Classic Winnebagos & Vintage RVs

Okay, so I was out yesterday getting Eternabond tape at the RV store and noticed they had some tires in the back...they didn't have any 8R19.5s, but they did refer me to a truck tire place down the road that they said their customers were very happy with called Cherry Tire.

My plan was to replace my blown tire and my spare with Michelin XZAs, and the one place I found that could do them was 1200.00 for two tires, mounted and balanced!

I walk into Cherry Tire to ask how much they could do the Michelins for.  The owner, a former Navy Seal and Vietnam vet, suggested I go with Samson tires.  He said they have been using them for years in the trucking industry with no problems, and that they were a good steering tire as well.

He chuckled and said it was my money to blow, but if I'd rather spend 1200.00 bucks for 2 tires than 380.00 for two Samson tires, mounted and balanced, it was my choice.

I got home and jumped online and pulled up the specs for the Samson tire, 8R19.5 AP GL283A, and compared it to the specs of the Michelin XZA 8R19.5, and they were virtually identical in every way, right down to load range, PSI, construction, etc.

Anyone ever hear of Samson tires?  Apparently they are distributed out of Ohio, but from what I've read they are a Chinese tire.  But all the reviews I've read on them from both RVers and long haul truckers is that they are a fine tire, and no one ever had a problem with them.

Its a HUGE savings of cash to go with the Samsons over the Michelins.  And way more convenient for us...Cherry Tire is half the drive...about 30 miles away...than the tire place that can do the Michelins, the owner seemed honest and was trying to get me to save money (they've been in business for years and have used these tires for years), and I don't have to pay him upfront like the other place and wait a week for the tires to come in.  All I have to do is call him and he can have the tires waiting for me the next day, and he'll mount and balance them on the spot as soon as I bring him the rims and old tires.

I'm really leaning towards the Samson tires, but want to hear what you guys think about it, or know about the brand.

Kev

I've never heard of Samson tires... I was going to go with Goodyears 8r19.5 when we put on new ones... which since ours are 2004 vintage needs to happen sooner rather than later although have zero side checking and wear is dead even all the way around...   I do know that for smaller, as in wheelbarrow size, my local Southern States folks, sell chinese made tires, but once I talked with a service tech said he'd never buy anything made of chinese rubber as there is a quality issue... but like I said that was for a much smaller tire.

Tina

You could get 2 Bridgestones for about 650. I would not want a low cost tire on mine.

I have Dyna-Trac on mine.  I had no idea what they were when I bought them since I did it over the phone.  The tire guy said this was what they were putting on all the motorhomes and that they had a proven track record with the trucking industry.  I have since learned they are a division of Double Coin of China.  That being said, I have had no trouble with them and they seem to be holding up as well as any other tire.  They are on their third year with me.  Granted I don't go very far with them but I have nothing bad to say except for one very annoying thing.  They give off an odor. 

The first time we went to the lake I thought our campsite must have had some dead animal close by.  It smelled just like that.  The next year we camped in the same spot and notice the same odor.  Before we went to the lake this year, I loaded two of the tires in my car to have them balanced.  All the way to the tire store I smelled the odor.  After getting back I went around the motorhome and smelled each tire and the odor was prevalent. It isn't real strong but if your lawn chair is right next to the drive wheels and tag axle, you will definitely smell it.  Might be the China rubber. 

I purchased 6 Firestone Transforce HT 10 ply in 7/2005 I was hopeing to make them last till after travel season this year (wich would have been the 7 th year ) But the started showing small sidewall  cracks a year ago wich enlarged to where i was afraid to make the run to Ohio and back to N Wales for fear of a sidewall rupture I wanted to have time to go to 16 in instead of the16.5 oddball size but time forced me into replaceing all 6 again Wile shopping for 16 in wheels i looked at japanese tires that were 20 yrs old with no sidewall cracks I will start shopping for wheels now wile i have some time and i will not buy USA  made tires next time with tere built in obsolesence

So after doing some more research on Samson tires, their distributor company is out of Ohio, Great Lakes Tire Company.  Advance Tire is also made by Samson, or vice versa.  The tires are made to stringent quality control...and by the way, they are ultimately owned by Michelin...go figure...who also owns Uniroyal, etc.  Turns out that Advance Tires and Samson tires used to be made in Isreal.  Now they are made in China.

