Heard A Rumor

[Aluminum_Siding]

I recently heard a rumor that you should change your tires every 2 years or so. This basically applies to the cheapies (tires not people). Have any of you heard this before?

[CavemanCharlie]

When I purchased the TT I have now a few years ago it had the original tires on it. They were 17 years old. Boy, did they look bad. The TT salesman tried to tell me they were good yet. Never believe a salesman. I towed it the 10 miles home and the 4 miles to the tire shop the next day and had new ones installed. I never go more them 70 miles from home and the TT sets inside a shed so I will probably not change them at the 5 year interval as recommended.

[Ron3rd]

Have not heard the "2-year rumor", but the "5-year rumor" gets thrown around a lot here and I agree with it.

[atreis]

I ran my original tires for 5 years. I replaced them after getting a flat caused by construction debris (sharp piece of metal pierced one of them), but had been planning to replace them at the end of the season anyway. They were 7 years past their manufacture date.

[dodge_guy]

Yep. I`m around 5 years. any longer and your playing with dynamite!

[Doug33]

I had my last TT 7.5 years and didn't replace tires. There were no physical issues and I kept them covered and out of the sun. But one of the many selling points for buying a new TT last summer, was getting a reset on new tires.

[ktmrfs]

5-7 years seems to be the recomended range from tire mfg for ALL passenger car/trailer/MH tires. In our area, many dealers will not do any repairs (nails etc.) on tires over 5-7 years old.

I don't worry about our trailers to much since we put 8K miles/year on our trailers so in 3-4 years they need replacing anyway.

As a side note, I've noticed that most passenger car tire tread wear warranty is for XXXmiles/3-5 years. So much beyond a 40K tread wear warranty doesn't do most people much good.

[Peg_Leg]

That rumor was probably started by a tire salesman. I've started rumors that spread faster than I could walk. Did you hear the one about

[Aluminum_Siding]

Really good info folks. Thanks a bunch. I was thinking roughly 5-7 years. I always hear constant stories about trailer tires blowing all the time so this is why I brought up the inquire. This is my second trailer and "knock on wood" never had an issue.

[dadmomh]

Seems like the consensus on both RVNet and Hybrid Explorer has been that at the 4 - 5 year mark BASED ON THE MANUFACTURING DATE, NOT THE APPEARANCE - that the tires need to be changed. We take at least one trip to FL each spring and then one longer trip in the summer, so we generally go with the 4 year time for peace of mind. Doesn't matter it they're the less or more expensive or what they look like, trailer tires aren't the same as auto tires and need to be changed.

If you haven't searched for the manufacture date on your tires, they'll be a 4 digit number right alongside the rim. Something like 2412 would mean they were manufactured the 24th week on 2012. Sometimes the darned code is on the inside and you have to crawl around with a flashlight, but you need to know. When time comes to replace the current set, tell the supplier up front that you will not accept tires with longer than a 6 month old manufacture date. You could be buying tires that have been sitting on a shelf for 2 or 3 years, which would mean you'd be ready the next year or so to replace them even though they were never on the ground.

[robsouth]

Malarkey!

[poncho62]

I bought my older 5th wheel last year....Tires were 10 years old by the date code on them. I took a couple of short trips on them before I replaced them this spring. Didnt have a problem, but was thinking about it the whole time.
I went from a st205-14 to st225-15....I figure I dont have to worry about them for at least 5 years

[Tvov]

Aluminum Siding wrote:
I recently heard a rumor that you should change your tires every 2 years or so. This basically applies to the cheapies (tires not people). Have any of you heard this before?

Never heard that... EXCEPT if you put a lot of miles on them in two years! I have equipment trailers that need new tires almost every other year, but they are on the road virtually every day.

Check your tires every time you are getting ready to go somewhere.

[wa8shc]

Mine get changed every 3 yrs, or approx. 12,000 miles
Mine see a lot of 60 mph road travel, so the miles build up fast
Tried going 3.5 yrs one time, and blew a tire in AZ, that caused
$600 in damage + cost of new tire
So for me, it's cheap insurance
JMHO

[Community Alumni]

Mine get changed at 5 years.