Replacing Tires Due to Age?????

[gwcowgill]

It can certainly prevent health problems caused by collision!

[Mark R.]

That is what I was thinking.

[Lou Schneider]

If a TPMS prevents a blowout, it's not part of the statistics.

[taoshum]

If a TPMS prevents a blowout, it's not part of the statistics.

Neither is medication for hyper-tension?  Or not breathing asbestos?  Soooo?

[Charlie Two Tracks]

I guess I needed to explain myself better. The steel rims were bent so that they were flush with the inside bottom part of the rim. (not good) and if you loose a tire on one side, the other tire is the only thing holding that side of the trailer. I would think that there is more weight on the remaining tire. Anyway, the tires were old and blew. Happens every day. I hate it when I am picking up parts of some one's RV out there.

[dirko]

Hi Ho:  Does anyone have anything except anecdotal information that relates number of blowouts to tire age?   I expected to find some data but have not been able.   I would really like to know what the relationship is if there is one.

Thanks.

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Nope - even the tire companies don't have (or at least don't publish) and real data on the frequency of blowouts with age. So we are all guessing when we pick an age and say "the risk gets too high after x years".  And trailer tires seem to fail years earlier than  motorhome tires too. 

[Art In Mobile]

Here is some good info on my blowout rt front at 65 MPH on I-10 in Beaumont Texas. First let me say the blowout was a big bang another words all at once so the sensors on the tire would not have helped in this case. The coach was weighed & NOT over weight. Low milage on tires & right around 6 years old. The inside sidewall is the blow out area. So I can't blame it on UV deterioration. When I got home look what I found on the Left front tire inside wall! I bought 6 new tires. I want to also say the 35 foot Winnebago handled very well and after that VERY loud bang all the cars on the right side of me got out of the way PRONTO so I could make it to the right side of the road. When pieces of tire are flinging off your MH they tend to let you have any lane you want. If you Handel it right it is not a problem. How many police chases have we seen on the TV with tires shot out or burnt out  the crooks still handling them at very high speeds.  I have had a CDL license from day one when they were mandated. Please remember you can still steer on a rim. All I am trying to say is don't panic  just keep flying the plane! (I also am a pilot) See tire photos notice date codes

[emedic99]

IMHO, (firefighter/paramedic), motorhome tires are nothing to mess with.  Besides the driver, who is actually wearing a seatbelt at any one time while they are in the motorhome?  In my experience I have to constantly remind my passengers to buckle up.  A tire blow out, especially on the front, can cause severe damage and loss of life.  Lose control and thats all she wrote. 

If you are like most, your motorhome tires need replaced due to age not tread wear.  I don't put 60,000 miles on them in 7 years.

There are 2 main culprits of tire deteriation:  Ozone and UV rays.  We can't do much about the ozone but the UV we can help with.  Keep those tires covered when not in motion, especially in storage.

[matt.brown3]

Not only do you need to replace tires, but also change all your fluids, oil, coolant, tranny, etc.  A 2005 rig with only 4k miles  has sat for a long time and bad things happen to those fluids after years of sitting in a reservoir. Water has a miraculous way of finding its way in and they tend to breakdown and loose their effectiveness.  It may cost a couple thousand dollars now, but that's a lot better than several thousand dollars later.  I bought a used 2005 31' Gulfstream V10 with only 13k miles this past spring.  Tires had lots of tread but also lots of cracks.  I put 6 new michelins on her for about $2000, changed all the fluids at a cost of about $500.  I drove her from onside of Texas to the other and back pulling a toad to boot without as much as a hiccup.  I run her up to about 60-65 mph and keep it safe and steady; no mountains in the Texas, though, I am curious how the V10 does pulling a 3000 lb toad on mountain grades. I'm retired and no hurries here...Praise God! 

First motorhome and love it.  Looking at some diesel pushers now. 

Matt Brown
Moved link to signature line.

[bucks2]

I just can't help but point out that I've been told repeatedly that Over The Road trucks wear out tires and RV's age out tires. Now you guys are saying that tire pressure is important and that maybe running a tire under inflated on either type of rig might cause failure? Some of you are even saying that road hazards cause failure on both types of rigs. 

What an interesting world we live in.

