We have been told on this and other forums many times that the rule of thumb for changing out RV tires is on or about seven years. And, I believe that's about correct. BUT..is there a 'rule of thumb' for getting new tires on the toad or other 'non RV' vehicles. Years ago, we all just looked at tread wear and when it was about gone we'd head for the tire dealer. Is that still an acceptable 'rule of thumb' or should, for example, non-RV tires be changed out at...say...ten years, twelve years, or some other age criteria? I tend to think, particularly on the toad, that years of service similar to the RV 'rule of thumb' should be adhered to. Any thoughts? / Larry

If they still have plenty of tread, I would run them. As soon as you start to notice dryness and cracking I would consider replacing them.

For one I am not a believer of the seven year rule where I live, Western New York State. However, those in the south west etc. who experience 100+ temps days on end each year it may be a different story. For the toad if you rotate your tires every other oil change and you get even wear on them then IMHO they would be changed based on wear, just like any other auto/truck/suv. The thing with RV tires is most if not all of them are made to last 100K miles or more and few of us will put that many miles on one rig.

Dunno about cars, but I picked up an interesting tidbit recently about pickups/vans!I was looking through some Ford truck manuals and came across the below recommendation that tires be replaced at six years of age. This snip is taken from the manual for the 2008 F series. at this link. Don't know if this is just Ford or what- or even if it applies to its other vehicles. You might take a look at your own vehicles' manuals to see if there's any such language in there.ON EDITJust to satisfy my own curiosity, I took a look at a Dodge Ram manual and found a similar recommendation there. The below is from the manual for the 2005 RAM found at this link.

Francesca Knowles wrote:Dunno about cars, but I picked up an interesting tidbit recently about pickups/vans!I was looking through some Ford truck manuals and came across the below recommendation that tires be replaced at six years of age. This snip is taken from the manual for the 2008 F series. at this link. Don't know if this is just Ford or what- or even if it applies to its other vehicles. You might take a look at your own vehicles' manuals to see if there's any such language in there.Manufacturers might be: 1. covering their legal back sides, or 2. trying to sell more tires, or 3. stating a fact that tires should be replaced due to age. Who knows! / LarryON EDITJust to satisfy my own curiosity, I took a look at a Dodge Ram manual and found a similar recommendation there. The below is from the manual for the 2005 RAM found at this link.

goufgators wrote:Francesca Knowles wrote:Dunno about cars, but I picked up an interesting tidbit recently about pickups/vans!I was looking through some Ford truck manuals and came across the below recommendation that tires be replaced at six years of age. This snip is taken from the manual for the 2008 F series. at this link. Don't know if this is just Ford or what- or even if it applies to its other vehicles. You might take a look at your own vehicles' manuals to see if there's any such language in there. Manufacturers might be: 1. covering their legal back sides, or 2. trying to sell more tires, or 3. stating a fact that tires should be replaced due to age. Who knows! / LarryON EDITJust to satisfy my own curiosity, I took a look at a Dodge Ram manual and found a similar recommendation there. The below is from the manual for the 2005 RAM found at this link. HEY LARRY! Your response (highlighted in blue above) looks like part of my post!

O.K., this is honestly a new tire question...I think..

15 Replies

WILDEBILL308
Explorer II
Oct 19, 2014
I haven't owned a towed for 6 years yet but would replace the tiers at 6-7 years if not worn out first.
Bill
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Oct 18, 2014
Short answer: That "Thumb" applies to ALL tires, Car, Truck, RV, Lawn and garden cart (Trust me I blew a couple of those up recently) Bicycle (Likewise) and ____ (You fill in the blank) if it is a pneumatic tire.. That's the thumb.