Other sources online compare their quality and longevity to Cooper tires, also made in China for the most part, but to American standards via Goodyear.

Turns out a lot of what we thought were American made brands are being made in China since its cheaper to have them made over there...but to the company standards.  Michelin...a French company...Goodyear, Firestone, BF Goodrich, Bridgestone...a lot of the tires carrying their labels are made in China now. 

The long haul truckers like the Samson and Advance tires because they last as long as the major brands, and end up being as cheap or cheaper than retreads for their rigs.  And semi truck tires are very expensive, especially when buying 18 of them!

The only negative feedback on the Samson tires I've read, on RV forums and on truck forums, was that they were made in China.  People that have them and have used them for years like them, with no negative experiences, while the naysayers about them have never used them, but say to avoid them because they are made in China.

I'm all about buying American, but if the American tire manufacturers would make a reasonably priced tire in 8R19.5 I'd definitely go for those over a foreign tire.  Sadly, as stated above, a lot of tires carrying the American label are made in China now...but at the same high price as when they were made in America.  Doing a quick search of country of origin of Michelin XZA 8r19.5 tires seems to indicate that they are made in China as well, but its not conclusive.

I'm pretty much decided that I'm going to go for the Samson tires, and I'll let you all know how they hold up.  At less than one third the cost, and with all the good reviews of them by folks that use them for the long haul, I think they'll be fine.  Even the folks with vintage buses and bus conversion lean towards them, since they make a lot of odd and off size tires, and they have used them for years and many many miles.

So yep...I think we'll go with the Samsons, unless someone comes up with a very good reason not to by Monday...lol!

Kev

You should have suggested a "test" project.  Have everyone chip in a little for the tires and you report back to us... ;)   Good luck with the new skins.  Rick

So far so good!  Road tests with the Samson tires prove them to be a VERY nice steering tire...better than the Michelins that were on here, but then again, they were pretty worn before the changeover. 

No unusual treadwear after around 2000 miles.

They do seem to make a lot more road noise than the Michelins...but then again, I changed the fan clutch the same time as the tires to a super duty fan clutch which stays on a little bit all of the time (you can hear it when it really revs up, but it never goes away completely) and the sound is very similar to a revved up fan...could be the tires, could be the fan, but its not super loud and in the background.


So far that is my only complaint.  They also seem to hold air better than the older Michelins, but that could be because the Michelins are nearly 7 years old.  Last time I checked tire pressures, the fronts, the Samsons, were perfect at 90psi, while the backs were in the mid 80s and I had to top them off.

Even most of the new tire molding nubs are still on the front tires.

So far so good!  Road evaluation seems to make them appear to be a very good tire at a great price compared to the Michelin. 

Only time will tell though.  After a full year I'll post another review, which will also determine whether or not I replace the last six tires with Samsons in NY next year, which is the tentative plan.  I'll keep the spare as a Michelin, since the Michelin isn't directional, and can fill in the gap on any wheel.


(http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k526/ClydesdaleKevin/Projects%202012/NewHolidayRamblerPicsNov1012047.jpg)


Kev

How did you have them balanced.  You might have already answered this somewhere else but I can't find it.  I have a hard time finding someone with equipment that can handle a 19.5 tire.  The truck stops all tell me they are too small and the regular tire shops tell me they're too big.  I would like to try the Dyna-Beads ceramic pellets but the local tire shop only uses Equal and I'm not sure I want to go that route.  What did you use?

Cherry Tire used plain old fashioned lead tire weights on the rims, big ones!


