Tire Lyna, Beads and Nitrogen?

[RVNeophytes2]

I just visited with a supremely confident longtime motorhomer who said the answer to tire safety and longevity in our rigs lies in his three-pronged approach to tires.

He mounts his own, uses Tire Lyna casing care compound, Dyna Beads and Nitrogen.

He swears that tire replacement intervals are doubled or tripled, that our failure rates would plummet, if RVs incorportated his method.

We have lots of tire experts here at iRV2, and I'm interested in hearing what you think.

[Sweetbriar]

All three items are on the inside of the tire. What about the outside besides covering when not rolling?

[cruzbill]

Not an expert by any means, but air is already 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen.

[SKP Kirk]

Nitrogen is great for tires on race cars where they get extremely hot, but it has been proven many times to have negligible effect upon ordinary tires. Ordinary air is made up of about 70% nitrogen.

The beads are there to balance the tires and some feel that they do a better job than ordinary balancing. I have found that most RV tires are replaced due to age, rather than mileage and no kind of balance will change the aging factor.

I have never used a casing compound but reading the website you link to, the purpose of it is to extend the casing life for trucks where they put on many miles in a very short period. It would probably be helpful if you were to drive the number miles that truckers do, but nowhere can I find anything to indicate that it will change the normal 7 to 10 year lifespan that all tire manufacturers seem to support. If you read the data on most any tire manufacturer's site it will deny any kind of support at some point in 10 years or less from date of manufacture, due to age alone.

RV tires biggest issue is to keep proper inflation and protection from sun, ozone, and moisture since most of them sit in one position for much of the time. Sitting in one spot is not good for tires as the compounding is designed to last best when warm and flexing due to rolling on the roads. Sitting still is harder on most tires than using them.

I do not know of any really knowledgeable RV user who does not agree that tires beyond the age of 7 to 10 years are just a blowout looking for a time and place. Since a blown tire will often do thousands of dollars of damage to the RV if it happens at highway speeds, I'll continue to do as I have for the past 35+ years. I am very careful of proper inflation, based upon the tire manufacturer's inflation tables. I always keep my tires up on a moisture barrier when parked for more than a day or two to prevent constant exposure to moisture and I use tire covers to protect from sun and ozone exposure.

[mel s]

Originally Posted by RVNeophytes2

I just visited with a supremely confident longtime motorhomer who said the answer to tire safety and longevity in our rigs lies in his three-pronged approach to tires.
He mounts his own, uses Tire Lyna casing care compound, Dyna Beads and Nitrogen.
He swears that tire replacement intervals are doubled or tripled, that our failure rates would plummet, if RVs incorportated his method.
We have lots of tire experts here at iRV2, and I'm interested in hearing what you think.

RVNeophytes2
IMO the tire replacement interval on most, (if not all), motorhomes is governed/dictated by the age of the tire... (more than anything else).
Me thinks if a coach owner could get 14 to 21 years of use from their tires by using those 3 wiz-bang items everyone would be using them.
Mel
'96 Safari

[Gary RVRoamer]

So he claims my tires will last 20+ years if I use those products? Fat chance!

Sure, keeping the tire properly inflated and balanced is a necessary for a long and healthy life. Dynabeads (or equivalent) assures the tire is always balanced. Nitrogen maybe reduces pressure loss over time, but can't fix owner neglect or improper inflation. Whether Tire Lyna extends the casing life or other benefits remains to be seen. Nor is it evident that it has any effect on tire aging, which is a major factor in RV tires life.

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by SKP Kirk

Nitrogen is great for tires on race cars where they get extremely hot, but it has been proven many times to have negligible effect upon ordinary tires. Ordinary air is made up of about 70% nitrogen.

The beads are there to balance the tires and some feel that they do a better job than ordinary balancing. I have found that most RV tires are replaced due to age, rather than mileage and no kind of balance will change the aging factor.

I have never used a casing compound but reading the website you link to, the purpose of it is to extend the casing life for trucks where they put on many miles in a very short period. It would probably be helpful if you were to drive the number miles that truckers do, but nowhere can I find anything to indicate that it will change the normal 7 to 10 year lifespan that all tire manufacturers seem to support. If you read the data on most any tire manufacturer's site it will deny any kind of support at some point in 10 years or less from date of manufacture, due to age alone.

