Tuesday, February 4, 2014

A tale of two tire shops


While I was in Quartzsite I wanted to have the tires on The Palms checked, rotated and balanced, and also have the front end aligned.  A shop in Blythe was highly recommended, so I made an appointment with Standage Tire & Auto.


I highly recommend this tire shop - they started working on The Palms right away, the work was done faster than estimated, and the final bill was less than estimated.  What more could you want? 

The owner of the store, Mr. Standage, behind the desk:


Here is the tire store - it's a Goodyear shop:


Standage Tire & Auto
420 W. Hobson Way
Blythe, CA  92225
(760) 922-3191

I was feeling good that my tires were good to go!

Then - when the tires were check, rotated, and everything was fine, I ran over that big rock.  It was recommend that I have those two rear tires checked to make sure they weren't damaged.  So when I was planning to leave Quartzsite and drive on the freeways again, I took The Palms to the only tire place in town, American Custom Tire.  I called them and explained what happened with the rock getting stuck between the dualies on the right rear of the motor home, and David said to come in any time and they would check out the tires. 

I called last Thursday morning and asked if they had room to check out my tires, and got a 10:00 appointment.  When I got there, I was directed to the last bay, shown below.  Lots of room!


This is the front door of American Customer Tire which shows the address, hours and phone number.


Below is the rest of the work area, it was a slow morning with the Big Tent Event over and lots of RVers gone.


Here comes Rigo with the jack.


Rigo removed the tires and checked them for damage the rock might have caused.


Below is the inside of the outer tire.  You can see where the rubber was scratched, but it was surface discoloration only.


The inside of the inner tire had even less marking from the rock, and looked fine.


Rigo put the tires back on and checked the pressure.  See the little white label at 4 o'clock on the rim?  After I had The Palms weighed and got the individual tire pressure for front and rear tires, I made labels and stuck them on the rims of each tire - 70 PSI for the front tires and 65 PSI for the rear tires.  Now I always point to the labels when I'm having the tire pressure checked and tell them to use that number, not whatever is recommended.


Here's their card:


I would definitely recommend this company.  They were very nice, did the work asked, gave me their opinion on whether or not there was damage to the tires.  I agreed with them after seeing the inside of the tires, but they could have told me they were bad and tried to up-sell two new tires.  I would have gotten a second opinion, but it was nice to be treated fairly.

But, here's a question for you. Look at the letters on this tire:

Another photo of the same tire is below.  Rigo said the scraping or whatever that is on the letters was caused by riding on the tire when it was low on air.  That couldn't have happened.  These tires were put on when I bought The Palms in 2010 and I've never run them low.  A few pounds maybe, but that's it. When I was in Blythe having the tires rotated, they checked the tires and said they were all okay, so I'm thinking this scraping isn't damaging to the tire.


I'm wondering what would cause this discoloration/scraping looking change to the letters on the tire.  It's only on one, which I think was a front tire before they were rotated.  Any ideas?  Someone saw some "feathering" on the front tires and he was the one who suggested that I need a front end alignment and recommended Standage.  Is this feathering?  Have you seen this before? 

From me and Katie, have a great day, everybody!  :)

19 comments:

  1. Could it be UV damage? Do you cover your tires while parked? Just a thought...if you don't cover, you might want yo consider it.
    Nina and Paul

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  2. Actually look at the sidewalls around the lettering and there is more checking of the rubber. It is a standard event for tires as they reach the limits of age. You are correct that the rock did no important damage to the tires. Even the checkering is not bad at all. Find out from the internet to look at the tire to determine the mfg date.
    Then you will know how old the tires really are, not just when they were installed. I do not have the information on life expectancy in years for your tires handy. Most RV tires age out before they wear out.

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    Replies
    1. Barney - the tires show 2010 on the sidewall and I bought the motor home in April of 2011. I got it at La Mesa RV in San Diego and they told me they put new tires on. They were within a year from manufacture date at that point, and were "new." I figure I have the full date range of usage since I don't drive much and they are holding up well.

      My spare is a 2005, so it is the original tire and works for a spare, but I'd never drive with it unless I was on the way to a tire shop.

      I think I'll get all the info and check online for the life expectancy for these tires. Thanks for that tip. :)

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  3. You are fortunate to find two companies that you could trust to do good work at a fair price.

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  4. Jim says it's not feathering. He thinks it looks like you may have scraped a curb or a rock somewhere along the way. He also said that if a tire company didn't try to sell you a new tire then you can definitely believe them when they say there is no reason to worry about them because you have found an honest dealer.

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  5. Thanks, Sandie - I was hoping to get Jim's input. And... I know I haven't driven with tire low on air, but I'll bet I HAVE scraped a curb or two along the way. :)

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  6. I certainly impressed with how thorough you are with your RV maintenance. It's really nice to find two reputable dealers to do business with. Good on ya'

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  7. Oh I know I sure have scraped more than a curb or two !!!

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  8. I just got new tires for my vintage trailer last Spring....but didn't know to check for the manufacture date. I pray they aren't vintage. You were fortunate with your tire dealers!!



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    Replies
    1. klbexplores, it's easy to tell the manufacture date of tires. Look for the DOT code on the sidewall. DOT U2LL LMLR 5107 It's either on the inside or outside of the tire. The last four numbers - 5107 - that means it was manufactured during the 51st week of the year 2007. The DOT U2LL will be on both sides, but the date code will usually only be on one side, I think. I'm checking mine tomorrow - I know they are 2010 tires, but it would make a difference if the first two numbers are 01 as opposed to 52. First week or last week of 2010. :)

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  9. Glad you got some suggestions because I would have no idea. It's always good to hear there are honest business folk out there! I'm sure they would appreciate your comments.

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  10. You might want to check the dates on your tires.... (4 digits ---- first two are the week, second two are the last digits of the year... example: 1408 would be the fourteenth week of 2008)

    And if you wish, you can post good --or bad--- reviews on www.rvservicereviews.com it helps other RVers to find the great shops, or avoid the bad ones!



    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
    Karen and Steve
    (Blog) RVing: The USA Is Our Big Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com
    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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    Replies
    1. Karen thanks. Yes, the tires are all dated which is a good thing. And thanks for commenting about the rvservicereviews website. I've listed many of my service shops there, all good except for one. I really like using it for GOOD reviews - because a lot of times we only complain about the bad ones and don't give proper credit to the good companies. Thanks for both suggestions. :) (I'm so enjoying your posts about Finnegan!)

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  11. It looks like most of the tread is worn off near the edge of the tire. This can come from tire pressure or incorrect alignment. It may be time to replace this tire.

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  12. I bought all new tires a couple of years ago in Florida for my 25' Class C. I bought Michelins. I received a recent letter from Michelin indicating there could be a recall of my tires. To make a long story short, I got a full set of Michelin replacement tires. No charge!!

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  13. Both the tire shop review and the photos of the tires are very interesting and great info for the rest of us!

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  14. I am impressed that a question was posed to "you" and it received many good, positive responses.
    Tires are very important to say the least.

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  15. The abrasion on the sidewall of the tire could have been caused by a variety of things as a part of normal driving. There does not appear to be any cuts or serious cracking. FEATHERING, I believe is the beginning of some uneven wear on the tread part of the tire. Either the inside or the outside of the tread starts to wear more than the rest of the tread. This is an indication that there is a problem with the front end alignment. The date codes are very important on your current set of tires and you should check them on any future purchases.

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  16. The casters wheel is the important part of every office and home, in the furniture, roller, skating and in many other, casters has very important role.


    Solid rubber wheels & Resin wheels

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Thank you for your comments - we LOVE them!