2 year old tires - small cracks

[gregrc75]

Hello,

My friend is leaving on a three week cross country trip soon. He replaced his tires 2 years ago and noticed these cracks recently. The tire shop says not to worry that they are fine. These have already been replaced once for this same issue. Do you agree these are fine or of concern? I am asking for him, I normally post in the travel trailer section and I am not familiar with Class A tires.
Thanks!

[Sam_Spade]

et2 wrote:
I'm certainly not a tire expert. But those cracks would concern me too. To the point it would drive me nuts waiting for something to happen. Even if the real tire experts said don't worry about it.

It's an individual thing.

IF....one just needs a bit more assurance, visit another tire dealer or 3. Having a truck dealer in the mix might be good.
Don't let them think you might buy some tires from them though or you might not get an honest evaluation. "Selling" new tires based on a little surface checking is one of the oldest scams in the book.

IF.... it's gonna bother you anyway, change them out.

The fact IS that some tires show surface checking sooner than others because of different compounds and manuf. techniques.

[Jarlaxle]

Unless Hankook would replace them for nothing, I would run them.

[et2]

I'm certainly not a tire expert. But those cracks would concern me too. To the point it would drive me nuts waiting for something to happen. Even if the real tire experts said don't worry about it.

The fix is a lot cheaper than the possible outcome if you lose one. Curious what the inside looks like.

[RayChez]

rgatijnet1 wrote:
I would guess that those are not RV specific tires. Only the Goodyear and Michelin RV tires include an UV protective formulation to minimize UV damage. ALL of the other brands sell truck tires which do not have the same composition and will degrade faster from the UV exposure.

I think you got it backwards. I had experience with Michelins with cracks like that and it is caused by the Sun. Two sets of Michelins and I had enough from them getting what they called checking. I switched to Toyo's and have not had that kind of problem.

[midnightsadie]

those would come off my rv ,call hankook and have all the info in front of you.

[time2roll]

If headed to the hot South-West I would probably be looking for new tires.

[Sea_Dog]

Looks to me as though they were run soft!

[Kayteg1]

Even 4 years old tires would have to be badly neglected (left exposed to sun) or have some material problem to develop such cracks.
I would contact the manufacturer with the issue. Doesn't cost much to call or email.

[gregrc75]

gbopp wrote:

Valkyriebush wrote:
What was the production date stamped on the tire?

X2. Tell your friend to find the date before making a decision.

The production date is 12/12. I asked him and he got them 2 years ago, new from a shop.
They are Hankook AH12. He does cover them when the rv is stored.

He is realizing now that they sat for 2 years at the store before he purchased them.
Thanks for every one's feedback so far.

[Kayteg1]

The picture shows the area close to the crown, where rubber is pretty thick, but I would more worry how the rubber looks mid-height where the sidewalls are pretty thin?

[bluwtr49]

gbopp wrote:

bluwtr49 wrote:
Looking at you signature it appears you have a TT not a MH. If that is correct your may have ST rated tires which are notorious for failures and cracking. Again, if this a a TT you might get the best answers in the TT forum.

Read the OP again. He's asking for a friend who has a motor home.

OOPS, didn't catch that...sorry

[rgatijnet1]

I would guess that those are not RV specific tires. Only the Goodyear and Michelin RV tires include an UV protective formulation to minimize UV damage. ALL of the other brands sell truck tires which do not have the same composition and will degrade faster from the UV exposure.

[Mr_Mark1]

Mr. Greg,

I would be really concerned that two year old tires are cracking like that. Our previous coach had Michelin 295/80R/22.5's that I drove for 7.5 yr. and 57,000 miles (on the first set) and they looked almost new, no cracks like that. The tire shop gave me $50 each for the take-off's.

Do you know what brand those are?

I don't know how that tire company can look at the outside and say 'they are fine'. They need to dismount one to see what is going on inside the tire. Maybe they did look inside?

I would certainly be leary driving on those tires without a full inspection.

Safe travels to you and your friend,
MM.

[gbopp]

mike brez wrote:

bluwtr49 wrote:
Looking at you signature it appears you have a TT not a MH. If that is correct your may have ST rated tires which are notorious for failures and cracking. Again, if this a a TT you might get the best answers in the TT forum.

I think he is asking for a friend that has a class A with these tires on it.

You type faster than me :R

We understand what the OP is talking about. 🙂