Package Receiving Service?

[kromboy]

I just bought a bus out in Oregon from a school district, I'm in Colorado and will be flying out in 2 weeks to get it.

I received some info from the foreman and it looks like oil changes were done 2000 miles ago and much of the maintenance work including annual inspection was done just last March, however one bad news was that the front tires are from 2016.

I wanted to get this done before I make the trip back, I shopped around for tires and found a place willing to do it either with their tires or BYO, if I BYO my own tires it'll be about $300 cheaper for the two tires and I'm trying to figure out the logistics.

This would be from Walmart.com but they don't allow shipping to store for pick up. If you know a retailer that can do something like that and still be competitive with pricing, please let me know. Destination is Salem, OR I can drive out to Portland if needed.

So my other option is package receiving service, I don't know if the logistical challenges would be worth it and I've never used such a service before.

Does anybody have a suggestion in this case to have the tires ready for me to pick up and bring to the tire shop? Worst case scenario I'll just foot the bill and pay the extra to buy the tires from the shop but I'm rather fond of the Thai tires from walmart.com and have had good experience with them.

[Kentucky Dreaming]

I read your earlier post where you quoted the bus garage dude. He said it was the drive tires that were from 2016. That means you need 4 tires and not 2. Luckily drive tires are a lot cheaper than steer tires.

[Tejon7]

Tire age is a touchy subject, so I know some people will disagree with me here:

If they look ok, just drive it home.

If you want to be extra cautious, check pressure daily, check tire temp with an IR heat gun every stop, and drive a little slower than you normally would.

If they're actually the drive ties and not the steers, then I'm gonna double down and say DEFINITELY just get home with the current tires. If you're like most of us, once you get home the bus is going to do very little driving until conversion is finished, and that can easily stretch across multiple years. No point buying new tires just to have them age out in your driveway.

[kromboy]

Originally Posted by Kentucky Dreaming

I read your earlier post where you quoted the bus garage dude. He said it was the drive tires that were from 2016. That means you need 4 tires and not 2. Luckily drive tires are a lot cheaper than steer tires.

Ugh you're right, I always mix up the steer and drive.
Thanks for pointing that out!

Tire Size: 11R22.5
Front Tire condition:
RF- 9/32" LF- 13/32"

Rear Tire Condition:
RRO- 27/32" LRO- 15/32"
RRI- 28/32" LRI- 16/32"

This was the info on the auction listing so I just assumed the oldest would be the front, but I'm guessing the rears just aged out without losing much tread.

I am curious about the Right side rears, hopefully they can get back to me with a little more info on it.

[kromboy]

Originally Posted by Tejon7

Tire age is a touchy subject, so I know some people will disagree with me here:

If they look ok, just drive it home.

If you want to be extra cautious, check pressure daily, check tire temp with an IR heat gun every stop, and drive a little slower than you normally would.

If they're actually the drive ties and not the steers, then I'm gonna double down and say DEFINITELY just get home with the current tires. If you're like most of us, once you get home the bus is going to do very little driving until conversion is finished, and that can easily stretch across multiple years. No point buying new tires just to have them age out in your driveway.

That's a good point, maybe it's a good thing that the drive tires are the ones aged.

It's going to be the maiden voyage, so I will definitely be driving slower than I can go, will be taking in the sights and taking it slow.

I am also going to sign up for coachnet before I leave so you've given me some food for thought.

Thanks!

[nikitis]

I would inspect the tires. You are going on a long trip, however just look for any cracks on the sidewalls, inside and out. If it's solid it's likely going to be fine still for the trip.

Since the tires are near max age. One thing to look for that hit me was check to see if the tires are worn on one side more than the other. (Particularly the inside side will be the worn surface) this is an indication that your king pins are bad and you likely don't want to drive that far on old tires or new if that's the situation. You can drive with bad king pins. but on such a long trip, it will wear and rub one side even on freshly new tires. You'll get home safely on new tires, but may find yourself having to buy new ones again because they'll be worn again. If the tire wear is even and no cracks on side walls when you inspect them, then you are likely good to go imo on the old ones.

[Toddthomp]

I live in Corvallis Oregon which is 50 minutes from Salem. I think as long as the steer tires are in fairly good shape, I’d put the most worn drive tires on the outside of the rear axle and the better ones on the inside in case one blows it doesn’t wreck havoc with your wheel well. To have this done I would go to Les Schwab. This is a northwest tire shop that started in Oregon and are known for paying employees well and the service/prices really show it. I recently had them swap some tires around, and install/balance a couple new ones for $200. If you’re only moving tires without installing I would bet it’s $80-$100. If you’re strong in the arms and you need to borrow the right tools to do it yourself you’re more than welcome to borrow mine and if you’re going to buy new ones and need a place to ship them PM me so we can work something out.