Community Forums

Always-RVing · 10-02-2009, 02:14 PM

Good-Year states:

Goodyear RV Tires - Tire Care: Tire and Sidewall Weathering

- Usage per year - more frequent usage will result in longer life
- Vehicle storage practices (6 months loaded with little or no rotation is not good!)
- Usage in warmer climates can also negatively impact a tire's overall life due to greater extreme ozone exposure
- RVIA (Recreational Vehicle Industry Association) says, ”Statistics indicate that the average life of an RV tire is five to seven years.“

Willynojob · 10-03-2009, 07:36 AM

I believe all of this is good information, however when I did my research for replacement tires most said to purchase new ones at 7 years or prior which I did. Good luck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Batman_777

Good-Year states:

Goodyear RV Tires - Tire Care: Tire and Sidewall Weathering

- Usage per year - more frequent usage will result in longer life
- Vehicle storage practices (6 months loaded with little or no rotation is not good!)
- Usage in warmer climates can also negatively impact a tire's overall life due to greater extreme ozone exposure
- RVIA (Recreational Vehicle Industry Association) says, ”Statistics indicate that the average life of an RV tire is five to seven years.“

golden · 10-03-2009, 08:40 AM

Michelin recommends that from the five year point on that their tires be inspected yearly by an authorized Michelin dealer.

DriVer · 10-03-2009, 08:54 AM

Michelin has told me that that the life expectancy of my replacement XRV tires is 10 years.

mfire1339 · 10-03-2009, 09:13 AM

Driver , Did he have a straight face when he made that statement?

Mike

mdshedman · 10-03-2009, 12:13 PM

I just bought new tires this summer after about 5 years. The old ones had cracks in the sidewalls. I will not take a chance on tires!

Jim Stewart · 10-03-2009, 12:39 PM

The "Life" of a tire is affected by so many different aspects that you can not define the "Life" of a tire. Sun, Ozone, exposure to vapor lights, exposure to water, ground contact materials, mileage, weight loading, inflation pressure (low and high), temperature (both static and operating), speed, chemicals, hazards and Father Time!

Goodyears river, Michelins zipper, Toyos explode and so on and so on. Yes you can have a Dealer inspect your tires and if they do anything other than take them off the rims and inspect both interior and exterior, it is a waste of your time. You would do as well to visually and physically inspect them yourself.

The majority of all motor home tires wear out with time long before they do with mileage. The variables could make the time factor anywhere between 4 and 10 years. You spend your money and take you chances.

PS,

RVIA needs to learn that an average number is not a range between two numbers, it is a finite number!

It has always amazed me of the stories of "I would never own a Goodyear as a steer tire, they all river", followed by 5 Guys telling you they have 50K miles with no rivering.

Also, the Guy that says "Michelin is the best tire, period", followed by the 5 Guys that have had zipper blowouts and would never own another.

A story told once is a story, a story told twice is a rumor, a story told 3 times is a fact.

DandS · 10-03-2009, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Stewart

A story told once is a story, a story told twice is a rumor, a story told 3 times is a fact.

AMEN Brother !! Also reminds me of my favorite saying: "Opinions are like --------. everybody's got one".

chiefdave · 10-03-2009, 04:08 PM

The funny things about tires are the fact that the outside of the tire is not always indicative of what the inside of the tire looks like. I have heard and read many of the comments in this post as well as the information from many of the tire manufacturers. Most manufacturers say 7 years is the maximum tire life expectancy. I believe that this should be used as a determining factor. One other factor is your safety which most of the time out-weights the latter. Get yourself a quality tire pressure monitoring system and change your tires every 7 years. If not for yourself, for your friends, families. Safe travels.

melvonnar · 10-03-2009, 07:53 PM

The more a tire is used; the longer it will last; like people, tires, need exerzize.

Gary RVRoamer · 10-04-2009, 06:06 AM

Michelin also says:

Quote:

...most tires will need replacement before they
achieve 10 years

It's in the Michelin RV Tire Guide.

DriVer · 10-04-2009, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DriVer

Michelin has told me that that the life expectancy of my replacement XRV tires is 10 years.

Keith Radford from Michelin USA out of Greenville, SC came to our rally in support of the Workhorse Chassis Motorhome Club Rally. He not only told me but he also shared with the 100 or more attendees in the seminar that Michelin RV tires will require replacement at 10 years from the DOT code stamped on the tire. I can not recall that there was any distention in the room toward this statement. Surely these folks were not left without opinion as Keith concluded his seminar.

In Keith's remarks he stressed that side wall inspections using a provided window graphic card will assist owners in determining the condition of their sidewalls. If a person doesn't feel comfortable doing that a Michelin dealer can assist an owner in determining the condition of their tires.

Previously we were all to understand that Michelin RV tires required replacement at the 5 year mark. I replaced my OE XRVs at approximately the 5 year mark because I thought is was the responsible thing to do as a matter of safety for ourselves and other people traveling the highways. I currently have tires that are under 10 year maximum replacement schedule and I will abide by that replacement schedule.

Exercising tires as posted by "Robert H" is a key component to longevity with any tires. The enemy of tires is allowing them to sit under a load for extended periods of time. Underinflation while running on the road is pilot error and tires may blow, zipper or fail if this condition is allowed to stand. Tire may fail for reasons other than inflation however I favor putting myself in the best position to allow my tires to survive. I also run a TPMS so we can keep on top of the inflation issue.

Covering tires ... not too important in my opinion but if it feels good do it. If you are storing your vehicle for 4 or more months at a time, the simple act of moving the tires 1/2 of a rotation will help the tire survive the storage. Raising the RV on its jacks and removing weight off of the tire is also an effective measure to not allow the tire to become damaged by an extended static load.

Tires are designed to go round and round under load. Having them sit for extended periods of time kills tires. Run them like you stole them applies here as well and is not limited to tires, it also applies to brakes, generators and a half dozen or more RV systems.

If you have any questions at all about your tires call the experts at Michelin USA, call 800-847-3435.

Always-RVing · 10-05-2009, 11:26 AM

Just a comment on the above post: Never have your jacks put the wheels in the air.

DandS · 10-05-2009, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Batman_777

Just a comment on the above post: Never have your jacks put the wheels in the air.

Don't think DriVer was suggesting that, just to use jacks to take some weight off tires. I always level my coach out when I store, and that definitely takes stress off the tires. I do agree though that jacks are not meant to take the wheels off the ground. Unfortunately I have seen threads about changing tires where people recommend using the jacks for that purpose.