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Tire age


Trucken

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Routine check on my coach. 

I read the date code on tires and they are five years old. No cracking and 75% tread , so i checked my tow, they were seven years old. Rarely do i drive the speed limit, driving 5 under the limit (especially on Interstate) i noticed i have 100-200 foot braking distance. Every one’s in  a hurry you know. 

 

Many times here, people recommend changing the tires on the coach after three years. So if if you recommend tire changes on your coach after three years, do YOU ALSO change tires on toad, after 3 years. Yes, i know coach is heaver, however so are the tires. Mileage on tow is 4 times more than the tires on the tow...

 

Could not find in coach’s manual recommend tire change,every 3 years. 

So what is the reasoning.

Trucken

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Tires are made to be used.  The heat from driving is necessary to maintain the chemicals which protect against UV light and ozone.  The heat actually helps work those chemicals to the tire surface.

I almost learned a serious lesson the hard way.  I had a spare tire that had been stored under the bed of my pickup truck since I bought it.  It was a high quality Michelin tire.  Four years after I bought the truck I decided to put the tire into rotation.  I bought another identical tire and put it on the right rear and the spare I put on the left rear.  The spare looked great, initially.  A few weeks later I saw that severe cracking had developed in the spare.  Fortunately I noticed this before I was about to take off on a major trip. 

It is common for RVs to sit unused for months at a time.  That lack of use is very hard on the tires.  Some people try to preserve their tires by using fabric covers.  That is only of limited help since UV light is only one of the factors that degrade the tires.  Currently I am trying Aerospace 303.  Most of the tire treatments are petroleum based and will actually degrade tires.  303 is water based and there are years of supporting its use.  It is necessary to thoroughly clean the tires, then spray and wipe down all of the surfaces, inside and out.  Retreating every few months is recommended. 

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38 minutes ago, Trucken said:

Many times here, people recommend changing the tires on the coach after three years.

I do not recall ever seeing the suggested tire replacement of tires at 3 years. I have seen it stated at 5 years and more commonly to be 5 - 7 years which is what I have generally practiced. Most tire manufacturers that I'm familiar with have an age limit to the tire warranty that is between 5 & 10 years, which is what I look at first. If buying a used vehicle or RV, I then replace the tires if they are 5 years old, even when they still look good. If I have owned a tire it's entire life then I also know how that tire has been cared for and treated. Meticulous maintenance of proper inflation pressures, proper storage conditions, and conditions subjected to when in use all play a role in the lifespan reasonably expected of a tire. Tire age is an important consideration and I do replace tires based on that but have never done so based on age at 3 years, nor do I know anyone who has.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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It seems there is very little data to support longevity determinations.  Manufacturers seem to avoid this issue due to the high liability involved.

Here is a summary of some data and the claim that failures increase dramatically after 6 years of aging.  Personally I would not put much credibility in the study.  Use and storage conditions vary substantially.  Tires vary substantially and manufacturers can easily save money by minimizing the use of expensive additives.  I would be especially cautious about the killer Chinese tires.

https://www.ntsb.gov/news/events/Documents/2014_Tire_Safety_SYM_Panel_4b_Kane.pdf

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I've never heard 3 years before. It depends on tire quality, use and care, but 5-7 years is, typically, more than adequate, IMHO. Heat and drying being the #1 leading cause of tire degredation, one of the best things you can do is to USE light colored tire covers when parked for extended periods. A UV protectant (ie., 303) alone will likely help replenish tire surface moisture and block "some" UV penetration, but is no substitute for tire covers that greatly reduce tire heat and the drying affects of the sun. Heat is what breaks down the molecular bonds of a tire. You also want to be careful to limit (or exclude) any tire treatments from the actual treads.

Keeping your tires off pavement when parked for extended periods will also help prolong their life. Ie., using horse trailer mats or wood under your tires. Better still is to ensure they are filled to full capacity and all load removed.

