Did you have to replace tires yet? What was the cost?

[adic27]

I need to change my tires so my skoolie can pass inspection. I'm not sure if I need to change all of them but I'm sure at least one definitely needs to be replaced. What am I looking at spending per tire? I would love to save by purchasing used if that option is available. I have a 12 window 98 international 3800 btw

 

[Brad_SwiftFur]

What tire size you running? Used tires are an option, just don't put recaps on the steering axle (a *BIG* no-no). I'd expect to pay anywhere from $100 (used) to $200 (recap) to $350 (new, budget friendly tire), depending on size.

 

[adic27]

Thanks for replying!

Tire size is 245/75R22.5 (131L).

 

[Brad_SwiftFur]

That's a common "Lo-Pro" 22.5, widely used in the trucking industry.

 

[o1marc]

I've still got 6 good used wheels and tires if anyone in the area needs them. Dated from 2016,2017.

 

[adic27]

I've still got 6 good used wheels and tires if anyone in the area needs them. Dated from 2016,2017.

How much?..

 

[o1marc]

How much?..

https://www.skoolie.net/forums/f14/set-of-wheels-tires-25253.html

I'm negotiable,

 

[GWRider-SKO]

I saw an article that came out 3 days ago saying "About ⅓ of public school districts depend on private buses -- but the industry is veering toward disaster."

The above coincides with what I heard about there being an over supply of tires on the market because bus companies in general are in limited or no operations. I will eventually be needing tires (mine are 13 years old) but not for at least a couple of years. If this is true and they do happen to come down far enough, it might make sense to buy them now. It just depends on the price and how long the tires will be good for (date code) etc.

 

[adic27]

I saw an article that came out 3 days ago saying "About ⅓ of public school districts depend on private buses -- but the industry is veering toward disaster."

The above coincides with what I heard about there being an over supply of tires on the market because bus companies in general are in limited or no operations. I will eventually be needing tires (mine are 13 years old) but not for at least a couple of years. If this is true and they do happen to come down far enough, it might make sense to buy them now. It just depends on the price and how long the tires will be good for (date code) etc.

So, you're gonna go straight to the school district or? How does that work? Is there someone in specific one would call?

 

[cadillackid]

ive replaced the tires on all my busses.. the red bus had decent tires on it when I got it. but they were getting worn out after i had driven 35,000 miles on the bus..


my DEV bus a couple of them had weather cracking and since I knew I'd be driving the bus all over the country. and locally. I went ahead and put 6 new tires on. that was 4 yeaers ago and ive had zero tire issues..

 

[adic27]

ive replaced the tires on all my busses.. the red bus had decent tires on it when I got it. but they were getting worn out after i had driven 35,000 miles on the bus..


my DEV bus a couple of them had weather cracking and since I knew I'd be driving the bus all over the country. and locally. I went ahead and put 6 new tires on. that was 4 yeaers ago and ive had zero tire issues..

Where did you go to get them and what was the brand/cost?

 

[cadillackid]

the first set were 11R22.5's and i got that themn at a Local tire shop (zieglar tire). they are uniroyal (division of michelin).. they were expensive.. I was naive. and paid north of 2k for them.. (all 6).. that said ive had zero issues and they are wearing extremely well.. even with all the road tripping I do in the bus i have a feeling ill still age them out before I wear em out.



my red bus uses 225/70R19.5s i got those from BestDrive commercial tire centers (my local shop loves the busses and they piggyback me off of one of their big clients to get a healthy discount.. it helps me and that customer (their colume goes up).. win-win.. I had a little over a grand in those tires (all 6).. they are chinese brand ironman



both sets of tires were out the door price.. mount balance, new valvestems


I have had zero issues out of those tires also.. however they have only been on a year and I only drove the bus maybe 4,000 miles or so since I got them.. Covid hit and my normal regimen of road-tripping for long trips all over has been curtailed until recently.. and with covid im using the Dev bus (first one above).. since it has my work and dining area in it..

-Christopher

 

[GWRider-SKO]

adic27: I did not explain that to well. I meant that since bus companies and School Districts are not operating their Busses to the extent they once did, the need to replace tires will be much lower. This in turn should cause a tire surplus and lower prices a bit.

School Districts that own their own Busses tend to use auction sites but have sold on Craigslist (how I purchased my Crown). I always verify the date codes when buying tires from anybody.

Also, not sure if you are familiar with tire properties (Speed rating, Load Range/Ply Rating etc.) but they can differ between Busses. You will likely want to get familiar with these before shopping around for tires. For example, there are suppliers out there that will sell you tires for your Bus that are actually transit bus tires. Transit tires have like a G or H speed rating (up to 56mph) and may not be safe for your Bus.

 

[Brad_SwiftFur]

Most commercial tires I have encountered are rated for 75-78 MPH. The primary exceptions are deep tread tires such as one might find on a log truck which are commonly rated for 55.

 

[cadillackid]

all of the common brands I have been buying are 75 MPH tires, that seems the most common for Commercial.. some of the 19.5's I looked at were 80.

 

[rebapuck]

Just clarifying... You said 245/75R22.5, but every picture shows 265/75R22.5

 

[adic27]

Just clarifying... You said 245/75R22.5, but every picture shows 265/75R22.5

Good catch, thanks!

 

[WIbluebird]

Most bus operations use 11r22.5 tires. They are an extremely common tire size and if all the private bus contractors were to go out of business tomorrow I am unsure as to whether it would affect national pricing significantly.



As for the OP's question yes I had to replace the steers on my bus right away after getting it. There is/was a wear issue on the front passenger side steer where there was almost NO tread remaining on the inner 1/4 of the tread surface $1200 for Firestone FS591s mounted and balanced.


I still need to get it to a truck shop for an alignment. The tire place said my kingpins looked ok so hopefully it's just the alignment and/or bad shocks.

 

[JackE]

I still need to get it to a truck shop for an alignment. The tire place said my kingpins looked ok so hopefully it's just the alignment and/or bad shocks.

The maiden voyage for my bus will be the big city and the alignment shop. My back end runs about 6 inches to the left of the front going down the highway. It's very noticeable looking in the mirror! Lucky for me, there is a good big truck tire shop and a big truck paint shop next to the big truck alignment shop. Maybe my long lost rich uncle will die and leave me enough money to get all of it done in the same trip!

 

[ol trunt]

I'm at a different point than most new skoolies--I'm looking at a second set of new tires. My little bus uses the same size tires as the 1 ton and 1 1/2 ton tradesman's trucks so I plan to put new tires on and sell my used tires before they are over 7 years old. Yes, I subscribe to the "industry 7 year life span standard" though I think it is probably really due to the industry making really crap tires these days. Who knows? My tires are now 6 years old and have about 90% of their tread left and show no sign of cracking. At 60 to 70 percent of new cost they'll be gone in no time and I'll have another 6 years to enjoy new tires.
Jack