I bought a four year old used 5th wheel and had a blowout on my first run. Suspecting that it might be lot rot in the tires, I changed the whole set even though the treads looked new on them. The entire tread on the blowout tire separated from the sidewall and took out the trailer fender. It's my belief that when an RV is sitting in a lot for a year or more in one spot, all that weight on one small portion of the tires undermines the inner core. Watchatink?

Road Phantom wrote: It's my belief that when an RV is sitting in a lot for a year or more in one spot, all that weight on one small portion of the tires undermines the inner core. Watchatink?Perhaps. Also constant sun exposure. Simply not driving causes tires to get 'brittle'.

Cheap Chinese ST tires do that all the time. New,,old makes little difference. Tire quality is what its all about.

Rubber tires start to deteriorate as soon as they come out of the press/mold. How they are stored, cleaned, and otherwise maintained effects how long it takes to become a failure. Just sitting on the ground for four years is a bad thing to do.

Just cause the rig is 4 years old does not mean the tires were only 4 years old. What is the DOT code on the tires?The tires could be a year or two older than the rig.The tires deteriorate anytime they are exposed to the sun unused for long periods of tie

If they were 4 years old (per date code) they're getting to the point where they should automatically be replaced no matter how good they look or few miles they may have. Five years is often mentioned as the max. age of ST tires. ST tires will suffer irreversible and cumulative internal damage from towing over 65 mph, towing under-inflated and/or having too little reserve load capacity or being overloaded (sometimes due to being heavier on one side from slides).Regardless of sitting for a long period on a lot and besides the age factor, you probably have no idea how the PO treated the tires. I would most definitely have replaced them from the start. The last thing anyone wants is a "blowout" and the expensive damage it causes as you have unfortunately found out. Assuming they're ST tires, Maxxis is highly recommended by many. Some will say forget STs and upgrade to LT tires which are more durable and not have to worry about the limitations of ST tires.

Do RV tires deteriorate when sitting on dealer lots.

24 Replies

darsben1
Explorer
Oct 22, 2016
Just cause the rig is 4 years old does not mean the tires were only 4 years old. What is the DOT code on the tires?
The tires could be a year or two older than the rig.
The tires deteriorate anytime they are exposed to the sun unused for long periods of tie
wildtoad
Explorer II
Oct 22, 2016
Rubber tires start to deteriorate as soon as they come out of the press/mold. How they are stored, cleaned, and otherwise maintained effects how long it takes to become a failure. Just sitting on the ground for four years is a bad thing to do.
donn0128
Explorer II
Oct 22, 2016
Cheap Chinese ST tires do that all the time. New,,old makes little difference. Tire quality is what its all about.
2oldman
Explorer II
Oct 22, 2016
Road Phantom wrote:
It's my belief that when an RV is sitting in a lot for a year or more in one spot, all that weight on one small portion of the tires undermines the inner core. Watchatink?
Perhaps. Also constant sun exposure.

Simply not driving causes tires to get 'brittle'.

Forum Discussion

Do RV tires deteriorate when sitting on dealer lots.

24 Replies

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