Ed's Michelin XZL Tires
Ed sent me the following email in early December 2002 after having corresponded with me a bit about a M37 that he was purchasing from opposite side of the United States from where he lives. He knew that he needed tires but had been exerienceing difficulties in not only finding tires but in finding a tire shop that would commit to mounting the tires once the truck arrived...
"Last week I went to a local truck tire dealer who said my rims are fine. He
referred to them as "snap rings" (not split rims) and he said he mounts truck
tires on rims like that all the time. He said they looked fine. So I decided to stick with
the Budd wheels instead of getting custom ones made.
I wound up ordering 5 Michelin 9.00R16 XZL's from Bill's Tire as you posted on your
website. They should arrive to me here in NJ after the 1st of the year. They were
$175 each plus $40 shipping for each tire.
When I went to my local truck tire guy he said he never even HEARD of XL's or XZL'. But
after he browsed through his dealer literature and catalogs he found them and said,
"Wow, these are SOME tires!" Then I mentioned to him about the MVPA program and
he called up and spoke to Roger Handren and confirmed that these type of tires were in
fact available as part of the MVPA. However Roger told him that Michelin was NOT releasing
ANY of their 9.00R16 XZL's to the general public. ONLY the XL's. Apparently they still
make them but have US military committments overseas that have first priority on those
size tires. So I opted to order the 9.00R16 XZL's from Bill's Tires. My cost would have
been the $247 per tire from Michelin whereas the tires wound up being $215 from Bill.
Also, I found ONE other place on the internet, some place called Safari Guard who advertise the
XML's, XL's and XZL's. They sell ALL three types in the 9.00R16's for $245 each. However,
the kicker is $60 for EACH tire for shipping. So, once Bill's supply runs out this other
place has the 9.00R16 XZL's available. Just a bit more expensive. When I SPECIFICALLY
asked the order person at Safari Guard if they can get these Michelin's she told me that
they can get ALL the tires they need from Michelin. That was NOT the story that
Roger told my local guy. So I guess the tire business is just like any other. It's who you
know.
So, THANK YOU for the information on your website about Bill's. I'll let you know how the
tires look after I get them mounted and set back on the truck."
I'm looking forward to reading his update.