Buy tires or not

[bacmb]

We're going to pick up a used open range fifth wheel on Saturday. It's a 2014, and was purchased as guest room, never been on the road since delivery. The owner says that tires look perfect, no dry rot or other bad indicators, but I'm not sure what sitting for 2 1/2 years would do. Any thoughts?

[ChuckSteed]

You can either be smart and replace those tires immediately or be sorry and pay more somewhere along side the road... Not worth the risk at all.. replace the tires and valve stems

[Veebyes]

Depends. They are not old. Have they been sitting exposed or covered? Did one side get more exposure to the sun than the other? Are they fully inflated? Any signs of cracking? If just going from one place to another, how far? Any highway speed for any real time?

If they look decent & simply going across town type of trip, do it but make a note to self to get new before going on any real trip.

[magic43]

If you ever plan on getting a tire pressure monitor system (TPMS) that uses screw on sensors, then get the metal valve stems.

[Me_Again]

ford truck guy wrote:
The biggest issue here is that they sat in the same position on the sidewall for the past 3-4 years . . That's the worst thing for a tire.. I would swap them out before rolling down the road, consider it an insurance policy..

Tires are made to ROLL . . Not SIT. . .

^^^^ this combined with the fact that it is 99% sure they cheap china bombs to begin with.

Chris

[ford_truck_guy]

The biggest issue here is that they sat in the same position on the sidewall for the past 3-4 years . . That's the worst thing for a tire.. I would swap them out before rolling down the road, consider it an insurance policy..

Tires are made to ROLL . . Not SIT. . .

[gbopp]

Dick_B wrote:
or take one to a dealer to have it inspected inside and out.

If the dealer says the one tire is good, does that guarantee the others are good/safe :?

[B_O__Plenty]

mileshuff wrote:
Most likely the tires on it are cheap unreliable ChinaBombs such as TowKing, TowMaster etc. If so, I'd replace them regardless of their condition. If they are decent LT tires or possibly Maxxis ST tires then should be good for awhile.

I agree. I replaced the cheap Tow Max tires on my last rig after one short trip. Put some decent Maxxis or any of several American made 235/85/16 load range E...LT tires on it. I ran Michelin Ribs for 5 years and about 35,000 miles trouble free.

B.O.

[VoodooMedicineM]

Ivylog wrote:
I own a dozen different trailers so Tires are something I deal with often. I have not bought a new tire to go on a trailer in 25 years. I buy two or three year old take off LT tires from a pick up truck that still has 5-6/32 of tread on them for less than $50 mounted. Trailer tires age put before you wear them out so putting a new tire on a trailer makes no sense to me.

X2

[Rainier]

avvidclif1 wrote:
That's a mathematical question. Less than $1k for 4 tires. $3-5k damage if tire blows.

I can attest to this! Buy new. Its the right thing to do.

[Terryallan]

2014, Prolly built in 2013. The tires are more than likely 4 years old. They have never been rolled, but have sat in the sun, wind and rain for 4 years
Not a chance they are any good. Get them off now.
I wouldn't even drag it home on them. Unless you live really close.

[fj12ryder]

To me, it would all depend on what brand of tire is on there, when the manufacture date was, and how they look when examined closely. A Chinese made ST tire would get replaced immediately, but if they were Goodyear G614, or an LT tire with a good reputation, Michelin for example, and not in bad shape I'd run them a year or two before replacing.

[guidry]

I own a 2013 Open Range and can tell you for a fact that the stock tires OR put on these rigs are trash! Do your family and all the other drivers on the road and immediately put new tires on that trailer. My stock tires lasted only a year and a half (12,000 miles) and 3 of the 4 separated on one trip. Luckily I had TPMS that saved us and I was able to get to a tire store immediately off the freeway. Many phone calls later to OR and I was told that they put the cheapest tires they can get away with, no matter how many buyers experience blow outs! Good luck.

[time2roll]

Post the tire brand and size along with the trailer GVWR for best answers.

[mileshuff]

Most likely the tires on it are cheap unreliable ChinaBombs such as TowKing, TowMaster etc. If so, I'd replace them regardless of their condition. If they are decent LT tires or possibly Maxxis ST tires then should be good for awhile.