Storing RV Tires on Concrete?

[Dave Phillips]

Over time I've seen articles on tires stored on concrete is bad. Just put new tires on our Cambria, and need to find best material to use between them and concrete for storage.


Anybody got the "science" on this issue? Thanks, dp

[IC2]

Good ol' wood has been my mainstay for years. I use treated 2x10 or 12's for our 5er. If we had a dual wheel RV, would use water proofed exterior plywood instead.

If you can find some phenolic from a commercial bathroom partition supplier, that would be even better - or from one being replaced. New is real expensive but used may be free. I have three 3x8 foot wprk benches cover with that stuff and it is tough and impervious to virtually all liquids (unfortunately my source has dried up)

In today's world, not sure that that wood or any other material is needed but being (very) old school do it out of habit.

[Podivin]

I bought the cheapest horse stall rubber mat that Tractor Supply had, then cut it into pieces the sizes I wanted them to be. As I recall the mat was about $40 and was bigger than what I needed.

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by Dave Phillips

Over time I've seen articles on tires stored on concrete is bad.

Bad in what way? And is it only concrete, or is asphalt also bad? And is it only for extended storage? Or is even short-time storage bad for tires?

We store our RV in covered shelter at a local storage facility but the ground is asphalt and if it is bad for the tires I would like to know. We use the RV all the time taking short trips about every 2 or 3 weeks so does it matter that it is not standing for a very long time on asphalt?

I do see some RVs with wood under their tires but have never known why.

[aether_one]

Well, when you have nothing else to worry about this subject will do.

What do the car tires in car museums sit on?

Been discussed for over a decade in this forum:

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f84/best...res-56668.html

as well as many other forums but a quick Google search doesn't bring up any "articles" from expert sources.

[Dutch Star Don]

Truck mud flaps work great. Buy three of them and cut one down the middle.

Smooth finished concrete inside a building (think of your garage floor) will not be an issue. A lot of the concrete outdoors, has a rough finish and absorbs water. If you don't agree, place a concrete block in a puddle of water and see how quickly it absorbs the water. Porous concrete can absorb the moisture out of tires. Automobiles aren't affected because they are driven regularly, which keeps the oil in the tires active.

If you disagree, don't use anything under your tires, if you don't want to take a chance, use something to protect them. No one is forcing you, so there is no need to argue the point.

I back my coach onto three rubber horse stall mats and then place covers on the tires between trips. The covers also help to keep the rims looking nice.

[Redapple]

Stored my class a on concrete for nearly 14 years with zero issues.

[GeeWillakers]

To see the source of this watch the Seinfeld episode about eating chocolate bars with a knife and fork.

[Dave Phillips]

Thanks for the responses. Reason i asked was also that i hve new tires on RV and it sat for 8 months on concrete and when i moved i it looked like rubber from tires had etched into the concrete. I could not scrub it off so I thought Id better check.
Got large rubber mat at Lowes which now sits under tires...

[Gary RVRoamer]

The only concrete risk for tires is "new" concrete that is still curing, which involves chemicals leaching out. That actually takes a couple years. If your concrete pad is older than say 3 years, find something else to worry about.

If it makes you sleep better, one of the rubber suggestions above is a good choice. I use heavy rubber entrance door mats in my garage so that hot car tires don't destroy the epoxy paint on the garage floor.

Wood is OK as long as it isn't chemically treated for rot protection, e.g. "pressure-treated". It's the chemicals again....

[C.B.]

Originally Posted by Redapple

Stored my class a on concrete for nearly 14 years with zero issues.

5th wheel
Ditto!

C.B.

[azpete]

the idea of parking on something when storing a coach on is to keep from staining the concrete, not the concrete harming the tires. on olden times, like in the 40's and 50's, the material content of tires was far different than today. there is a lot more synthetic material uses these days.
i park my coach on concrete, and it sits for several months without making stains on the concrete.

[DGBPokes]

FWIW...I had an old plastic desk chair mat, had beveled edges. I sawed it up and use it for tire pads, on concrete, in enclosed storage.