Tire age

[wildtoad]

Originally Posted by mel s

wildtoad
I agree with much of what you said.... (with 2 exceptions):

1.) Not many competent tire shops will dismount and inspect 1 motor home tire for a "couple of bucks", (let alone the 6 or 8 tires on a motor home).
The one 9R22.5 tire I had dismounted and inspected at a Micelin tire dealer last June cost me $35.....(that would amount to $210 for 6...$280 for 8).

2.) Based on a visual inspection by an authorized Michelin tire dealer and the report and photos they sent to Michelin... Michelin Customer Care agreed that my 6 then 42 month old sidewall cracked XZE tires were no longer safe to use... (and that they had to be replaced).

Mel
'96 Safari

Mel, there are always exceptions. I just know that I have purchased a couple of mh's with tires that far exceeded the year limit, and they were fine. The documentation from both Michelin and Goodyear both indicate that their RV tires will last longer than the 7 year itch if properly maintained. If the cracks in the tire exceed the limit set by the manufacturer or whatever is visible causes concern, then by all means do what makes one feel safe. I bought my previous mh with 12 year old tires. Part of the deal was to replace them. Key point was they were 12 years old.

Tom

[timetogo]

Get some new tires.

[HGC]

We have had regular deliveries of 2B modified slag on many tiraxles, and after talking to a driver I asked him how often they change tires and he mentioned that they retread most at a certain tred wear but have yearly inspections actually x-raying them for damaged belts. I don't know their procedure but sounded good. Some of their triaxles have over 1 million miles on them. Yikes! Gonna go out and get me an x-ray machine as soon as I finish my drink .

[buckeyemike]

Does anybody have any data on what year blowouts usually occur? I would think some tire companies would have this data.

[Bobby88]

Originally Posted by buckeyemike

Does anybody have any data on what year blowouts usually occur? I would think some tire companies would have this data.

That would be a "bad" year...lol. Seriously, just had a blow out 12-27 on our way to St Augustine. Luckily we had stopped at the Florida Welcome Center just before it popped. Goodyear Tires 6.5 yrs old with 33000. Had it replaced with a new Goodyear and hoping I can go for one or two more years before replacing the others.

[BobandDonna]

I didn't see any mention of using a tire pressure monitoring system. Shouldn't that give you warning as to the current condition of your tires with enough warning to come to a safe stop?

[Ted Lambert]

Originally Posted by BillJinOR

Make a call to a couple commercial truck tire stores , the ones the semi truck drivers use . They will generally be in the industrial part of town, and are plentiful as there are a lot of commercial trucks. You just don't notice them
Proper inspection according to Michelin is to remove the tire from the rim inspect the interior and remount. You will need to pay the mount and unmount fee for ea tire so it isn't cheap and certainly not "free" but is what's meant by "inspect" Anyone doing less is not "inspecting"

Don't forget Michelin has to cover them selves. It won't belong before they will recommend X Rays! (Blame Lawyers for that)
Don't forget Michelin would prefer to sell tires than recommend inspections
If you feel it is necessary to have the tires removed from the rim, buy new tires because I'm almost sure that an inspection as stated above would cover the cost of one new tire.
Above all use common sense.
My company does not use tire shops for inspections,we use them for repairs and replacements. Our fleet goes through a safety check at every service interval.We do our own,after all tire shops are in the business to sell tires.
They are caught up in the legal web also.

[Ted Lambert]

Originally Posted by BobandDonna

I didn't see any mention of using a tire pressure monitoring system. Shouldn't that give you warning as to the current condition of your tires with enough warning to come to a safe stop?

Not sure that would work! Temp monitoring would be use full if it were available.
Heat build up is one of the biggest reasons for blow outs.
A flat due to a puncture are not always catastrophic. Don't get me wrong but monitors are great for what they are intended.

[Triker56]

Michelin XRV has 0 warranty on sidewall cracks.
Good Year G670 has a 7 year warranty on sidewall cracks.

I replaced my G670's at 10 years 3 months and still had no sidewall cracks.

[Podivin]

Originally Posted by narampa

Not sure that would work! Temp monitoring would be use full if it were available.
Heat build up is one of the biggest reasons for blow outs.
A flat due to a puncture are not always catastrophic. Don't get me wrong but monitors are great for what they are intended.

I don't know about other systems, but the TST 507 system I use monitors both pressure and temp, and will generate an alert if either get out of range.

[Ted Lambert]

Originally Posted by BillJinOR

Blowouts while no fun are not unmanageable as some would have you believe I've driven triple trailer commercial trucks for 26 years and had maybe 5 blowouts in over a million miles.And those were on recaps.
If a rear tire you will barely notice and be able to move off the road. If the front as long as you have both hands on the wheel and are paying attention ( I think this is where the MH driver gets in trouble, one handing the wheel, eating or drinking coffee etc when the blowout happens ) here will be a big pull to the blowout side but with power steering and no panic braking you can still be in control!
It is a big pain getting it and the damage fixed, but Its all covered by Insurance and not thousands out of your pocket , Right?
I'm in the, have proper inspections and if they check out ok run em camp. You can have a unseen blem in a new tire also ! Proper tire pressure and not overloading with proper care are the biggest things to worry about.
Only you can make the call

[Ted Lambert]

Originally Posted by Papa_Jim

I can certainly relate.

I put brand new Dunlop tires on our coach in late 2009. Two years ago I replaced the steer tires with new Bridgestone tires. The rear tires have about 30,000 miles on them and look like absolutely brand new!

I too wonder, ... can I get one more year out of them? .....

Hmmmmmm.

Jim

I noticed that you live in Manitoba. I live in Alberta. I may be wrong but I find tires last a lot longer in the cooler climates. My trucks run US to California on a constant basses for many years. I know that when I was driving I had a lot of conversations with truckers from the south who did not seem to get the life we did on our tires.
If I were living in the hot south I would be way more diligent about tire condition. Heat is a big killer.

[Ted Lambert]

Originally Posted by Podivin

I don't know about other systems, but the TST 507 system I use monitors both pressure and temp, and will generate an alert if either get out of range.

Glad to hear that there is a system to monitor heat. Mine only monitors pressure.
I will be looking into the TST 507
Thanks for sharing!

[stuhly]

There really is a cure for Michelin side wall cracking and it is foolproof. DON'T buy them. Problem solved.