Kev

I just did a 8r19.5  tire comparison. There are so many made in china, some good, some not so good. I decided on bridgestones as they are made in japan. The Michelins that were on my coach had severe cracking going on. I'd never buy another set. I bought a pair of Bridgestones used, for the front a couple years ago, they had a date code of 02 but I bought them anyways. they still looked very good but I replaced all 6 about a month ago. Several shops I called could sell me and install this size tire but couldn't balance them. The only 2 shops that could balance, sold Michelins, but one also sold the Bridgestones. The Michelins at one shop was $3686.80 + mount and balance. The Bridgestones were $1663.00 out the door, but I took them off and hauled them to them loose. No way I'd put $4000.00 in tires on a coach only worth 10,000, cause it's still only worth 10,000. By the way my Michelins were made in France, not sure you can buy a tire this size made in the states, I couldn't find any around here.

I prefer tires made over here.    I feel it helps our economy and keeps jobs.   Cooper still makes some of their tires in Ohio.

Pretty sure Bluebird is right...I don't think you can find an 8R-19.5 tire made in the USA anymore.  Specialty Tires of America used to make a radial 8R-19.5...its what we bought for the Itasca...and they are made in the USA.  But they only make bias ply tires now.  BTW, they still make the bias tires in all the old Dodge sizes, like 17.5.

So Michelins are made in France with some in China, Bridgestones are made in Japan with some in China, and Samson is made in China.
Hm? 

I'll let you all know how they work out after a year...we put on a lot of miles each year!

Kev

It is tough to get anything that is truly made in America anymore.  What a shocker to see how many tire companies have at least some of their tires made in China too.  I'd at least like to believe it's their lowest cost ones and that the higher price ones reflect higher quality, American made ones.  But these days, who knows?  It's sad. 

N:(

When you're trying to buy things made in the usa it's tuff. I have to admit I really didn't pay much attention to where stuff was made till the last 2 or 3 years. I absolutely hate buying stuff made in china or korea, but sometimes we don't have a lot of choise. Things made in japan 40 years ago was in the same boat china is now. Some good some bad, but most things made in japan anymore is pretty good, thanks to us americans. I just hope we don't wait too long to do something about it. I just bought brake pads for my coach, 2 choises in stock at my local O'Reillys. Mexico or china, or 2 day wait and almost triple the cost for usa made pads. The counter guy said they don't stock the usa made pads anymore here because they don't sell any.

Here is a list of USA products

http://americansworking.com/ (http://americansworking.com/)

Sadly, JD, not a single tire is listed...although I'm sure there are omissions on their website list.  There is a Rickson wheel company though that might interest some of the dodge folks, as they make custom replacement wheels for the oddball 16's to replace them with 17.5s and 19.5s in the proper bolt patterns without adapters...made in Maryland.


http://ricksontruckwheels.com/ (http://ricksontruckwheels.com/)

Kev

What's the mileage on the tires now, Kevin?  Could you bookmark this topic and give us an eval after every 10k miles?  I know that's a lot to ask but, you're the proof-in-the-pudding for us on this and it would be muchly appreciated!

Less than 5k so far,  but holding up well, with no wear.  I'll keep you updated!  They look as new as the day we got them, nubs and all...no uneven wear or checkering...but we keep them covered when parked.

Kev

One year later and nearly 10K miles, the Samson tires are holding up very well, and still ride extremely well!

In fact, I'm so satisfied with their performance that I went ahead and got another 6 Samson tires and installed them on my rims, for a total of 8 tires now.  I kept the best Michelin as a spare since its not directional.

I also rotated the front tires I bought last year to the trailing axle, so we once again have brand new tires in the front.

Cherry Tire switched over to the Equal brand of beanbag type balancing...they said it ended up balancing wheels better than the weights, especially once you start adding on hub caps and braided steel valve extensions after balancing.

We'll see how the Equal works!  Cherry Tire swears by it now, so I'll let you all know after our first road trip with them down to North Carolina.

So far so good on the Samsons...I'm sold!

Kev

Many miles later...from New York, to North Carolina, to Georgia, to Florida, then all the way out to Tombstone, Arizona.

The Samson tires are amazing, still look new in the tread with no unusual wear, and the ride is GREAT!

The Equal balancing works amazingly well...its even in the front tires and they seem to be perfectly balances while driving.

