Tire Covers? Yea or ?
Replaced my TT tires. Do I need to consider tire covers? If so, vinyl or canvas? Single or dual? Anything else to consider? I'm totally in the dark about this.
Forum Discussion
- With our trailer parked here at the house during the camping season the curb side tires are exposed to full sun the entire day so I do cover them. I have a set of vinyl tire covers made for the purpose but find them a PITA to install / remove so I instead use a piece of Reflectix, secured in place with shock cord behind the tires.
The street side tires are shaded the entire day by the neighbour's house so I don't bother covering that set.
FWIW, I also cover the trailer's entire tongue area with a vinyl weave cover which really helps minimize black plastic parts like the battery boxes, propane tank covers, tongue jack head, etc, from prematurely fading. - :) Hi, I have never used tire covers in the eleven years that I have owned my trailer and don't ever plan to use them. You can't cover your tires while driving across this country. My trailer has always been stored outside and I haven't found any inside camp grounds either.
- I use expensive tires. A set is well over 1,000.00.
I have been using the covers. The covers age out really fast. Here in AZ, I really should go thru two sets of covers in the tires lifespans. I do not think that the dollars saved by slightly increasing the tires life vs the dollars spent on the covers works out to my advantage... Using the covers does make me feel like I am doing something though.
If using regular cheap ST tires, then covering them really isn't cost effective. Putting that cover money towards new tires makes far more sense financially. As always....
Your money, your choice. - Yes and it doesn't matter
- My experience - I did not use covers for the 5 year life of my previous tires. Where the trailer sits, one side faces the sun directly, the other side is shaded by the trailer box. At replacement time, it was obvious that the side facing the sun was far more stress cracked than the other.
When I bought new tires, I paid a little more for a better tire, and also bought covers based on that experience. They are inexpensive and easy to put on/off.
But even though I'm using them, I don't think they are critical. The old tires lasted through the 5 year life span that I choose to impose on trailer tires. I would have replaced them even if they had been covered. I also did not rotate the tires. I could have rotated them, and the sun damage would have been averaged between the two sides.
The most I expect from the covers, is to enjoy a little more confidence in the tire sidewalls. That makes them worth it to me.
Incidentally, the covers wear out about as fast as tires, so expect to need a new set of covers with each new set of tires. - White vinyl single covers on all my tires. 4 for the main tires and 1 fitted for the spare.
- Hi.. Yes, we have the cheap ones from camping world. We have the single ones that are vinyl. Jim2007
- If you replace the tires every 5 years, which you probably should, I don't think there is much if any benefit. I no longer do. My last trailer I kept them covered in the off seasons and the tires still looked fine on the side walls with no visible sun damage but they still needed to be replaced at 7 years of age due to a blow out. My new trailer, I just plan to replace them every 5 years.
nineoaks2004 wrote:
I bought a set from CW and always use them when at home. Could save the tires from UV and weather cracks.
They really do help the tires to last. Mine were filthy, so off to the local laundromate. All clean and very white. I let them air dry.- I bought a set from CW and always use them when at home. Could save the tires from UV and weather cracks.
