Tire Preservation

[saw4980]

I have read somewhere that in order to preserve the life of your tires, you need to cover them and put something underneath the tires to keep the moisture away/off of them.

Currently I have them up on paver blocks with a piece of wood between the tire and concrete. It was hell driving the RV up onto them.

Also, I saw some 1/2" rubber matting that I could easily cut up and replace for the wood. Would the rubber hold the moisture more than the wood or should I stick with the wood/concrete block mix?

Can I get some tips on what worked best for you?

[Clay L]

We use the thin flexible cutting boards we get from Walmart.

[Gadget63]

I am a newbie too but with my limited experience I would think that by lifting the unit up with the stabilizer jacks thus taking a lot of weight off the tires can't hurt. I also have covers for the tires to protect against UV. Armorall the tires might be good too.

[W4MBG]

do not use any tire treatment except 303 aerospace protectant. all the others will actually speed up the aging process. and only clean the tires with soap and water, no harsh chemicals.

also, all you need to protect the bottom of the tires from is petroleum products, like asphalt. water will not harm the rubber. if you park on gravel, its not a bad idea to park on a board or poly mat, but its just to prevent the rocks from digging into the tread.

[Gadget63]

No armorall? Darn, they do make tires look really good though, but at 400 a tire, I'll skip using it.

[FastEagle]

If possible the RV trailer should be stored or parked as level as possible. Protection between the tire tread and parking surface should consist of some material that will prevent the migration of harmful materials from the surface to the tire.

Our storage area has an asphalt surface and a pretty good degree of drainage. To get it level I use 2” wooden blocks on the low side. I make sure they are large enough to support the entire foot print of the tire. I cut a 45 degree angle on one end so the tire doesn’t have to go up on a sharp edge. On the other side I use quarter inch wooden squares for the tire foot print.

Here are a couple of pictures.

http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=16759
http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=19381

FastEagle

[Dutch Star Don]

I use truck mudflaps under the motor home tires. You can buy them cheap at large truck stops/stores ($10-$12). Buy three and cut one in half. This will give you enough for a front and rear axle setup with duals.

[Cat320]

I'm not a tire expert, but I do all I can to protect them. When in storage, I keep them on plywood with the jacks extended. When staying in an RV park more than two days, I cover them.

[navychaps]

Here is another piece of trivia that I recently found:

Page 11 under the heading "Long Term Storage and RV Tires," in the Michelin RV Tires guide for proper use and Maintenance and RV tire information, it states in yellow: "NOTE: When a vehicle is stored, tires should be inflated to the inflation pressure indicated on the sidewall."

Never done that. Has anyone here?

[Midniteoyl]

I have on trailers.. Helps keep them from getting flat spots while sitting..

[saw4980]

thanks everyone for your input... I was going to spray some protectant on the tire, but will rethink that with this new guidance~!!!

[Gary RVRoamer]

I guess I do it all wrong. I park my tires on the ground, which is mostly sand at my Florida home. I never cover them. Rarely put anything on the sidewalls except some tire cleaner now and then. The tire pressure is the same as I use when driving. That's probably why my tires only last 7 or so years, when I replace them because the risk of a blowout is getting higher than I am willing to tolerate. They usually have 55-60k miles by then anyway.

[Winnebeater]

My motor home (current RV) and my travel trailer (previous RV) are/ were stored in my driveway. The TT was easy enough to lift the tires off the ground, which I did mainly to get the weight off of them not so much because they were in contact with the concrete. On my motor home I lift the front of the motor home up high enough to get the tire off the ground which is a necessity to level it anyways. The rear gets lifted as well, but how high lift it is restricted by the eave on the garage. The front and rear are supported by jack stands. I do that because an RV mechanic told me that if I store the RV with the hydraulic levelers extended and have weight on them that the seals on the rams will prematurely fail. I don't know if that is true, but I didn't want to take any chances. As for tire dressing I have heard multiple times that most all of them cause premature break down of the side wall rubber. I had also heard from a lot of old timers that brake fluid used very sparingly is an excellent alternative as it help lubricate the rubber and holds in the nature chemicals present in the rubber. I also don't know if that is true, but I do know if you use to much and it gets on your paint that you will not have much paint left after a while. For that reason I just stick to soap and water and about once a year I will put on some tire dressing when I do a thorough annual detail.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer

I guess I do it all wrong. I park my tires on the ground, which is mostly sand at my Florida home. I never cover them. Rarely put anything on the sidewalls except some tire cleaner now and then. The tire pressure is the same as I use when driving. That's probably why my tires only last 7 or so years, when I replace them because the risk of a blowout is getting higher than I am willing to tolerate. They usually have 55-60k miles by then anyway.

I do the same and mine only went 8½ years and could have gone longer but the tires I needed had to be ordered and came in early.