tire age

[luggnutts]

Are there any markings on tires, that would give some idea of their age. I have a 1999 rexhall that I have no idea how old the tires are. Thanks in advance for your help.

[BrianinMichigan]

ArchHoagland wrote:

Brian in Michigan wrote:
I'm taking my Hankooks in tomorrow for inspection. I found the tires are starting to crack in between the ribs. I bought them 4 years ago and they probably have 5k on them. I won't by another set if hey don't cover them.

Brian....what did they tell you?

Arch, I just now got back from a 675 mile brewery tour around Michigan. Tomorrow I go pick up a new tire because they deemed the old one to bad to put on the road. They pro-rated the tire so I will owe somewhere around $75 for a new tire. The other one had 2 or 3 tiny cracks in it. I will keep an eye on it.

[Raist11]

I'm thinking the safe route is the best. Would you rather spend $100K or so on a new RV or loose your family to a fire, accident or anything else that may be caused by worn parts on an old RV? What is the dollar value of your family? Replace your RV every 4 years would be safest. Really, the logic dictates this course of action.

Inspect your tires, check for irregular wear, cracking and so forth. If you aren't comfortable with your ability to check them, then take them in to be inspected. I won't say don't change your tires because they're old.. but my father is 80 yrs old and I have no intention of swapping him out just because he's been around a long time.

[conceptumator]

There are arguments all over the board on tire age, etc. Here's the thing nobody seems to mention: Would you rather spend $3K on a new set of tires and drive without a worry or keep the old tires, have a blowout and possibly kill yourself and others and almost surely do at least the same $3K worth of damage to your RV? Sure, a new tire can blow and do just as much damage, but consider the odds. I like the thought of being at ease with my tires and spending the money - just me, but a thought. I also think a lot of folks wind up blowing their tires because they're trying to fine tune the pressure so much looking for the elusive "smooth ride". Inflate them to the max on the sidewall and drive. It's a truck, folks, not a luxury vehicle! Under-inflation causes blowouts, not over-inflation (within reason, of course). I read all of this stuff about "I weighed the RV and set the front tires to 87.8 psi and the rear to 92.3 psi" and have to chuckle. Get real, folks, your gauges aren't even that accurate!

[ArchHoagland]

Brian in Michigan wrote:
I'm taking my Hankooks in tomorrow for inspection. I found the tires are starting to crack in between the ribs. I bought them 4 years ago and they probably have 5k on them. I won't by another set if hey don't cover them.

Brian....what did they tell you?

[FUN_BOX]

Terryallan wrote:
If after you read the tire. they are more than 4 years old. Replace them. Tires that sit dry out. Rolling makes the side walls flex, and the flexing oils the tire. A tire used often will last much longer than a tire sitting.

Nope. I had my tires inspected many times to check for cracks in the sidewalls and in between the treads and they lasted for 13 years before there was some cracking on 1 front tire. Never covered the tires and parked on concrete. Goodyear tires to boot. Replaced with some Toyos and I'll keep checking for dry rot and or cracks as the years go by.....

4 years < Only if you have POS Michelins

[southwindphoto]

I replace tires when they show sings of age. For my last set of BFG's they started showing at 8 years. This set of Cooper are 2,5 years old and still look like new.

I always keep Class A in shade, or place cover on tires and all windows. And I always use Armor all or other UV protection on tires.

[infogeek]

I recently had a blowout of my inner dual. Bought the tires in 2011, DOT code said mfg date of 2008. This one particular tire would lose air. Had it checked many times, valve stem replaced, and it would get soft after sitting. I'd check it every day during a trip and it would hold air, only to lose it when sitting. I guess it finally had enough after 4 years. It blew after a new valve stem change. I was going to give the tires another year but after that decided to replace them all. I do check pressures before and during every trip and other than that one tire, all seem to keep the proper pressure. Hope the new ones do, too.

[parkmanaa]

Careful BIRD FREAK and KAYTEG1, you are proving my point.
IMHO many people have been taken in by tire marketers (not manufacturers) warning about scrapping perfectly good tires at a very early age; 5 or 6 years.
As I have stated repeatedly, in my 40 years in the tire industry a very low percentage of failures I saw was attributed to age, yet it is automatically blamed by so many people who don't have a clue, except what the marketers have pounded into their heads.
My continued advice: Go to the tire MANUFACTURER'S website and follow their recommendations on tire care, including age of replacement. Don't follow some marketers veiled threat about how they will automatically blow out at 5 or 6 years.

[BrianinMichigan]

I'm taking my Hankooks in tomorrow for inspection. I found the tires are starting to crack in between the ribs. I bought them 4 years ago and they probably have 5k on them. I won't by another set if hey don't cover them.

[Kayteg1]

That created some controversy in the past, but just as experiment I keep old tire on my tag axle.
The tire is so old, that nobody knows how to read the old codes anymore, but it is estimated at least 30 years old (coach is 43 YO).
This is commercial tire, same size used on semitruck and I actually cut other old tire to discover that sidewalls do have 3/4" of rubber with fabrics in it.
I don't use the coach often lately, but the tire hold 80 psi for about 3 years till I drove the coach this summer again and pumped it to 90 psi.

[Bird_Freak]

Only blowouts I have had were on tires less than 2 years old.

[parkmanaa]

I disagree, 'EXECUTIVE". A qualified tire technician will know where and what to look for with the tire inflated and jacked up so a 360 degree check can be made. Mostly you are looking for cuts or belt separations. Cuts are obvious, belt separations will begin showing up in the tread grooves nearest the shoulders.
I suppose in a very, very minor number of cases you may discover a problem inside, but in my many years I found most cases signs of problems with radials will transfer and make itself known on the outside, again if you know what you are really looking for..

'40 years in the tire industry; seen it all and done most of it"

[Executive45]

One thing not mentioned is to "properly" inspect a tire, that tire must be DISMOUNTED, that is, removed from the rim and inspected from the INSIDE. Few people want to go thru that hassle so the tires are really never inspected properly. I believe it's irresponsible to suggest driving on 10 yr old tires without that caveat.....Dennis

[parkmanaa]

I am constantly amazed at how many people immediately place responsibility for a blowout on age. What about underinflation/overoad, pinch shock that happened a few hundred miles ago but just now decided to let go, etc., etc.

In my many years I have done hundreds of "s**** tire analysis", and can honestly tell you a vast majority of the blowouts were due to maintenance problems, and not age. If I was to name the primary cause it would be cheap radial tires.

"40 years in the tire industry; seen it all and done most of it"