Do Tires on a Class A Rot with age?

[JRS___B]

I have browsed through ads for used Class A motorhomes and noticed (just my observation) that motorhomes that are 7 or 8 years old, even the high end ones with hardly any miles on them, seem to be advertised for more affordable prices.

On the other hand, 2 or 3 year old motorhomes, even those with high mileage, have asking prices approaching that of a new unit.

Is this partly because a 7 or 8 year old motorhome automatically needs all new tires?

[larry_barnhart]

A short tire story I have told once before. Friend had the same fifth as we do but we don't agree on the tire's. He decided to test a 7 year old G-614 that was given to him. He made it from Seattle to almost Spokane before it blew with some trailer damage.
chevman

[wny_pat1]

And 22.5" medium and heavy truck tires easily go 100,000 miles, on a truck that is used daily. But on a motorhome that gets limited use, they age out long before they wear out.

[VinCee]

To the OP, if you notice a lot of the tire replacement advice is from the RV'ers who live out west and their tires are exposed to the sun just about year round. Florida and the south somewhat the same. Wear, cracking and dry rotting is not as rapid living in the northeast vs. these sunny warm weather states. I believe that is why there is no definitive time frame of when to replace tires. I have a work associate that has a late 1980's Winnebago class A with the original tires on it with total mileage just over 30,000. He also is an excellent mechanic who knows a thing or two about maintenance etc. on vehicles and race cars that he wrenches for. I bought a 1977 Kawasaki motorcycle about six years ago with 3740 original miles on it with the original rubber. I drove the bike two years before the tires showed any signs of cracking.
On used RV pricing, the posts that said you should be able to buy new at 25 to 30% off list are spot on. Another way to look at it and the formula I use is list minus shipping, divided by 40%, subtract from list, add shipping back on and a profit for the dealer, $1500 to $2500 and you'll have a good idea of what it should of sold for brand new. From there I just simply deduct 10% each year for depreciation. I used this to set the trade-in price of my last A and what I expected to pay for my one year old at the time "new" A. It seems to be very close.
Good luck and happy shopping!

[wny_pat1]

JRS & B wrote:
I have browsed through ads for used Class A motorhomes and noticed (just my observation) that motorhomes that are 7 or 8 years old, even the high end ones with hardly any miles on them, seem to be advertised for more affordable prices.

On the other hand, 2 or 3 year old motorhomes, even those with high mileage, have asking prices approaching that of a new unit.

Is this partly because a 7 or 8 year old motorhome automatically needs all new tires?

Then you did not price a 7 or 8 year old Newell. They are going for right around $500,000.00! http://www.newellcoach.com/the-coaches/pre-owned-coaches/

[wa8yxm]

I am going to simplify the question Do tires rot with age? Yes, 8-10 years is about the limit if the unit is driven often.. If parked, they rot a whole lot faster.

NOTE: this applies to cars, pickups, trailers, Class A,B,C, and .. Well, tires, period, Even bicycle tires.

[RayChez]

GENECOP wrote:
Many factors go into pricing an RV, tires definately need to be changed at 8-10 years of age.

Five years!

[karaokegal]

tires do dry rot,and just FYI anyone that parks there RV on limestone for any extended period of time in storage is looking for trouble. lime stone reacts with rubber and your tires will have to be replaced more freq. i own an rv storage facility and some people come in and say my price is higher than my competors. here is the difference i offer concrete parking that is better for your tires also i have canopys to protect the roof from the blistering heat. look at it this way i think it is better to pay alittle more rent to protect the RV instead of the maintance to replace these items.

[Snomas]

Check the dot #'s on the tires and replace tires that are 6 years old. 22.5 tires Can cost about 600-700 per tire out the door. Many other problems can occur with older MH's. There are many threads on this forum.

[Pop-Pop_C]

Yes they do!!!
Ck. the DOT . MFG date on the side wall!!!!

[JamesBr]

IF the coach is any older then 5 years I would learn how to read the date code on the tires to check their age. If you find they are just as old as the coach, it is just another negotiation tool for you. I bought my RV knowing the tires needed to be replaced and negotiated on that for the final price.

[JRS___B]

Thanks for all of the input. I always kind of wondered if tires on a Class A, being more akin to heavy duty truck tires, were somehow immune to deteriorating with age. Obviously the answer is NO, no matter what kind of tire it is.

[Don_and_Barb]

Tire have date codes on them. This is the date of manufacture. Check the date, if it is more that 6-7 years old the rubber is getting old. If you are not careful, you can get new tires that are at end of life when you buy them. I bought my MH used and the tires looked brand new and I was told they were recently replaced, with in two years they were cracked and needed to be replaced.
And, no it shouldn't make a difference in price unless they are really old. My class A tires didn't cost anymore than pickup tires. If it's a DP then they will cost a fortune.

[JRS___B]

I was not assuming list price. I was assuming what I would call an "advertised" price. The kind of sale price one sees on the internet, or at an RV show.

[lanerd]

Actually, you can purchase just about any new motor home for close to 25% to 30% off "list price". So a $400k motorhome (list price) will actually sell (new) for close to $300K, or maybe even less. So, yes you will find a 2-year old motor home selling for 33% less than its original "list price". I'm assuming, of course, that you are referring to a new motor home's "list price" when you mention the "new" price.

We were recently looking at a new 2014 Newmar Ventana 43 footer that had a list price of $331K and their initial price to us was $269K.....without us haggling at all. So, that's almost a 20% discount right off the bat! With a little negotiating, I could probably get that discount up to 25%.



Ron