Hi Everyone. Well, after 15 years the RV-Dreams Community Forum is coming to an end. Since it began in August 2005, we've had 58 Million page views, 124,000 posts, and we've spent about $15,000 to keep this valuable resource for RVers free and open. But since we are now off the road and have settled down for the next chapter of our lives, we are taking the Forum down effective June 30, 2021. It has been a tough decision, but it is now time.
We want to thank all of our members for their participation and input over the years, and we want to especially thank those that have acted as Moderators for us during our amazing journey living and traveling in our RV and growing the RV-Dreams Family. We will be forever proud to have been founders of this Forum and to have been supported by such a wonderful community. Thank you all!!
We change out our vehicle tires every 6 or 7 years as we don't actually put that many miles on them but have heard that for safety's sake, this is the way to go. We keep our vehicles a very long time which was probably our greatest effort toward being debt-free. I see that many people may be buying used travel trailers and motor homes and maybe not realizing they should consider the age and expense of new tires. So, I am just wondering how many people here heed the advice on replacement at the 6 or 7 year level if not before if there is heavy use. The Club Wagon (1993 bought in 1997 still running strong and looks like new) tires should be replaced but we are stalling because we are waiting for the house to sell and will get another vehicle if/when it sells or maybe we give up get tires and that would cause the house to sell, that would be a typical scenario for us.
It seems to me that the worst cases of RV tire neglect would be with the part time campers, weekend warriors etc and less so with FTers. It's too easy to just look at the tread and say "we're good" when you don't actively use the trailer or MH... kinda out of sight, out of mind. On cars, it's fairly easy to wear them out before they "time" out.
we bought our fifth wheel used when it was two years old. Most of the time it had been sitting on the dealers lot or been rented out as a change room for movie companies. In our second year of travelling we noticed the tires didn't hold the pressure very well. At the end of the second year we woke up with one tire deflated to 25psi (from 80). We slowly made it to the next tire shop where they found this tire and one on the other axle already bulging to the inside. We replaced all four. I am sure we would have had a blowout on the next 500 miles.
Lesson learned? Well, these tires were only four years old and had good tread left. But they had been sitting too much and aged prematurely. Our schedule for tire exchange will be five years from now on regardless of the tread. We are part timers and travel about 120 days/year. When the 5er is stored I am taking it for a ride every four weeks at the latest.
I think sitting for an extended period and sun exposure will shorten a tire's life considerably. With a fulltime rig being moved on a regular basis I would not be too concerned about tire age but still would get new ones after 6 years. It is much cheaper than dealing with a blowout repair bill.
Bernd
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2009 Alpenlite 31CK Limited
2016 Northern Lite 10.2 CD SE
both hauled by 2015 GMC Sierra 3500HD Dually (one at a time ...)
Standard ST tires are speed rated at max of 65. I know many tow faster than this. This cuts life. Most are made in China and are low cost and low quality. This cuts life also. My Mobile Suites had 3 year old tires and had tire separation. They were under inflated when I picked it up. Assume this was why it had failure. Replaced with quality LT tires and never another problem. Ran them 6 years. Got current Teton it had Goodyear Marathons (Chinese bombs), 2 years old and under inflated. Bulge came on one on tow to rv park. Ordered Michelin XPS LT tires and zero problems now. Quality tires, properly inflated will last 5-7 years. Problem is getting quality tires.
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2003 Teton Grand Freedon 2006 Mobile Suites 32TK3 SOLD 2006 Freightliner Century 120 with Detroit 14L singled, ultrashift, hauling a 2016 Smart Passion
The following quote is a snip from a RMA statement.
“Tires are composed of various materials, including rubber, having performance properties essential to the proper functioning of the tire. These component properties evolve over a combination of time, service and storage conditions. For each individual tire, this change is affected by many elements such as temperature, storage conditions, and conditions of use (e.g., load, speed, inflation pressure, impacts and road hazard injury) to which a tire is subjected throughout its life. Since service and storage conditions vary widely, accurately predicting the actual serviceable life of any specific tire based on simple calendar age is not possible. RMA is not aware of reliable and accurate scientific or technical data that establishes a specific minimum or maximum service life for passenger and light truck tires. However, in some cases a tire or vehicle manufacturer may make a specific tire replacement recommendation regarding its products. If so, the consumer should consult the manufacturer with any questions with regard to following the recommendation. Further, any such recommendation should not be considered a minimum serviceable life for the tire.”
And this is from various other references and composed for this post.
Many of the Passenger and Light Truck tire manufacturers put a ten year maximum life span on their tires, with exceptions. Most will say tires five years old and older should be removed from the rim/wheel and examined annually. All tires ten years old or older should be replaced.
Special Trailer tire manufacturers say their tires are good for three to five years and should not be used beyond the five year mark.
FastEagle
-- Edited by FastEagle on Saturday 20th of September 2014 11:02:58 PM
-- Edited by FastEagle on Saturday 20th of September 2014 11:03:27 PM
