Tire prices 2011

[HB of CJ]

How about visiting your local, friendly, knowledgeable, INEXPENSIVE heavy duty truck wrecking yard and ask about any good used take off tires and aluminum wheels?  These are good items taken off wrecked trucks that don't need them anymore but you may.

I was going to put good used 11RX24.5 Michelins on Alcoha wheels for my Crown Supercoach RV project, but finally rejected the deal because the tires, while being at about 75% tread and in excellent condition, were amost five years old.

Four $grand$ for ten (10) tires and alloy wheels, with close inspection, studs, nuts, acorns, truing, balancing and installation.  The point is that sometimes less expensive options for us Bus Conversions people are available.  HB of CJ (cheap old coot)

[artvonne]

How come?

  Google Chinese submarines and see if their a country we should be financing.

[wal1809]

How come?

  Google Chinese submarines and see if their a country we should be financing.

I look at it as kind of being in the funnel.  We are going through the spout but right now we are just circling the funnel.  Artvonne this country will not get out of the global trade.  I am just like you and I wish but it will not happen now.  I just can't figure out why an American company can't make a tire and sell it cheaper than the Chinese who have to ship it half way around the world.  It kinda ticks me off.

[wayne]

Heres what I can tell you from real experience of 300+ tires being driven down the road daily being abused with heavy weight limits and on and off road conditions.
I have had blowouts with both new tires and caps including bandag but I have never lost a tread off a new tire, only caps including bandag. Some of my caps actually last as long as a new tire (no name chinese tires only).
My new name brand tires outperform the caps in every aspect including fuel mileage and longevity.
The exception to all this are the Michelin super singles. My buddy runs 13 Mich super trains and swears the caps aroutlasting the new tires drastically, but I do not run any of them

Typically date codes are the issue with busnuts and caps are definetly going to be older.
This is just personal experience logged in by me. This info is not from a google search or study I read about so I hope it helps.

Good Luck

[luvrbus]

I visit Cole's heavy haul division in Houston his trucks loaded with 100+ tons will rip the tread off new tires on the drivers the only tire manufacture that will warranty that is Bridgestone when he buys a new truck he orders Bridgestones not that a bus would rip one apart I just find it fascinating a truck could do that to a new tire 

good luck   

[artvonne]

How come?

  Google Chinese submarines and see if their a country we should be financing.

I look at it as kind of being in the funnel. 

  Were going down something alright, but I dont think its a funnel. If you didnt google the above yet, try it by adding "aircraft carrier", and read a ways. Its quite fascinating.

[JohnEd]

How come?

  Google Chinese submarines and see if their a country we should be financing.

I look at it as kind of being in the funnel.  We are going through the spout but right now we are just circling the funnel.  Artvonne this country will not get out of the global trade.  I am just like you and I wish but it will not happen now.  I just can't figure out why an American company can't make a tire and sell it cheaper than the Chinese who have to ship it half way around the world.  It kinda ticks me off.

Ticks me off too.  But knowing that in spite of record breaking profits and the demand dropping they are still getting a tax break.  Did you know that you can actually track a
"tax" bill back to the congressman that wrote it and those that sponsored it.  Lots of bills I want answers on.  I don't actually know what the discrete steps are but my Rep does and I can drop by his office for a "training session".

The Chinese have negotiated some sweet deals with Iran and Valenzuela as the Chinese don't have near enuf oil.   So they are importing the oil that is used to make a tire plus manufacturing and internal shipping and transoceanic sipping and still selling the stuff for a huge profit.  I am with you on that confusion part.


John

[wayne]

It's actually pretty simple.  a 50 hour work week = about $50.00

[Oonrahnjay]

How about visiting your local, friendly, knowledgeable, INEXPENSIVE heavy duty truck wrecking yard and ask about any good used take off tires and aluminum wheels?  These are good items taken off wrecked trucks that don't need them anymore but you may.

I was going to put good used 11RX24.5 Michelins on Alcoha wheels for my Crown Supercoach RV project, but finally rejected the deal because the tires, while being at about 75% tread and in excellent condition, were amost five years old.

