Forum Discussion
Golden_HVAC
May 02, 2014Explorer
How old is the RV? How much weight is on the tires? What are the tires rated at?
You did say that the tires are about a year old, is that by the date code on the tire? Or just that you had them installed a year ago?
Do you know how to read the date codes? It will be a 4 digit code, such as 4507 meaning it was manufactured on the 45th week of 07 and is now nearly 7 years old, and to old to be on the road. Hopefully your tires will be something like 2212 or 2213 if they are only about a year old, and where somewhat new when installed.
Sears was on camera when a news crew purchased a "New" tire with a date code 11 years old from one of their tire stores. The installer said that it would work great as a spare tire. Seems that the tire shop rarely rotated the display tires away from the window to the stockroom.
Hopefully you where able to get back on the road soon. When I buy a trailer, I will change the ST tires to the more durable LT tires, and make sure they are not made in China.
I might even change from 16" rims and tires to 17.5 or 18 or 19.5" rims that seem to be rated at a lot more weight. Some RV manufactures only put on tires barely rated at the axle rating, and then "Expect" them to last a long time.
For instance a trailer with a 16,500 pound GVWR with a pair of 7,000 pound axles and a hitch weight rating around 2,500 pounds. The tires and rims are rated at 3,550 pounds each. That is just "barely enough" weight rating. What about turning and curves? What happens if you drop one tire off the pavement while getting on the freeway or while exiting a gas station? then the other tire takes much more weight for a few seconds.
I would rather have two axles rated at 8,000 pounds with rims and tires rated at 4,400 pounds each, than ones barely up to the task at hand. Sure the axles should not weigh more than 6,600 pounds on a typical trip, and the 3,550 pound tires should not have more than 3,200 pounds on them - except while the RV is leaning into a curve. But tires get more than the rated load on each curve, that is why I wanted something much stronger.
Good luck with your tires.
Fred.
You did say that the tires are about a year old, is that by the date code on the tire? Or just that you had them installed a year ago?
Do you know how to read the date codes? It will be a 4 digit code, such as 4507 meaning it was manufactured on the 45th week of 07 and is now nearly 7 years old, and to old to be on the road. Hopefully your tires will be something like 2212 or 2213 if they are only about a year old, and where somewhat new when installed.
Sears was on camera when a news crew purchased a "New" tire with a date code 11 years old from one of their tire stores. The installer said that it would work great as a spare tire. Seems that the tire shop rarely rotated the display tires away from the window to the stockroom.
Hopefully you where able to get back on the road soon. When I buy a trailer, I will change the ST tires to the more durable LT tires, and make sure they are not made in China.
I might even change from 16" rims and tires to 17.5 or 18 or 19.5" rims that seem to be rated at a lot more weight. Some RV manufactures only put on tires barely rated at the axle rating, and then "Expect" them to last a long time.
For instance a trailer with a 16,500 pound GVWR with a pair of 7,000 pound axles and a hitch weight rating around 2,500 pounds. The tires and rims are rated at 3,550 pounds each. That is just "barely enough" weight rating. What about turning and curves? What happens if you drop one tire off the pavement while getting on the freeway or while exiting a gas station? then the other tire takes much more weight for a few seconds.
I would rather have two axles rated at 8,000 pounds with rims and tires rated at 4,400 pounds each, than ones barely up to the task at hand. Sure the axles should not weigh more than 6,600 pounds on a typical trip, and the 3,550 pound tires should not have more than 3,200 pounds on them - except while the RV is leaning into a curve. But tires get more than the rated load on each curve, that is why I wanted something much stronger.
Good luck with your tires.
Fred.
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