The major difference however is this:

IF I blow a tire on my lawn cart, while hauling laundry (by hand) there is NO secondary damage.. Not so the 22.5's on the RV.
VinCee
Explorer
Oct 17, 2014
I think car manufacturer's put recommendations in owner's manual's more to CYA on legal reasoning as much as wear and tear. Remember the issue with Firestones some years back if I recall on Fords and all the law suits. About five years ago I bought a 1977 Kawasaki from an acquaintance with only 3200 original miles on it. First think I commented about was the tires were still good. The guy, who is an industrial engineer, told me that's because the bike was stored away from any electrical sources, what ever that meant. Drove it two seasons until I noticed the side walls starting to crack and I replaced them with Dunlop's. Another acquaintance (I have no friends!) owns a 1986 Winnebago and is still driving it with the original rubber. For me its due diligence on keeping them inflated, away from petroleum products and covered during storage. I inspect them before every outing. I have heard on forums only about some that have found the tires cracked on the inside with out showing any exterior cracking. I am curious though that most if not all RV tires, at least 22.5 inch are built much like truck tires. That is why they are re-groveable the same as truck tires. Truckers don't chuck their tires every 6-7 years. The run the heck out of the threads and have them re-groved. Side walls are fine.
'
wallynm
Explorer
Oct 16, 2014
Aged Out Tires

Read this and then decide. However I do not like sidewall cracks bur we ran our last set for 9 years.

goufgators wrote:
We have been told on this and other forums many times that the rule of thumb for changing out RV tires is on or about seven years. And, I believe that's about correct. BUT..is there a 'rule of thumb' for getting new tires on the toad or other 'non RV' vehicles. Years ago, we all just looked at tread wear and when it was about gone we'd head for the tire dealer. Is that still an acceptable 'rule of thumb' or should, for example, non-RV tires be changed out at...say...ten years, twelve years, or some other age criteria? I tend to think, particularly on the toad, that years of service similar to the RV 'rule of thumb' should be adhered to. Any thoughts? / Larry
Francesca_Knowl
Explorer
Oct 16, 2014
goufgators wrote:
FRANCESCA: YES IT APPEARS to be a part of your post. SORRY! I clicked on "Quote" and that's the way it appeared. Although I don't like getting "YELLED" in type or otherwise, I do admit that that was not the way for me to post a comment. I'll not use the "Quote" button again. Sorry if I RANKLED you../ Larry

Sorry, Larry. I meant the caps as more of a "shout out" than a "yelling at ya"...

Next time I'll use one of these instead!
goufgators
Explorer
Oct 16, 2014
FRANCESCA: YES IT APPEARS to be a part of your post. SORRY! I clicked on "Quote" and that's the way it appeared. Although I don't like getting "YELLED" in type or otherwise, I do admit that that was not the way for me to post a comment. I'll not use the "Quote" button again. Sorry if I RANKLED you../ Larry
PapPappy
Explorer
Oct 16, 2014
I would think that the materials in all tires are basically the same. So an RV tire that should be replaced at about 7-8 years due to deterioration, would have the same properties as the tires on the family sedan or minivan.
So, those tires probably should be looked at hard, and probably changed around the same anniversary.

I had to change out the tires on our minivan at about 40K miles, not from wear, but from dry-rot, as the van is parked out in the driveway...and it only had about 7 years on it.
rgatijnet1
Explorer III
Oct 16, 2014
Since the OP asked about a toad, you may also want to consider rotating the tires since the front tires do tend to scrub a little more in turns than they would under normal driving situations. Change the out a six years.
On other vehicles, I would consider the use. If you do a lot of highway, high speed travel, I would stick with a six year replacement.
On a vehicle that is just used for low speed in town travel, I would be tempted to go longer with the tires. A lot also depends on location. A tire blow out in the snow is a little more of a problem than a tire blowout down in the Sunbelt states.
imgoin4it
Explorer
Oct 16, 2014
Michelin says to have auto tires replaced at 10 years regardless is miles appearance, miles, etc.
darsben
Explorer II
Oct 16, 2014
Do as you want BUT IF you have a catastrophic failure at speed (blowout) it could cost an easy $1000.00 damage to the rig. Take out the black water tank and you could really be up Sh** creek.
Change the tires early and drive relaxed.