Buying tires? Check the DOT codes...

[Desert_Captain]

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

[Desert_Captain]

FLY 4 FUN wrote:
When I buy tires my limit on "age" is no more then 12 months from the date im buying them. Our rv and cargo trailer ST tires have a practical lifespan of 5 maybe 6 years so they will be useless to me beyond that. Learned early on that tread is not a safe indication of remaining life.

X2

I usually ask that they've no older than 6 months for my cars, trucks and motorhome but...

Your needs can vary, I ordered a tire for my Harley a couple of years ago from an internet supplier. Specially requested a "fresh" tire, no older than 6 months. When it arrived it was more than a year old. Keep in mind that bike tires usually wear out in 15K miles +/-.

For some folks that is 5 years, for me it is one so ended up complaining to the supplier but keeping the tire knowing it would be toast in a year or so. If I only rode 3K miles a year that tires life would have been shortened significantly. As noted above I will never own a tire that is more than 5 years old again... BTDT and it did not end well.

:S

[FLY_4_FUN]

When I buy tires my limit on "age" is no more then 12 months from the date im buying them. Our rv and cargo trailer ST tires have a practical lifespan of 5 maybe 6 years so they will be useless to me beyond that. Learned early on that tread is not a safe indication of remaining life.

[BobsYourUncle]

What do you consider to be a reasonable date code for tires from the current day?

I totally agree with your refusal of 4 year old tires, older than the ones you're replacing.

Just asking for my own knowledge, as I really don't know.

[midnightsadie]

I have the endurance on my big boat about two ton, they,ve been great.