CapriRacer wrote:
winkyb wrote:
To back up the age thing with tires.Just this week blue a E rated LT tire on the TV.It was 7 years old and good tread.So time does count Trailer tire or LT tires.Age plus heat adds up to sitting on the side of the road.:R
Some folks make a big deal about getting "fresh" tires. Since tires are stored in well ventilated warehouses, I don't think there sould be any concern about a tire that is within 3 years of its date of manufacture. Even tires that are at 6 years old - but unsold - are less of an issue than is commonly thought.
What really ages a tires is exposure to sunlight and heat. Operating a tire in Arizona is many times worse than a tire sitting in a warehouse in Minnesota.
Hi CapriRacer,
It is good to hear your statement above about the age at the time of install. I fall more towards the "big deal about getting fresh tires" group.
Why? Well 1st is the lack of good information that one can trust so the RV'er has to sort this out on their own. I want to commend you and Tireman9 and others for this thread. It has been the best source of tire knowledge that I know of here on the forum or most anywhere. On edit, Tireman9's blog and your website are also excellent and thank you for them.
I my trail of buying ST tires is I have had 2 campers both built by the same manufacture and that manufacture installs running gear that will hold the entire GVWR. This gives me a saftey margin to start with as the TV can take up to an average of 15% of the GVWR. So by design I can start with at least a 15% safety factor. I have not loaded either camper to GVWR so I even have more saftey factor. I am obsessive about ratings and have weight tickets for setting the WD on the truck and camper running gear. Along with each axle loads and left to right loads by my force jack. And I'm obsessive on tire pressure. Every trip I check pressure cold and inflate to max cold side wall as I camp all year round in central OH and temp change.
The next is my reality of tires. Both campers, the first using ST205/75R15 LRC on my 7,000# GVWR camper and the present one, using ST225/75R15's LRD on a 10,000# GVWR had Maxxis M8008 that where made in China. Both where 2004 campers and back then Maxxis shipped ST tires out of China. I never had tire blow out issues however by the DOT codes but... by year 4 1/2 I started getting cracks in the threads. 5 years by the date code was it for these tires due to cracks. I do cover them or and even had the small camper in my building. I did use Aerospace 303 protectant on them believing this would help.
Time came to replace the ST225/75R15's and my search came to Denman. So I bought 5 ST225/75R15 LRD Denman Express radials. Very pleased with this tire. At that time Denman was still owned by the original owners. And in their warranty they stated Denman will not warrant any tire regardless of use beyond 5 years from the date of manufacture. H'mm to the average RV'er that sounds like even the manufacturer of a high quality tire is not going to take on the risk past 5 years even if the tire is not even used. And it lined up with the thread cracks in my Maxxis that I saw. Once Denman was sold and the new owners came in the ST express radial was discontinued and a China manufactured tire, Cargo something brand replaced it. And the Denman warranty changed. That 5 year clause was removed. H'mm, OK why? Then the end came and Denman went under so it is now a mute point.
The Maxxis warranty is not as point blank as the Denman original was but is close.
Maxxis wrote:
What Is Warranted and For How Long
Subject to the limitations contained in this Limited Warranty, your new Maxxis tires are warranted under this Limited Warranty against failures due to defective materials and workmanship for a period of five years from the date of manufacture.
(A) Eligibility: A tire is eligible for warranty coverage under this Limited Warranty only if the tire is presented by the original owner and consumer within five years from the tire’s manufacture date and the tire has a minimum of 2/32” of tread depth remaining, and all procedures in this Limited Warranty are followed.
See here for the full warranty.
http://www.maxxis.com/Industrial/Trailer/Trailer-Warranty.aspxThey are basically telling me that after 5 years if I get thread cracks it is not covered.
When I went NTB to buy my 5 new Denman's I told them I want tires that are ideally 6 months old and no older then 1 year old. I explained that they have no problem selling me 2 1/2 year old tires as new for the same price as the 6 months ones. And that the warranty is only 5 years from the date of manufacture. The dealer shook his head and did not argue the point. I told him I can wait. If it takes you 2 weeks to find them, no problem. I did not haggle on price and was willing to wait. He said he will see what he can do, his issue is the warehouse guys get ticked at him as they have to hunt for the codes. They came through for me, 3 where 6 months and 2 where 9 months.
This tread crack is an issue in my case. Can you comment on this?
I have 36 year old Goodyear tractor tires that live in the dirt, outside in the sun, have pesticide chemicals all over them from spraying in the orchards, but no cracks even to this day. Now granted these are $800 tires each and do not go down the road other then 10 mph but they are quality that lasts.
What is the make up difference in the tire that cause this cracking? I am not in a weight overload and I keep the tire pressure at max all the time. Even my truck LT tires or car P tires do not crack like these ST's I had did.
In 1 1/2 years from now I need to replace my Denman's. I have zero issues paying more money for a quality tire. The problem is where to find one. In my case my fenders will not allow a larger tire OD. Maxxis makes an ST E range tire that I need to buy new rims for. Right now I have 7,800# axle loads on the 4 ST225/75R15 LRD's. Loads wise this is 4 x 2,540# = 10,160# tire rating agasint a 7,800# axle load = 24% saftey factor. Going to E's is 31% saftey factor. The D range seems to be enough.
What drives the cracks? In my case weight does not seem to be the issue from my review but I do not build tries for a living so very open to your input. The only answer I can conclude is age and this 5 year warranty statement along with my prior Maxxis thread cracks.
Thanks
John
