Community Forums

ddahlen · 05-02-2017, 10:36 PM

Hi everyone, just a heads up to both buyers and sellers regarding tires. I was under the impression that most RV'ers considered 7 years to be max age for tires but I visited with an RV dealership owner on Saturday and he said they, insiders, use 5 years on 22.5 tires! When a unit is sold or consigned with them they stress 5 years as max! Whether buying or selling keep that in mind. He discribed the damage he has seen from blowouts and firmly believes in replacing 22.5" tires at 5 years from date code on the tire. Stating 80% tread left means nothing in his opinion, go by date of manufacture. Just reporting an informed persons opinion, please keep the negative opinions to yourself! Thanks, Dave

stvdman · 05-03-2017, 04:16 AM

From a SALES perspective, I for sure would not want 5+ y/o tires on an RV, that would make it harder to strike a deal OR could allow room for price negotiation.

From an owners perspective..5 y/o tires = increased vigilance on tire inspections....7 y/o have them really looked over by tire professionals, at 10 y/o, replace no matter what. At the very least 7-10 years = replacement, ideally closer to the 7 year mark.

Also, a dealer with a used/consigned unit has NO IDEA of tire maintenance/care, so they should default to there having been NONE completed and they were not taken care of at all...better safe than sorry.

All IMHO.

Trans. Cajun · 05-03-2017, 05:59 AM

I just had to change out Michelin 22.5 tires that were manufactured in 10th week of 2012. Side walls had TREMENDOUS cracking. The motorhome has been stored indoors continually other than road travel. Michelin adjusted off of retail based on tread wear at one of Michelin owned TCI Commerical tire centers. Excellent service. New tires were manufactured 7th week of 2017 and rubber appears different on sidewalls as compared to 2012 tires that were replaced. Hope new tire life is better than the unacceptable 4 1/2 years I experienced.

Murf2u · 05-03-2017, 07:02 AM

There's a big tire shop near here, they do a lot of big truck tire work on the side of road. They have several F-550 service trucks with cranes, gas-powered compressors and hydraulic lift gates.

The owner says he LOVES replacing tires on motorhomes.

He then puts the hardly worn tires on one of his service trucks and runs them for years longer. He says he's only had a blowout on any of them after they hit something or they got cut or the like.

Crasher · 05-03-2017, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murf2u

There's a big tire shop near here, they do a lot of big truck tire work on the side of road. They have several F-550 service trucks with cranes, gas-powered compressors and hydraulic lift gates.

The owner says he LOVES replacing tires on motorhomes.

He then puts the hardly worn tires on one of his service trucks and runs them for years longer. He says he's only had a blowout on any of them after they hit something or they got cut or the like.

The same is true of the MH tires replace in our area. farmers buy them up to use on their farm field trucks and they last for years. The big and most important difference is that his service truck might have to drive 20-25 miles to a job and the farm truck might rarely get up to 60 mph. Neither one has to get fully loaded and run down the road at 60-65 mph for several hundred miles in all kinds of heat. Would you want to buy up the takeoffs and run them on your coach??

vsheetz · 05-03-2017, 08:19 AM

Yup. I have sold multiple sets of my motorhome takeoff tires to truckers ($50-100 a tire, condition depending). Their usage model allows for the continued use of the tires. "one man's trash is another man's treasure" applies here.

Mudfrog · 05-03-2017, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daveshoby

Hi everyone, just a heads up to both buyers and sellers regarding tires. I was under the impression that most RV'ers considered 7 years to be max age for tires but I visited with an RV dealership owner on Saturday and he said they, insiders, use 5 years on 22.5 tires! When a unit is sold or consigned with them they stress 5 years as max! Whether buying or selling keep that in mind. He discribed the damage he has seen from blowouts and firmly believes in replacing 22.5" tires at 5 years from date code on the tire. Stating 80% tread left means nothing in his opinion, go by date of manufacture. Just reporting an informed persons opinion, please keep the negative opinions to yourself! Thanks, Dave

Guess i'm being negative but,,,

Yep, he has an opinion,, one that i don't agree with. What anyone else does is up to them but i'm not replacing tires every 5 years for no reason.

Ronduncan · 05-03-2017, 10:28 AM

5-7 years Should be max for tire life. Why I say this is simple, 9 out of 10 large units that we repair, the accident was caused by blown tires. If you purchase a used unit make new tires part of the deal.
Ron D.

Tireman9 · 05-03-2017, 10:31 AM

When a company is selling a product such as a used RV they also have to consider the potential liability. This is different than if you bought the tires new and know their history and are keeping the vehicle yourself.

**TonyDi** · 05-03-2017, 10:32 AM

I just bought new Yokohama Tires all around. After negotiating the price, the dealer gave me $100 per tire on my 8 year old Bridgestones. I know he will make money reselling them.

gruelens · 05-03-2017, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tireman9

When a company is selling a product such as a used RV they also have to consider the potential liability. This is different than if you bought the tires new and know their history and are keeping the vehicle yourself.

I agree with what Tireman says above. Not knowing the history of the tire changes the timeline for replacement. My current tires I purchased new, never overloaded, never run low pressure, covered when parked, never scrubbed on a curb. I expect more than 5 years service life given these conditions.

MarkofSJC · 05-03-2017, 11:12 AM

Here's the missing link, IMO.

Tires need "exercise" - the act of rolling a number of miles, getting warm and allowing all the compounds to come to and stay at operating temperatures for a good period of time is what keeps tires "fresh." I would guess that the the majority of RV's are "garage queens" ~ I've seen so many 2008's with less than 24k on them - those tires aren't turning!

The reverse occurs when they're put on trucks or even farm equipment, the move (and move long distances or every day). For a tire, it's like a "spa treatment" - basically rejuvenating them. I'm willing to bet that if a survey was conducted compared with the amount of side wall cracking vs. tire age and miles traveled it would be match my premise. Next time you are at a rest stop with a bunch of tractor trailers, take a look at the tires and the date codes - even older tires won't have a single crack!

SeattlePirat · 05-03-2017, 02:46 PM

We ran our Michelin tires for 10 years with no cracking and no dry rot. Tread depth was more than 50 percent and it was like a dagger to the heart.

Sunny1 · 05-03-2017, 02:56 PM

I can get if you don't know the history of tires on a used motorhome that you may want to consider replacing them, but I'd certainly never even think to replace tires at the 5 year mark that I purchased new and know their history of use. If I saw something like cracking, or a bulge I'd get that looked at, but I just don't believe a tire that's been well cared for is going to age out at 5 years and need to be replaced. That just seems crazy to me.