Increasing tire size on a 2000 PAT

[Bill Borden]

Hello,

Has anyone had success in going to the Michelin 295/80R22.5 XZA2 Energy instead of the 275/70R22.5?

Is there enough room, my tire guy says yes, but I wanted to check and see if anyone has had any problems after the change.  I will need to get new rear tires this year.  So I am thinking about changing.

Besides additional weight capacity I really need the height.  I have to travel a canyon road to get to my home and hit the hitch (without the toad attached) everytime.  I thought if I could add 3" in height I might clear.

So has anyone made this tire change successfully?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Bill  

[Bob Stone]

Bill, just something to keep in mind: the 3 inch increase in tire diameter only gives an increased road clearance of 1.5 inches.

Bob

[Bill Borden]

Yes, I know your right, I guess 1.5 " isn't much but it is something. The 275x70 is 38" in height and the 295x80 is 41.3" in height. And almost a 1" wider.

On the Duals it will add 600 lbs per tire in weight capacity and single wheel add 900 lbs in capacity.

I guess I wonder if it is worth it.

Bill

[Dick Simonis]

For what's it'worth I was told no...not enough turning clearance.

[Gerald Farris]

Bill,
You probably do not have the clearance when turning. The front suspension air bag is located just behind the wheel housing and if the tire rubs excessively when turning, it will damage the air bag, and cause a suspension failure. The only way to determine if your coach has enough clearance for the larger tires is to measure the clearance in all positions, especially when turning. All coaches do not have the same clearance, so measure your coach.

Gerald

[Gary Winzenburger]

Bill,
Can you raise the body, via the air leveling system, to clear those occasional dips and bumps? I can on my 1997 Marquis on the Gillig chassis. I think it'll go up at least 3 inches.
Good luck!
Gary

[Joel Weiss]

On the 2000 Thunder the tires are by no means limiting the load capability.  With Load Range J tires, your rear tires provide >24,000 lbs of load capability and the front tires provide nearly 14,000 lbs, both of which are far beyond the axle ratings.  I can't see any reason to increase tire size to increase weight capability of the MH.

[Larry Fritz]

Bill, Gerald is precisely correct in his comment.  We have a 98 Patriot 38'.  Don't change sizes on the FRONT!

It came from the factory with Goodyear 275/70R-22.5. Next they were replaced with Toyo tires of the same stated size as above.
 
Both of these were ok but slightly rub the tires shield in front of the air bags.

Next, the Toyo were replaced with Michelin 275/70R-22.5 XZA  2.  In 10 months and less than 5,000 miles of driving, the passenger  Michelin had completely rubbed through the tire shield and was very close to taking out the first air bag. Fortunately, I caught it in time and mounted thin metal plates on the tire shield in front of the air bag.  After another 5000 miles, I had to do the same on the driver side. I will continue to monitor them each  year during my detail annual maintenance.

The rubbing point is when the steering is turned to the maximum end point.  I still find it hard to imagine so much wear when touch time is rate and usually at low speed like backing or driving into a campground or parking lot but it does.

NOTE THAT ALL THREE BRANDS OF TIRES HAVE THE SAME STATED TIRE SIZE!


LARRY FRITZ

[Bill Borden]

Ok thanks all, it sounds like I need to get down under and check out the front tires to see if they are rubbing.  We have had the Michelin 275/70Rx22.5 XZA2 Energy LR J, on the front for 2 years now.

Sounds like going with the Michelin's on the back is a better way.

All good advise, I will check it out.

Bill

[Joel Weiss]

Ok thanks all, it sounds like I need to get down under and check out the front tires to see if they are rubbing.  We have had the Michelin 275/70Rx22.5 XZA2 Energy LR J, on the front for 2 years now.

Sounds like going with the Michelin's on the back is a better way.

All good advise, I will check it out.

Bill

Bill:

There's no problem running Michelin's on our MH's.  Ours has had them with no problems since we bought it three years ago.

I'm quite puzzled by the claim that the change in brand without a change in tire size resulted in rubbing since tires are sized so that they can be interchanged without difficulty regardless of brand.  I've researched the topic and can't find any reason that a change in brand would result in clearance issues unless the tires weren't exactly the same, like if one was a 75 profile rather than a 70.

Joel

[Larry Williams]

Bill:

There's no problem running Michelin's on our MH's.  Ours has had them with no problems since we bought it three years ago.

I'm quite puzzled by the claim that the change in brand without a change in tire size resulted in rubbing since tires are sized so that they can be interchanged without difficulty regardless of brand.  I've researched the topic and can't find any reason that a change in brand would result in clearance issues unless the tires weren't exactly the same, like if one was a 75 profile rather than a 70.

Joel

He was talking about upping the size to Michelin 295/80 in his OP.

[Joel Weiss]

He was talking about upping the size to Michelin 295/80 in his OP.

I was referring to Larry Fritz's post in which he claims that changing to Michelin's caused a problem.