[encantotom]

Hi,

i am not advocating any one tire brand here. that said, i put all new michelins on my 2002 a couple of months ago. I used the Micheline Advantage Program to do it. If you are not familiar with it, let me explain the best that i can and share the prices that i got through it.

I also upgraded to the 365 tires for the front since there were no modifications required on my coach.

first of all, the Micheline Advantage Program is a group buying program that requires a membership or belonging to some group. I did it through Dupree Products where i bought the parts for my air dump valves, but a more common place is to do it through FMCA.

It is an unusual process but worked just fine and easily for me.

here is the link to get to it from the FMCA site. you have to have an FMCA account to see it this way.

http://www.fmca.com/join-family-motor-co...how-to-use

if you do not have an FMCA account, here is the direct site at Michelin

http://www.michelintruck.com/michelintru...jsp#mapTop

from dupree products i got a letter with all the info i needed to register on the Michelin site.

i had problems so i called the Advantage help number and a very helpful fellow helped me get registered.

once my account was set up at Michelin, i had to register the credit card i wanted to pay for my tires with. this sits in the account and is not charged till you actually get your tires.

btw, once you have an account you can look at or download the entire product catalog of tires that are available through that program AND the current prices and FET taxes.

now i will share how it worked for me.

i called my local truck tire shop i have used for years. he was very familiar with the advantage program.

here are the prices quoted and they match what i paid.

(for drive and tag) 315 80r 22.5 michelin xza2 energy 586.18 52.83 plus sales $690 total each

(front) 365 70r 22.5 michelin xza 589.36 33.08 $672.00 total each

he didnt have all of them in stock so he ordered them from michelin. (he didnt have the 365's)

about a week later they came in. he required no money from me so far.

i took the coach in and he installed the tires. the way the advantage program works is that you pay the tire shop directly for the mounting and balancing, stems etc so you have to understand what that is going to cost AND they entire in their system that you got the tires and then Michelin bills your credit card for the tires once it goes through their system.

btw, i bought brand new rims for the front tires. i paid ~$1100 for the two rims and sold the old ones for $300 for the pair, net cost of $800.

given that you can keep the front tires on an additional 2 years from an aging perspective (what newell says), it becomes a wash after the first tire change.

so, that is what i did and how it worked for me.

the tire shop had no issue with it at all and said they did it fairly often and it was the best way to get the best prices.

later

tom

[rheavn]

Thanks Tom,
There has been a lot of misunderstanding about the Advantage Program, but your post clears it up.

[encantotom]

the one thing that was not what i had hoped was date codes. the 6 rear 315's were only a couple of months old.

the 2 front 365's were like 10 months old. both the same date.

they had only ordered 2 and there were no others in phoenix.

so...i called michelin and they said that they made tires in batches and that the tires that didnt sell in volume sat until they needed to make more. the 365's are not a big seller for them.

they also told me that they do not sort or have anyway of knowing tire inventory by date code.

so....i had no choice and i took them.

tom

[ron and susan]

My tires had a 2003 date code and was concerned about them.
The front tires were starting to show small cracks.

I used the FMCA Michellin Advantage Tire purchase program.
You must be a member of FMCA.

I paid $540.93 plus $34.59 FET for Michellin 11R24.5XZE2LRH
for each of 8 tires. Mounting costs were additional.

I was quoted $522.45 plus $34.59 FET for 11R24.5/16 149/146L M-154 from LES SCHWAB (a west coast tire chain). These tires
were Toyo.

I think a got a good deal only paying $18 more per tire for michellin tires. The new tires look great.

[encantotom]

ron,

you did the right thing on replacing those tires. 9 years old even if stored inside is too old.

the advantage program is really a good deal.

tom