Beware of old ST tires!!
SO I'm driving down I-26 heading to Charleston for work when I come upon a Jayco fiver sitting along the road. I pulled over and found the owner removing the right front tire on the Jayco that had blown, the tread ripped off and took out the fender, damaged the undercarriage a bit, and scratched the side of the fiver. They were 15" Denman ST tires made in Mexico. I checked the build date. 4807. The tires were 5 1/2 years old. He said he recently had his mechanic install Nitrogen in all 5 tires. That didn't do much good. He was installing the spare and I stopped him. The tread was split on it.
I told him the tires were over 5 years old, he said the tread was still good. I looked at the right rear tire and it was dry cracked and under inflated. He called a tire shop to come out and install a new tire. In the mean time, I went to the next exit and brought him back a business card for a local truck tire shop.
Moral of the story. ST tires age. Don't trust them just because they have good tread. Installing Nitrogen in old tires is a waste of money. Find a trust worthy mechanic that would have found the tread splitting in his spare. Properly inflate your tires!!!
Not a good way to start a vacation. I hope he and his family have a good time in Charleston, and he gets 4 new tires!
I told him the tires were over 5 years old, he said the tread was still good. I looked at the right rear tire and it was dry cracked and under inflated. He called a tire shop to come out and install a new tire. In the mean time, I went to the next exit and brought him back a business card for a local truck tire shop.
Moral of the story. ST tires age. Don't trust them just because they have good tread. Installing Nitrogen in old tires is a waste of money. Find a trust worthy mechanic that would have found the tread splitting in his spare. Properly inflate your tires!!!
Not a good way to start a vacation. I hope he and his family have a good time in Charleston, and he gets 4 new tires!
