Oldest tires on a MH still running?

[Trackrig]

I was at an RV storage place in Washington where our MH is stored for the moment. I walked over and talked to the owner of a 1995 Dolphin 434 that he was showing to sell to someone. The rear tires were still the original 1995 tires - that makes them 21 - 22 years old. He had changed out the front ones three years ago. He hadn't driven it in the last two years so he decided to sell it.

He said he wrote right on the bill of sale document he drew up in very large print, the year of the rear tires and that had to be changed.

Has anyone seen tires older than that still being used?

Bill

[Jarlaxle]

We have an elderly pup trailer at work running 10.00-20 tube tires...one has a 1997 date code.

[J-Rooster]

That's way too long for my liking! And I respect him for letting people know about the age of those tires.

[Popsie]

I have two friends who used to own construction businesses. They had trucks and jeeps and other vehicles.

Both of them operated their equipment as much as their businesses required. Some years trucks would sit around for months, and some times they would be in use for several years straight.

They only changed tires when they failed, and often ran equipment on tires over 20 years old.

They did have failures on old tires, and also on newer ones, but neither ever had any serious problems running the tires into the ground.

YMMV

[rgatijnet1]

Tires being used on a regular basis will last longer, even if the mileage is not a lot.

[falconbrother]

I will not be switching out my tires every five years. I have had a blowout on some Chinese no name tires of unknown age. That was totally not fun at all. I am of the opinion that some tires last better than others.

[Kayteg1]

gbopp wrote:

What was your vintage coach? I like the classic/vintage RV's.

1972 Prevost. You can see the tire on this picture taken about a year ago.
Funny part, the 10 yo Michelin on main axle had shorter, but deeper cracks than the very old tire on tag. Still all worked fine on 400 miles , last for me trip.
Beside this tag experiment, I also had 25 years old tires on my utility trailer, that I replaced last fall as a precaution. They hold the air for a year in small 12" size, but whole new wheel cost me $35, so I figure out I got my money worth.

[crasster]

In anything, there are always stuff like this. Some people are major tire changers at 5 years. I do believe they can stretch longer than that especially if it is a good tire. I've seen tires on trailers that are over 30 years old. I've gone up to 10 years before paranoia got the better of me.

[Golden_HVAC]

I have some Goodyear 14 ply tires on the front axle of my motorhome. Some of the last made 235/85R16G light truck tires with stiffer steel sidewals. Now Goodyear will only make that size and ply rating in a trailer tire. Mine where made in 2002, and I have not driven the motorhome in 3 years. They still hold air! The back ones are a little newer, 2007 and 2008. I know I need to replace all of them before driving it very far.

I drove from California to Oregon in 2013 when the tires where 11 years old, 1,100 miles at 55 MPH! I was praying all the way too!

Fred.

[gbopp]

Kayteg1 wrote:

The tire was manufactured when only last digit of the year was required so it was either 25 or 35 years old when I drove on it 400 miles to new owner.

I stand corrected. 🙂
What was your vintage coach? I like the classic/vintage RV's.

[Kayteg1]

I just sold my vintage coach that I had for 11 years.
It was sitting for at least 10 years when I bought it and I saved one of the tires on liftable tag as experiment.
The tire was manufactured when only last digit of the year was required so it was either 25 or 35 years old when I drove on it 400 miles to new owner.
The inner tube hold the air for a year with just few psi drop.
Since this topic comes on this forum quite often, I am temped to ask new owner to take new picture, so I can post it here.

[gbopp]

If someone has tires that old, or older, they're not going to admit it. :E