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Soooo I decided to keep the Sunrader! (My For Sale ad was “live” all of 24 hrs!  Haha.  Its going to be so much work to fix her up but I’m too smitten to give up now).

There’s major water damage inside (thanks to the monsoons here the damage became apparent then much worse).  The interior reno will happen later, as I get healthier.  Right now - engine, tires & essentials are being addressed.

My tires are OLD (like 2010) and I’m shopping around for new ones.  Including a pic of one.  Super confused because there are only 2 numbers - 195/14.  The tire place in town said there should be 3 numbers (like 185/70/14).  I said I only saw 195R/14C stamped there.  Load D.  He said he never heard of such a thing... (just 2 numbers).

I’d like to buy some online, today or tomorrow.  Have ‘em shipped to me.  Then Saturday when my mechanic does alllllllll the front end work (tie rods, bearings, shocks, etc) just have him put all the tires on too.

(Btw - I bought most of the parts he requested from Autozone.  They didn’t carry Bilstien shocks for the Sunrader.  Still need to order shocks, and bushings too...)

There’s my Sunrader update and query (need help from y’all figuring out exactly which tires to order...).  Thanks again everyone!!

(ps - everytime I try to upload pics it says the file is too big...)

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Welcome back to the Hood.

Full tire size LT185r/14C..Load range 102

The LT means light truck, the C means commerical

Load range 102 is the same as load range D or 8 ply (both are obsolete)

Show your tire guy this

https://www.tires-easy.com/185-14/hankook-tires/ra18/tirecode/2001939

See if they will price match

 

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Thanks guys!!  It’s good to be back!  Such an awesome community here.

Does is matter that they say 195 currently?  It won’t be a problem to go to 185s?

Derek Up North: the tire place insisted I was reading it wrong!!  Unbelievable.  “I’ve been working in the tire business for 35 years and have never heard of what you’re describing.” Being a woman / solo traveler I’m used to a fair amount of push back when I try to assert myself regarding repairs/shops.  But I was pretty surprised by this guy.  I’ve taken other vehicles to them and not felt too much of this attitude - it’s been there but pretty subtle.  Today was over the top.  Which is why I plan to order online and have the guy doing the front end repairs this Sat install them... he’s a cool dude.  Very respectful and kind.

WME I’ll use that link - thanks! - such good prices!!  If my mechanic Saturday can’t fit the tires into the repair schedule, I may just order them anyways and see if somewhere in town can put them on for me w/o charging an arm and a leg.

I thought of another thing: should I also replace the spare?  It’s up underneath the bottom of the RV... I can’t imagine it’s still viable...  And is it like a sedan where the “spare” is just a doughnut?  Meant to get you safely to the next repair place?  I mean, are they usually smaller?  Or full sized tires?  (Having trouble gettin up under there to investigate.  Figure if I’m buying 6 tires why not just buy a 7th.  Haha).

Thanks again guys!

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If one of your old tires is in good shape you could have it mounted on your spare rim. Spare tires are rarely used. 

I’m curious, your buying 6 tires. Does this mean you’ve got the six lug rear axle? Are your front hubs also 6 lug? If not, you’re going to need 2 different  spares. Or at least one that fits the front. 

Edited by fred heath
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Thanks Derek up North for the clarification!  

fred heath - grateful you asked that question!  The front tires are 5 lug nuts, the rear 6...  

All of the tires are OLD - 2010 is the date code as far as I can tell... I just got home from physical therapy and am feeling spry so I’ll try to climb under and see what’s there.  But such a good point about needing 2 different spares...

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I carry only one spare and I have the same wheel set up as you. As long as you have good tires, you can drive a long way with only one on one side in the back. Slowly but it can be done so you can get to a place to fix the bad or switch the spare to the right wheel.

Linda S

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Thanks for the info Linda!

But what about the difference in lug nuts?  Wouldn’t I want to keep a spare for each set of lugs?  One spare for the rear dually 6 lug then 1 spare for the 5 lug nut wheels up front?

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This post is from a befuddled mind.^_^CRS and all that. Tire rule #1 weigh your Toy, front axle weight and rear axle weight

Some of the replacement rear axles MIGHT have left hand threads on the driverside rear. Proceed carefully.

