I now have 255 70 R-19.5 front tires on my 29' barth. Where is a good place to look for new ones?

quote:

Originally posted by Cabinetguy:
I now have 255 70 R-19.5 front tires on my 29' barth. Where is a good place to look for new ones?

How wide are your rims?

Cabinetguy, if you don't know your wheel size and width, it is on the data tag.

Nick

If you're from the KC area - I've had good luck at Shore Tire in Lenexa.. Six new ones - your size installed for ~1100

Sorry Guys
My tire size is 225 70 R-19.5. Here Da Data

Note your wheels are 6 inches wide.

Nick

If you have the listed 6" wheels. 255 is WAY to big for the width of the wheel. 225 is the maximum recommended for 6" wheels. I think someone is running 245 on 6 inch wide wheels but I could not get any of the tire places to consider mounting wider then 225 tires on the 6" Alcoa wheels I have.

Pictures of the wheels/tires? front and side shot would be good to check the tire roll.

I wanted to go wider than the 8R19.5 recommended, but the tire guy talked me out of it. 225s are OK but I agree 255s should never have been put on.

These are photos of my wheel and tires as well as my exhaust where the "alligator" slapped and crimped them. Any substantial restriction here? Sorry about the size but I did use photobucket.

quote:

Originally posted by MWrench:
I think someone is running 245 on 6 inch wide wheels but I could not get any of the tire places to consider mounting wider then 225 tires on the 6" Alcoa wheels I have.

245 is not recommended, but several people I know of do it up front. If I remember correctly, all had switched from 8R to 245, thinking bigger is better. All were happy with the improvement, but I don't remember any one who went from 225 to 245, so the issue of how much improvement that would yield has not been reported. I am interested in that, so when I walk the dog, we both look at other RV tires, albeit for different reasons. Sidewall clearance on duals could be a problem with 245s.

quote:

Originally posted by Danny Z:
I wanted to go wider than the 8R19.5 recommended, but the tire guy talked me out of it.

Danny, what were his reasons? Other than ground clearance, I haven't heard anything against 225s.

Oh, and cost.

With a narrow wheel, the side wall of the tire is folded inward and you give up a lot of lateral stability.

YES, with 6 inch wheels, there is a tire to tire clearance problem on the dual set up. They will clear each other but they will rub when flexed. All those clearance numbers are stated in the tire specs.

The steel wheels that I have had made are 6.75 and will take 245 tires and the offset is about 1 inch bigger then the 6 inch Alcoas.

I will probably keep the 6 inch Alcoas on the front and go with "G" rated 225R70 19.5 and go with 245R70 19.5 "G" or "H" rated on the rear. The reason I will probably not go with the steel wheels on the front is unsprung weight! Those steel wheels are HEAVY! I would like more weight on the front but not as unsprung weight!

quote:

Originally posted by MWrench:
With a narrow wheel, the side wall of the tire is folded inward and you give up a lot of lateral stability.

Heaven knows the P30 does not need to give away any lateral stability. I noticed the difference when I replaced the Michelins with Bridgestones. Bridgestones much better.

I considered 225s in front, but ground clearance and the stability issue kept me on the 8Rs, but it was only a suspicion. No one I have spoken with has had any actual comparison on an RV. Pickup truck drivers reported no noticeable difference, but I'm not sure that would relate to an RV. Even the biggest pickup has a fairly light front axle load, compared to an RV.

quote:

Those steel wheels are HEAVY!

Yeah, I am still looking for a set of Alcoas. Or at least a pair.

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:


Heaven knows the P30 does not need to give away any lateral stability. I noticed the difference when I replaced the Michelins with Bridgestones. Bridgestones much better.

I had just the opposite experience, I put a set of 225R70 Bridgestones up front and immediately notice vague steering compared to the 8R Michelins that I took off.

A month later went back to get a new set of rears and they talked me into Bridgestones 8r for the rear. This time I went out on the freeway for a test and turned around, went back and had a set of Michelins 8R put on, big difference. The rear with the Bridgestones felt like mush, wandered all over.

I had a similar experience with my truck years ago and that is why I have always leaned toward Michelins. I had some Ford F450s an 550 and they all drove much better with Michelins on all corners. Not just my opinion but my drivers as well. The other tire that gave us good handling results were Goodyear.

Now could this be that all my experience with heavy trucks and RVs have been with solid front axles??

When I replace all the tires this fall, they will be either Michelins or Goodyear and as mentioned "G" or "H" rated. I always leave FULL and my gross weight is 20,000 lbs. No toad yet.

quote:

Originally posted by MWrench:


Now could this be that all my experience with heavy trucks and RVs have been with solid front axles??

Perhaps. I should also say that my Barth has a tag axle, which tends to keep things pointed straight. In fact, I may wear out my first RV tires. The tag tires are showing a lot of scuff wear, presumably from their Herculean efforts to keep the P30 pointed straight ahead. On a hot day, I can hear them scrub and squeal on a blacktop parking lot as I maneuver.

We also tow a heavy toad, which would tend to make the tail try to wag the dog. Thanks to the tag axle, we don't notice any effect on handling with the toad. Actually, except for stoplight drag racing, we don't notice it at all.

Anyway, your coach and mine are two completely different animals, so different results are not unexpected.

RE: Front end weight.....Have you thought about putting your batteries up front? Some of the early Porsches had lead pigs bolted up front to improve the weight distribution.

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:
RE: Front end weight.....Have you thought about putting your batteries up front? Some of the early Porsches had lead pigs bolted up front to improve the weight distribution.

Yes, I have looked for a place that would accommodate 4 BIG L16s (still want to go with 6, but) I would give up a lot of precious storage. Further, the new Xantrex RS3000 would be way to far away, as it is, I need 4/0 cable for the 7 + feet from the batteries to the inverter.

I have even contemplated mounting the batteries along the front portion of the engine room, just above the transmission, but that would cramp the work space and I would probably have to figure out some way to bring in cool air.

That HUGE propane tank area would be the ideal place but, not ready to go diesel generator yet!