Kumho Pricing

Just an FYI on Kumho 857 205R14 pricing. These prices are for my location in Washington effective June 1, 2010:

Tirerack: $97 each + $29 shipping + installation
Sears: $91 each + $0 shipping (ship to store) + installation
Discount Tire: Quoted $133 each. When I told them the prices from Tirerack and Sears, they matched the Sears price. Since Discount Tire is closer to my home, they get the business.

Tires to be mounted with steel stems and balanced.

Be sure to check manufacturing date before they install them. If they are ordering them ( not in stock) they may be able to ask before they are shipped.

Thanks. I'll do that.

I blew to Marathons last year and replaced them with new ones. I am not happy with the Idea of going anywhere with them. The Kumho in 14 inch is the best option I have seen. I can't put in a lift kit as I am maxed out on tongue height due to a spare just above the hitch.
Does anyone have an alternative tire suggestion?

Originally Posted by RogerR

I blew to Marathons last year and replaced them with new ones. I am not happy with the Idea of going anywhere with them. The Kumho in 14 inch is the best option I have seen. I can't put in a lift kit as I am maxed out on tongue height due to a spare just above the hitch.
Does anyone have an alternative tire suggestion?

Roger, does you trailer currently have 14 inch tires/wheels on it? If so, then you won't need a lift kit, as the Euro tires (like the Kumhos) are just about the same height as the stock marathons.

Now, if you are going to move all the way up to a 15 inch tire/wheel, then you probably do have to install the kit, to gain the necessary clearance.

I have 14s and only mentioned the lift kit as a way to have 15s to avoid so many blowouts (3 in 2 years)
I guess the Kumhos are the only route. It looks like I would gain a lot of weight capacity over the marathons. This and the cheap way the Marathons are made should make the difference.

thanks, Roger

[B_and_D]

I called our Big-O tire guy that we buy all our tires from when we wanted to replace our Marathons (our second set). We'd already had a blowout with our first set (original tires, too old) and another with our second set (going on 3 - 4 years old). He ordered us these 14" 8-ply Eurovan tires, they weren't that expensive (maybe $80 or so?). It's only been a year, and we haven't been too far away with them so far, so I can't really report on how good they are. So, apparently, there are other tires out there, but it's too soon to report on how they've fared for us.

One thing that makes me nervous is what could happen should an 8-ply section of the tire come loose vs. a 4-ply and slap up against the plumbing. I built a metal cage around the plumbing, but I sort of doubt that it will completely ameliorate the effects of a tire losing its tread.

On the other hand, they have a greater weight rating than the Marathons; I felt those were quite marginal in their intended purpose.

Originally Posted by B_and_D

One thing that makes me nervous is what could happen should an 8-ply section of the tire come loose vs. a 4-ply and slap up against the plumbing. I built a metal cage around the plumbing, but I sort of doubt that it will completely ameliorate the effects of a tire losing its tread.

On the other hand, they have a greater weight rating than the Marathons; I felt those were quite marginal in their intended purpose.

B_and_D, the ply rating of a tire isn't reflective of the actual plies in the tire. It's just a rating. Here is where we discussed it a few years back. An 8-ply 'RATED' tire usually won't have truly 8 plies in it.

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...9&postcount=11

[B_and_D]

All I know is that those tires weigh a heck of a lot more than the old ones...I can barely lift them up to mount them.

And as a FYI/reminder to those contemplating upgrading to a 15" wheel, I didn't move up to 15" because I store the TM in my garage and only have about .5" clearance between the air conditioner and garage door header. Something to keep in mind.