How long should tires last before they dry rot?

[Nevadastars]

We just picked up an immaculate and well kept 2010, 25ft Chateau. I was so impressed with the condition of it, it was a no brainer to buy it. But, after I got it home, I noticed the tires are severely dry rotted. The rig has 10k miles on it and has always been covered expect when on the road. The tires are Michelin LTX which I assumed where one of the better brands out there. Is this normal for only 3 years old?

[Airstreamer67]

Quote: "The advantage of Nitrogen is that it is dry while air can have quite a bit of moisture which reduces tire life."



I wonder about the value of nitrogen. I've never seen a tire fail from moisture on the inside caused by "wet" air. Some tractor tires are filled with water for weight and traction. So whether the cost of nitrogen makes sense is not clear to me.

[Harvey51]

I read that tire polish is bad, covers and exercise good. The advantage of Nitrogen is that it is dry while air can have quite a bit of moisture which reduces tire life. The 2006 Michelyn tires that came with our MH were cracked like the OP's in 2012 when I replaced them.

I remember talking to a Goodyear dealer about tires that didn't last. I told him I had an old van parked for 12 years and still holding air (Michelyn) while his tire had lost its air after three years. His answer was that they don't make them like they used to. Probably weight, sun, oxygen, usage and manufacturing goofs all have thir effects.

[ramsgm]

To my understanding, the biggest problem with RV tires is not activating the oils within the rubber to keep the tires viable. Unlike our personal autos, which are driven nearly everyday, most RVs go weeks, months, or even longer without moving. This could wreak havoc with the tires, and cause early failure due to the rubber drying out. I move my rig every couple of weeks, use a spray-on tire protector, and sunshades to protect the sidewalls when not traveling.

Our first set of tires lasted 10 years, with only 40,000 miles on them. The sidewalls finally showed signs of drying out, so we opted to change the tires out at that point, before a catastrophe could strike.

[pnichols]

I doubt that all tire brands made by Michelin used - or at least now use - the same compounds.

I read the sidewall materials description on the original Michelin LTX M&S tires that came on my Class C and it definitely read different than the sidewall description on the new type (at the time) Michelin LTX M&S2 tires that I put on our RV in mid-2011. The sidewalls have at least one of their plies made of some exotic-sounding new material. I'm hoping this at least partially helps to solve any premature sidewall cracking problem that Michelin may have had.

Unless the other tire lines that Michelin manufactures also had their names changed in what they are called, too - to account for this same new sidewall material - probably only the Michelin line is using this new sidewall material. Of course that could be due to the fact that only the Michelin line needed a sidewall materials improvement.

By the way, would someone refresh my memory on how nitrogen is supposed to help with tire dry rot .... or does nitrogen only help with maintaining tire pressures over the long haul because of the larger percentage of nitrogen molecules (which are larger than oxygen molecules) reducing the amount of pressure loss through the tire material.

[Nevadastars]

mayo30 wrote:
Ok and do all the tire brands made by Michelin use the same compound,just changing the name makes the tire better or worse???Maybe the OP could expound on that.

That I could not tell you, but my neighbor just came over to check out our new rig and I was telling him about the tire issues and that I will be going to BFG's. He proceeds to tell me he had some BFG's do the same thing. After really checking these Michelin's out, the rears are quite a bit worse than the fronts. So, I think it is safe to say that just about any tire that sits for any length of time with a lot of weight on them will do it. No matter if it is in the sun or not.

The new ones are going to be filled with nitrogen and I will make a habit of taking the unit out for a spin at least once or twice a month. Hopefully that will help avoid the cracking.

Thanks to the mod for cleaning up the riff raff.

[mayo30]

Ok and do all the tire brands made by Michelin use the same compound,just changing the name makes the tire better or worse???Maybe the OP could expound on that.

[ronfisherman]

Cleaned up the flaming post.
Lets keep this thread polite.

[jayw900]

Nice to see a company stand by their product. +1 to michelin.

[Nevadastars]

06Fargo wrote:
Nevadastars - you did the right thing bringing the condition of these tires to the attention of the manufacturer.

Thank you, it is much appreciated. I certainly never meant to get a bunch of folks in a tizzy over it as in the other thread. I know the numbers on the tires were really important to the tire guy and the Michelin warranty department. They covered them under warranty fairly quickly, so I assume this is a batch that have had problems.

[ron_dittmer]

06Fargo wrote:
Nevadastars - you did the right thing bringing the condition of these tires to the attention of the manufacturer.

......and to us too. Thank You Nevadastars. That is what forums like these are for. Sharing our motor home experiences, both the good and the bad.

[noteven]

Nevadastars - you did the right thing bringing the condition of these tires to the attention of the manufacturer in adult manner like you did. Pretty sure any of the main manufacturers would take it seriously. It looks like it brought about a positive result. The previous owner was a fair person it sounds like too.

Enjoy your new MH.

[ron_dittmer]

Glad to read that Michelin did the right thing.

Hopefully your data will get to the right people at Michelin in their quality control department....and maybe engineering department too.

[IAMICHABOD]

Nevadastars wrote:

IAMICHABOD wrote:
Thanks for the update.It sounds like that it all worked out for you and the info will probably help others.

This forum is a lot more friendly and helpful than others.

You got that right! Check out my "Beware of Michelin Tires" thread in the General Issues section. I thought I was going to be lynched for putting Michelin in a bad light. LOL
This forum rocks!!!

I know I populated my BLOCK List from that thread!!!!!

I have no time for as****s and idiots.

This Forum Rocks is right...........

[hilldude]

The tires that come on Class c have life of about three years. My motorhome is a 08 replaced tires in 2012 lots of tread at 55000 mi but cracked. Replaced with Firestone TransForce.

[Nevadastars]

IAMICHABOD wrote:
Thanks for the update.It sounds like that it all worked out for you and the info will probably help others.

This forum is a lot more friendly and helpful than others.

You got that right! Check out my "Beware of Michelin Tires" thread in the General Issues section. I thought I was going to be lynched for putting Michelin in a bad light. LOL
This forum rocks!!!