how old have you let your tires go to before change ?

[fxdave]

how old have you let your tires go to before change ?
ok i know this is a loaded question but im sure there are lots of people running older tires like me i just learned mine are 03 most look great except one is just starting to weather so im just curious ?
im sure there are plenty that buy there rig and like me look at the tires an say they look great ! there's plenty of wear left !

[coffeeman]

I just replaced my G670's that were going on their 7th year with Hankook's. The G670 had 27,000 miles and appeared to be in very, very good shape, however I'll stick to a 6 year plan (possibly 7 depending on mileage). My thoughts are at 6 years it is costing me $260 a year for tires if I stretched it to 8 years it would be around $200. Looking at the pictures of blowouts, etc buying early is cheap piece of mind.

[hardy1000]

From my understanding seven years is the max you should go before replacing the tires. I will replace mine at 6 for a piece of mind.

[paz]

Michelin says most tires will be replaced before 10 years, but all tires should be replaced at 10 years regardless of how much tread is left and regardless of what they look like. They also say regular inspections should be conducted by a "qualified tire specialist," and those inspections should be conducted at least annually after the tires reach 5 years of age. It should be noted that the inspection should include breaking the tire down to check inside surfaces.

Because most people don't bother to have tires broken down for inspection, 6 or 7 years has become a rule of thumb for tire replacement unless cracks or some other problem show up before that time.

We had 2 front tires replaced under warranty at 4 years due to weather checking. The 4 remaining tires are now 6 years old and have normal tread wear. The sidewalls of the outside duals have a few small cracks, so I will be replacing the 4 rear tires soon.

[Vegasdan]

Six years to be safe. If they look good and have lots of tread....just cry a little.

[Dr4Film]

I replaced all 6 tires, 295/80R/22.5, last springtime. The four rear tires had DOT codes of XX00 and XX01. My coach is a 2002. The two front tires had DOT codes of XX03 as I had those replaced when I bought the coach from the original owners in December of 2003 with 42,000 miles. Those tires were damaged on the edges due to poor alignment.

Let me clarify one point, the tires sat more than they were being used. That is not good for any tire. I had only put 2500 miles on the coach from 12/2003 through 5/2010.

The main reason for replacing tires was that we were leaving for Alaska in May and I wanted the best possible chance of having no tire problems on our 9000 mile journey.

All of the "old tires" looked brand new and since I use MCD wheel well covers, there was almost no sidewall cracking to any degree.

However, when the tire shop broke down the four rear tires to install the new ones, the beads basically disintegrated with their bead bars. There were dried out from old age and lack of road use.

I kept one of the front tires and now have it stowed in the cargo trailer to use as a spare if needed until I am able to find a new one.

I bought 2 Michelin tires for the steer axle and 4 Bridgestone's for the drive axle.

Dr4Film ----- Richard.

[bachler]

I had 2 blowouts; the tires were less then 3 years old' 275 x 22.5 and we bought it new all Kept in a gerage; I would reccomend 4 years Maxamum years; Or you can blow one out comming down off a mountian pass And pray. for trying to save a Doller;; I know this will upset a lot of posters; But you never skimp of your houses foundation when you are setting on it going 65 Mph ;; Epatat; He saved $200.00 To get here;; Oh I inflate to 100 Lbs.and wash the RV every time we get home.

[InPursuit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vegasdan If they look good and have lots of tread... just cry a little.

Or...
Spend more money in fuel to get the max value out of that tread.

6 x $300 / 40000 miles = 4.5 cents per mile
6 x $300 / 10000 miles = 18 cents per mile

The difference?
30,000 mi @ 8mpg = 3750 gal
3750g x $2.75/gal = $10,000 in fuel
$10k / 30,000 miles = 33 cents per mile

you're gonna pay one way or another

[John H...]

I just replaced all mine this year with less than 15K miles on them. Mostly because of this forum and what I have read. MH is 04 but chassis and tires are 03, so about 7 years.

[bdpreece]

Replaced all 6 last spring at 6 years. Three months later we traded off the motorhome. Doubt that I got any more for the motorhome at trade in but somebody lucked out getting a used motorhome with new tires.

[mikron]

I change at 8 years, I also drive my coach every 2 weeks and keep the coach under cover. We check for UV damage which Michelin clams they build there tire to fight. I think the 6 years is like the 3,000 mile oil changes that we now know is not requird due to better oil and better tires. As a post stated, blow out on very new tires.

[Vegasdan]

The best way to get your moneys worth is become a fulltimer.

[Hocky]

Coffeeman,
I like the way you think. I'd only go past 6 years if I was going to trade in ASAP. I looked at a MH that had 7 year old tires & the salesperson said, "well, as long as you still see those little rubber strings sticking out, the tires are good." OK, I said, "BYE."

[Gary RVRoamer]

It all depends on how much of a gambler you are. Eventually the tire is going to fail from age, regardless of how good it looks. Michelin says 10 years max, but cautions they could fail much sooner. Failure of a rear tire is pretty much guaranteed to take out some fiberglass, wring, maybe some plumbing too. A front failure could mean an accident.

My personal risk threshold is somewhere early in the 7th year.