michelin xl tubes and flaps?? help!!

[Barrman]

I had the flat on my XZL on I-25 south of Pueblo Sunday. I patched the tube and it held air at KOA just fine. Did the trails with it Thursday and it waited until the last 5 miles to blow again.

We put your XL on Thursday night and called/wrote Ryan about bringing a tube since my spare tube had also been used and was beyond repair. I ran the trails Friday with your XL on my truck.

Al, I think you and myself put the tube from Ryan on my rim Friday evening. I ran the trails with it Saturday and had no problems. I ran it at home until new tubes showed up. That short stem tube got left assembled and holding air in my barn until one of the replacements tubes went flat this summer. Now the short stem tube is on the truck and doing good. I actually got the duck billed hammer out the other night to change both tubes out. However, the Whistler heater was calling me and seemed easier. It wasn't and now the M715 tires still aren't fixed and heater parts are scattered all over the cab, engine bay and bed. Maybe this weekend for the tires.

[osut362]

based on YOUR experience at the natl fe i bought 7 new tubes. 4 on the ground, one spare tire, two spare tubes under the seat. its been my history to never need the spare (carb, water pump, fuel pump, hose, belts, ect.) if i have one. its only what i dont have with me i seem to need. i hope this sort of luck holds true for tubes.....al

[chimesickle]

I love these tires! Even used, they are the biggest improvement I have made yet, in 3 years so far. I tried searching for what vehicles they were originally made for. I think it was some kind of armored vehicle. Does anyone know? I have a weird pattern of radial bumps on the sidewall, I am not sure if this is a defect, or damage.

[randyscycle]

I went through a number of tubes for various reasons: mud in the rim, scuffing and abrasion until they let go, and just plain mystery flats. I tried the best radial tubes at nearly $60 a pop (literally) and cheap ones at $15 a piece. They don't seem to like a lot of highway miles in my experience. Barrman is correct though, only the right valve stem will fit. Nothing else will. The only problem I had with truck shops, is that most of the tubes they sold had a valve stem that was far longer than the originals. I just used a tubing bender to angle them upward along the contour of the dish of the rim to keep from ripping them off on the trail.

I ordered a set of Marsh wheels and installed my XL's on them and haven't looked back or had to break down a tire on the side of the road since. I think the reason that the military chose lockring rims was so that you'd get really good at changing them often to patch/replace tubes.

[Barrman]

The 11.00-16 Michelin tires were used on LAV's by the USMC. The bulges on the sides are normal. All of mine have that to some degree.

[Tanner]

Tube I buy from Rusty at International Tire & Tube for an M-37 with Michelin 1100x16 XZL application is their part #11430, listed as '900/10/1100R15/16 TR75A' tube...

Flap is their part #84285d -

My understanding is that you must get a Radial tube for these tires; the Bias Ply tubes don't work well in the Michelin radial tire.

'Tanner'

[chimesickle]

Someone explained to me that the radial tubes will stretch the right way, when the others dont. I still do not get it, I thought bias-ply tires flexed more than radials. But.

[Binford]

Could it be radial tires heat up more?

[snakeater]

Dave mounted his 1100-16 tires that I got for him yesterday on his m715 and they used a 950-16 center valve stem tube. Worked great and guy at the tire shop said that they were pretty common in the agriculture world. They kept them in stock in good quantity. Flaps as well. Snakeater

[brute4c]

I knnow that the belts in bias ply run parallel to the tread while radials have the belts at 45 degree angles to the tread...this leads to the tires having different types of flex and different heating characteristics...it also means the tire rubs on the tube in different ways, one versus the other...