Tires: steel belted vs not, firestone transforce ht, ford f350

Question
my 82 motorhome on a Ford F350 chassis has enjoyed having 6  8.75 R16.5 Michelin XPS Rib tires on it for 5+ years. Now showing some age cracks - am being told to replace them? Only close replacement is a Firestone Transforce HT same size same Load Range
"E" but not steel belted sidewalls. reccomendations for tires? Am under the impression the steel sidewalls prevent blowouts better? thanks

Answer
Ken,

According to Tire Rack an 8.75R16.5 Load Range E Firestone Transforce HT is a steel belted radial tire.  No it does not have steel body plies - but pretty much only heavy duty commercial tires will have that.

And I should tell you that 16.5 tires are rapidly becoming extinct so I would take what you can find as there might not be any in the near future.