Not all of the above are always practical, but a little common sense can go a long way. Ie., if you spend most of your time in the SW with uncovered tires and you put 15k miles a year on em... you'll likely want to replace your tires more frequently than someone that stays primarily in the North, covers their tires and only puts on 5k a year. KWIM? 😉

In threads like these... someone is inevitibly going to bring up nitrogen or alternate gas fills. You can put me down on records under "poppycock". 😁

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5 yrs is the majic number hold your speed down an increase of speed by 10MPH drastically increases tire temperature and try to do your driving in the cool of the morning. Buy an infra red heat gun and check temperatures at a rest area. If you have one tire way hotter than others its more than likely your loading or air pressure. You will be amazed at how much cooler the tires run that are on the shady side of your rv going down the road. Check your wheel hubs same time you are checking tires. My last trip to AZ I had two tires on one axle running super hot and while there in rest area standing there looking at the one tire it just separated and went flat. Someday when I'm not so mad ask me about Good Sams Roadside service, They will never ever in a gazillion years get another nickel from me Oh and a PS those two tires were working on their 6th year with lots of tread and no visible weather checking

Jim Spence

2000 Dodge 3500 1 ton QC 4x4 dually 5.9 diesel LB

BD exhaust brake, 6 spd manual trans

34CKTS Cedar Creek 5er, Trail-Air hitch

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There are many variables age being one of them. We just changed out the tires on our Rv although they looked good but had over 40K miles on them. Age of tire,  condition of tire.Yes I would change the tires out after 5 years all other conditions being met.

Helen and I are long timers ..08 F-350 Ford,LB,CC,6.4L,4X4, Dually,4:10 diff dragging around a 2013 Montana 3402 Big Sky

SKP 100137. North Ridgeville, Ohio in the summer, sort of and where ever it is warm in the winter.

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I guess it would be possible that a coaches tires could be done in 3 years under certain circumstances, but it would be rare IMHO.  If the tires were actually a year or more aged when installed in the first place.  Plus, if the coach had sat stationary in Arizona for 9 months every year with the tires not covered.   I suppose under such conditions tires like that could be showing some barely visible hair line cracks.

Generally speaking though, most tires wouldn't need replacing until the 5-7 year mark.

Joe & Cindy

Newmar 4369 Ventana

Pulling 24' enclosed (Mini Cooper, Harley, 2 Kayaks)

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Oh yessss the tire age subject..... somewhat like...... how often does your wife beat you......

One day on a preflight walk around a grumpy old Capt looked me in the eye and said....."kid, you know why they don't let the unwashed masses out here on the ramp these days...... well I'll tell you IF the passengers only knew that the newest RETREAD tire on this wreck was more yhay TEN years OLD before it was retreaded they would likely give up flying......

Of course aircraft tires seldom spend much time above 160 MPH and almost all landings are so..... soft and ground crews seldom piviot-turn heavy aircraft bon the ramps.......l

Yes..... .three years sounds nice time to get new tires and maybe new engine and paint at the same time.....

Drive on......(don't look too hard at aircraft tires)

97 Freightshaker Century Cummins M11-370 / 1350 /10 spd / 3:08 /tandem/ 20ft Garage/ 30 ft Curtis Dune toybox with a removable horse-haul-module to transport Dolly-The-Painthorse to horse camps and trail heads all over the Western U S

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I'm going to start to worry about my 16" tires on the trailer after the 4 yr mark.  I had one blow and it did $5000 damage to the trailer.
Now the LP 22.5 tires on my HDT I will let them go 10 yrs and see what happens.  When I bought the truck it had 10yr old recaps on the rear.
In my past life, I had a fleet with a few thousand tires on the road and Bandag would recap any tire up to 6 yrs old.  So that meant they could run up to 8yrs in my fleet, with weights around 80,000 lbs. 
As they say YMMV

"It is better to have more truck than you need than to need more truck than you have"

2001 Volvo 660, Cummins 400 ISX, Eaton 3 Peddle Auto Shift    
2014 Fuzion 40' Toyhauler
2015 Smart Car                                                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                            

 

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This may be a little off topic , but , my 1957 Simplex ( the one in my avatar ) still has it's original factory installed tires on  . 

That's only 61 years , but , last year or it could have been the year before , they started showing 'some' checking . So , I might have to replace them sometime , maybe . 

I guess they just  don't make 'em like they use to . ;)

Goes around , comes around .