I've gotta give the Samson tires a great big thumbs up!!!

Kev

Hi Kev,

I agree with previous reply, thank you :)clap !  I just bought a 1989 HR Imperial "31" with tag axle.  I was nervous driving it ~70 miles home on Akuret tires, some without any mfg date code that I could tell, and one with a date code older than the coach!  I also have a 1977 AVCO Grand Lodge II  and put Michelin XZA on it after I bought it.  Unhappy with sidewall checks/cracks after 4 years.  Mich has just got silly on their pricing though, so I'm looking to repeat your experience with the HR (including tag axle!) and Samson. 
Thanks in advance Kev!

Ted

Got Samson 8R19.5  arround 1200$ for all 6 last week

The 8 year old Goodyear 225/70R19.5 which I replaced had problems holding pressure.
Also the coach has now noticeable more clearance.

The first short rides (only a around 100 miles) is so far so good. Comfortable and nice to drive.

Will post when I got more miles on the tires.

Sebastian

I just put 6 Samsons  225 70 19.5 on my 18 year old Allegro. I had read a lot of posts on tires on several rving sites and price was also a concern I agree with Bluebird5750 $4000 for tires is a reach I put 6 samsons  for $1320 and had them spin balanced and they ride and drive great. I only have 50 miles on them but will report back as we have some trips coming up soon.  :)clap   I was impressed with Cydesdalkevin post on his progress with his Samsons. Keep them shining

I'm very happy with the Samsons so far...and they hold air way better than the Michelins did.

Kev

so the first 600 miles at the Samson,
and I'm pleased. With the factory pressure setting regarding charts (65 psi all around) I did get flat looking tires in the back and relatively good looking in the front.


So i increased the pressure in the front to 70psi and 75 in the back. I had 60 PSI in the front Airbags Was good ride, but when the Semi did overtake the whole rig was kinda little unstable.


For the Ride home I did increase the pressure in the dually to 80psi and the Airbags to 80 PSI. This made a whole world difference in driving.  So far for the next trip I will go for a scale and try doing the pressure by weight.  The Samson are rated up to 110psi, I need a new compressor :P mine does barely 100.

I typically keep all my tires inflated to 90psi, and the front airbags to 70 psi...but we ride heavy being fulltimers and all.

Kev

hey kev,

good hint. Will try for the next trip to get even a little higher at the pressure.
DUAL    4920 5140 5360 5570 5780 6000 6200 6400 6610

Check the temps of the tires after riding for a while. At 65 lbs. mine were WAY too hot. I ended up with 90 lbs. all around and that seems to give good temps on the tires. The rears still get kind of hot but not so hot I can't put my hand on them. The Samsons seem to need a lot more air than what the door sticker calls for. Then again I do not see any tires that would run long at 65 lbs in the rear.

Just remember, for P30 19.5", the rims have a max PSI rating between 80 and 95 psi (depending on rim code beside valve stem) no matter what the tire says.  Section 0B in the chassis manual.

For Dodge 17.5" rims. the max rating is 70 psi.

Dave

That is interesting, the rims have pressure ratings ? What happens if you go over the max pressure ? The valve pops out ? Or the tire will slip of the rim ?
Will look at my rim.

My Rig has a GCWR of 14,800 empty 12,000 and I was driving with only stuff for a weekend - so 70 psi should be enough.  My rears didn't get more hot then the front after increasing to 80. Could place my flat hand on them after 3 hours of driving and was not hot.

Rim welds can break loose or rim can crack.

Dave

I just got back from a short trip my new Samsons  now have about 500 miles on them and they are great. They had 100 psi from the tire shop I lower them to 90 then to 85 they ride great my wife thinks its better that the old Michelins.  Thanks to Clydesdale Kevin for his write up, more to come as I put more miles I really think these tires are great.     Bakerman   keep them shining

Have them on the rear of the bus, Double Coins on the front. If school systems use them.......Must be OK.

My rims say max psi 95, which is why I keep them to 90 psi all around.  Still a little give, but less rolling resistance for slightly better fuel economy...and every little bit helps!

