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TinTin · 11-04-2014, 05:28 PM

Does anyone know whether LT tire warranties are valid when used on trailers?

When I purchased my LTXs a while back from Costco, they asked me what vehicle they would be used on. I mentioned I would be mounting them on my travel trailer. When filling out the warranty forms, they picked a random truck from the computer for the warranty page and listed mileage as 000000.

Knock on wood I won't have a tire problem over the next five years. But does anyone have the straight goods on trailer use warranty implications?

A W Warn · 11-04-2014, 05:46 PM

I called Michelin and asked. They told me they would not warranty their LT tire if installed on my Airstream. Their written warranty has some verbiage about "misapplication". That's what they call it, when someone installs a LT tire on a trailer. Not sure about other brands.

SteveH · 11-04-2014, 05:53 PM

Discount worked with me along with BFG on some BF Goodrich Commercial T/A's to get warranty on them, and of course they knew they were on a trailer. IIRC, Michelin owns BFG.

Tomy · 11-04-2014, 06:51 PM

The load rating of the LTX's and the Commercial T/A are similar. The T/A is designed as a fleet tire, where the biggest desire is long wear, and for the smarter fleet owners, fuel savings. The LTX more for ride comfort. But there shouldn't be any problem as long as you don't exceed load ratings.

Michelin is going to say no when talking to an individual, because all they are doing is losing the sale of one set of tires, which is not worth the legal cya.

A large volume dealer like Discount, they hold bigger sway. So if you want the warranty you should probably go through a big dealer.

The conversation is usually marketing and sales wants to say 'yes', legal wants to say 'no', and the Michelin engineers say 'It should be fine as long as you don't exceed loads, however, we have never tested the tire in this configuration.'

SteveSueMac · 11-04-2014, 06:53 PM

I never thought to ask - the guys at the shop knew they were going on a trailer and that voided the roadside warranty. :-/

AtomicNo13 · 11-04-2014, 07:32 PM

I have received written confirmation from 3 insurance companies that they will not cover losses whenever there is a misapplication of equipment. My own carrier sent me this info without being asked.... but after a yearly inspection due to my agreed value policy. I removed the Lts and went with the Goodyear g26 cargos on both 34' trailers. Not worth being uncovered due to a poor tire choice!

TinTin · 11-04-2014, 07:35 PM

Well that's strange. You're essentially saying that the insurance on any current 25 foot plus Airstream would be null and void; they now come with LTX Michelin tires as standard equipment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtomicNo13

I have received written confirmation from 3 insurance companies that they will not cover losses whenever there is a misapplication of equipment. My own carrier sent me this info without being asked.... but after a yearly inspection due to my agreed value policy. I removed the Lts and went with the Goodyear g26 cargos on both 34' trailers. Not worth being uncovered due to a poor tire choice!

AtomicNo13 · 11-04-2014, 07:51 PM

When I got my PanAmerica in 09, my Michelin dealer absolutely refused to mount tires on my trailer, a regional corporate manager came to see the situation. Official word was Michelin would not mount tires where they would be used in a mis application situation, then I got the whole voided warranty disclosure which is a part of every tire sale. I questioned the fact that the factory offered thus as an option.... He checked through the corporate structure and sure enough stressed that AS can do as they wish, include offer these tires on their products, there would certainly be no coverage through Michelin, but through only Airstream.
Not a lawyer, but sounds to me like AS holds the bag on this as they supply the tire as part of their product.

TinTin · 11-04-2014, 08:07 PM

Atomic, are you talking about tire warranty here or trailer insurance?

I accept the fact that the 115,000 km tire warranty won't be honoured. No problem.

**moosetags** · 11-04-2014, 08:18 PM

It's kind of a mmot point as ST trailer tires have no warranty to speak of.

Brian

Tomy · 11-04-2014, 08:35 PM

Yeah, the problem is that there is not a large enough market for Michelin to justify the cost of the extensive (and I mean extensive) testing that they would feel safe with. Michelin is still pretty much a family owned business. The obsession with quality has always been there. The obsession with safety was probably intensified by the Firestone 500 incident. That was pretty much the demise of that company. Bridgestone, a Japanese company, bought them at a seriously bargain price, mostly for the manufacturing facilities in the US. The Firestone brand was damaged for years to come.

