TV tire life

They might be the life blood, but I’m probably going to have to donate a kidney to put new shoes on the Ram, so if they make it longer than 4 years, I’m runnin ‘em!

We always think of tires as the life-blood of our trucks. Any thought or look of an issue, we buy a new set, usually about four years or so. Unless something odd happens, like a cut or nail - a road hazard.

The one place we never try to 'save money' ... your life and family lives ride on your tires. The damage potential on a blowout is much greater than the cost of a tire, or even a set. Others might think differently. We save bucks when we can, but not on tires. We buy BFG AT's, but there are plenty of good solid brands out there. Bargain tires never enter our picture.

GDS-3950BH wrote:
The tires on my GMC are stamped 1416 and they probably will last another 2 or 3 years on treadwear at least. Oh my God, they're 5 years and a month old. I had better rip them off and spend a grand before the Earth's rotation shifts, and we all go careening off into space. Nothing like living dangerously.

There does need to be some official clarification on how long tires should last. Dealers want to be able to sell old inventory at full price and not discuss the age with the customer while manufacturers want to deny liability for older tires.

Different types of tires seem to have different length of life and there seems to be some randomness in tires life. My experience has been that Michelin tires are great if you wear them out in 4 years or so but age faster than other brands. I had a van with factory Goodyear tires. Two of the five tires dry-rotted and starting leaking out of the sidewalls when only about 4 years old while the other three made it 6 years and were still holding air when the tread wore out. They all had the same manufacturing date. I have a set of Firestone tires on a trailer that are 8 years old and still look great. I don't think that I would load that trailer up and go on a long trip with those tires though.

When a set of tires on the Excursion started to show signs of aging I replaced them and gave the old tires to a friend who uses them on a truck to go around town. Gave another set away to a farmer who uses them on a trailer. I've been happy with Hankook tires, I ran them about 40k miles and replaced them with good tread still left. I replace them before the tread bar appears. Want enough tread to disperse water and heat.

Bummer blofgren. That beer we were supposed to have is probably warm by now too...
Can’t reach it from here, lol!
Here’s to the border opening soon!

Ricky the store manager in Burlington has been the Manager for a while now in Bellingham.

Grit dog wrote:

blofgren wrote:

BobsYourUncle wrote:

grizz272 wrote:
Every set of Michelin tires I had were junk! I will not run Michelin on anything i own. Blows outs, flat tires for no reason, unable to balance or keep a balance they were all junk. As far as I am concerned stay as far away from Michelin as possible.

Strange how different users have different results.

Michelin is the best tires I have ever owned. Years of trouble free service, high mileage, excellent performance in all conditions.
I put them on and just drive. Minus 35C or plus 35C, dosen't matter, they just go and go and go. Current set has over 70,000 miles and still performing like a champ.
I won't buy anything but Michelin. They run circles around every other brand I have ever owned.

Possibly you just had one of those isolated bad experiences.

I agree with your comments on Michelin tires, Bob. I have always had very good experiences with them as well.

I actually just had a set of new Michelin LTX AT2 tires put on my truck this past Tuesday at Costco and the difference between them and the stock Generals that were on the truck is amazing; much smoother and no more vibration at highway speeds! They are also super quiet, which is great for an all terrain tire.

I would have gone with the MS2's or Defenders, but unfortunately Michelin doesn't make either in LT235/80R17 which is what my dually takes. I was going to go with LT245/75R17's which are made in those models, but I was getting flack from tire shops about mounting them on the 6" wide rims on my Ram (they're supposed to be mounted on 6 1/2" rims) so I stuck with the stock size tires.

And that’s why I wouldn’t buy a tire from Costco if I rolled up driving on 2 flats and 1 bare rim!
What you proposed is 1000% fine but the Costco drones won’t do it.
I actually don’t like Costco for mostly this reason, but I’m a sucker for a good deal, so I still shop there. Just got whiskey, scallops, some t shirts , shop towels and car wash soap yesterday. Thank god I didn’t need tires. Doubt they even carry 37x12.50s, lol.

I hear you, bud. And even though these Michelins are the same size as the Generals that the truck had new, they are noticeably narrower so now I wish I had gone with the 245's because they definitely would have worked. Another local tire guy was willing to mount 245's but said I may have a clearance problem between the rear tires, which now I see I wouldn't have.

The main reason I deal with Costco is because of price; we get ripped big time up here on tires. I would have visited my friends at Discount Tire in Burlington if the border was open and probably saved at least 30% over what it cost me here.

ShantiFei wrote:
Thanks for the tips.. I've been planning to get new tires at 4wheelonline to tow an RV. I'm thinking if Nitto Ridge Grappler will do the trick. But it would be great to see more ideas and suggestions with regards to towing from you guys.

Starting your own threadin beginning RV would be the best way for you to have your questions answered.

The tires on my GMC are stamped 1416 and they probably will last another 2 or 3 years on treadwear at least. Oh my God, they're 5 years and a month old. I had better rip them off and spend a grand before the Earth's rotation shifts, and we all go careening off into space. Nothing like living dangerously.

blofgren wrote:

BobsYourUncle wrote:

grizz272 wrote:
Every set of Michelin tires I had were junk! I will not run Michelin on anything i own. Blows outs, flat tires for no reason, unable to balance or keep a balance they were all junk. As far as I am concerned stay as far away from Michelin as possible.

Strange how different users have different results.

Michelin is the best tires I have ever owned. Years of trouble free service, high mileage, excellent performance in all conditions.
I put them on and just drive. Minus 35C or plus 35C, dosen't matter, they just go and go and go. Current set has over 70,000 miles and still performing like a champ.
I won't buy anything but Michelin. They run circles around every other brand I have ever owned.

Possibly you just had one of those isolated bad experiences.

I agree with your comments on Michelin tires, Bob. I have always had very good experiences with them as well.

I actually just had a set of new Michelin LTX AT2 tires put on my truck this past Tuesday at Costco and the difference between them and the stock Generals that were on the truck is amazing; much smoother and no more vibration at highway speeds! They are also super quiet, which is great for an all terrain tire.

I would have gone with the MS2's or Defenders, but unfortunately Michelin doesn't make either in LT235/80R17 which is what my dually takes. I was going to go with LT245/75R17's which are made in those models, but I was getting flack from tire shops about mounting them on the 6" wide rims on my Ram (they're supposed to be mounted on 6 1/2" rims) so I stuck with the stock size tires.

And that’s why I wouldn’t buy a tire from Costco if I rolled up driving on 2 flats and 1 bare rim!
What you proposed is 1000% fine but the Costco drones won’t do it.
I actually don’t like Costco for mostly this reason, but I’m a sucker for a good deal, so I still shop there. Just got whiskey, scallops, some t shirts , shop towels and car wash soap yesterday. Thank god I didn’t need tires. Doubt they even carry 37x12.50s, lol.