-
Spare 365 tire
Just wondering if any of you travel with a spare 365 tire? I’m traveling from the west coast to the east coast and needed a tire when I was in Cincinnati/Kentucky border . I hit a curb with my tag when making a right turn on a narrow street due to a detour. Okay now you know how I ripped up my tire. I tried every resource I could think of and no 365 tire within 300 miles. Lucky for me I had a friend in Nashville that works on entertainer bus that had one in stock. He took the time and drove it out to me. 10 hours later i was back on the road. Just for your info trying to find a 365 tire is a pain in the ass. I’m seriously thinking of putting one on the roof and covering it so it doesn’t look like shit. No I’m not going to tell you how much this little ordeal cost me.
-
17 Replies
-
Sid,
Did you use the Michelin On Call, just curious, we’ve had that discussion in the past and wondering if it worked. FYI, you could have put a 315 on the tag wheel to get you down the road.
-
Hey Tom, Yes I did try Michiln Hot line but they didn’t have any. Then i got ahold of Prevost Nashville and the busted their butts to help track one but no luck. Here is the information on the guy who helped me out.
CDW Coach and Diesel Works of Nashville
office 615-447-5851
cell. 615-743-5101
24B Industrail Park Dr.
Hendersonville,TN -
As Tom stated you can use a 315 tire on the 365 wheel when you have an emergency and no 365 tires are available.
In an emegency any of the Prevost service centers should be able to send you a 365 tire. Our deal with Michelin is that we will not compete with their tire dealers and sell tires. But as the O.E.M. we do normally keep 365 MIchelins in stock but our price is not like one found at a Michelin dealer. If Nashville did not have one, they could have had one of the other service centers ship a tire to you but that would take time.
Back in 2010 at one of the Prevost Prouds rallies we had the people from Michelin in South Carolina come to the rally and talk about their tires, It was at this seminar that we were told that Michelin would allow the mounting of a 315 tire on the 10.5 inch wide wheel used for the 365. That would get you back on the road and you could get the correct tire on the tag when you were able to find one.
If you really want to get going, then have the mobile tire repair get you a 315 tire and a 9 inch steel or aluminum wheel ( be sure he gets the correct wheel: earlier wheels were stud-mounted and all the later units , after 2004 or 2005 had the hub-mounted wheels that Michelin preferred) and mount it and go on. Here again you can get the correct tire for the rim that is now in one of your bays from the 365 tire that is no good.
This would also apply if you lost a front tire. Move the 365 from the tag to the front and do as I described above with the 315 tire and wheel. The only reason we use the 365 tires on the tag axle is to provide a “spare” when there is a problem. Plus the 365 is used by Prevost and now by VanHool double decker coaches. So there are not as many of these produced as the 315 and the Michelin dealers do not stock them if they are going to sit for a long time on their shelves. They all can get them but the time element is usually unknown.
The spare tire area in the shells and coaches behind the front bumper was changed a few years ago to allow the entertainer H shell and Xl2 shells to accept a 365 spare. The motor home shells have the space now but no converter orders the shell that way as that space is needed in their conversion plan.
So as Jon has noted many times on the forum you need to check tire pressures are correct for the axle weights and that they are checked often for any blemish that might cause a blow out. They are the bedrock upon which your home rides down the road.
-
The owner at CDW (Joey) is a great guy. He is very well respected in that town and he installs our engines for folks that can’t get their bus to out shop for installs. He worked for Prevost Nashville in his younger days then was picked up by Roberts Brother Leasing. And then I’d say 3 or 5 years ago he went out on his own. He is a hands on owner and each time I have gone to visit him, he is quick to get back to working on a bus.
-
Thanks for that information
Sid
-
Maybe we need members who keep “spares” in different parts of the country to create a list. I have a spare 365 in Bonita Springs Fl. and in Windham, Maine. Both are now out of date but available to anyone who needs one in a pinch…. FREE
-
That is awlful nice of you !!! I will have one in Southern Ca. as soon as i get home from this trip in August. I’m headed to Bangor,Maine in the morning
-
We carried a spare on our first coach because we learned 120 tires were not common.
All that ended up happening was we aged out 9 tires instead of 8.
-
As KC,MO is in the heart of USA I would be willing to keep a 365 tire at our bus barn.
Ideas ?
Access would be easy, I think. If I knew you were coming it could be set outside. Not likely to be stolen.
If I’am on the road… arrangements could be made with my neighbor close to bus barn to get access. Ideas ?
We have a truck road service which base location operates 6 miles from bus barn. This would solve the problem of mounting tire on rim.
Just used service to remove tag wheel….but that’s another story.
-
Keeping a spare tire means it is aging. And that is the problem because unless there is a steady demand it may age out and the question then becomes at whose expense?
If there was a steady demand the folks who are in the best position to fill that denmand are Michelin dealers. But guess what? They don’t think the demand justifies the expense.
-
I am aware that both tires have aged out, but I keep them for emergency use only. This may allow someone to to get to a place that has a good tire so that it doesn’t spoil their whole trip. I would suggest they use it on their tag and only short term. Because they have aged out that is why they are available for FREE.
-
Is there a way to store an unmounted tire that eliminates dry rot concerns?
I like the dispersed spares idea. We did this with airplane parts to keep from getting gouged when away from our home fields, although we usually overnighted them to each other which made it easier. What’s freight on a bus tire? 🙂
-
It goes beyond concerns about the tire’s physical condition.
First, except in the case Jim proposes where you get a free tire spares kept on hand are going to be owned by someone. The first part of the proposal is to determine whose money is going to be invested.
Then when someone needs a tire I think we are all presuming we will pay for the tire and shipping. But what if the particular tire in question has been in storage awaiting an emergency and now the date code is 3 years old? Do we still pay full price?
If we presume Prevost is actually going to store tires for emergency use and ship them would we be better off with a tire that has a current date code and is a little more expensive?
And my final question is if trying to keep emergency spares in stock is important because of the demand why aren’t large Michelin dealers already doing that?
After learning the causes of tire failures and seeing how much goes into making them I am reasonably certain if we maintain our tires the chances of a non-repairable type of damage is very slight. If we hit road debris or if we run at low pressures we can damage a tire beyond repair but to keep us going in that instance we always have the option of a temporary use of a 315.
I wish we had 315 tires all around. We would not be having this discussion.
-
Just for info. I have two aged out 365 Michelins in the Houston area. Kept in the dark.
And definitely- check your pressures and do a visual inspection especially on the steer tires.
For example
I have had two of these defects show up on 365 steer tires in the last two years. Each time the tire was only a year old. Fortunately, this was on the outer side wall, so visible. Both times the defect looked like about a 4 inch separation. So far, the two different dealers ( Denver and Naples) both were to turn this into Michelin. First claim July 2016 and most recent April 2017. Have yet to hear any response from MichelinJust for clarification- these are not the spares I
-
Good info Les. Disappointing that you haven’t heard anything from Michelin, that stinks.
Log in to reply.