Motor Home Tire Rotation & Balance, tire balance Options

[Butch]

The tire issue has been beat to death, but I feel the tires on our motor home need to be rotated. Now I have read, somewhere, that motor home tires do not have to be rotated. Having called my heavy duty mechanic on this issue, he stated that the tires should be rotated and balanced every 10,000 miles. He then proceeded to inform me as to how they balance the tires. They dismount the tire and place a bag of powder inside and re-mount the tire. This is where I have a problem. I have spoke to a friend, who is a manager of a Ryder Truck Rental establishment, and he state to me that the powder is not a good way to balance tires. I have also spoke to our local supt of highways, he also did not favor this form of balancing tires. I do not have any vibration, so I was going to have the tires just rotated. Before I do this, I would like to pose the question, "any ideas" from other motor home owners ?? Your thoughts and opinions would be greatly appreciated. The tire size is: 235/80/22.5 Thank you.

[Beastdriver]

Given that the average motorhome is driven 7,500 miles per year and that most Goodyear and Michelin tires will easily go 80,000 miles before the tread becomes unsafe, theoretically you could drive over ten years before changing tires. The problem is ultraviolet damage to the tires from the sun. This causes tire failure far, far more often than does wear, and the damage usually occurs in the sidewalls. If you maintain your tire pressure properly, and cover your tires when not in use to protect them from the sunlight, you should be able to get years and years of service. Rotation and balancing? Not unless you have a problem. Otherwise, you are probably wasting your money.