B190 Enthusiasts

I was wondering what brand/type tires you all have and like the most. Which ones should we stay away from? Any suggestions would be great! Thanks!

rubyslippers6232 wrote:I was wondering what brand/type tires you all have and like the most. Which ones should we stay away from? Any suggestions would be great! Thanks!

I doubt many people have a lot of experience with different tires on their van, because they take so long to wear out (you're more likely to have to replace them due to age rather than wear), like all RV tires.

I have BF Goodrich Commercial L/Ts on mine, and they seem fine. I've never had a problem with them. This reminds me.. I need to get two new ones.

Thanks for the information. We'll be replacing ours due to age, as you said. Happy New Year!

Michelins here....

I think the important thing here is to use Load Range E and pay close attention to air pressures regularly, as the rear axle weight is right at max.....last time I weighted it was 5600 on the rear axle and 3600 on the front axle..

I have Michelin XPS RIB LT 235/85 R16 on one rig...I like the extra inch of width with these but I had to install them on 9" wide E350 wheels which came in later years

Michelin LTX M/S LT 245/75 R16's on the other two rigs...

I got a set of Kelly Safari Trex tires about 3 or 4 years ago. They were load range E, and I keep a close eye on the pressures. Last summer, one failed by having the sidewall delaminate- it had a soft-ball sized bubble sticking out from the side of the tire. I replaced that one, since it wasn't too badly worn. This spring, over the course of about a week and a half, two of the other tires had the casings on the treads delaminate, causing all sorts of horrible vibrations- and the first one actually blew out- fortunately, I wasn't going very fast at the time, and when the second one went, I knew what was happening and changed it before it blew out too. Needless to say, I won't be buying any more Kelly's anytime soon.

CR...Have you weighted your rig, front and rear separately ??

How many ply are those tires, steel belted or something else...??

I suspect that Load Range E rated tires are all supposed to be rated the same as far as weight carrying capacity but I also suspect there are some significant differences when you also compare pricing between brands...

The following is the data from my 2 sets of Michelin tires..

The Michelin XPS RIB's are all steel plies...rated at 3040 pounds max carry capacity @ 80psi

The Michelin LTX are 2 ply polyester and 3 ply steel....also rated at 3040 pounds max carry capacity@ 80psi

Of note here is the polyester plies on the LTX are in the sidewall of these tires

I suspect the XPS Ribs are better tires....

I have a 1995 B190. I installed Brigestone tires E rated back in 2003. I have been all over this country putting 32,000 plus miles on them with no problems. They still look great with no cracking on the side walls. I do keep tire covers on them when it is in storage and treat them with amourall tire foam. I run 68 psi in the front and 80 psi in the rear. At this point I am very satisfied with them and will replace them with Bridgestones when the time comes. They wear very well just be sure to keep the front end in good alignment.
Happy trails Howard

Thanks to everyone for their advice and experiences. This is very helpful!

Another thought....

I know most wouldn't bother with this or have the equipment, but if my rigs are going to sit for any extended length of time, like through the winter, I set all four corners on car stands taking all the pressure off the tires.

These tires flat-spot easily, especially the rears, due to the weight on the rear axle. The flat spots will go away once you get out on the road and get the tires heated up...but its a miserable pain til they do

Simply takes a couple minutes per corner with a bottle jack and 4 inexpensive car stands

Alternative is the move the rig a couple feet regularly while in storage

skater wrote: I have BF Goodrich Commercial L/Ts on mine, and they seem fine. I've never had a problem with them. This reminds me.. I need to get two new ones.

Are you still running on BFG Commercial L/Ts? I’m trying to decide on those or the BFG All Terrain T/A KO2s

usachris wrote:

skater wrote: I have BF Goodrich Commercial L/Ts on mine, and they seem fine. I've never had a problem with them. This reminds me.. I need to get two new ones.

Are you still running on BFG Commercial L/Ts? I’m trying to decide on those or the BFG All Terrain T/A KO2s

No. The two rears were still on it when I bought it back. The fronts were a different tire that were put on after the crash (we locked up the front tires, flat spotting the BFGs). All four were completely shot at a minimum of 7 years old (crash was in 2010, and the rear BFGs were put on several years before that). I was afraid to drive any further than the nearest tire shop, especially since it was going on a highway to get to our place.

There are "Blacklions" on it now (Chinese tires). So far, so good, but I've only driven it a total of 50 miles or something, so I'm reserving judgement. The idea was to get these on it so we could get it home and get some initial use out of it and not spend a ton of money on them since they'll probably dry rot fairly quickly anyway.

I think I never posted the pictures I took of it when we first saw it again.

I know I am reviving this thread but for me the Michelin Defender LTX 245/75-16E are my tire of choice. The new ones I put om my 94 in July are supposedly a slightly newer tire from the ones sold just a year or so ago. I only replacing the Michelins on it because they were 9 years old. They probably still had 1/2 there tread left and sidewalls had no cracking yet. These are the most popular tire in the light truck and van/rv application and I haven't had any problems with them. I have had two coopers and a Goodyear delaminate on both my A and C class. Luckily they were both on the dual rears. But what sounds like an explosion will definitely wake you up. My 97 has Firestones on it with date codes of late14 and early 15 but have side wall cracking. One tire is definitely bad because even after having them balanced and rotated all I did was move the vibration to the back. At least the wheel wasn't shaking any more and I could go faster then 60. It will get new Michelins before we put it in service in March. With the rear tires at there max carrying capacity and pressure I wouldn't recommend a cheep tire but at least a brand made by the big 4.