Covering tires

Have heard both sides of the story on whether to cover tires when parked for a while. One says yes or the sun will get to them, the other says no, that heat will build up and get to them!!  Gotta be one way or the other....or a little of each??  Thoughts, experience?? :-\

If thats whats worrying you,, then think of a black tire compared to a white cover absorbing heat. Which one do you think??>>>Dan

Then there's the third side that states it won't make a difference either way.    You still have to replace them after 7 years.

BTW this is the requirement for fire trucks and ambulances.  And most fire trucks stay indoors most of the time.

I'm in the third school of thought. Covering your tires is a waste of time and $.  The best thing you can do to keep them healthy is to drive on them regularly. Get out and use that RV!

If covering, be sure the material doesn't touch, it can create a hot spot.  Makes it worse.

Tony_Alberta said:

BTW this is the requirement for fire trucks and ambulances.  And most fire trucks stay indoors most of the time.

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That's the best anecdotal evidence I heard so far that covering does not make much difference.

Rubber does not like:
Heat - an increase of 16 deg. F doubles the rate of aging, and it continues that way; 48 deg. F = ages 8 times as fast!
Ultraviolet - Causes a different type of failure, but most rubbers have ingredients to prevent or minimize it.
Ozone - Not really applicable to this discussion

Gary has it right; but shade for the tires won't hurt if circulation is maintained.

Ernie

In their tire guide Michelin recommends covering them so I do.

I had an uncovered new spare tire that sit in the sun for 2 years and the tire cracked completely through the tread where it was exposed to the sun.  I put a cover on the replacement, so far OK after 2 years.  I have my 4 tires on the ground covered also.  I don't know if it helps but I am confident it doesn't hurt the tires.

I don't know one way or the other but are these tires not like a regular truck tires? mine has been on my truck for 5 years and nevered covered

I had a spare tire mounted on rear of 5W never used for 5 years. It was covered with a typical white vinyl cover.
First time on ground it traveled 15 miles and blew up. Pressure was checked with other tires over the years.
Do not see the value of covering tire even if recommended with this experience.

I used to believe what Gary says.  But this past year I did a lot of research.

What intrigued me was that the first 3 years we had our coach we traveled a lot.  Tires looked like new.  Last two years we sat for 6 months at a time.  Outside tires cracked badly.  Could not see inside tires.

This spring we changed them.  When we removed the outer tires we were amazed to discover that the inner tires were in pristine condition.  At least from appearance conclusions.  So we replaced the 4 outer tires and moved the former inner tires to the front.

In a separate conversation with my golf cart repair man he theorized that ultraviolet light is the worst offender,and cold NOT heat is the second worst offender.  This is supported by the tire manufacturers.  They insist that tires be covered, especially if you don't do a lot of traveling.  And if you remove them for winter storage, move them to a heated indoor environment.

Sitting uncovered in a cold and sunny winter environment is the worst way you can treat them.

I am now covering my tires, not worrying about heat but worrying about cold and ultraviolet.  I will let you know in another 5 years how the results of my experiment turn out.  If my tires last 7 instead of 5 years I will consider the experiment a success.

Smoky

I'm in a Mesa, Arizona resort and there's a MH here with BLACK wheel covers.  If heat buildup were a concern, why would they make black ones (except for cosmetic reasons?)

Smoky said:

and cold NOT heat is the second worst offender.  This is supported by the tire manufacturers.  They insist that tires be covered, especially if you don't do a lot of traveling.  And if you remove them for winter storage, move them to a heated indoor environment.

Sitting uncovered in a cold and sunny winter environment is the worst way you can treat them.

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I respectfully disagree.  I know that that Canadian military have dozens of acres of refrigerated -20C warehouses for their tires.  They have lots of unusual tire sizes for their armoured personnel carriers, 8 wheeled reconnaissance vehicles and military trucks.  They have to do special orders of the tires to get decent prices so they order a decade or two's worth at a time.  And they store the stockpile in those freezers.

