moss2904

Well after the expert at Goodyear looked at my tires it is determined that all 6 are coming apart. Yes all 6 of my tires are in various states of seperating.
The spare seems to be OK. ;D
Goodyear can't get six of the SR-A's. They can get six of the GS-A's that come on the 4X4 dually's. They will prorate the warranty on mine and for $650 I can get the off road tires on my truck.
The Dodge dealer can get 6 of the SR-A's but they will not warranty the tries I have because I did not buy them there. ??? For around $1200 they will sell me the SR-A's
No one else seems to make this size but Goodyear.
Has anyone else had any experience getting tires or having problems with their 2003 dooley tires?

Festus

When the dealer finally comes up with a number and I get into an '03, or order an '04, I plan on making sure that I don't drive away without the GSA's. Just for the extra grip of the tread. I actually want something more aggressive and slightly taller for the farm and hunting camp, but I can't find anyone that makes my specifications to fit a dually either. Check that. I found the Interco LTB Swampers at 34x10.5R17's. The tread on those Intercos however, are way more aggressive than I want. For 50%+ highway driving, they probably won't last more than 15000-20000 miles. That's just far too expensive, too often, for tires for me. I guess we're just SOL until another manufacturer makes something for us dually guys. >

GrandpasRam

Randy,
My 4x4 came with Goodyear SR-A's and the tires still look pretty much new at 8000 miles. What are the signs of separation on yours? I like the tread design on these for mostly highway driving, and they look like the trad will last, but if the tire's carcas won't last, I'll look over between you and I at Sardis (on hwy 287) to see what they have similar to the Apache's I had on my old '99 - those tires have 50K on them, another 10k of tread left, semi-agressive for off road, but not noisy on the highway. On the '99 they ran $85 per tire including mount, balance,stems, and tax.

moss2904

The Sr-A's have plenty of tread left a 26,000. They are at 11/32" out of 15/32" they started with. If they were not seperating they would have a lot of miles left on them.
I will include a photo of the worst one so you can see the area were mine have come apart. It starts off looking like weather cracks you would see on an older tire. Then it starts to bubble under the outer layer of the tire. My other five tires or in various states of this.
I don't know if I was just unlucky with these tires or just one of the first to get enough miles on my truck to experience this.
I guess I will go get the GS-A's on and go on. I am so frustrated I have no other choice than that.
This is the first vehicle I have owned that I have experienced part's being unavaiable or limited to OEM parts.

cumminsho2500

thats horrible! >

moss2904

Well I called Dodges customer support 1 800 #. Thought I would give it one more shot to find the highway tread instead of the on/off road tread I don't really want.
Told them what was going on with my tires. They called my dealership and come to find out they can't actually get the SR-A's after they actually checked.
At that point they told me that Dodge does not manufacture tires and there was nothing they could do. Makes me wonder whats going to happen in the near term if someone runs over something and loses a couple of tires somehow.
I just came back from a long trip up thru the northwest part of the USA. Imagine how much fun this would have been dealing with this while stuck on the road, unable to find any replacement tires?
Well I had better hurry on down and get my GS-A's before they sell them to someone else. I would hate for my truck to be stuck stranded with no tires till Goodyear can get around to building enough for someone besides Dodge.

Patrick Campbell

A little offtopic but I just snatched a stock 265/70/17 Michelin for $111 on tirerack. ! They're usually like $160 or more! I should've gotten more maybe.

Sittenbull2

:- Hey moss2904 so what you are saying you can't get any other tires from any manufacture. I got the same tires GS-A You kinda got me worried now. I got a tire dealer that me and wifey use all the time and normally when we are ready to get new tires for vehicles we use Cooper Tires as replacement. Suppose a tire dealer in your area might be able do the same. I will be contacting the shop to see if he handles them.

Mitch

TireGuy

Too bad, but this is typical OE Mfg Bull----. Goodyear is the only one making the tire, I do not know anyone who plans to make this either. 3500 Dodge is only vehicle this tire fits. I would complain loud to Dodge. This tire has exactly the same dimensions, except 17" wheel, as the old 235/85R16 that is available everywhere. To anyone else reading this if you are contemplating buying a 3500 DRW, demand that Dodge change tires and wheels to the 235/85R16. This is the only way it will change. The 235/80R17 will remain very high priced and availability short until they become a common size..NOT!

Unless you want to change tires and wheels you are stuck.

CRXsi

Will the 16" rims fit over the new larger brakes? Maybe this is why they went with 17's?

moss2904

Sittenbull2,
The GS-A's as far as I know have no problems with seperations. The tires I had that came apart were the SR-A's. I might be the only one to ever have that happen, but they sure as heck fell apart on my truck.
It will be interesting to hear what your tire freind has to say. I called a bunch of different tire places and nobody but Goodyear offered this size tire that I could find.
TireGuy, I agree with what you said 100%, after my tire hunting experience.
Randy

wild4stangs

This has been discussed over at the TDR site. DC went with the 17" wheels to accommodate the larger brakes. DC probably thought that FMC and GM would follow suite, but it looks like they are content with the smaller brakes, and won't be going to a 17" wheel anytime soon... This will be a problem for manufacturers, as there may simply not be enough demand for these tires, and thus they may not bother produceing this size tire. This situation will also probably keep the price of these tires pretty high ($200 to $250)

The 16" wheels will not fit the 03 due to the diameter of the brake rotors.


I like the GS-A's, but if the supply problem does not clear up by the time I need new sneakers, I will convert to 19.5's and Rickson's forged aluminium rims... The cost is steep initially (around 4k), but the tires wear longer and cost less ($180 to $225).

pwabbott

[quote author=njoverkill link=board=17;threadid=19231;start=0#msg181159 date=1062802561]
A little offtopic but I just snatched a stock 265/70/17 for $111 on tirerack. ! They're usually like $160 or more! I should've gotten more maybe.
[/quote]

Costco stocks LT265/70/17E Michelin at the two locations nearest to where I live. Same ones that came on my 2003 13 months ago. I now have 30,000 miles on my set, they still have about 1/2 tread left. 8)

Softy

Sierra Phil,

What is the weight rating on the LT265/70/17E michee's you have on your truck? The typical LT265/70/16E are 3400-pounds...are the 17's higher or the same?

thanks!

pwabbott

The rating on the sidewall of the Michelin's on my truck, LT265/70/17E is 3195# for singles. For duals, 2910#.
8)