Replace tires?

Have they been sitting in the sun, cracking?

Just have them safety inspected. The five year thing is a myth. You'll have people on here who will tell stories of tire blow outs and wrecks but the vast majority of those blow outs are caused by improper inflation and not age. Now there is an age limit, but it's not five years and it depends on if the tires have been out in the sun or not. I'd have no problem driving on 10 year old tires as long as they aren't cracked and look good. And at the very least if I was changing just based on age, I'd replace the front ones and not the back.

the only thing that matters is your peace of mind. if it were me I'd replace them simply because I have no way of knowing how the tires were cared for, stored, etc. if you're of a like mind and if it gives you peace of mind to replace them then replace them regardless of the opinions you'll receive here.

on my class A I certainly didn't junk the tires at 3 years old with 10,000 miles. have them inspected by a qualified tire guy.
bumpy

Looking new and being safe are not necessarily in parallel.

replacement at 6 years is one standard, others say watch the sidewalls for cracks and run to 10 years, lack of use and under inflation are 2 big killers for tires. http://www.wikihow.com/Know-when-Car-Tires-Need-Replacing

msmith1199 wrote:
Just have them safety inspected. The five year thing is a myth. You'll have people on here who will tell stories of tire blow outs and wrecks but the vast majority of those blow outs are caused by improper inflation and not age. Now there is an age limit, but it's not five years and it depends on if the tires have been out in the sun or not. I'd have no problem driving on 10 year old tires as long as they aren't cracked and look good. And at the very least if I was changing just based on age, I'd replace the front ones and not the back.

I agree.

We have RVed over 160,000 miles. We had ONE blowout last year after the tires were inspected by Michelin (six years old 70,000 miles) It just goes to show!!!! I would not think about replacing those tires without having them inspected. I nor any of the "tire police" here can tell about your tires from 2,000 miles away.

" insurance company tire claims reported from 2002 through 2006 and found 77 percent of the tire claims came from five hot-climate states (including California) and 84 percent of these claims were for tires more than six years old."

Tire Safety

At the last FMCA convention, I had a couple of long talks with Roger Marble. He is a retired tire engineer. He was very clear that heat either from the sun or the road (gets worse with under inflation) is the prime killer of tires. The age is also a concern, but in 6~8 years there is little you can do to avoid that heat.

There is another issue that I have very first hand experience getting pummeled by. The life of most elastomerics (rubber like stuff) is not unlimited. I have had laminated pieces go bad after 8 years in the box.

Tire companies are now saying that the best you should hope for is 8 years. Michelin says that if you want to run RV tires more than 6, you should have them inspected every year after that.

I'm sticking to a 6 year plan, but I am also trading off in pairs so I don't take the whole hit at once.

Matt