Do tires have to be changed at a certain age?

[Sandy___Shirley]

We took our 5er to the local RV dealer because a branch fell over the winter and cracked a vent cover. Currently fixed with duct tape!

He said he is an inspection station and will have to check the tires and read the sidewalls to see if they are too old and have to be replaced! Is this real or is he trying to rip me off! We live in Maryland and the tires look fine, plenty of tread and the sidewalls are in no way cracked.

[LostinAZ]

ktmrfs wrote:

LostinAZ wrote:
If they are ST Tires they should be replaced after they are 3 years old or 10,000 miles whichever comes first. If they are LT tires--- 5 to 7 years....would be a good rule of thumb to change them out. Went through 2 sets of ST tires in 6 years and less than 20,000 miles. Now Running lT tires. Letting tires set in the sun daily will reduce their life.

replacing ST's after 10K miles???? GIVE ME A BREAK. I've run many many sets of ST's to 30-40K miles before they needed replacing because of tread wear!!! And yes, that was within 3-4 years. ST's are listed by most mfg as going by the same age rules as other tires as well 5-7 years.

I suspect that if you do some research on the life of St tires on a heavy 5th wheel you will find that I am very close to actual life of a typical ST tire

[ktmrfs]

LostinAZ wrote:
If they are ST Tires they should be replaced after they are 3 years old or 10,000 miles whichever comes first. If they are LT tires--- 5 to 7 years....would be a good rule of thumb to change them out. Went through 2 sets of ST tires in 6 years and less than 20,000 miles. Now Running lT tires. Letting tires set in the sun daily will reduce their life.

replacing ST's after 10K miles???? GIVE ME A BREAK. I've run many many sets of ST's to 30-40K miles before they needed replacing because of tread wear!!! And yes, that was within 3-4 years.
And I'm not the only one getting that kind of life out of ST's. Neighbor has over 200K miles towing his big cargo trailer around the country on ST's and he gets close to 40K/set.

ST's are listed by most mfg as going by the same age rules as other tires as well 5-7 years.

[noe-place]

I just changed the original tires on my 04 this winter. They still looked great, plenty of tread and only 42K miles driving across the USA and parts of Canada with never a problem. They were 8 yrs old and I figured it was about time. Better than having one blow and take out a chunk of your rv.:E

[wa8yxm]

A lot depends on so many things I can't list them all.

But the general wisdom is the max SAFE life of a tire is somewhere between five and ten years (Who you talk to determies the age,,, I'm not narrowign it down any) as you get older and older the odds of a catastrophic failure (blowout) increase big time.

Now on many modern RV's both trailers and motor homes, if you blow a casing it often takes out plumbning and wiring as it breaks apart... Nice isn't it.

With some older trailers there is a genuine steel wheel well and no wires or pipes or lines to be tore up. But alas, they don't build 'em like that.

DO, search these forums for a thread "Watching these videos" (may save your life is the rest of that) and watch the video it links to.. Please do that. I used to have to type that message that startes out "Reference fatal accident, 29-xxxx-yr. and trust me.... I never liked typing it.

[PenMan]

If Maryland requires a trailer inspection, then you could be forced to put on new tires but not necessarily buy from the inspector. Either way you are already running on borrowed time (and rubber).

[Chuck_Gail]

No idea on the law, but I replace mine when they wear out, or get to be 7 years old per DOT code.

[Terryallan]

Sandy & Shirley wrote:
As my signature says, it is a 2004 Everest we bought new! Since this is 2013, my guess is the tires are more than 5 to 7 years old!

Might have to revive and modify the old saying I used about boating!

An RV is a fibreglass whole on the highway into which you shovel money !

Your a LUCKY guy. They should have been replaced years ago, In fact you should be getting ready to put on the third set. Get them off soonest. You will notice a difference in the smoothness of the tow as well.

[shawdowboss]

Yes according to the Maryland MVA website, tires are inspected on trailers. However, it does state on the MVA website you can take it somewhere else to get the repairs done, so don't let the inspector insist on doing the repair work. If the tires do fail the test, I'd take the trailer to someone else to get the tires done, but also get a copy of the age limit from the person inspecting it and cross check with MVA to make sure it's right.

[JIMNLIN]

Carlisle St 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.

Lt tire makers say from 5-7 years.

[hershey]

Short answer? It is generally subscribed to, RV tires should be replaced at 7 years. Still its a personal choice when it comes down to actually replacing them.
I would have a real problem with any dealer telling me that after their inspection, that my tires will have to be replaced if it fails their inspection. Go ahead an inspect but I will be the judge of my replacement of tires or not.

[tatest]

Practical requirement? Yes. Tires do age, dangerously, when not in regular use. Problems go deeper than sidewall cracking, and an inspection for cosmetic cracks on the exterior doesn't tell the whole story.

A legal requirement? With the national media attention lately about dangers of aging tires, I can see a vehicle inspection state adding tire age to the standards. I can definitely see Maryland doing this (or Massachusetts). But check your state vehicle inspection code, and if the vehicle fails inspection because of a tire date code, I would definitely want the inspector to show me that part of the regulation.

[tsetsaf]

If they are original then yes they need to be replaced.

[deleted-2]

We had a blow-out with a five year old tire last September.
The trailer did sit quite a bit and the tires weren't covered while stored.
I had been rubbing glycerin on the sidewalls to slow down the cracking.

Les Schwab here in CA replaced the tire under warranty.
The tire store did say it can be a******shoot with trailer tires over five years old.
I believe that now.

[LostinAZ]

If they are ST Tires they should be replaced after they are 3 years old or 10,000 miles whichever comes first. If they are LT tires--- 5 to 7 years....would be a good rule of thumb to change them out. Went through 2 sets of ST tires in 6 years and less than 20,000 miles. Now Running lT tires. Letting tires set in the sun daily will reduce their life.

[time2roll]

Until you are given details it is just FUD.