My van camper

[Campor99]

you cannot patch a sidewall.  no tire shop will repair a sidewall,  their liability insurance will not allow it.  plug kits are for emergency use only.  having said all that,  I have plugged dozens of tires I have also repaired sidewalls but only in an emergency.  sidewall repairs should NEVER be driven at highway speeds.  I have put as many as 4 plugs in one hole.  but this tire was not driven on the highway. sidewall repairs and multiple plugs should be driven at 35mph max.  highdesertranger

THANKS FOR THE GREAT ADVICE, WE LEARN DAILY FROM OTHERS EXPERIENCES!! THANKS AGAIN. SIDE NOTE, WHILE DRIVING ON COOPER TIRES, 
I HAVE NEVER HAD A FLAT ON OR OFF THE HIGHWAY! AM VERY BIG FAN OF COOPER AS I PROBABLY HAVE 400000 K MILES ON THEM NOW. THANKS AGAIN
HIGHDESERTRANGER. BEST OF ALL, AND ***HAPPY TRAILS***

 

[highdesertranger]

I have Coopers on my Ford, they have been good tires. I have run BFG's for years on my Chevy they were great tires but they no longer make my size, I now run Goodyear's on the Chevy so far so good. highdesertranger

 

[Ballenxj]

you cannot patch a sidewall.  no tire shop will repair a sidewall,  their liability insurance will not allow it.  plug kits are for emergency use only.  having said all that,  I have plugged dozens of tires I have also repaired sidewalls but only in an emergency.  sidewall repairs should NEVER be driven at highway speeds.  

Amazing how opinions change over the years. I remember pulling into a tire shop with a 67 Oldsmobile 442 to get a slow leak repaired. The guy pulled a nail out of the middle of the tread, plugged the tire, then sent me on my way. You can rest assured he didn't think I was going to keep it under 35 mph. The tire was a biased ply. Probably Kelly Springfields.

 

[highdesertranger]

single plugs in the middle of the tread are not a problem if done correctly with quality plugs. highdesertranger

 

[Campor99]

GO SMALL GO FAR

HI ALL YOU VAN LOVING BUCKAROO GUY'S AND GAL'S , THANKS FOR CHECKING THREAD

TIRES ARE ALWAYS A ISSUE, MINE IS THAT THE "BEAST" CAME WITH ONE NEW MUD TOYO {SEE PHOTO 1}
AND 4 ALL TERRAIN WELL USED AND SUFFERING FROM DRY ROT.  SO WHAT TO DO, PUT MUD/SNOW TOYO'S
ON REAR, OR ALL THE WAY AROUND OR GO WITH A/T'S ALL THE WAY AROUND.

I HAVE HAD GREAT LUCK WITH COOPER A/T'S (PIX 2} RESEARCH SAY'S THE BF GOODRICH KO'2 (PIX3}ARE THE BEST OF THE BEST.

HELP GIVE ME YOUR THOUGHTS.  THANKS!

BE SAFE AND ENJOY OUR BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY.

 

[highdesertranger]

whatever you do keep them the same all the way around. I have those Coopers on my Ford good tires and I have Goodyear Wranglers mud tires on my Chevy so far so good. the choice between the mud tires and all terrains is really up to you and what you mostly with your vehicle. highdesertranger

 

[Ballenxj]

HELP GIVE ME YOUR THOUGHTS.  THANKS!

I'm sure you've seen me mention before that I have had good luck with BFG A/T's, and the KO's are supposed to be even better.
At any rate, do you mostly travel highways? Do you do a lot of four wheeling in rough, hard to get to areas, or mostly dirt roads? Big difference here. Also you might want to compare wear factors of each tire, plus my understanding is that full on mud and snow tires wear out much faster in summer driving. Do research on the tires you are considering by looking up reviews on them.
In the end, the choice should fit your style of driving.

