13 year old trailer tires..

lawrosa wrote:

dodge guy wrote:
Really! You are towing a trailer that is 13 years old. you have tires that old. that's not even something I would brag about. get them replaced NOW. the dry rotted valve stems should've been the first hint!

Now you find your bearings and brakes need attention! again 13 years and you only added grease to the rear bearing instead of doing a complete repack? and didn`t even install new seals! and you know you need brakes but are going to wait till next year when you already had it all apart! Why?! do it and be done. why take the chance? I would do it and be done and safe.

And why go with cheap tires, especially 14" go with name brand and again you wont have to worry.

:?

Well actually before you all get on me I had no idea what year the tires were. I am not original owner. I only recently discovered that tires have a date code. When I bought the camper I assume the guy that owned it for 10 years had replaced them since they look so good.

Only when I had the valve stem issue I realized there was a date code and the tires were indeed original to the camper.

As far as the brakes they have enough pad depth left to get me through the summer I'm sure if you could see by the picture. Also since the tires were somewhat expensive I figured I'd hold off on the brakes due to financial reasons.

I am the sole income provider and have three children and two grandchildren and times are tough right now and it seem like there was enough grease on the rear bearings that I could get by till I do the brakes Seal and rear bearings next year. Or before summer ends.



So a $300 hit on tires means someone's not getting new sneakers or something-and until I get another couple paychecks to catch up.

Now as far as tires I assume the Goodyear marathons were made overseas also. And out of all the reviews I read these carrier lodestar tires Where pretty good. Also just to note these are only 13 inch tires.

Just trying to make do with what Little I've got is all. Heck I drive a 1996 Chevy because I can't afford the $40,000 price tag of that new truck today.

Thank you for all the feedback regardless

Mike, many folks on here forget where they came from (either selectively or senility, lol) or maybe they always had money. Either way, having to change a flat tire now n then isn't the end of the world and you posted that you actually fixed the problem responsibly once you were aware of it.
That said, trailer tires are something I don't typically skimp on now, coming from years of "getting by" with what I had.
Labor is cheap, so I'd reccomend having all your wheels freshly packed with grease. Replacing bearings on the side of the road sucks more than a flat tire. (Done that too and don't leave home without a spare trailer bearing set.) brake pads look good. You don't need much lining as trailer brake pads rarely wear out unless they're dragging or high mile use in the mountains.
Good on ya for providing the best you can for your family.
Regarding the cost of tires, and it's hard to find good trailer tires on Craigslist because they're not something people typically upgrade until they're junk, but for vehicle tires I "shop" CL exclusively. Haven't bought a new set of car or truck tires from a retailer in almost 10 years. Food for thought to save a buck.
Last set of tires for my truck were brand new takeoffs with new rims for less than the cost of the tires alone. Plus the couple hundo I got for the old rims and wore out tires re selling them. These replaced the 2 previous CL sets of tires that carried the truck around for years.
Have bought 2 sets of high dollar tires for the wife's car. Summer and winter set. 1 set with almost zero miles, the other with a few thousand miles only. Again, both sets for less than the cost of one new set discount online.
Airbags for the truck/camper, CL, $150 like new. Steering box stabilizer bracket. $200 new, $75 on CL. $2400 mower, $1100 on CL, looked like it hadn't been used 10x.
Food for thought. It's like the worlds biggest garage sale if you're knowledgeable about what your after.