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365 Tire Availability
Over the last couple of years there have been posts regarding difficulty in getting 365 tires. This is less of a big deal if replacement of all tires is the intent because the new tires can be put on when there is an inventory of 365 tires, but if an owner is on the road with a failed tire the lack of a replacement becomes an issue.
So given the fact we have had posts from owners who had a tire failure and really need 365 tires I raised the issue at the Michelin seminar this year and the lady responsible for making sure tires are available said Michelin did have a problem and they are trying to resolve it. I recently got all new tires, including 4 365 tires. The date codes surprised me because all were from about early 2016. If I got tires already more than a year old my question is why did we experience shortages? My 4 “new” tires came from an inventory somewhere so that indicates there were tires on the shelf when people were in need of tires. Further, since that inventory has been in existence since early 2016 it must have been pretty big so why was it so hard to get needed tires?
I’m just curious about how a system can be so messed up that we cannot get needed tires from inventory, and worse, why we were being told they were non-existent and that was why there was a wait for them.
Has anyone else had recent 365 tire replacements and what were the date codes. I would like to follow up on this with facts such as those.
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28 Replies
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Without knowing the facts, this seems to be an inventory control issue. Surely in this day and age of bar codes and RFID tracking systems, it shouldn’t be that difficult to locate specific items sitting on the shelves in multiple warehouses across the USA. After all, FedEx, UPS, Amazon and even the USPS can locate and ship parcels in various locations and track an item in transit in seconds.
If you want to share the contact information for the Michelin Rep, I’ll be happy to setup an on-camera interview to discuss this issue. I have been known to ask some pretty good questions in a fair manner.
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365 tires, which are not common except for Prevost, are therefore not in production runs as frequently as other size tires. In the case of Jons coach before we installed them I called and verified that was the newest date code I could get. My options were 2015 new or 2016 new….at some point however they need to take their old inventory back from their distribution centers and purge them with the latest date codes available……
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Newmar, and Foretravel are equipping their coaches with 365’s too
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Newell coaches as well…
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I am far less worried about the manufacturing date because they are coming off the coach long before the 10 year limit, but I am very concerned about the grief some of our members had trying to get needed 365 tires when it is now obvious some were stranded due to a “shortage” when in fact there was inventory we are now eating through sitting in a wartehouse some where.
Someone, Michelin or their distributors are lying to us and causing needless expense and delays when there is a road failure. What I am saying is this is BS we should not be experiencing.
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i had one replaced in July. I was in Santa Barbara ca. Had no problem finding tire. I was lucky that I was close to LA. The tire I received had an early 2017 dot.
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I am going to jump in here with a “view from the back row” attitude, entertainer leasing companines I talk to in Nashville express the same frustation as you guys do. Their solution, they are starting to switch to Bridgestone for a few reasons. 1. Availbility and support from the manufacture, and the fact they don’t have Prevost buying all their tires so no one else can have any. 2. Leasing companies are also leasing tires from Bridgestone. The savings is so signficant, that the smart leasing companies are quitely switching to Bridgestone as quick as they can.
They do have inspections from Bridgestone at random times, but when I speak with the Main’t Super’s, they dont mind it at all.
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Brian,
Is Bridgestone making a 365 now?
Is this a new size for them?
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The problem is two fold. Right now Michelin is the only one manufacturing the 365 which was developed for Prevost so our source is limited.
Adding to the issue is there are two elephants in the room. Prevost needs a continuing supply for their production requirements and it is a safe bet a large Prevost customer that paints a dog on the side of the bus gets a priority so if some weenie sitting in a cubicle thinks tires need to be set aside for the two big elephants you can bet the farm we won’t have access to them, even if they are piled to the ceiling.
The fact that Jeff indicated tires dated as far back as 2015 are still in inventory suggests when a lot of our members were frustrated over “shortages” there not only were no shortages, we were being denied access to that inventory because of some presumed need by others.
When conversions (motorhome and entertainer) were as much as 50% of Prevost production we had a voice. It is clear with Prevost now in the big time supplying large bus fleets we don’t count much anymore and to me that is wrong.
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Interesting, I can’t find a Bridgestone 365 on their site. Maybe I’m looking in the wrong place.
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I had a 365 replaced in January, local tire shop had it and it was date was reasonable 6-10 month old.
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Just a thought Jon…
With the vast membership base of PC, have you considered contacting other quality tire companies to see if they were interested in producing 365’s?
Isn’t Bridgestone headquarted just down I-40 from you?
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Our membership base would be like a tick on an elephants butt when trying to get 365’s built.
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You never know what’s going on in the boardroom. Wouldn’t be interesting if a tire maker such as Bridgestone was asking the managers, “What would it take to break into the Prevost world?”
Then, a call from a PC Boss comes in and miracles happen.
With Jon’s valid concern over the lack of availability of 365’s, it just might be worth a phone call. We may be a tick on an elephant’s butt, but to a manufacturer, we may be an opening to a new, targeted market.
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The origin of the problem lies with Prevost, and it is accented with the fact we are small potatoes in terms of customers Prevost needs to protect.
The tire was developed for Prevost by Michelin and the market is an extremely limited one inhabited by Prevost and a few high end RV manufacturers. Prevost uses Michelin exclusively and if anyone has clout with Michelin it is Prevost. Apparently they have sufficient influence to cause Michelin to develop that size tire. The disconnect is in the replacement market. You can bet the farm that Prevost insures there will always be tires available for their production needs and there will not be a Greyhound or charter company sitting along side the road waiting for a tire, You can also bet the farm a motor home conversion will be sitting by the side of the road if a tire fails. We cannot even get mirrors that don’t shake or have their cheap chrome plating bubble up so why should we expect Prevost to give a damn about insuring we have immediate access to 365 tires?
Next time we are on the highway start counting the number of trucks on the road. Then count the number of buses that MIGHT use 365 tires and you begin to see the scope of the problem. Trucks have pretty much standardized on a specific tire size and because of that and the number on the road they are available anywhere. Michelin likely treats Prevost in a similar fashion as Prevost treats us. Compared to their truck tire market buses using 365 tires don’t even reach a full single digit percentage of their production, and since we are now such a small percentage of the Prevost production it would seem we are just lucky to get access to some 365 tires.
The fact that Jeff mentions there are 2015 date coded tires still held by a distributor it means when we had members waiting for tires of the 365 size there were tires gathering dust just in case Greyhound or Prevost might need them. It gets worse. Of our almost 3200 members not a large percentage need 365 tires. So to think PC or anyone can convince Prevost or Michelin to help us with our needs is wishful thinking.
I questioned why anyone with an all 315 tire coach would want to “upgrade” to 365 tires and I am even more convinced today that may not have been the best option.
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