Ken

[Just Lou]

I just can't help but point out that I've been told repeatedly that Over The Road trucks wear out tires and RV's age out tires. Now you guys are saying that tire pressure is important and that maybe running a tire under inflated on either type of rig might cause failure? Some of you are even saying that road hazards cause failure on both types of rigs. 

What an interesting world we live in.

Ken

Are you saying that there are some conflicts between any of those statements?  I don't see any.

[BernieD]

Strong agreement with Lou.

When you run your tires under inflated, 2 bad things happen. First you lose carrying capacity, the air pressure in your tires is what supports the weight put on them. Simply, more pressure, higher carrying capacity.

Then, an under inflated tire flexes much more as you drive. This flexing increases heat in the tire and damage to the carcass.

Should there have been a  after your last 2 sentences?

[Jeff]

During price negation over our last set of Goodyears for our m/h that were 12-14 months old on the shelf I asked if Goodyear would extend their 5 year warranty to reflect the shelf time of the tires?


 Purcell called Goodyear and the answer was no which I believe shows the OEMs are aware of the age life of their tires.

[bucks2]

Strong agreement with Lou.

When you run your tires under inflated, 2 bad things happen. First you lose carrying capacity, the air pressure in your tires is what supports the weight put on them. Simply, more pressure, higher carrying capacity.

Then, an under inflated tire flexes much more as you drive. This flexing increases heat in the tire and damage to the carcass.

Should there have been a  after your last 2 sentences?

In the thread I noted that some of the things that caused failure in OTR also caused failure in RV's. Tire failures in RV's and OTR's were more similar than dissimilar. I was corrected. OTR wear tires out and RV's age them out there are no similarities between the failures. I maintained that RV's and OTR's both had failures from underinflation, road hazard and age. OTR's recaps can fail from age related causes. Other posters were adament that wasn't the case.

[Jarlaxle]

I guess I shouldn't mention one of the trailers at work...it's an elderly 28' pup, I think a 1972.  It still has manual slack adjusters, has no spring brakes (there is a tag above the landing gear crank, "TRAILER MUST BE CHOCKED", and still runs lock-ring wheels with 10.00-20 tires.  The ones on there are made by Union & New Pride, with dates from 1997 and 1999.  It comes in three times a week, loaded to the gills and heavy, running 75+ miles (loaded) on the highway at 65MPH every time.  Haven't lost a tire on it in the six years I have been there.

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Just one of those 10.00/20 tires can probably support near the entire weight of that trailer, so they are probably loafing no matter how heavy that trailer is loaded.

The 7 year number isn't magic, and the typical trailer tire probably doesn't even last that long. I think that's because most trailer tires are being run at/near their max load all the time, so they have no safety margin.

[Jarlaxle]

Not even close.  A 10.00-20 has about the same capacity as an 11R22.5 or 295/75R22.5--the trailer comes in loaded to the roof every time it goes out,m plus the thousand pounds of power liftgate hanging off the back.  The trailer is about 8000lbs empty, ~30,000lbs loaded.

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I guess that's not an RV, then! Around here, "pup" usually means a pop-up type trailer. But they don't usually run to 28 ft either.

[arcticfox2005]

Trailers don't have duels ,do they?

At least one model of fifth-wheels do - saw one at Star Valley Ranch RV Park in Wyoming. A large expensive one, the full-timer type. Don't remember the brand.

[donandmax]

I wam up my MH and take it out on a short trip every other month in the
winter time. 
So it never sits more than two months at a time.  I hope this will excercise
the tires.  Better that sitting for 6 months.

Just my thought.

X2 only every month we take it shopping Wal Mart etc to give it exercise

[Butch72]

At least one model of fifth-wheels do - saw one at Star Valley Ranch RV Park in Wyoming. A large expensive one, the full-timer type. Don't remember the brand.

  The only one that I'm aware of is the"Mountain Aire" 5er by Newmar.............

[Butch72]

   We purchased our present MH, a pre-owned 2007 Diplomat, last July,2011, and we are planning on replacing all the
 tires this April 2012. They are not cheap by any means, but the peace of mind of having new tires under you for our future travels is just one less item to be concerned about. The tires will be six years old mid 2012, with about 32,000 miles on them.
As we have no maintenance service records, we also will have a total engine, trans, & generator service also this spring...2012. Then we will know what was done and when.........