Replacing RV tires

[rg neumann]

Our 2015 Dutch Star has Michelin tires that were manufactured in mid 2014
Tires have 35,000 miles with no issues. The sidewalls show some signs of aging, slight crazing of surface, but no other blemishes. Tire manufacturers are vague as to the life of tires. Some say 9 years others say 6-8 depending on local conditions such as climate and heat. Should these tires be replaced since they are six years old or do they have another few years of life?

[tvp]

You mite get a few more years on the tires .....but the safety aspect to your life Incase of a front tire blow out at 60 miles per hr plus the damage that the tire steel belts cause to the RV and fiberglass if you have a blow out
.......well I would put a fresh set of tires on RV and sleep well at night [emoji12][emoji736]

[TampaDave]

Maybe you could start rotating them out? Buy those steer tires you always wanted and toss out the two tires that have the most uv damage. Then in a year or two replace your drive tires

[JFXG]

Geoff....
Are you the original owner? Do you know how the tires have been treated? Covered? Overloaded? That can affect your decision.
I had a set of Michelin’s I bought new when we bought our 02 DS in 2012. We are fulltimers. We’ve spent every minute since near Max gross weight but not overloaded. I covered the tires when long term parked, and treated them 3-4 times a year with 303.
In mid-2019 I noticed some crazing starting on a couple of them, not cracks, just hairlines. I asked a few folks who know tires and concluded they were ok to continue. We travelled about 3000 miles that fall, and when we parked for the winter back in Texas I saw that the crazing had appeared on other tires and was progressing on the original ones. I decided it was time to get new shoes, but I knew we were going nowhere til spring, so that was my schedule. Of course, 2020 turned totally fubar, and we didn’t travel til fall, but I bought my new Sumitomos before departure day.
So, I got 8+ years from my Michelin’s, including a year and over 3000 miles after I first saw the aging signs. I’m thinking if you know the history of the tires then a watchful eye and a sensible approach can give you another season, but be realistic, and be ready to go tire shopping at any point.
If you bought the coach after it had been driven a couple or three years, then you don’t really know if they’ve been abused or overloaded. If that’s the case I would replace them now.
Good Luck!

[PanJH]

I just replaced my 8 year old Michelins with 60,000 miles. The tires looked OK, but with the age I thought I'd go ahead and get them replaced while at home and not have to worry about issues/damage/replacement while traveling.
I shopped around and got all kinds of prices on replacement Michelins. Then I saw an article on NTCS. They are a fleet dealer that you can join for under $100 for lifetime tires ( MH and car). Their price was more than $100 per tire lower than the best deal I found myself. They had the tires delivered to a dealer near me and arranged for installation. The date codes were within 3 months. I kept the old tires and put an ad on Facebook Market Place and Craigslist..... I got $100 a tire ( I had 8 of them) from a truck firm that was going to use them on their trailers.

[Cat320]

I replaced my Michelins at five and a half years due to cracking. The manufacturers like to tout how long their tires will last...all that is irrelevant when you look at your tires and they are cracked. If they are cracked it's time to replace them. Shop around and you'll fine lots of good tires, several hundred dollars less the what you have now. I put Continentals and Toyos on my coach.

[mat]

Still have the 06 date coded tires on the rear of my coach. Fially changed out the fronts this year. I run them at 110 psi... all good.

[momdoc]

IF it were my coach, I would replace them.

[lllkrob]

Yes it's time to replace those Michelins. The infamous sidewall cracking is taking hold. I had to replace mine at 7 years. Buy something like TOYO, Hankook, or Yokohama and not worry about sidewall cracking issues again.
Michelin tires are way overrated now and not what their reputation used to be.

[tmandoug1]

Got my new 315/80/22.5 tires for $625 a pop at TA......swap it.

[theroc]

rd neumann: Sure, they may have another few years of life. But think about it. Why run them another two years? How long do you expect to keep the coach? ...another seven years? You'll probably want a new coach before the next 7 or 8 years go by, correct? So why not just change them now? The next owner will be the one who will buy the next set so why not have new tires for yourself two years sooner?

I'm not sure if I'm explaining my reasoning correctly or not. But if me in your situation, unless I intended to keep the coach for another ten years or more, I'd change them out now ...two years of riding on new tires would make more sense than buying them two years from now.

mat: Jeez yeah! I'd change those rear tires out too. I wouldn't feel comfortable having 15 year old tires back there.


There are JMOs, though.

[mat]

Originally Posted by theroc

rd neumann:
mat: Jeez yeah! I'd change those rear tires out too. I wouldn't feel comfortable having 15 year old tires back there. There are JMOs, though.

Planning to. If the country ever gets back to normal. Saving my dimes so I can replace them. (sigh) Now I Wish my other motor home had 22.5's instead of the 19.5's.

[Gary RVRoamer]

This question is very much a matter of probabilities and risk-tolerance. Assuming no abuse (low pressure, curb strikes, etc), at 6 years and 35k miles a tire has an excellent chance of another year or more. At 7 years the chances for yet another year get a bit less. By age 10 or so, chances are getting slim, but still not zero. Your call.

For a quality tire with no signs of flaws or abuse, I'd be willing to go 7 years and maybe risk up to 8 years. Others will choose less or more.

[txcpl]

I chose to replace ours which were 7.5 years old. No signs of aging, but with the greater chance of a blow out with resulting tire damage, I opted to get new ones. Cheap? No. Peace of mind? Yes