foxhunter
Adventurer
So my 2008 Michelin 395/85 R20 XZL tires, bought unused in 2013, were starting to get sidewall cracks on my 12 1/2 ton expedition vehicle. The newest " never used" replacement tires available were made in 2010. A seven year old tire is a seven year old tire, used or not, so I wanted to get truly new Michelins, even thought they are not cheap, as I regarded that extra money as insurance against a high speed blow out. The quest to find these tires in my area was not easy, so when I got on the CHAT line with Michelin, I was told there were 118 tires in various distribution centers in the USA for sale to the general public. Finally, I found a local truck shop that could get them (so could Pickering in LaJunta, but I wanted the new tires before I left Illinois for the west on vacation). They were ordered and arrived in a week. Of note was that I also checked on the equivalent Goodyear tire and was told they are only being sold to the military at this time.
The hitch was, that the truck company did not want to mount my new tires without new 0 rings for my 20 inch two piece Hutchinson wheels with beadlocks. Now I started a quest for O rings. Pickering had some used ones at the shop but he was out of town, and couldn't send any for a while. He gave me a contact (HEM 4x4) and a part number, so I ordered them second day air. When they hadn't arrived a week later, I contacted HEM and found that he had them shipped directly from Hutchinson. He got the tracking number from Hutchinson, and found that UPS was moving them around the country, but they weren't getting much closer to me. As my date for leaving on vacation was rapidly approaching I panicked and ordered some 0 rings from Oshkosh, and told they would fit. Finally, 12 days later, both sets of 0 rings arrived(12 days second day air by UPS from Hutchinson, 3 days for ground shipping from Wisconsin by UPS from Oshkosh) , and neither were the correct 0 rings (diameter too big). The truck shop at that point gave up and used my old o rings on the new tires, and they seem to be working fine.
All this has led me to strongly consider, that the next time I am due for tires, to switch to 22.5 inch wheels and go with the off road 445/65/r22.5 xzl as these tires seem to be easier to get.
The hitch was, that the truck company did not want to mount my new tires without new 0 rings for my 20 inch two piece Hutchinson wheels with beadlocks. Now I started a quest for O rings. Pickering had some used ones at the shop but he was out of town, and couldn't send any for a while. He gave me a contact (HEM 4x4) and a part number, so I ordered them second day air. When they hadn't arrived a week later, I contacted HEM and found that he had them shipped directly from Hutchinson. He got the tracking number from Hutchinson, and found that UPS was moving them around the country, but they weren't getting much closer to me. As my date for leaving on vacation was rapidly approaching I panicked and ordered some 0 rings from Oshkosh, and told they would fit. Finally, 12 days later, both sets of 0 rings arrived(12 days second day air by UPS from Hutchinson, 3 days for ground shipping from Wisconsin by UPS from Oshkosh) , and neither were the correct 0 rings (diameter too big). The truck shop at that point gave up and used my old o rings on the new tires, and they seem to be working fine.
All this has led me to strongly consider, that the next time I am due for tires, to switch to 22.5 inch wheels and go with the off road 445/65/r22.5 xzl as these tires seem to be easier to get.