Who Do You Trust

When it comes to buying tires, who do you trust?

I recently read two posts on an RV forum about problems people had with their new tires. They were the wrong size! 

One person said:  I have an F250 4x4. I got new tires put on almost a year ago and just realized they are not the same as was originally on it. The tire store told me they were the same.  I took their word for it. The new tires have been inflated to 75 lbs since buying them eleven months ago. I just read the sidewall.  They are P265/70R17, where my original tires were LT265/70R17 LR-E. The truck door sticker says 75psi  for LT tires.

The other person said:  I replaced the crappy OEM P275/60R20 tires on our 2012 Ram 1500 4X4 w/ LTX AT2 tires at 10,000 miles. When buying a new set of tires last month I assumed the tire dealer would put LT tires on. But nope, they put P series tires on and I didn't catch it until I checked the tire pressures. Was I surprised and mad at myself 'cause I sure can't afford to get a new set and it wasn't the tire dealers fault at this point. I should have insisted on LT tires, but they will only put what the factory put on unless requested. I really wished I had been more attentive at the tire dealer and got what I wanted!

Quite frankly I was surprised by these two accounts but maybe I shouldn’t be considering how little interest some people take in their tires. Now I hope that these people are the exception and the readers of this blog actually do take more than a passing interest in their tires. 

For many people, tires are simply round black things that they are forced to buy every few years but I find it amazing that people would pay more attention to purchase of a pair of $20 pants than they do to getting the correct size, type and Load Range of a $400 -$800+ set of tire. When buying pants you probably know and confirm you are getting the size you want.

From the examples above, it is clear you cannot depend on all tire dealers to know what you want from your tires. At some dealerships I am sure the “order takers” know more about washing machines they were selling at their previous job last week than about the tires they are trying to push because of over stock. You need to be an informed, educated and demanding customer.

Do your research BEFORE you get to the store.

1.  Be sure you know the loads on your RV and tow vehicle. 
2. Be sure you select an appropriate tire that has load capability that exceeds your maximum loading.   
3. Know how to determine the tires you need.
4.  Ask about the warranty, if any 
5. Consider the ease of finding a replacement for the brand you are buying. 
6.   Read my post on “Best Tire”