But it is not just fear of lawsuits. Michelin has always strived the be the best quality and safest tire. I liken Michelin to Volvo.

So, yeah, the real danger here is to Airstream in the case of an accident that was attributed to the tires. But in reality, I have vastly more confidence in the Michelins over that particular Goodyear tire, because we have multiple reports of blowouts with the Goodyears, and zero blowouts of the Michelins.

I realize this is anecdotal, and that we have to take in consideration that:

- Michelins haven't been used long enough to know the rate of failures.

- TT tires are suspect because lack of use without proper protection from UV and Ozone, that can contribute to failures from tire rot.

If you think about it, the stresses trucks put on tires greatly exceed any reasonable use on a travel trailer. Only if you are experiencing serious sway at seventy, or fishtailing at that speed, would the forces be great than anything the tire would experience on a truck.

When I place my order, it will have Michelins on it. Now if only Volvo made a half ton luxury diesel pickup.

SteveH · 11-04-2014, 08:40 PM

I had an LT tire failure this summer, a BFG Commercial T/A, it did over $2,000 damage to the trailer, and my insurance paid the bill no questions asked.

SSquared · 11-04-2014, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtomicNo13

I have received written confirmation from 3 insurance companies that they will not cover losses whenever there is a misapplication of equipment. My own carrier sent me this info without being asked.... but after a yearly inspection due to my agreed value policy. I removed the Lts and went with the Goodyear g26 cargos on both 34' trailers. Not worth being uncovered due to a poor tire choice!

Atomic,
Which "Lts" did you have? The Michelin 16 inch "LT" (truck) tire? The Michelin 15 inch "P" (car) tire (called LTX/MS2 but not a "LT" tire)? Something else? And is the Goodyear g26 a "trailer" tire or a "truck" (LT)tire?

Tomy · 11-04-2014, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveH

I had an LT tire failure this summer, a BFG Commercial T/A, it did over $2,000 damage to the trailer, and my insurance paid the bill no questions asked.

Thanks for sharing this. Can you give us more details?

SteveH · 11-04-2014, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomy

Thanks for sharing this. Can you give us more details.

Take a look at the "has anyone had a LT tire fail" thread. I wrote all about it there.

AtomicNo13 · 11-04-2014, 08:57 PM

I had the 16", same as supplied by AS now. On my Classic I have had 3 failures, all on well maintained properly inflated tires. All were on the 3rd axle, all were sidewall failures during or shortly after tight turns. The sidewall ripped or the bead failed. One tire failed just days after being replaced. The Goodyear is a cargo tire in a whole different league. Makes a lt tire look like a balloon!

interstateflyer · 11-05-2014, 01:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtomicNo13

I had the 16", same as supplied by AS now. On my Classic I have had 3 failures, all on well maintained properly inflated tires. All were on the 3rd axle, all were sidewall failures during or shortly after tight turns. The sidewall ripped or the bead failed. One tire failed just days after being replaced. The Goodyear is a cargo tire in a whole different league. Makes a lt tire look like a balloon!

Just to be clear. Your 3 tire failures were with the Goodyear Marathons or with the Michelin 16 inch?

AtomicNo13 · 11-05-2014, 03:50 AM

Michelin 16" LT....

SteveSueMac · 11-05-2014, 04:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtomicNo13

I have received written confirmation from 3 insurance companies that they will not cover losses whenever there is a misapplication of equipment. My own carrier sent me this info without being asked.... but after a yearly inspection due to my agreed value policy. I removed the Lts and went with the Goodyear g26 cargos on both 34' trailers. Not worth being uncovered due to a poor tire choice!

I looked at the Goodyear cargos in a 15" but the aspect ratio looked like it might drop the trailer an inch or more. Did you have that experience and if so, what do you think of ground clearance? Did you also have to make adjustments to your rig to stay level or was there no change?

SteveH · 11-05-2014, 04:45 AM

Please explain why the Goodyear Cargo is any better. They are LT tires, and not even a E rating, but a D rating, so why would they be any better than the Michelin E rating LT's?

I can understand the LTX as it is actually a P Metric tire, but my 16" are LT's and so why would they be considered a "misapplication"?