Tire Age?

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03 cobra sb

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 28, 2011
Posts
66
Location
Colorado
Their has been a lot of post about life of tires and replacing on RV's  (7-10yrs)  How many years on the tires you are using now and in the past. It would be interesting to see what the average life is, before people replace them.
 
  • Our original tires were dated 1996.
  • Replaced 4 rear tires in 8/2002
  • Replaced front 2 tires in 1/2004
  • Replaced all 6 tires in 1/2007
The reason we replaced the front 2 again after only 3 years was due to abnormal wear from misalignment.  We had the front end aligned in 2007 when we put on the new tires and the now 4+ year old front tires are wearing almost normally with just a bit of cupping on the right front.  It's not a safety issue, yet.
 
One question is when do people replace tires to avoid problems, but most of us want to know how long before tires get replaced due to actual failure.
I believe that the risk of failure gets unacceptably high after about 7 years , but don't have solid data to back that up.
 
My tires were new in 2006 (now 5 years old).  If I'm still driving the MH in two more years, I'll replace them all. 

I won't change my plan even if 95% of your responders say that their tires last 10+ years.  The risk of a blowout increases from the first day the tire is mounted and (at about 7 years) that risk becomes significant enough for me to replace them.  YMMV
 
The only tire failure we have experienced on the motorhome was in Sept. 2001.  We replaced the 5 year old
failed rear tire with the spare and never replaced the spare.  We replaced all 4 rear tires about a year later.

Any reports here are just anecdotal and won't be sufficient to draw any realistic conclusions, in my opinion.  You need thousands of cases to have any statistical significance.  The data that would need to be collected would be more than just age, but tire size, manufacturer, even load as % of maximum for the tire.  It would be an interesting study.
 
I know 1 blowout will ruin anyone of our days and trips. I just wonder out of the 100's of thousand of tires that have been and are on RV's, how many failures  have happen?
 
03 cobra sb said:
I just wonder out of the 100's of thousand of tires that have been and are on RV's, how many failures  have happen?

Over 24 years, two motor homes, and approximately 210,000 miles, I have had four blow outs. One of these caused considerable damage to the tire well and surrounding area. BTW, I have always checked tire pressures (I have had a TPMS for the last 6+ years) and have never run tires older than a little less than seven years; I would never try for 10 years. The last blowout on the left front could have been a disaster, if there had been a vehicle in the lane next to us at the time.

Richard
 
Ned said:
Any reports here are just anecdotal and won't be sufficient to draw any realistic conclusions, in my opinion.  You need thousands of cases to have any statistical significance.  The data that would need to be collected would be more than just age, but tire size, manufacturer, even load as % of maximum for the tire.
Plus tire pressure, outside temperature, road conditions, tread thickness (tire wear), etc., etc., etc.
 
Current tires on the TT are only 2 years old.

Prior TT was a 2000 we bought in 2004 with original tires. I proactively replaced them in Spring of 2007 prior to our 6,200 mile trip to Yellowstone that July. Well, 6,200 miles on the truck - just over 5,000 on the TT.
 
I got beat up on several other forums about tires.  This is what I posted and after 2 pages of verbal abuse, I finally got a realistic answer.

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New guy here. Just bought a 32' 2004 1311 Breeze.  Only 15K on the clock and it was kept indoors.(major warehouse owner).  I've read many posts about tires and I know what they mean by not lasting long enough to wear out.  I had a 33' TH and until I went with LT rated tires, it was a nightmare with ST rated ones.  Tried all brands and load ratings. Finally went with some Yokohama 16" LTs. and have never had a flat since.

The Goodyear's on my Breeze are 245/70R-19.5 G670s with a date code of 2503.  They have absolutely zero cracks and lots of tread.  Other than some very minor scuffs, they look almost new.  It will be kept outside now with tire covers and a bottle of 303 on both sides of the tires.  Is it un-realistic to expect more than 8-10 years out of a set of tires?  I will be towing a 20' car hauler with an 1800# sand rail.  It'll be Just Me, the dog, some tools and gas for the rail.

Convincing response that makes sense.  A lot better than:  "Because we said so."

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Content removed as violating forum rules.

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A lot better than some of the responses I was getting from some of the old farts that are set in their ways and think that their way is the only way.  The ones that GASP like they were poked in the butt when they hear words like poo and pee.  :D
 
[quote author=Dunner]....I finally got a realistic answer.[/quote]

Our forum rules have clear directions on what, if anything, you can post from other web sites and forums. Click the Rules button above.

Convincing response that makes sense.  A lot better than:  "Because we said so."

I think you'll find equally convincing and sensible advice right here on our forum.

.... from some of the old farts that are set in their ways and think that their way is the only way.

As I tell my kids and adult grandkids, your turn will come  ;)

The ones that GASP like they were poked in the butt when they hear words like poo and pee.

I suggest you read our forum rules before posting stuff like that. Many of our older, long-time forum members, some a decade or two older than me, have provided extensive valuable information to RVers over the many years we've been around. You've been here one day and have the audacity to post something like that about folks you've probably never met.
 
Sorry to detract from this discussion folks, but this garbage is not acceptable here, and folks who post this stuff are not welcome here.
 
