I have noticed some rv's put matts or even wood blocks under their tires when storing their units, is this a good idea? if so, why?thanksTom

There is a theory that parking a vehicle on concrete affects the rubber in the tires. I don't know if it is valid or not, but I have never done it and I have not had issues with tires. However, the price of a few plastic cutting boards or a couple of pieces of lumber is cheap enough if you feel so inclined to do it.Moisture and UV rays are the enemy of tires.

EASY.RIDER wrote:I have noticed some rv's put matts or even wood blocks under their tires when storing their units, is this a good idea? if so, why?thanksTomAny barrier between the ground and tire that will keep water or other unwanted liquids from permeating into the tire carcass is a good idea and highly recommended. FastEagle

Just insure that whatever material you use allows water to drain away as opposed to pooling.

Best place to park an RV:1. On asphalt - also made with petrol chemicals and won't leach the oils and such out of your tires.2. On concrete - not as likely to leach petrol chemicals out of your tires, thus making they dry and brittle, sooner.Parking on wood, sand and dirt are natural leaching materials for any petrol chemicals that are in your tires, and will dry them out faster, making the sidewalls crack, etc.WoodGlue

Regarding trailers, since the China Bombs are going to last 4 yrs at best, I don't think it matters :)

parking rv with matt under tires, good idea? | Good Sam Community

22 Replies

jwmII
Explorer
Oct 27, 2013
The big offender regarding tire aging and deterioration is dry rot. This is caused from moisture attacking the tire from the surface the tire is setting on. Moisture comes up thru dirt,gravel,asphalt,concrete,wood and other porous materials.

Try this. Go to the local lumber yard or hardware store and get a 2ft. wide roll of galvanized roof flashing. Aluminum flashing will work too and plastic cutting boards will work as well. In other words anything that will not trap and release moisture up and around the tires and is water proof. Place generously sized pieces of the selected material under the tires and stop that moisture from getting up to the tires.

Of course their is no substitute for getting the vehicle out and driving it to warm up the tires and circulate the preservatives thru the rubber. Since this is not possible for everyone to do the next best thing is to keep the moisture away by shielding the tire as noted above.

By all means do not park so that water will puddle around the tires.
john_bet
Explorer II
Oct 27, 2013
Mine sits in the yard by the house on gravel when we are not on the road,summer,winter,snow,rain what ever. The tires were oems when I had them changed 6 weeks ago with a 48/04 build date and never an issue with them. So much for theories about tire life in storage.
super_camper
Explorer
Oct 27, 2013
FastEagle wrote:
EASY.RIDER wrote:
I have noticed some rv's put matts or even wood blocks under their tires when storing their units, is this a good idea? if so, why?

thanks

Tom

Any barrier between the ground and tire that will keep water or other unwanted liquids from permeating into the tire carcass is a good idea and highly recommended.

FastEagle

I store our MH in a gravel storage lot, tires sit on the gravel. My neighbor in the lot puts rubber mats under his tires and they sink and trap water so the tires constantly sit in a puddle of water. I'm no expert but I can't see how this is better than dry gravel.
empty_nest
Explorer
Oct 27, 2013
Mine sits in the back yard on pressure treated 2X8's, basically to keep the tires from sinking into soft ground.
EASY_RIDER
Explorer
Oct 27, 2013
Thanks for all the interest, am not sure what action I will take.

thanks again

Tom
noe-place
Explorer
Oct 25, 2013
Jealous or just a poor sense of humor?
Tin_Pusher
Explorer II
Oct 24, 2013
noe-place wrote:
I park our MH in the garage on carpet strips

Oh, well, I park in a climate controlled container. In the garage.

NOT :)
JohnG3
Explorer II
Oct 24, 2013
I park on my mat so it doesn't blow away.
stubblejumper
Explorer
Oct 24, 2013
Park on lengths of 2x12 so that tires do not freeze to the ground in case I have to move it during the winter.

Don't worry too much about leaching at 40 below.:B
dodge_guy
Explorer II
Oct 24, 2013
noe-place wrote:
I park our MH in the garage on carpet strips.

Oh well la,de,da! maybe you can leave it a bottle of wine and some cheese too! :B