Tires and Storing Trailer in So Cal

[rednielsen]

So this is our first season with a 18 ft. travel trailer with dual axels and I wanted to know if NOT moving the trailer for 3 months can affect the tires? Any suggestions, opinions, etc would be appreciated. Thanks in advance...

[highcountry]

Tires are made to travel. They don't like to sit. #1 put something under them. I use wood. I have been told by a long time tire man that the ground will leach chemicals from the tires. I don't know if this is true but every RVer I know will tell you to put something between the tires and the ground. #2. cover the tires to keep the sun off.

[rednielsen]

Thanks to the reply. I have the tires covered and they sit on a concrete slab. I was more concerned about them getting a "flat" spot.

[VanDiemen23]

radials no, bias - maybe. Just put your leveling jacks down and take the weight off of them.

make some plywood shields you can bungee around the tires. Out here UV is the killer.

[AFChap]

You need vapor barriers under the tires ...wood will work, some type of plastic is better. Concrete is likely the MOST damaging surface for tires to sit on for extended period. Your car tires wear out before the concrete damages them much, but your RV tires don't move often, and not as much. And covers to protect from UV as mentioned.

[SmokeyWren]

Yeah, get the trailer tires off the concrete. I don't like plywood because of the glue used to hold it together, so I use plain old pine lumber. A piece of 2x8 about 6 feet long for each side is easy to back onto. 2x10 or 2x12 would be even easier to back onto. And even on the lumber, you still need to jack up the trailer a bit to get most of the weight of the trailer off the tires. On my 5er with electric front jacks, with the trailer slightly down in front, I'd put the rear stabilizer jacks down firmly, then jack up the front until the trailer was level. No need to get the tires off the wood, but at least take some of the weight off the tires.

And UV is the tire killer, so cover the tires with something that will allow zero sunlight to hit the tires, without trapping water vapor inside the cover. Unbreathable plastic cover is not good, so use a more-expensive tire cover that can breathe air, so the water vapor goes away.

If the trailer is in storage for several months, drive very slowly for a mile or so, then gradually increase speed until the tires begin to warm up. That will get rid of any flat spot without damaging the tire. That's especially important if your tires are bias ply. You can recognize bias ply trailer tires because they won't have an "R" in the tire size, such as radial size ST225/75R15. Instead the bias ply tire size will probably contain a "D", such as ST225/75D15.