It may be new tire time......

[WAPITI]

Hi Mike,

I've got Michelen LTX M/S on my 95 Pleasureway. I put them on 2 years ago, and have about 25,000 KM's on them. They still look like new. I got a wheel alignment at the same time. I've had them on my 3/4 ton work truck also, and they've performed very well. The A/T2 look like a good tire as well, but like you said, would be a little louder on the road. I've taken my van on some pretty rough, muddy, snowy roads and have had no problem with traction. That's my 2 cents anyway. Either one would work well. Here in Edmonton, the A/T2's cost a little more than the M/S.
Brian

[Hallibagger]

Mike, I have, on occasion, purchased the odd new tire in the States and it has subsequently slipped my mind to mention such items to the Customs agent as I had replaced them some 4 months before I crossed back into Canada. A natural mistake for a senior to make!

How can they tell? Well after 4 months usage them certainly did not look new, especially after driving North through Pennsylvania in March, however, if they want to wash off the salt I understand that they can determine the source of the tires by the markings on the tire.

We have found that Customs are usually quite understanding, we present them with a list of all our purchases, with the invoices attached, and, if they are in a good mood they will wave you through, even if you are a bit over the $1,500 limit. However, I do not think their largese will run to 4 new tires! I should mention that we have honest faces! Maybe they start writing the yellow slip as soon as they see you coming!

Have fun.

Deryck

[Mike]

Sounds like "don't ask, don't tell" to me, Deryck.
We don't do a lot of shopping when on tour in the USA, so I hardly think Canada
Customs would care much about C$1000 worth of rubber, coming back intstead of
T-shirts and coffee mugs. As you say, if the receipts are handy, maybe they'll just say
"the 2 of you are under the combined $1500, so have a nice day, drive safely".
I'm just a bit too careful when it comes to taking any chances with my ease of crossing the border.
It's just not worth getting caught, for a few dollars worth of duty or tax.

BTW, got the remote starter, and the genset problems resolved. Just waiting to finish a meeting
tomorrow, and hoping to get the second potato chip dish (satellite) before the weekend, and we'll
be mobile. I wouldn't expect we'll be there before you're north bound, so maybe this summer if we
do Gaspe again.

Safe travels,
Mike.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by WAPITI

Hi Mike,

I've got Michelen LTX M/S on my 95 Pleasureway. I put them on 2 years ago, and have about 25,000 KM's on them. They still look like new. I got a wheel alignment at the same time. I've had them on my 3/4 ton work truck also, and they've performed very well. The A/T2 look like a good tire as well, but like you said, would be a little louder on the road. I've taken my van on some pretty rough, muddy, snowy roads and have had no problem with traction. That's my 2 cents anyway. Either one would work well. Here in Edmonton, the A/T2's cost a little more than the M/S.
Brian

Thanks Brian. I'm leaning to the AT2 because they might last a bit longer, but might be a bit noisier.
Tire Rack's specs shows they have a slightly thicker tread 17/32" as opposed to the 15/32" for the
M/S. I've read a couple of reviews there as well, and both tires get excellent marks for wear and
ride. The main difference seems to be price and the AT2 is slightly prone to hydroplaning on wet
roads. I can probably live with that. I'll listen to the sales person too, as they might know of some
other good reasons to choose one over the other.

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated.
Mike.

[obiewan kanobe]

be sure your new tires are rated tough enough. my old falcon had 8 ply radial heavy duty light truck tires. my van is a one ton with 16 1/2 in rims (now obsolete). i will eventually have to go to 16 in rims. if you change rim sizes, be sure the width is the same and mesure the circumfrence of your old tire. the new setup should have the same circumfrence. DISCOUNT TIRES are real good about finding what you need. i don't know if they have any up near canada. but, hey, use the net and see what they advise. they have multiple brands and one may be just right for you. it won't cost much to do that.

[Mike]

Yoda, I am not!
However thanks for the comments about Discount Tire.
We have none in Canada, but I have emailed Michelin, who assured me
a warranty applies in either country, no matter where they were purchased.
They did say not all Michelin dealers will honour it, but if Michelin doesn't back
them, Id be happy to forward my correspondence to them to assist them in cost recovery.

I plan to deal with a Discount Tire retail location, but not sure where yet.
They are in several States we'll be passing through on our next expedition.

Thank you for your opinions and advice.

[Mike]

Hi gang.
I should probably double check the Discount Tire in Canada comment I made. I know
of no Canadian locations, and their store locator shows none in Ontario specifically.
Their system seems to recognize Canadian addresses though (possibly for their online
order and shipping system?) and they have no problem accepting Canadian credit cards.
Yesterday I got 4 Michelin LTX AT2 tires (OEM specs) for US$940, all in, and just sent in
the Michelin US$70 rebate online. We'll see if it works for Canadian buyers. The forms
seem to indicate it's for US residents only, but the rebate system accepted my application.
Got the tires in San Angelo, TX and I'm sitting in Flagstaff, AZ. They ride nice and
handled pretty well in the "hurricane force" wind I just drove through all day. They're an
all terrain model and have an aggressive tread, which should be good in snow, and NPS
camp sites, but picks up more small gravel and road stuff.
I like them just fine so far.

p.s. We came through customs last Sunday night. We'd been away for 2 weeks total.
The lady asked where we were from, where we'd been, and how long we'd been away.
She asked total value of all goods and we legitimately had just over $1000, tires included.
I told her, and we were waved through. New rubber and all.