The sidewalls fragged out first!
2 to 4 years is when the big coach (builder) people change them no matter the miles. This is on entertainers, rentals, lease units and private coaches. A few grand for tires is cheap insurance for a million dollar rolling mansion. |
Bryce Gaston (Busted_knuckle)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - 10:32 pm: | |
Dr. Dave I whole heartedly agree only our coaches ain't no million dollar rolling mansions, they do carry many possible lawsuits everytime we "load" so 3 yrs and they are gone.....PERIOD I don't care if they got 100% tread on 'em as an umpire says they're OUTTT! I can't let a lawsuit ruin my inheritance! (Dad's bus company that I've been right beside him on every step of the way!) We don't run CAPS > PERIOD AGAIN! Steer tires get moved to the tags around 50% replaced with new, drives and tags are run down close to the legal limit then regrooved and replace when they reach maximum use and are still good as a re-cap core, but we just give 'm to our tire guy at that point as we don't care what happens to them after we're done with 'm!! I like 315 80R KUMO"S myself we have been getting great wear out of them and the price is great at about $ 750 a pair mounted with equal in them for balancing. |
Sojourner (Jjimage)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 16, 2006 - 8:16 am: | |
Thank you Bryce for good words about what charter recommend for all around safety of owning a coach and company.
I often suggested around 4 or so years storage life in the sun or traveling.
I will heed to your advise.
Thank you all!
Sojourn for Christ, Jerry |
Pat Bartlett (Muddog16)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 16, 2006 - 11:07 am: | |
Being an old motor head, I always spent as much time on my tires and wheels as anything else on my cars, trucks, and now my bus. I have a question for bustedknuckle, I have a new set of Kumhos on my steer they are 12Rx22.5 Steel belted 955's, have you used these on your buses, and if so how do they compare to the ones in your post above? Thanks! Pat |
Mark R. Obtinario (Cowlitzcoach)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 16, 2006 - 11:57 am: | |
I think what tires you use and how often you replace them depends more on how you use them and where you use them than on how old or how many miles you have put on a tire.
Up here in the wet NW where temperatures never get very hot or cold and where the sun doesn't shine all that much, the damage that is a direct result from heat and UV just isn't as much of a problem as it is for bustedknuckle.
I know bustedknuckle travels a whole lot faster, farther, and in an environment that is a whole lot hotter than what we have here. Arbitrarily replacing tires at three years of age is not cost effective for us. Having said that, our highway coaches always have the best tires and their tires are rarely more than three years old.
What we tend to do is the front line coaches get the newest tires. As the steer tires wear down we move them to the tags. As the drive and tags wear down we move them to the buses that never leave town.
So while the front line coaches never have tires that are very old the local coaches have tires that can be rather old.
We have had very poor performance from Goodyear and Michelin. We have had okay performance from Toyo, Continental, and Bridgestone. Our best performing tires have been Coopers. The jury is still out on Ohtsu and Kumho.
We judge performance not just in miles but in how long we are able to use the tire. An expensive tire rarely outperforms a budget priced tire in our experience since most die of old age before they wear out.
I am also moving away from the 315's. I haven't liked the wear I have gotten out of them, particularly when the price is considered (And have you ever tried putting on a set of chains on a 315? It can be a real pain). I am moving towards 11X24.5 tires across the board. Not only do they have a similar weight rating as the 315's but I can buy two 11X24.5's for the price of one 315. They are also available just about everywhere, something that can not be said for the 315's or 12X22.5's.
We use no caps. For the price difference it just isn't worth the aggravation.
Regrooving is not practical for us because there are no tire shops that offer that service within a reasonable distance.
We have also found that tires that are used on a regular basis have fewer problems than those that sit around a lot. Something about the movement of the tire keeps the juices flowing in the rubber. Movement also keeps the belts from flat spotting.
What works for us may not work for you. But I do know what works for us. In seven years of running a bus company I have had only two road calls for flat tires, one on a tire that picked up something it should not have and another for a tire that died of old age.
Mark O. |
Bryce Gaston (Busted_knuckle)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 16, 2006 - 4:09 pm: | |
Pat no I haven't had any experince with those as our tire man says "I can get ya 12R's but the 315's are the equivilent and they are easier to come by and cheaper" that's word for word what I was told when inquiring on 12R 22.5's. The only Kumhos I have used are the 315/80 22.5 KRS03's. Which I use all the way around (keep in mind we don't get to much snow in West Tennessee) and have so far been well pleased with the performance! Also I second what "Mr. O" says about the "big name/price" brands such as GoodYear and Michelins, no experince with Toyo, Cooper, or Bridgestones on buses I have hade Bridgestones, and Coopers on "big trucks" and liked them! I know some people swear by Michlins but I think the Kumhos ride just as well and are alot cheaper! By the way Hello Mr. Obtinario! Give me a call sometime! |
Gary Carter
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 19, 2006 - 1:21 pm: | |
I had Kumhos on our 4106 all the way around. Really liked them. Also talked to some truckers using them and they were satified. They just don't last as long (tread wise) as Michilan and Bridgestone, but we age them out before wearing them out.
After 7 years on our 4106 there was no sign of ageing like we have on our 3 year old michelins. Will be installing new Kumhos to replace the michelins either this or next summer. |