Now many of the Canadian politicians and bureaucrats are idiots.  Similar to all countries I presume.  But in this case I suspect they are following sound scientific principles.

Covering tires and carrying weapons.  Two of the most controversial subjects.  Neither should have WD spayed on them.  except as a cosmetic.

To keep any elastomer for an extended period (raw or cured); just cool it. the same factors that accelerate aging as a tire warms, work to extend its life as it is cooled. This is a simple application of the Ahrenious SP?? equation that defines the speed of a chemical reaction; not unique to tires. Aging is simply a continuation of the cure which in turn is a chemical reaction.
Ernie

The procedures for warehousing unmounted tires are fairly well developed & documented and I suspect the Canadian military is well up on that subject.  So I guess maybe we need to start carrying large portable freezers in our RVs and dismount the tires into the freezer whenever we park for extended periods?

The anecdotal reports ignore so many other potential (and likely) factors in tire degradation that in my opinion they are meaningless. The best that can be said is that covering a tire is probably not harmful. There may be some situations where it can help reduce UV damage if the tire sits for long periods (months) in very bright sun (lots of UV).  But covering your tires when you park for a 4-5 days at a campground somewhere?  Well, do what ever you like...

[quote author=Ernie]This is a simple application of the Ahrenious SP?? equation that defines the speed of a chemical reaction; not unique to tires. Aging is simply a continuation of the cure which in turn is a chemical reaction.[/quote]

How simple comments bring back memories Ernie, thanks; It's been a while, but we used Arrhenius for many years when extrapolating from highly accelerated reliability test results to expected life under normal operating temperatures. Wish I had $1 for every reliability report that used the Arrhenius equation, along with some statistical confusion for good measure (no pun).

Meanwhile, we've read numerous reports (& anecdotes) over the years that there are other,  possibly more influential, factors besides temperature that affect tire life.

I knew the responses would be as varied as they were!! Since we will be full time RVers, the rig won't be sitting in one spot for months at a time. Maybe a couple of months if we work camp. Thanks for everyone's input.

I should clarify my comment about cold being the tire's enemy.  I still respectfully disagree with the idea of sub freezing temperatures being helpful in tire maintenance.  Keep in mind there is also a distintion between the effect of subfreezing on mounted tires where UV is present vs sub freezing in a stored warehouse condition.

Tires need to be in a "cool" place with no UV present.  This requires a heated place in the winter to keep it cool rather than freezing.  There is a lot of responsible documentation on that subject on the web.  Remember, UV is not a problem unless the tires are not "moving" on a regular basis.

Which is exactly why I use insulated black tire covers.  Since I don't remove and store my tires during my 6 months off the road I have to equal that with tires on the coach instead of taking them indoors.

We follow the temperate climates.  A cool, sometimes freezing Arizona desert in the winter and a cool sometimes freezing high altitude climate in the Colorado summer.  Freezing temperatures and direct sunlight are not good for tires. Cool temps in darkness are good.

When you buy black tire covers at Camping World you get insulated covers.  These tend to temporize temperatures.  They keep excessive heat outside the cover and retain heat during excessive cold.  Just like the insulation of a house.  Not as good as inside storage, but a good compromise.

A further clarification.  If you travel a lot you don't need tire covers.  This may be why Gary feels the way he does about not covering tires.  He travels a lot.  He does not need tire covers.  And this is why your regular auto does not need tire covers.

When you sit for months at a time in sunlight you may have a problem.  This is why my cracks did not appear until my third year when I stopped traveling a lot and sat in direct sunlight for long periods.  This is also why my golf cart tires developed cracks in three years after sitting for 6 months in the Arizona summer sun.  Now I store my golf cart inside a shed in the summers.  (I could also put tire covers on it in the summer.)

At more than $500 a piece, tires deserve the best we can give them.  I did my own research and now I have a firm plan.  Don't just sit back and feel content that this is an endless controversy.  At least look into the subject and develop your own plan for tire care.  Whatever point of view you take, base it on your personal research and then stick to it.  Unless it doesn't work LOL!  I'll know in five years if my own plan works!

Smoky