Buying tires? Check the DOT codes...
I had an appointment this morning with one of the local chain tire stores to get two Maxxis' M8808's for my cargo trailer in preparation for a 3,600 mile trip that commences on Sunday morning. The trailer is a little over two years old and sat on the dealers lot for a spell so I assumed the original {China Bomb's} were a tad past their prime.
I parked out back as directed and told the service manage that while I assumed they would be fine I needed to check the DOT codes of his tires BEFORE they were mounted. Glad I did as they were both manufactured in April of 2016... Grrrr! I asked him how and why they had the nerve to try and sell me 4+ year old tires as new and all I got was the Deer in the headlights look and a lame "sorry". No, I will not be back.
I went back to Discount Tire who had expressed doubts that they could get the Maxxis' in time for my trip and they confirmed that the nearest Maxxis' we're in Georgia and would take at least a week. Drove home and got on the internet researching Maxxis availability which = slim and none and then alternative tires. I still think Maxxis' are great tires but a lot of folks are pretty impressed with the new Goodyear Endurance.
The Discount shop sent me to another of their stores with better availability and I ended up in and out in 45 minutes with a new pair of Endurance GY's out the door for $257. When the original trailer tires came off my suspicions were confirmed as the DOT Codes showed them to be a little over 3 years old and that is far as I want to travel on "Rainier ST's" undoubtedly some of China's finest...though they still looked decent and I kept both of them to use as back up spares to my existing new spare that has yet to see the pavement.
I had a 5.5 year old Michilin LT grenade on me last fall and it had been inspected and aired up by Discount the day before and pronounced just fine. That "just fine" tire did $4,131 in damage to my Class C virtually blowing the wheel well right up through the floor. I'll never own a tire over 5 years old again no matter how good it looks. Admittedly living here in southern Arizona is a tough venue for tires but check your DOT Codes folks and insist that your new tires really are...
:S
I parked out back as directed and told the service manage that while I assumed they would be fine I needed to check the DOT codes of his tires BEFORE they were mounted. Glad I did as they were both manufactured in April of 2016... Grrrr! I asked him how and why they had the nerve to try and sell me 4+ year old tires as new and all I got was the Deer in the headlights look and a lame "sorry". No, I will not be back.
I went back to Discount Tire who had expressed doubts that they could get the Maxxis' in time for my trip and they confirmed that the nearest Maxxis' we're in Georgia and would take at least a week. Drove home and got on the internet researching Maxxis availability which = slim and none and then alternative tires. I still think Maxxis' are great tires but a lot of folks are pretty impressed with the new Goodyear Endurance.
The Discount shop sent me to another of their stores with better availability and I ended up in and out in 45 minutes with a new pair of Endurance GY's out the door for $257. When the original trailer tires came off my suspicions were confirmed as the DOT Codes showed them to be a little over 3 years old and that is far as I want to travel on "Rainier ST's" undoubtedly some of China's finest...though they still looked decent and I kept both of them to use as back up spares to my existing new spare that has yet to see the pavement.
I had a 5.5 year old Michilin LT grenade on me last fall and it had been inspected and aired up by Discount the day before and pronounced just fine. That "just fine" tire did $4,131 in damage to my Class C virtually blowing the wheel well right up through the floor. I'll never own a tire over 5 years old again no matter how good it looks. Admittedly living here in southern Arizona is a tough venue for tires but check your DOT Codes folks and insist that your new tires really are...
:S