Kev

Well I now have about 2500 miles on my Samsons they are supper, ride is great and have told several of my friends about the tires ad they are shocked at the price I paid for 6 tires. We have had some cold weather and then its back into the 70's I'm keeping a close watch on air pressure as I always have keeping them at 85 psi . To say the least I'm very pleased with the tires and would recommended them to anyone over the alternative. Keep them shining    :)clap

Does anyone know if the Samson tires have a steel sidewall.

 The Samson GL283A style has 1 steel belted side wall and 4 steel belted  tread the they provide a great ride mine are G load rating and 14 total ply.  I had F on the coach before I thought it would ride ruff but that's not the case you can control your ride with air pressure to some extent. The size my coach has is 225 70 19.5 Hope this helps have a great day    Keep the shining

Thanks that's what I needed.  :)ThmbUp :)clap

I was reading some old post and realized I had not updated some post I made. I now have about 6000 miles on my set of Samsons  the tire ride great and I have recommended them to a number of rv's  I have seen several of my friends have failures with there tires and I have had a failure myself years ago with the american made tires. I believe these tire are good quality they hold air very good and the price was well within my retirement budget. So far so good I truly think they will age out before I wear them out.  Keep them shining 

 :)ThmbUp :)ThmbUp Updates! I love updates. Mine are working just fine as well. Now if I could only find some ROUND wheels! i??

Many miles later, and mine are still holding up perfectly!  Very little tread wear, no sidewall cracking or checkering (although we keep them covered when parked), and the ride is excellent.  I'm very pleased with our Samson tires!

Kev

As far as covering Tires  I covered my last set of new Firestones . It seems like a waste of time They started cracking @ 7 yrs just like it was programed in THe tread was still at 50% left  I replaced them with the same Firestones due to it seems they are the only ones making 16.5 tires I no longer cover them at all I will plan on buying used tires and 16 in wheels next time The only problem I see is wether the 16s will clear the frt calipers , They can be ground down a small amt if necc Hope to find some low mile takeoffs Where somebody went with new wheels and tires Ha Ha ! Frank

I hate to tell you Frank but the 16's are the new 16.5's. They are the next in line for being obsolet. Every manufacturer has gone to 17 and 18 inch tires now with 20" standard on some vehicles. I would love to know why. Other than the fact they are bigger and do not fall into potholes as easily. Hm?

Thanks for the tip. Mabey I should just look for 8 hole 17 in Chevrolet wheels & tires No caliper problem either Also gain a little ground clearance , Only down side is a higer step up to get in or out , A problem with age ! Ha Ha  :D Frank

The higher step could be avoided by going with a slightly lower profile tire that would keep it at the same overall height as original. That would also keep your speedometer and gear ratios the same.

Getting ready to place an order for a set of Samson 225x70x19.5 for the Daybreak I just bought, and for my buddies Storm. I got a quote for $110.00 each plus 17.00 for shipping and 4.44 fet. Having them shipped to a terminal near my house. Going with dyna beads for balancing. My coach has a couple tires with a date code of 01 and a 08 and a 07, replacing them all. I had Bridgestones on my Challenger but the price for this size is almost $300.00 per tire. I'm getting 6 tires for the price of 2 Bridgestones. This coach I have now has a 216.8 in. wheelbase and it rides real good even with the old tires. New tires ought to improve the already awesome ride.  I'll never wear them out.

You won't be disappointed!  I've put a lot of miles on mine, and am quite pleased with them.

Kev

I was talking to the tire guy, an old timer, when I got mine. He told me that Samson uses a lot more UV stabilizer in their tires to protect from sun damage. This is a carryover from their heavy truck lines that tend to sit on trailers in lots for years sometimes. We will see.

Placed the order for 12 225x70x19.5 from simple tire total with shipping to my house was $1529.03. My buddies brother found a tire machine for us to use. We went down this morning to see if it would work for us. Little harder than working on car tires but went pretty smooth. The tire we broke down this morning was a 20 year old spare that was original on my buddies storm. New tires will be here Friday.