RV tires biggest issue is to keep proper inflation and protection from sun, ozone, and moisture since most of them sit in one position for much of the time. Sitting in one spot is not good for tires as the compounding is designed to last best when warm and flexing due to rolling on the roads. Sitting still is harder on most tires than using them.

I do not know of any really knowledgeable RV user who does not agree that tires beyond the age of 7 to 10 years are just a blowout looking for a time and place. Since a blown tire will often do thousands of dollars of damage to the RV if it happens at highway speeds, I'll continue to do as I have for the past 35+ years. I am very careful of proper inflation, based upon the tire manufacturer's inflation tables. I always keep my tires up on a moisture barrier when parked for more than a day or two to prevent constant exposure to moisture and I use tire covers to protect from sun and ozone exposure.

Well said!

[dennis45]

Originally Posted by RVNeophytes2

I just visited with a supremely confident longtime motorhomer who said the answer to tire safety and longevity in our rigs lies in his three-pronged approach to tires.

He mounts his own, uses Tire Lyna casing care compound, Dyna Beads and Nitrogen.

He swears that tire replacement intervals are doubled or tripled, that our failure rates would plummet, if RVs incorportated his method.

We have lots of tire experts here at iRV2, and I'm interested in hearing what you think.

If your friend is driving on 20 year old tires, ask him if he would please hang a big sign on his coach to alert the rest of us so we can avoid him on the road.
The man is delusional.

[Old-Biscuit]

How long has he been doing his 3 prong approach....and how old are his tires?

[Dutch Star Don]

I would say the guy you talked to was a blow hard. Truck tires are a whole different animal. They're run many hours a day and see more miles in a year than many RV's see in 10. Many of them are regrooveable (sp) or are recapped, thus the importance of protecting the carcass for future use.

He's absolutely right about replacement intervals being extended, but we're talking about going from one year to maybe two or three with a truck, not the 6-8 years an RV takes to put a reasonable amount of mileage on.

[Mr_D]

I've been RV'ing since 1957 and had my own RV's since 1967. I usually run my tires at least 8 to 10 years and have never had a blowout. The last set, on our '02 DSDP, went 8 years and were just starting to show minor cracks around the lettering plus I wanted to go up one size on the fronts so I changed at something between 8 and 9 years. The ones on our Magna are now 6 years old and look perfect with no leaks.

[Arch Hoagland]

Sounds like snake oil to me.

[RVNeophytes2]

Originally Posted by SKP Kirk

... purpose of it is to extend the casing life for trucks where they put on many miles in a very short period. It would probably be helpful if you were to drive the number miles that truckers do, but nowhere can I find anything to indicate that it will change the normal 7 to 10 year lifespan that all tire manufacturers seem to support. If you read the data on most any tire manufacturer's site it will deny any kind of support at some point in 10 years or less from date of manufacture, due to age alone.

RV tires biggest issue is to keep proper inflation and protection from sun, ozone, and moisture since most of them sit in one position for much of the time...

I do not know of any really knowledgeable RV user who does not agree that tires beyond the age of 7 to 10 years are just a blowout looking for a time and place. Since a blown tire will often do thousands of dollars of damage to the RV if it happens at highway speeds, I'll continue to do as I have for the past 35+ years. I am very careful of proper inflation, based upon the tire manufacturer's inflation tables. I always keep my tires up on a moisture barrier when parked for more than a day or two to prevent constant exposure to moisture and I use tire covers to protect from sun and ozone exposure.

I had a hunch, but wanted to hear it from someone else's lips.

As a pilot, I've witnessed many "improvements" to conventional wisdom that have ended in smoking debris fields.

Indeed, nitrogen might lower operating temps and keep pressures constant; but, using those advantages to justify a break from our tried and true operational practices exposes us to other dangers.

And, lots at stake: my goal in life is to never question my own maintenance practices amidst the cacphony of a medevac chopper lifting my wife out off of a grassy median.

[RVNeophytes2]

Originally Posted by dennis45

If your friend is driving on 20 year old tires, ask him if he would please hang a big sign on his coach to alert the rest of us so we can avoid him on the road.
The man is delusional.

I'm learning that some of the most delusional sound confident, practical, highly knowledgeable. What drew me in, was having heard of Dynabeads here, coupled with some dramatic airline accidents involving ground crews substituting air for nitrogen. So, the stage was set... That's why you people are such a priceless resource.



Thanks to everyone who weighed in

Safe travels, in 2016!