Community Forums

Zac808 · 08-23-2015, 10:28 PM

I was on my way to Lake Powell last week and stopped into St George for some fuel. Upon my normal walk around, I found all four trailer tires ready to burst. Thankfully, they did not blow while driving. They were the original tires from 2013 and I keep them at 65 psi.
Because of my location, I picked up a set of Vanguards in E load(previous was D). Salesperson says I can expect 5 seasons out of them. Did he mean 5 years or actual seasons? He also said that tire covers are a waste of money. He recommended towing trailer at least 20 miles a month to keep the chemicals in the rubber "moving." Any other recommendations for longevity?

84prerunner · 08-24-2015, 12:00 AM

that's impressive that none came apart if all 4 looked like that!
do you park it in dirt? ive heard dirt if very bad for tires and dries them out.

Superslif · 08-24-2015, 12:47 AM

What was the "date stamp" on the tires? 7 years is kind of a general industry rule of thumb.

But many things can add or subtract from that. Like how many pot-holed roads one travels, contact with the direct rays of the sun, how close to the "max" weight limit you are putting on each tire, quality of the tire (Chinese or US made), tire temperature during travel, speed of travel (60 mph or 75mph)......

I have found being a rather traveled RVer we get about 6 years. The RV trailer I have now (2013 26' Aerolite hybrid) is finishing up it's 4th year (4th season) and I have noticed on one of the tires a little cracking....We average say 2 to 5,000 miles a year. With that said, I will have to do something by next year with our trip to Alaska. I would like to get higher load range tires, but it seems 14" only go to load range "C". Any input on that?

I would fulling inspect each tire more often after the 3rd season. Some people might put 500/1000 miles on a season, just camping locally, others might put 10 or 20k per season. At least you caught it before one let loose. Coming back from VT last week, I saw a RV who had a trailer tire blow and really messed up the wheel well and the lower 12" of siding on his RV.

lynnmor · 08-24-2015, 01:54 AM

The tire salesman was correct about 5 years being the life of cheap tires. He also was correct about using them to "move the chemicals." He was incorrect about the tire covers.

George Schweikle · 08-24-2015, 06:43 AM

WOW!!. You are some lucky person

Also, I don't agree that tire covers have no merit. I use these religiously on my MH and car trailer, and attribute such use to maintaining tire condition.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zac808

I was on my way to Lake Powell last week and stopped into St George for some fuel. Upon my normal walk around, I found all four trailer tires ready to burst....

Hikerdogs · 08-24-2015, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by George Schweikle

WOW!!. You are some lucky person

Also, I don't agree that tire covers have no merit. I use these religiously on my MH and car trailer, and attribute such use to maintaining tire condition.

I think the value of using tire covers is somewhat dependent on where you live, and how you use them. We live in Wisconsin and in over 50 years have never used tire covers on our cars, trucks, motorhome, or trailers. The tires get worn out long before the sun and other elements have any effect.

The tires on our trailer are a little over 5 years old and show no signs of weather or sun related damage. The last set of tires on my Ford truck were almost 9 years old before the lack of tread necessitated replacing them. The key to longevity in our area seems to be more related to regular use than protection from the sun.

However if you live in some of the southern states like Florida or Texas weather and exposure to the sun can have a marked effect on the lifespan of tires. We have friends that live in both places and have seen what months of extended exposure to the sun can do to their tires.

Here's a link to an article about protecting tires. While this article relates to motorhome tires it can be used as a general guideline for just about any tire.

Polkâ€™s Top 7 Tips for Protecting Aging Motorhome Tires

Note the section entitled "How To Extend Tire life"

Here's a link to another article on the same subject from TireRack.com

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=30

Zac808 · 08-24-2015, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by George Schweikle

WOW!!. You are some lucky person

Also, I don't agree that tire covers have no merit. I use these religiously on my MH and car trailer, and attribute such use to maintaining tire condition.

Lol. Tell me about it....

I think they would provide some kind of protection from the Las Vegas sun.

timetogo · 08-24-2015, 01:02 PM

The manufacturer should send you a check for the 4 defective tires.

Zac808 · 08-24-2015, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timetogo

The manufacturer should send you a check for the 4 defective tires.

Yeah. I wish. Jaycos website clearly states warranty is for "original purchase". The ****** thing is that Im still in the 2 year warranty window. What a croc.

timetogo · 08-24-2015, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zac808

Yeah. I wish. Jaycos website clearly states warranty is for "original purchase". The ****** thing is that Im still in the 2 year warranty window. What a croc.

Too bad about Jayco, but I would contact the tire manufacturer. Many ST tires are warranted against defects for +-5 years. Tireco sent me a check to replace a set of defective OE tires a few years ago.

TDI-Minnie · 08-24-2015, 04:45 PM

The first thing I did was get the wheels/tires balanced. They had NO lead on them when new and needed quite a bit.

Other than that, inflation and UV protection are important.
Also, make sure the brakes are adjusted correctly and not dragging or putting more load on one tire than the others.

chaps2018 · 08-24-2015, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TDI-Minnie

The first thing I did was get the wheels/tires balanced. They had NO lead on them when new and needed quite a bit.

Other than that, inflation and UV protection are important.
Also, make sure the brakes are adjusted correctly and not dragging or putting more load on one tire than the others.

Totally agree. I got about 8k mi (2 yrs) on the first two sets of d rated st's. Mine were worn due to 1st set not being balanced from mfgr and 2nd set cheap tires that wore unusually bad. The third set are E rated Maxis. They are wearing well and I really appreciate having 15 psi inflation headroom over required 65psi (minimum is 65 per trailer, max for tire is 80 psi)