You will reuse the lug nuts you have, so you don't need new ones or a split set..

Best original tire becomes the 5 bolt spare,  a flat in the rear means you remove the flat tire and wheel, inflate the remaining tire to 65 psi and proceed CAREFULLY on 3 rear wheels.

A single tire is rated at 1850 lbs, in a dual capicity they are rated at 1650 ea (round numbers). So with 3 tires you have about 5000lbs of carry capacity. Remember rule#1 

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It's a tiny Toyota. No room for extra spare. No I have no spare tire for the rear. I do what WME says and drive it to where the tire on the 5 lug wheel can be put on the rear 6 lug wheels that blew out. I was too cheap to buy a tire in the middle of nowhere once and drove my Sunrader 250 miles with only one tire in the back. Rear and front blew out from metal in the road so spare went on the front. I do remove the blown out tire though. Flapping rubber and steel belts can cause damage

Linda S

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Thanks WME for further clarification... at some point in this thread my brain froze (somewhere around lug nuts) - I was grappling with getting a tarp over the RV by myself in the wind (gave my neighbors some comic relief w/ that) plus pricing shocks (and 5 thousand other things).  I appreciate everyone’s patience on this particular learning curve.

I used the link you posted WME but bought 6 “Sunny” tires, not Hankook (tight budget here). But I DID get Bilstein shocks today (yay!).

Linda that sounds scary as hell - 250 miles on a spare!?!  The rear axle of the Ford van snapped in 2016 - that was terrifying.  Fortunately I was slowly approaching a red light.  About to get on the freeway though, so I was VERY lucky.

Tire tips from everyone are appreciated, and I may dip back in here if getting them put on proves hard (they’re shipping out now).  Otherwise, see y’all on the next query!

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What size tire did you buy a 185 or a 195?

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Ah 195 that explains the Sunny tires.

If you have both an excess of funds and a double helping of paranoia  :innocent:, you need to visit these Guys..https://www.customandcommercialwheel.com/vw-wheels-1/

They make a 5 bolt to 6 bolt adapter. These and 3ea. 6 bolt rims and you have one spare that fits everywhere.

Plan B is find some in your shoes and share the cost of the pair of adapters, each person gets 1.

Then the deal is you get a 6 bolt rim for a spare. If you have a flat in the rear ( its ALWAYS an inside tire:angry:) just bolt the spare on. If you have a flat on the 5 bolt front, you bolt your adapter on and install the 6 bolt spare

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Hahah.  Yep.  Totally explains the Sunnys!  Haha.  And OH MY that website!!!!  No excess of funds (plenty of paranoia though, so extra rubber on the 195s makes up for no excess $).  But that website!  One day...

 

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Tire update: I bought tires from tires.easy.com.  Last Tuesady.  The tires still are not here.

The salesperson said the tires would arrive Saturday (3.24), Monday (3.26) at the latest.  I checked the tracking Sat when the tires never came: the shipment’s not arriving until Tues (3.27).  Which means I have to reschedule the front end repair (for a third time - from Sat, then to Tues morn, and now to Tues afternoon if my guy can squeeze me in).  

I called tires.easy.com to get to the bottom of it and encountered lots of rudeness: the salesperson today said the delay was due to snow out East and they have thousands of customers and no way to update when shipping arrivals are changing.  I asked to speak to a manager.  She never came on the line and didn’t return my call...

I called FedEx: they said the order went out the day AFTER my purchase, and the company used “Ground”.  No way possible for the tires to arrive Sat (in CA / shipping from PA).  All of which tires.easy.com would have known at the time of my purchase.

I called tires.easy.com again, insisting the mgr take my call.  She was pretty condescending.  Said it’s an estimate, that I should rely on the tracking info (“Didn’t you check the order tracking number?”), not salesmen’s words, that they have no control over weather, FedEx, etc.  I said I understand that it’s an estimate, that they can’t control certain variables, but there is a constant in this equation - FedEx Ground - and that sales ppl shouldn’t lie about arrival times just to make a sale - especially when FedEx assured me tires.easy.com is fully aware of how long it takes when using “Ground”.  Because had they been honest about the actual arrival date I’d probably have gone elsewhere.  

The manager’s reply to my frustration?  She said it could have been worse; they could have shipped freight.

