Replacing Tires based on Age not Wear

[stopngo]

Is this for real??Seriously?

Does anybody here do that or know somebody that does?

[87Itasca]

That's the only correct consensus. Rubber ages every day. You're talking about 10,000-20,000+ pounds being supported by 65-110PSI of air, being contained within 10 or so layers of rubber. I have tires on my RV that are 20+ years old, and they are getting replaced within the next two weeks. They all look great, plenty of tread left, but I'm not going to have my tread delaminate from the wheel, or have my sidewall blowout because the rubber isn't flexible enough to conform to a pothole I hit doing 45.

Ten years is the max. Anything over, and you're playing with not only fire, but the lives of everyone around you on the road.

[legomybago]

Of course!!
Tires go bad just setting idle....UV rays, dirt/grass/concrete parking spots create rotten spots on the underside of the tire. Side wall rubber fails. If you can park your rig on gravel it helps with moisture dispersment (dispersment isn't a word I guess, but you should know what I mean) W%
Tires should be replaced around 7-8-9 years old, 789 years old

[stopngo]

7 8 9.......that's better than 5 what some say....

And sorry....Tyres is spelled Tires.

[legomybago]

There is no "standard" date for replacing tires. Tire manufacturers will say change them out every 5 years of course, but.....It's user's discretion. My opinion is between 7-9 years if they are not showing obvious cracking. If you can store your rig indoors you would be ahead of the game.

[HamRad Mobile]

Good morning, Stop'nGo; 

     That is not a problem, sir.  You are welcome to use either the British or the American spelling for the big round black rubber things that hold our motor homes up off the road.  There are many of us here who are bi-lingual; we can speak both English and American.   (Yes, there really are differences.) 

          Enjoy; 

          Ralph 
          Latte Land, Washington 

[Rickf1985]

I had 6 year old Michelins on mine when I bought it and the sidewalls were cracked all the way around both inside and outside. Didn't matter whether the sun was shining on them. They were going to blow. When I bought the Samsons I have now I was told that Samson uses a lot more UV resistant compounds in their tires since they are a truck and trailer tire based company. Their tires have to be designed to sit for years on trailers. We will see how they fare. He also told me that Michelin had problems in that department, he would only sell them as a special order. I saw a report somewhere not long ago recommending regular car tire replacement at no more than 8 years.

[kennyrodgers]

Speaking of tires / tyres
It looks like my rig had a full set of Michelin 8r/19.5's fitted when it got parked up in 07. All 6 plus the spare look to be in great condition with no side wall cracking at all. I'll put that down to our climate and also that I think she's been stored under cover. I'm going to replace the fronts this week as we're finally at the road testing stage.
The rears are staying put but I'm going with 225/70r 19.5's on the front. Budget restraints dictate my choices and I've narrowed it down to Double Coin RT500's or Sailuns.
Just wondering if any of you guys have any experiences of these tires at all.

[bluebird]

Check those old Michelin tires very carefully, even between the treads. I just bought a coach at the end of Nov. and the Michelin tires didn't look too bad on initial inspection, but they were junk. I am surprised I made it home with them 350 mile run. I used Samson Advantage and really like them, but Double Coin seems to be a decent tire too. They don't have quite as good reviews as the Samsons do however. When I was replacing my 8R19.5 tires a couple years ago , one tire dealer wouldn't sell me the 225x70x19.5 tires to put on my 6" wheel. My Daybreak has 6.75" wide wheels on it with the 225x70x19.5. I just installed the Samsons with beads for balancing, but haven't driven on them yet. Samsons can be bought for a very good price.

[Rickf1985]

Just remember, If a tread comes off at speed it can rip the side of the RV right off! If it is the inner dual it can take out the floor and any plumbing down there for the tanks. And if one tire is bad and lets go the other is probably also bad and is not going to hold the weight and will let go right after before you get stopped. Check them VERY, VERY well.

[stopngo]

I used to think that a Motorhome is a lot cheaper than Hotels and Motels even with the Gas consumption..........Not any more

Not after a a Recent Head Gasket Job..........................................1800
Now the prospect of Tires.............................. ............................2000
Just Found out Rad needs Re Core(result of blown head gasket)......  800
Coil Springs if I do it Myself......................................................... 400
Exhaust System..........................................................................800

                                                                                                  $5800.00 Bill coming up... But yahh I know.....Who was it on here that says

The Journey is the reward 

or something like that

[bluebird]

http://simpletire.com/Catalog/product/32883?utm_source=Shopping&utm_medium=cse&utm_term=32883

[Rickf1985]

One thing about the tire and age vs wear. This bit with replacing due to time is based on most motorhomes sitting most of their lives. If the coach is driven on a regular basis, several hundred miles a month, then the tires will last much longer. It is when they sit without exercising that they go bad. Look for cracking not only on the sidewalls but between the treads. I bought a Chevy military pickup truck with "Brand new" tires on it. Within three weeks I had blown out three of them and took the last one off before it blew. They did not look bad at all but the truck had sat for 6 or 7 years. And they did not just go flat, they BLEW out. BANG! Scared the crap out of me the first two times. The last time I was just about home and almost stopped and it just went POP. I had to look closely at the last one to see that it was cracked between all of the treads.

[kennyrodgers]

Thanks for the input once again Rick, great advice.
Giving it some more thought I think I'll change the fronts for the time being whilst I'm at the road testing phase to make sure the engine and drive train are performing well, no Freeway / Motorway driving just yet.
We're planning to make the first proper trip away at Easter so I'll aim to get the rears done by then.