Any "replace by" age would have to be arbitrary.  Even with a tire manufacturer or FDOT study of thousands of RVs and their tires, we would still be debating the issue just as ferociously. Suppose there was a valid study that said 50% of the tires last longer than 7 years? Would you replace at 7 or not?  Statistically that would mean your chances would still be still decent at 7+, but now we have to add in the risk of damage to the body, as well as inconvenience on the road and possible danger to the occupants in the most extreme cases.  Is it OK to get $500 worth of body damage to extend the life of two $700 tires by 1 year? Or maybe $500 damage vs 4 tires for an extra two years?  And so on. Each of us has to come to our own conclusion on the risk vs the reward (reduced tire expense).

I'm a proponent of the 7 year replacement cycle, but there is nothing religious about an exact 7 years. I've replaced tires at 5 years because they were showing signs of stress, and kept others to 7.75 years because they were doing fine, but at some point the risk exceeds the payback. Make your own call.


Edit: fixed typo
 
My current tires are in the second year of use.  They were replaced last year, and the tires replaced were six years old.  Probably a bit overly cautious, but would rather replace early and avoid any on-the-road problems.
 
Gary -  Thank you for a very intelligent post about tire replacement.  Your reasoning makes a lot more sense than age or mileage alone.  I have 5 years and 24,000 on a set of Goodyears but it's time to start looking for a deal on replacements. This way I do not have to rush out and but what they want to sell me but can research what will work for me at the price I want to pay.

Went to the "Rally" up in Redmond, OR last month and it was interesting that no matter what subject was discussed from Oils to chassis maint. ALL made a point of saying that tire pressure was of VITAL importance to keeping your rig healthy on the road.  Well worth the investment of quality gauges and an occasional weighing to keep things balanced.
Steve


"Any "replace by" age would have to be arbitrary.  Even with a tire manufacturer or FDOT study of thousands of RVs and their tires, we would still be debating the issue just as ferociously. Suppose there was a valid study that said 50% of the tires last longer than 7 years? Would you replace at 7 or not?  Statistically that would mean your chances would still be still decent at 7+, but now we have to add in the risk of damage to the body, as well as inconvenience on the road and possible danger to the occupants in the most extreme cases.  Is it OK to get $500 worth of body damage to extend the life of two $700 tires by 1 year? Or maybe $500 damage vs 4 tires for an extra two years?  And so on. Each of us has to come to our own conclusion on the risk vs the reward (reduced tire expense).

I'm a proponent of the 7 year replacement cycle, but there is nothing religious about an exact 7 years. I've replaced tires at 5 years because they were showing signs of stress, and kept others to 7.75 years because they were doing fine, but at some point the risk exceeds the payback. Make your own call."


Edit: fixed typo

Edit: Fix quote
 
Hi Ho:  As usual Gary has it exactly right.  It is an individual matter and is based on a whole lot of variables.  How the tires are used and stored are important to say nothing of how the tires were made in the first place.  Tires can fail when they are new or they can be operating just fine after 20 years.  Of course, averages must show that older tires are more prone to failure, but it would be really great if a tire manufacturer had data about failures as a function of at least some of the variables, including age.

Of course, the problem is that a tire manufacturer will not want to admit that their tires fail at all, and certainly won't call that to our attention.  However, if they provide believable data I think they might actually sell more tires.

We just bought new tires after only 11 years and 50,000 miles, but we just returned from Alaska and I wanted to get as much insurance as possible.  Maybe I'll fail before these tires do!!!

Dirk
 
Of everything I have read the most sense was made by a retired exec from the tire industry, all and all he made a convincing argument that no matter how well you maintained your tires, going beyond seven years greatly increased your chances of a tire failure.  I recently purchased a used but new to me Class A.  i couldn't find the DOT code on the Goodyears on the Coach.  The tires looked great, obviously well maintained.  The Dealership is most reputable and I had dealt with them for many years with no complaints. When I inquired about the tire age I was assured the previous owners had purchased the tires in the last few years.  Shame on me I should have gotten underneath the coach and found the DOT codes but I didn't.  It was funny now that I look back that none of the tires were mounted in away that the DOT codes were readily viewable, they were all on the inboard side of the tire.  I know the dealership didnot do that as they don't even have the equipment to change or rotate tires. nor would it make any sense to go to that expense on a consignment coach.  Would the previous owners be that devious to fool the dealer and in turn me ??  The long and short of the story is some of the tires are 98's and the rest 2000s.  So I am in the market for six 265/75R22.5 RV tires.  Buyer beware.  Appearances can be deceiving, these tires look great.

Broke in Florida
 
smilnjac,

You should look into the special club pricing for Michelin tires - there is a thread somewhere here with the details.

Frank
 
I recently had a tire blow out on a RV and it caused some damage to the RV. The tires only had about 2000 miles on them. The insurance adjuster told me that 25% of his claims where blown tires. He said most tire manufacturers recommend that you drive the vehicle 50 to 100 miles a month to keep the oils in the tire right (something like that). He went on to say that most RV's are stored for long periods of time without being driven and usually when they blow a tire it is within 30 to 40 miles when they leave storage.

The the tire that blew looked like a new tire and I know the air was right in the tires. It took about 700 miles for the tire to blow, but it did.
 
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