Tires on a used rig

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Humanaquarian

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Feb 25, 2018
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I?m about to purchase a 2011 class c with 6 tires. They look great, tread is solid and no cracking etc... what code tells you the year? If they are older than 4-6 years , do they need replaced? I read they lose 15% of life a year. 
Thanks in advance
 
The DOT date code is only molded on one side of the tire, so you may have do some work to find them. Here's a link that shows how to read the codes when you find them.

https://www.tirebuyer.com/education/how-to-determine-the-age-of-your-tires
 
We generally advise 7 years. I think Gary posted something from Michelin that says 10 years, but they have to be inspected at a qualified Michelin dealer after 7 years.
 
kdbgoat said:
We generally advise 7 years. I think Gary posted something from Michelin that says 10 years, but they have to be inspected at a qualified Michelin dealer after 7 years.
A neat way to get you back to a Michelin dealer so he can sell you a new set huh?

Bill
 
Michelin actually recommends a thorough inspection inside & out every year starting at age 5. That's probably their liability lawyers talking, since their engineers seem to think 10 years is reasonable. One of the concerns is that tire damage may be apparent only when viewed from the inside, so a superficially good-looking tire might still be problematic. Not clear what the odds of that are, though.

The rationale for 7 years is that the greater the age, the greater the risk of a blow-out, and a blow out on an RV frequently does body damage and/or tears up wires & plumbing. That makes a tire failure more than just inconvenient.

I would not replace a tire in apparent good condition simply because it was 4-6 years old, but I would start planning for the expensive purchase.  I might run it 8 years if all still looks well at age 7.  However, that assumes a discerning eye for tire condition. Many owners only know a tire as that round black thing on each corner...
 
Last August, I threw the tread off three of the four tires on one of my equipment trailers while hauling a tractor up I-35 heading to Kansas.  They were 6 years old.  They were 10 ply 7-50/16 bias ply tires and were properly inflated.  The 12,000 GVWR trailer only weighed about 8000 lbs. at the time.  I had to stop and buy four new tires.  They looked good and I really thought they were fine, but obviously I was wrong.  I felt the vibration and stopped before the tires blew.
 

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Here's the date code.
1st two numbers are what week they were made.
Last two numbers is the year made.



 

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I use a cell phone app called "Tire Facts". It was recommended by a fellow RV Forum member and works great. Since I'm technically challenged I can't tell you how to find it. No doubt someone here can fill you in.
 

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