The fact that a 19.5 is a tapered bead you really do not need a tire machine. Once the air is out of it just push hard on the bead with your foot and it will pop off and then you just take the tire off with tire irons. The problem will be seating the bead without a air blaster sometimes. I am NOT a fan of the old ether and flame trick. We all used to do it back in the days of big 4x4 tires, I owned a 4x4 shop and did it a lot. I was one of the lucky ones that never got hurt. A friend that had another shop in another state was not so lucky and lost his right hand when a tire exploded. I have not done it since. They did not have air blaster cans back then and I think that is one of the reasons they now have them. New tires are generally soft enough that you can wrap a tie down strap around it to expand the bead enough to get air in it to seat the bead if you don't have the blaster.

Don't know if he has a bead blaster or not. But I don't think you can use it anyways because we're using beads to balance with. We'll probably use a ratchet strap to expand the tires. Getting pretty cold here so we may be in for a little more work, but we have both worked at tire replacement before when we were young. Just not tires this large. I can't even lift one of these 19.5 tires by myself, but he can, and he's 6 years older than me. He's pretty stout for a 70 year old guy. His brother is going to help us and he's 62, so 3 old farts changing tires, hehe. His brother says if ya look up cheap in the dictionary Johns pic is on one page and mines on the next. I call it thrifty, never pay someone for things I can do myself. 

Old farts. LOL We can relate...

I did heavy towing and changed many a 20 up through 24 inch tire on the road. You OLD farts remember 20 inch tires on tractor trailers? And Dayton wheels? They were a real treat to change on the road. Not only did you have to worry about blowing yourself up with the rim but then you had to get the dang thing on the truck straight. You can use a bead blaster and put the beads in through the valve stem.

The beads I bought won't go through the valve stem. They are too large, for use in broken down tires or new install. That's what was recommended on the dyna-beads web page.

Interesting, I will have to look into that since I am planning on using the straight rims from the Pace Arrow I am going to be parting out and I was going to use the beads.

I had 7.00x20's on my old Chevy 1 1/2ton flatbed,.... think I bought the last two tires available in the state here in the '70s.

yup,... a REAL old Chevy!!! A 1935 Stovebolt 6, all original rust and quite classic, cost me $35 and a lot of fixin'!!! Tires weren't nearly as important,... never went over 45mph and mechanical brakes never really skidded more than two tires.

Old farts,... HA!!! At least I could fix and mount my own tires with boots, vulcanizing patches and split-ring rims then. Now it costs me whatever they wanna charge!!!

I went out to see if I could break the tires at home. No way, not going to work that hard. We'll load them up and use the tire machine. My tires just showed up from simple tire and the date codes were 3rd month of 15, couple of different days, but all 12 tires were 3rd month. Good looking tire, with a load rating of 3970 lbs and a speed rating of 87 mph. Way more than I need.

They may have glued the beads when they mounted them, if you find that is the case be sure to get all the old glue off before mounting new tires. I would also suggest putting just the rim on the balancer to make sure they are straight, if they are not you will never get rid of the vibration. Oh, and new BOLT IN valve stems! I have seen far too many people use rubber valve stems on high pressure tires and that is a recipe for disaster.

Mine already has steel stems, won't be changing them. My buddy has measured the rim and the new tire and thinks we won't have a problem mounting them. Guess we'll find out next week. Waiting on the beads to come in. My coach didn't have any vibration on the way home from MI. so it shouldn't have any with the new tires. It did have some until the tires warmed up when we left but as soon as the tires warmed, it was smooth sailing. Now my buddies coach has some vibration in the front but he has had his wheels checked and the tires balanced twice with lead weights. He's anxious to see if the beads fix this, but won't know till spring because his is in storage. 

Well when you go to put the beads in his be sure to check the rims, be a shame to chase that demon after all that work when you just had them off.