Four $grand$ for ten (10) tires and alloy wheels, with close inspection, studs, nuts, acorns, truing, balancing and installation.  The point is that sometimes less expensive options for us Bus Conversions people are available.  HB of CJ (cheap old coot) 

   About a year ago, I got new tires (6).  Drives were two-year old "take offs" with about 25% -30% tread left (I'll never wear them out before they rot) - each pair was a "match" -- $650 for the 4 (incl. balancing, installation, inspection, etc.); two Toyo steers (new) $375 each.  The tire place does fleet maintenance - if a truck for some of their owners gets one tire damaged on the road and a new tire is put on, they still change all tires at "scheduled turnover" time.  Most of the tires are worn out, but there may be some tires that are those semi-worn replacements.  It's very hard to find full sets, but if you don't mind getting same size/same type/different brand, there are savings out there.

[JohnEd]

It's actually pretty simple.  a 50 hour work week = about $50.00

Not to say that you are not right although a $1.66 per day is an exaggeration.

Our goods don't cost more because theirs cost less.  Watch the prices drop right after a union agrees to cut wages and benefits.  Sure!  Most of the foreign tire makers are owned in large part by USA investors. When Germany was crushed after WWII they sold stuff and they were ridiculed for a socialist agenda and the VW was a cheaply built little death trap.  Of course.  Now the Germans get something like 85 paid days off every year.  With all their social benefits they are still the power house of Europe.  Japan is the same story.  And those workers make more per hour than one of our workers.  One of the main reasons your tires "seem" to cost more is that wages in this great nation have been stagnant since 1990 and "trickle down" was implemented as a plan. Last I heard the average American (please excuse me Canadians) was making the equivalent of what he did in 1976 and I feel sure it is less today.  The price goes up every year but wages don't track.  Youy want cheaper tires?  Pay higher wages.  We tried it the other way since 90 and just look...we are cutting the school lunch programs.  Just how did the Chinese do this to us? 

Cheaper isn't really the factor....I want quality tires I can afford.  And that's why this is bus related.  There are fewer and fewer of us because we are being priced out of participating.  We didn't used to gasp at hearing the price of single tire.

John the tireless(little pun)

[loosenut]

I read several pretty in depth articles on the Chinese brands vs American brands.  The only detrimental thing they say about any of the Chinese brands are stopping distance.  In a full skidding brake situation the Chinese brands did not stop as fast as some of the American brands.   They still passed the standards testing to be sold here.

I found out Michelin owns the Double coin car tire factory in China.  The drive out price on a Ling Long or Double Coin tire is about $350 to $400.  Drive out on a Michelin is $700 to $800.  I would much rather buy something built right here in America from American materials by American hands.  I will when the American industry sells a product at a fair price.

You people crack me up.  Job movement is a natural process that has been going on since the dawn of the industrial age because; it is impossible to afford products made by your neighbors.  This has always been true.  Jobs migrated around Europe then to North America and now to Asia.

It is unlikely there will ever be a fair priced product made in the US.  A few days ago there was a thread about filters and the concensus was the American made filters were not worth twice the price of Chinese.

It is the man in your mirror who determines where consumer products are manufactured.

Wal,  even if the Chinese labeled product comes from the same production line as the Michelin tire it doesn't mean it is as good.

Quality brands have higher standards and will not put their name on an inferior product.

I negotiated for a Bridgestone tire with a dealer and he put Chinese tires on.  The people I had for balancing and aligning could not find two tires that weren't out so of round that they wouldn't bounce or so out of true that they could be aligned properly.  If out of round was the only problem they would have shaved the tires.

When I went back to the dealer concerning the tires he said they were from the Bridgestone factory.  Once the branded Bridgestone tires were installed everything was so much better.  The ride was more compliant, bus tracked straight and balance was achieved.

That said, do what is best for your money.  You sound competent so maybe a second tier tire is the perfect intersection of money and quality.

Mike

[wal1809]

I had one that would not balance well.  They kept putting on weights and I finally asked if they had another tire.  They did and it balanced well.  Now I am 4 tires deep in chinese.  They have performed very well.  They roll perfect.  I need 4 more for the rear and then I am hope I am done buying tires for a while.