Do RV tires deteriorate when sitting on dealer lots.

[Road_Phantom]

I bought a four year old used 5th wheel and had a blowout on my first run. Suspecting that it might be lot rot in the tires, I changed the whole set even though the treads looked new on them. The entire tread on the blowout tire separated from the sidewall and took out the trailer fender. It's my belief that when an RV is sitting in a lot for a year or more in one spot, all that weight on one small portion of the tires undermines the inner core. Watchatink?

[Grit_dog]

UV and heat are the 2 biggest killers of tires.
Not specific to RV or trailer tires, rather a propensity for those to get abused more (curbs, corner scrubbing, parked out in the sun months on end, etc), yet appear to be "like new" due to low miles and plenty of tread.

[dkreuzen]

I have fought the short trailer tire life for many years. The fact is they do start to deteriorate as soon as they come out of the mold. How they are stored from that point on effects that short life. Heat is the worst enemy for a tire so living in the Arizona desert the last 16 years was killing my tires when leaving them outside even if they were covered. I averaged 18 months on a new set of ST tires before one of the four separated or started showing signs of separating. Five years ago I started removing the wheels & tires when not in use and stored them in the garage. I haven't had a tire issue since. Sure it's a bit of work but it has saved me way more time and money in the long run. I just replaced this 5 year old tires just because I was leery of running them any longer even though they looked new.

[Grit_dog]

Another entertaining thread!

[wa8yxm]

The short answer is YES. in fact sitting without rolling rollign rolling down the highway for years on end is the WORST thing for a tire.. They need to roll. Even sitting on a tire rack (not mounted) they go bad.

[dave54]

2oldman wrote:

avan wrote:
I've never thought before that there might be something different, better or worse, in a dealer lot vs a street, any other parking lot etc. What would the differences be?

Nothing. Sitting is sitting.

Does your rig sit at home years at a time, in the direct sun with tires uncovered, without turning a wheel? An RV that has been on a dealer lot for 4 years has at most been moved 100 ft from one side of the lot to the other. Maybe. Once a year. Air pressure has probably never been checked either. So it sat there badly underinflated.
Tires last longer when they are used occasionally and kept at full inflation.

[blofgren]

donn0128 wrote:
Cheap Chinese ST tires do that all the time. New,,old makes little difference. Tire quality is what its all about.

Exactly right.

[JIMNLIN]

This from probably our oldest ST tire maker;

Carlisle special trailer tires
Time and the elements weaken a trailer tire.
– 3 to 5 years is the average life expectancy of a trailer tire,regardless of mileage.
– It is estimated that in approximately three years, roughly one-third of a tire's strength is gone.
– After three years, depending upon storage and conditions of usage, consider replacing trailer tires even if they have tread depth remaining.

– After five years, trailer tires should be replaced in all cases.

[tenbear]

As darsben1 said, check the DOT date code. That will tell you the real age of the tires.

[Terryallan]

> Do RV tires deteriorate when sitting on dealer lots. UH Yeah. 4 year RV old tires are just looking for a place to go flat. Don't matter if they are sitting in your yard, or dealer lot. Don't matter if they are covered or not. They rot while sitting, as they don't oil themselves unless they roll.

[midnightsadie]

pressure check,clean,cover, rotate.use a UV spray. any thing that helps.have a nice day.

[2oldman]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
What exactly is this 'little maintenance' you speak off?

Pressure and covering come to mind.

[bgum]

Lot rot is a fact of life.

[Old-Biscuit]

midnightsadie wrote:
tires start to rot they day the come out of the mold, tire care is very important, you should get years of use with just a little maint.

What exactly is this 'little maintenance' you speak off?

Would love to hear the 'secrets'

[midnightsadie]

tires start to rot they day the come out of the mold, tire care is very important, you should get years of use with just a little maint.