WOW, we installed my tires today. There is no way us two old guys could mount those tires without a tire machine. We had all we wanted and then some, glad this will be the last set for us. IF I'm still living or owning a coach when these time out I'll hire this done. Won't be doing much for the next couple of days, completely wore out. My wife has chemo tomorrow and that'll be an all day deal. The Lord had to be riding with me on the way home from Muskegone, Mi. as the tires I took off were shot. They didn't really look that bad until we got them off the coach. I didn't even have a tire good enough for a spare. These 14 ply Samson tires are much heavier than the Michelins we took off, can't believe anyone would pay that much for those tires. The ones on my Challenger were the same way, cracks in the sidewalls and in the tread. The Chinese tires on my buddies coach are 08s and don't have a crack in them any place. We'll both be using one of those for spares. 

I got eight of these (6 8-19.5, and 2 225-70-19.5) yesterday for $1060 even, and am looking forward to replacing all of the horribly cracked and flat-spotted wheels on my '87. It has a mish-mash of tires on there now, the newest being Goodyears from 2003, and the oldest being Michelin XZ4's, which, best case, were from 1997, or quite possibly, were the original tires for the coach.

I may try to put these on myself as I do have a tire/balancing machine, but I may just bite the bullet and spend a couple hundred and have them mounted/balanced at a truck shop in town.

How are you liking the Samsons?  We have an 88 Holiday Rambler Alumalite & just got a price of $2750 for 6 Bridgestone.  It's a lot of $$ to us & we're considering the Samsons also.

Quote from: lonniep on March 08, 2017, 05:17 PM
How are you liking the Samsons?  We have an 88 Holiday Rambler Alumalite & just got a price of $2750 for 6 Bridgestone.  It's a lot of $$ to us & we're considering the Samsons also.

I sold my coach last summer, but the guy that bought it took it to Oregon. He said it was smooth sailing there and back. My buddy has a couple thousand miles on his now and really like the Samsons. I just bought another coach but Samson doesn't make the size I need so I bought Yokohamas this time around. Bridgestones are a tier 1 tire and I had a set of those on my Challenger, they were a great tire. I would have bought Samsons again if they made the size I needed. The only company that makes a 235/80r22.5 is Michelin, and a set of those was $4300.00 installed. 245/75r22.5 are going to end up costing me $2200.00 installed with beads. Go for the Samsons.

I like mine, Have had them for four or five years and most of it sitting which is what kills tires. Absolutely no sign of cracking or checking. One of our members on here has them and circles the country every year  and I know he raves about them.

So I bought a used 1996 adventurer 3 years ago with 5 year old Sampsonââ,¬â,,¢s. Iââ,¬â,,¢ve not had any issues with them. Tread is good no cracking. Iââ,¬â,,¢ve put 40,000 miles since buying it.

Quote from: Hakman19 on February 16, 2019, 03:28 PM
So I bought a used 1996 adventurer 3 years ago with 5 year old Sampsonââ,¬â,,¢s. Iââ,¬â,,¢ve not had any issues with them. Tread is good no cracking. Iââ,¬â,,¢ve put 40,000 miles since buying it.

The Sampson tires we had on our old Holiday Rambler Imperial 35 were around 5 years old when we got a different RV...and they were still going strong with no cracks, weathering, checkering, and hardly any tread wear.  When we put new tires on our 1995 Itasca Suncruiser that we have now, we ended up going with Sumitomo tires in 8r-19.5s because of availability.  If the Sampsons had been available at the tire shop we were stranded near, we would have went with those again in a heartbeat.

Kev

My Sampsons are now close to 8 years old and last summer I saw cracking in the sidewalls so this year they will need replacing. I think how much you use a vehicle has a lot to do with how long the tires last as far as sidewall cracking. As long as the rubber is being exercised it will last much longer. Mine was only used twice a year and maybe a thousand miles a year. Still, a LOT better than any of the Michelins!!!

Just bought two new front tires for my rig... Ughh the GL283a are now 149 usd incl. shipping from simpletire commercial! Just 3 years ago they were 110 usd a piece! It is what it is. (Advance is the commercial brand from Samson - same tire)

(https://i.imgur.com/G1rGC7y.jpg)
Last week Simpletire had the Samson/Advance GL823a 8R19.5 for 139$... Sure now they are out of stock.

In stock but 160.19.