 

[masterplumber]

My experience with name brand all terrains and mud terrains have all been generally good and comparable. But just for comparison this is what I've observed over the years. These tires have all been on full size 3/4 and 1 ton trucks with the exception of the BFG KOs that are on my son's Jeep Cherokee. The Toyos have lasted the longest - 50,000 miles. The BFGs have been the best in the dirt, but all have been sufficient to get me through. The Goodyear Wranglers and the BFGs have been the worst on ice, and this includes the new KOs on my son's Jeep, but with care work so if you only occasionally see ice that may not be a big concern. The best tires I've had on the ice, besides studded, surprisingly were a set of Firestone ATs that came on a Ford I bought new in 1994, but they only lasted 25,000 miles. I've had good results from a few Mile Marker brand tires like Stampedes, but they change their tires and keep the same name so it's impossible to say if what they have now compares to the ones I've had in the past. The only flats I've ever got have been from nails etc in the road so I'd say they are all equally tough enough for the average user. And I probably use my trucks harder and in more diverse terrain than most, usually loaded to GVWR.

 

[Campor99]

GO SMALL GO FAR

HI ALL YOU VAN LOVING GUY'S AND GAL'S, THANKS FOR CHECKING THREAD!

TIP OF WEEK: ITS THE FIRST OF MONTH, TIME TO CHECK OVER THE OLD RIG! BESIDES ALL YOUR FLUIDS AND 
SUCH, DON'T FORGET YOUR BATTERIES AND THE LOST CHILD OF ALL, YOUR _SPARE TIRE! 

AREA OF WEEK: MY FAVORITE SPRING IN THE OZARK NATIONAL SCENIC RIVERWAY AREA -- ALLEY SPRING- JUST
     WEST OF EMINENCE MO. THE ASSOCIATED MILL STILL HAS THE GRIST MACHINERY, AND WHEN LAST THERE
     TOURS WERE GOING ON. REALLY COOL.  CAMPING AND RIVER FLOATS BIG IN THIS AREA OF STATE.

BE SAFE AND ENJOY OUR BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY.

SEE YA NEXT WEEK

 

[Ballenxj]

 TIP OF WEEK: ITS THE FIRST OF MONTH, TIME TO CHECK OVER THE OLD RIG! BESIDES ALL YOUR FLUIDS AND 
SUCH, DON'T FORGET YOUR BATTERIES AND THE LOST CHILD OF ALL, YOUR _SPARE TIRE!

I try to keep up with everything, but I have to admit, sometimes I neglect checking the spare due to it's location under the rear of the van.
The last thing you want to find when changing a flat is your spare also being flat.
Love the photos of the old mill. Keep em coming.

 

[Campor99]

GO SMALL GO FAR

HI ALL YOU VAN LOVING GUY'S AND GAL'S, THANKS FOR CHECKING THREAD!

THANKS TO HIGHDESERTRANGER, BALLENXJ AND MASTERPLUMBER FOR GREAT ADVICE.

HOW TO FIND BEST PRICE ON TIRES, I HAVE ALWAYS BOUGHT MY TIRES FROM A LOCAL
TIRE SHOP, HOWEVER, IT SEEMS THAT THE BEST PRICES  ARE FOUND ON NET SELLERS.

SO WHO IS THE BEST?  YOUR THOUGHTS PLEASE! AMAZON PRICES DONT SEEM THAT GOOD.


ALSO WHO PROVIDES THE BEST REVIEWS ON TIRES?

FOR YOU STEPVAN FANS, CHECK OUT YOU TUBE CHANNEL " SEVEN WANDERS THE WORLD" 

THANKS FOR HELP, AND BE SAFE AND ENJOY OUR BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY!

PIX'S  COOPER AT3, BFGOODRICH KO2, AND TOYO AT

 

[Crow]

Hi Campor99,
When I was much younger starting out with a family I pulled into the Discount Tire in McKinney, TX with one of my tires that wouldn't have made it another 5 miles and a car that didn't look like it would last much longer than the tire.

I asked if they had any used tires that would fit. They did, and in 5 minutes they had a tire that looked almost new mounted and on the car. I asked how much I owed and the man said "Don't worry about it, just come see us when you need tires". Times got better for me, and I've never bought a tire from anybody else. They've made that used tire back at least a hundred fold. So I don't know if that's your best deal or not but I'm obligated to mention them to anybody I see looking for tires! Good luck!

