Decided it was time for new tires as the currently installed B.F. Goodrich Commercial TA were over 6 years old and were showing some dry rot on the sidewalls. I had driven on these from Cleveland Ohio to Soda Springs Idaho and back and the rode fine. However, a blow out due to age was ever present on my mind. Also, since this van is now a vintage model, the plastic and fiberglass parts such as the storage compartments and doors etc are no longer available and would need to be sourced used if a blowout caused damage to these items. So, after much research I decided on a set of Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo 3 tires which were on sale at Costco. I almost went with the Bridgestone Duravis R500, but decided that the slightly more aggressive tread pattern of the Dueler would be a benefit when traveling on unpaved forest roads which I am sometimes inclined to do. The Duravis is probably the better all around tire with regards to longevity and strength, but since I was more likely to need my next replacement due to age as opposed to tread wear, I opted doe the Duelers.
These tires needed to be ordered online, and to be certain that they could be installed on my van I spoke to the tire center manager at Costco prior to placing my order. I explained to him that this was a camper and that there were tanks and additional hardware on the undercarriage, and I showed him the exact jacking points as these would need to be installed using a floor jack. No issues at all, the manager already knew that these would need to be installed with a floor jack due to the model of the van and the weight.
Here are a few pics of the tires:
- dueler3.jpg (287.74 KiB) Viewed 36411 times
- dueler2.jpg (283.88 KiB) Viewed 36411 times
- Dueler1.jpg (289.68 KiB) Viewed 36411 times
The ride is very nice - solid and quiet - better than the Commercial TA tires, however those were 6-7 years old. Hopefully these will prove to be a wise investment and another viable option for Roadtrek owners.