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Before buying new or used, you need to carefully check the cargo carrying capacity and the tires on the unit you are considering.  Many manufacturers cut corners to the point that the axles are barely able to handle the empty weight.  I would only buy a unit with axles that had weight ratings substantially above the highest weight I ever expected to carry.  Tires are a different issue.  There are a great many reports of blowouts with the cheap Chinese tires that come on many RVs.  If you like everything else about the RV, then plan on replacing the tires immediately.  I would not try to get a year or even a season of use out of them.  Just replace them with quality tires and tires that are rating substantially higher than you think you need.  Also be sure you understand the ratings on the tires.  Passenger tires have ratings that are OK only for occasional use.  LT truck and commercial tires are rating for continuous use at full load.  There is a big difference.

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I'm pretty much in the 5/6 year MAX camp to change RV tires REGARDLESS of tread or checking/cracking. What risk of life are you willing to accept ??? On the toad ifffffffffff theres no cracking  or checking or obvious problems I might stretch that to 6/7 max. I think 3 years is over the top even if tire retailers may push it lol

One has to be careful when buying tires. I have seen them roll out of storage to your vehicle but the DOT label showed them different years of manufacture !!!!!!!!   

Be safe out there

John T

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21 hours ago, rpsinc said:

With a 40' TH, and 16" tires, you likely are running G Rated tires and likely near capacity.  Might think about stepping up to 17.5" and H rated.  Should give you some capacity for safety.

I have 3 axles 6 tires so that helps.  Cant remember the load rating on the tires, but when I weighed it fully loaded I was well under.

"It is better to have more truck than you need than to need more truck than you have"

2001 Volvo 660, Cummins 400 ISX, Eaton 3 Peddle Auto Shift    
2014 Fuzion 40' Toyhauler
2015 Smart Car                                                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                            

 

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This is the short version but a few years ago I changed the tires on our 5th wheel.

it had Goodyear G614 that were 5 years old . I placed tem on a flat bed and run them until they blew. This was to find out for myself without taking the chance of removing the side of my RV.

Within 2 years time all 4 had blown out or thrown the cap.

So my question for you is just how lucky do you feel.

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3 hours ago, Tex Bigfoot said:

This is the short version but a few years ago I changed the tires on our 5th wheel.

it had Goodyear G614 that were 5 years old . I placed tem on a flat bed and run them until they blew. This was to find out for myself without taking the chance of removing the side of my RV.

Within 2 years time all 4 had blown out or thrown the cap.

So my question for you is just how lucky do you feel.

Very interesting non techincal test. And you almost quoted "Dirty Harry"-  "do you feel lucky, punk."

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Older the better for me. Happened more that once had a trailer with a zillion miles and tires over 10 yrs. old. Buy new tires for piece of mind and every other time out Kaa Boom. Like I said more than once. Still running my 20 yr. old (white wall) car tires on one trailer. The tires on my HDT are over 20 yrs. old. Am I in the market for new? No Way  To be old and wise had to be dumb and stupid. The one when going out 5 times and having 3 blowouts where Carlisles. They were also over rated for trailer. The others may have been Tow Max.

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On 6/16/2018 at 7:27 AM, Trucken said:

Routine check on my coach. 

I read the date code on tires and they are five years old. No cracking and 75% tread , so i checked my tow, they were seven years old. Rarely do i drive the speed limit, driving 5 under the limit (especially on Interstate) i noticed i have 100-200 foot braking distance. Every one’s in  a hurry you know. 

 

Many times here, people recommend changing the tires on the coach after three years. So if if you recommend tire changes on your coach after three years, do YOU ALSO change tires on toad, after 3 years. Yes, i know coach is heaver, however so are the tires. Mileage on tow is 4 times more than the tires on the tow...

 

Could not find in coach’s manual recommend tire change,every 3 years. 

So what is the reasoning.

Trucken

Michelin recommends an off-the-rim inspection after 5 years, continuing annually to 10 years, at which time they recommend replacement.

Commercial HDT's cannot legally run tires over 10 yrs old according to my preferred tires store. My take-offs were 9 yrs old and no-one would buy them, even though an inspection said they were good, even to use on a trailer.

 

2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.  John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961

 

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