 

[Campor99]

Thanks Crow, enjoyed your note. I hang in a super small town, no discounts here, so if I want a good price
on tires it will be thru the internet. Even the internet tire dealers have prices scattered all over the place from
crazy high to nev er very low. Never done a tire buy on net, so am being rather cautious.

Thanks again,

 

[masterplumber]

The biggest concern I'd have buying online is getting them mounted and balanced. Some local shops may just refuse to do it, or charge an arm and a leg. That and unless you get free shipping I would thing the shipping would offset any savings?

 

[Ballenxj]

I hang in a super small town, no discounts here, so if I want a good price
on tires it will be thru the internet. 

How far to the nearest town that has a Discount Tire? From the dealings I've had with them I'm thinking it might be worth your while to go on a day trip? 
I usually research the tire I'm interested in, then call the nearest Discount to see if they stock them, and if not, will they order them?
That's what I did for the General M&S tires I bought for my Subaru last year. They were $100. cheaper for the set than their nearest competitor. That was sticks n Bricks, not online.

 

[Campor99]

12904[/ATTACH] Ballenxj pid='289649' dateline='1494103407']
How far to the nearest town that has a Discount Tire? From the dealings I've had with them I'm thinking it might be worth your while to go on a day trip? 
I usually research the tire I'm interested in, then call the nearest Discount to see if they stock them, and if not, will they order them?
That's what I did for the General M&S tires I bought for my Subaru last year. They were $100. cheaper for the set than their nearest competitor. That was sticks n Bricks, not online.

Thanx, will do! I assume they are nation wide, and that would be a plus if warranty work was required. I'm not/have never
seen a store.  Thanks so much, a great help in my quest!!!!!  BEST OF ALL

 

[Ballenxj]

Thanx, will do! I assume they are nation wide, and that would be a plus if warranty work was required. I'm not/have never
seen a store.  Thanks so much, a great help in my quest!!!!!  BEST OF ALL

I believe they are in most major cities across the United States. https://www.discounttire.com/store-locator
If you get the certificates with the tires, any of them will honor the warranty from another store. I actually had to do that one time. I had bought a set at one at the North end of Vegas for my Jeep, then ended up having a flat after four wheeling and the closest one was at the South end. The tire was not repairable (sidewall puncture) the manager looked me up, saw I had bought the certs, then told the service guy to  put a new tire on free. What a relief since it would have been way over a hundred bucks for a new BFG. Needless to say. I try to buy my tires at Discount from now on. The certificates add a bit to the price, but when you need it most, they are like Gold.

 

[Campor99]

I believe they are in most major cities across the United States. https://www.discounttire.com/store-locator
If you get the certificates with the tires, any of them will honor the warranty from another store. I actually had to do that one time. I had bought a set at one at the North end of Vegas for my Jeep, then ended up having a flat after four wheeling and the closest one was at the South end. The tire was not repairable (sidewall puncture) the manager looked me up, saw I had bought the certs, then told the service guy to  put a new tire on free. What a relief since it would have been way over a hundred bucks for a new BFG. Needless to say. I try to buy my tires at Discount from now on. The certificates add a bit to the price, but when you need it most, they are like Gold.

Thanks again, a bummer, I checked out Discount, and there are no stores in the day trip range of here, so, I check there on line
site, and WOW their price was over the top, 300$ higher than the lowest price I found for same tire.  Will continue checking around
THANKS FOR ALL THE GOOD HELP!  BEST ALWAYS!

 

[highdesertranger]

I used to buy my tires from Costco but they stop carrying my size then BFG stopped making them. so I switched to Goodyear and went to Wally World. highdesertranger

 

[Ballenxj]

 I check there on line
site, and WOW their price was over the top, 300$ higher than the lowest price I found for same tire. 

They were? OUCH! Well, they used to be better than that, I hope their warranties are as good as they used to be.

HDR, does Wally World offer a good warranty on their tires that is honored across the states?