She said she’d communicate my experience to her staff, but “I really don’t know what else you want me to do”.  No mention of a discount, or future coupon, or anything.  Not apologetic about the miscommunication regarding the arrival date.  No regard for how it’s affecting my life/repair schedule. I spent HUNDREDS of dollars on 6 new tires.  Apparently they could care less.  So I’m sharing this experience, in case others use tires.easy.com so you’ll be fully aware of what to expect.  At least, what I’ve  encountered thus far (it ain’t over till my order arrives & is accurate).

Cheap / discounted tires.  Yes!  For sure.  However, they arrive whenever they get there with no exact / promised / garunteed dates (FedEx Ground).  Lackluster customer service.  Possibly more to share about it whenever the tires do get here.  (Fingers crossed they are what I actually paid for / ordered...).  Just a long FYI / PSA about my tire shopping experience.

:mellow:

 

Edited by roadtriprachel
typo
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I'm sorry but I would never expect something as heavy as tires to be shipped any way but ground. With this company it depends on what brand you bought. Some are shipped from warehouses right here in California and like the ones you bought some come all the way across the country. Customer service is not great anywhere anymore to my mind. Hey your getting them in only a week. Seems fast to me

Linda S

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The only source you can trust is the shipper. As soon as you get a tracking number go to the shippers web site. I have been told 2 days by the seller and the shipper said 6 days. the parts arrived in 6 days.

Living in the Rockies weather is a exceptable excuse. We still see UPS and FEDEX trucks on their side with boxes everywhere, so if they shut down its reallybad.

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It seems to me that since they make their living by selling pretty much only tires, they should have a 'feel' for where their different tires are being shipped from and the transit times. You want Sunny tires? East Coast, ~6 day transit. Yokohamas? West Coast warehouse, 2 days (I'm making that up. I've no idea where their warehouse is!).

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WME I had so little trouble with the Bilstien shocks and all the other parts ordered - these tires are definitely a lesson in who to ask about realistic arrival dates; as you said - the SHIPPER.  Argh.

Linda I hear you, but my point of contention lies with how clear I was about my repair timeline at the time of purchase.  I asked if these would arrive when I needed and was told YES.  According to FedEx (and my tracking info), the tires didn’t even go out until the day AFTER I ordered them.  There was no way I could have gotten the tires when I needed them.  Add in the apathy of the manager and it’s beyond “not great customer service” - it was dishonesty and rudeness, in equal amounts.  (Though I do agree with you that in general, bad customer service is the new normal.)

Derek up North - the tires were <$400 but to someone like me that is a LOT of money.  (My budget for the Sunrader purchase was $3000 max - I ended up spending $2400).  Every penny counts in my world, which is why I’m so steamed... so far the tires are the biggest single purchase and tires.easy.com could care less.  I guess it’s chump change to them... haha

So the point of my initial rant, is when I make a large purchase, like 6 new tires, I expect a modicum of appreciation for my business.  Not being clear about the shipping when that’s part of your job is unacceptable to me.  So I’m pretty salty about it.

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I bought KYB shocks for my Explorer a while back. 2 for one deal great buy or so I thought. This was from the KYB outlet which I now know has nothing to do with the actual shock absorber company. Shocks didn't get shipped for ten days. Multiple calls and told it was a mix up at the warehouse. I finally got them 16 days later. Surprise, there are only 2 shocks and I ordered 4. Turns out their online ad where they show 100% savings on the second set of shocks means that they don't have them in stock and you save all that money because you don't get them. That's shopping online. You take the risk because of the money you can save but sometimes it's a bust. For anyone who doesn't want to get SHOCKED

shocks.com

justsuspension.com 

 kyboutlet.com

I do think they have other names. Finally got my money back from them last week. 2 months to credit my account

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Waiting is part of the norm today when buying from discount sources. Many times they are a middleman with no active inventory. 

When a timely delivery is important I’ve had good luck with amazon prime. They guarantee delivery within 2 days. There is an up charge for this service but if you purchase regularly online it’s a great benefit. 

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I have had ordered parts disappear into the abyss, part of living in the modern world and nothing to get upset about. Unless sitting on the side of the road waiting for the new widget. 

Then mysteriously after a few months the item shows up and acts like nothing has happened? 

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