Tires

[Rich Cutler]

My '06 Windsor, I believe, did come with 295/80R/22.5 tires.  Those are the Michelins that are on there now and they have aged out.   The sales man at the local truck tire store here quoted the Toyo 295/75R22.5 M177 as that is what they have on hand.  Not knowing much about Toyo I wanted to do research and concluded the Toyo M144 295/80/22.5 is a better tire than the M177 even though both are load range H and 16 ply rated, the 144 have a higher load range and if pressured properly could give a smoother ride (Rev per mile is 518 vs 501for M144 ) .   They area better match to the original Michelin 80R as well.   Cost of 6 M177 vs M144 drive out is $3995.60 vs $4050.00.   I had called back to the shop and talked to an experienced tire man who helped look for the M144s.

The issue is the M144 are no where to be see, other than a wholesaler who wants an arm and a leg.   So we will give it a few weeks and see what Toyo will do.  Definitely a no brainer since I do not need the coach for a few months.

[Tom Cherry]

Per the 2006 Windsor Sales Brochure, your OEM size is 295/80 R 22.5.  That is the recommended….or perhaps the ONLY size to use.  There is also a plate or decal in the MH.  Varies by location.  Sometimes in a cabinet or on the vertical side of the driver’s console.  
 

I have 18K on my steer Toyo’s and a few thousand in the rear.  Be patient and find them would be my advice.  I checked with 3m dealers and one said,,,.i have them (4) on hold for you at the warehouse.  Sure enough, the other dealers could not get them.  But my guy was reasonably priced.

[CaptPat]

I replaced all 8 of my tires with Toyo M144 (285/80R-22.5) about a month ago.  When I called the tire shop I was told a shipment of 32 tires had just arrived at the distributor, so I lucked out on the timing.  If you can suggest waiting a bit to see if some stock shows up, if not try motorhometires.com sometimes they have stock when others are out.

[jacwjames]

I faced the same (or worse) problem last year.  Tires were few and far between.  I wanted Toyo, called three different larger tire vendors near me,  NONE of them could source Toyo.  All were quoting the same, meaning they were pulling from the same regional warehouse.  I ended up going with Yokohama, which is a tire I had some exposure to in the underground mines I worked at so I was OK with that.

So I ordered 6 and when I went to have them installed I found they were ~6 months old.  Vendor said take them or leave them, he didn't care as he could sell them anyway.  Tried to get him to give me some sort of discount, NOPE.  So I was stuck, and my tires were way ages out.    I decided to go ahead and have them installed and am pleased with the ride.  Time will tell though,, I've put ~11K miles on them to date. 

One option is to search the internet, Simple Tire does deliver.  Call a local tire shop and see what they would charge to install, I checked and the going rate was $100 per tire., almost wish I would have went that route.  There are even companies that will come to you to install. 

 

When I had my tires changed I watched the whole process and as they pulled a tire off I'd inspect inside and out.  The Bridgestones I took off were +10 years old, I hadn't used the rig for 5 years while building a house and waiting for Covid to pass.  The Bridgestones looked great on the outside, minimal tire wear with +50K miles on the front tires and ~33K miles on the rear.  Minimal side wall weathering on the outside.  Insides looked great, no signs of low inflation, impact hits, or any cracking.  I have no doubt the tire vendor sold them to some local trucking company but wouldn't give me any credit or buy them from me.  Such is life!!!!

[Rich Cutler]

I searched the Motorhome tires website.  They have the M144.  Would cost 20% premium after installation and taxes.  I can wait.