RV tires interesting aging

[wander2039]

Finally got a camera good enough to take these pic's. Bought the RV with 26k in June 13 and now has 33k. Looked like this then and nothing has changed or got worse. The crack on the back one hasn't changed and I'm sure the roughness is due to hitting curb's. The driver's rear was perfect till I hit a curb due to construction in LA now it looks the same as the passenger. The inner duals look the same though and that shouldn't be sun damage. They're 08's Firestone Transforce HT's Load Range D with unknown mileage. I'd say they were new when the previous owner bought it from the original, she only put 1k in a year on it by the title. They've been covered when unused since I bought it probably why it hasn't changed. I know I should probably change them but thinking I bet they'll last till 2016 which they should be changed out regardless. Only drive 65 or less which I know doesn't mean much. Undecided on what I'll go with.. these are some smooth riding tires but they're D's which most are E's now days. Back's

 

[stockrex]

my honda truck tires look worse and are going strong, they are from 2006

 

[Rand]

Those don't look bad at all. of course you cant determine the health of the whole tire by looking at the outside. Check back about 2016 as you said. Although I would inspect for bulges etc before any long trips.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: stockrex

my honda truck tires look worse and are going strong, they are from 2006

Off topic, but the mileage on your cars is extremely low. Do they get driven or you work from home? There's no way I'd buy a newer car (or new) if it's barely going to be driven. Lol

 

[wander2039]

The tires get inspected and pressure checked before each trip, and depending on if the wife and kids drive me nuts a couple times during trips! 2016 hopefully will be our Alaska trip so they'll be replaced regardless. First tires I've seen do this so good to know there's others that look similar.

 

[hattaresguy]

My uncle had a steer wheel blow out on his motor home. He bought it new but didn't realize that while the body itself was new the chassis was about 3 years older. I guess a lot of companies buy coach bus chassis in bulk and they build them out as they get orders over the next few years, than the motor homes are titled as they year they are built. Kind of like how cars used be be built in the 20's and 30's. So anyway his at the time 9 year old steer tire blew out in FL, he lost control and drove the motor home off I95, totaling it. What kind of tires are those? His were regular Michelin OTR truck tires. Typically smaller motor homes built on say E350 platforms for example are usually always over loaded, so the tires take a beating. I'd change out the tires.

 

[wander2039]

Was his a Class A? They have different handling characteristics versus the Class C's. Would be easier to control with the C but not by much. I've thought about doing just the front's due to that and keep the old for the back in case of a blowout.

 

[stockrex]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994

Originally Posted By: stockrex

my honda truck tires look worse and are going strong, they are from 2006

Off topic, but the mileage on your cars is extremely low. Do they get driven or you work from home? There's no way I'd buy a newer car (or new) if it's barely going to be driven. Lol

I need to update miles on my sig, but you are correct, low miles overall, I used to drive 50k miles a year when my parents lived in Toronto and I had the great lakes area to cover. my ridgeline has 30k now, drove it few times for work trips to east coast. I will never buy anything but new cars for my primary transport, even that is costing me time now as I have a leak in my ridgeline and found a a/c leak in my fit. sorry OP, back on topic, I will take pic of my Michelins, these had the factory defect that caused premature cracking. make sure you tires has proper air and when in doubt replace the tire. make sure you inspect BOTH sides of the tire, you might have a tear/wear on the inside. I stick my phone camera on video and take a quick video of hard to reach places and use it to inspect the tire.

 

[datech]

I had a tire blow out on a Uhaul but no wonder... there was a foot long patch of bare metal cord showing. The guy told me they run those things into the ground, no matter of the damamge it could cause.

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted By: datech

I had a tire blow out on a Uhaul but no wonder... there was a foot long patch of bare metal cord showing. The guy told me they run those things into the ground, no matter of the damamge it could cause.

I bet he gave discounts on one-way rentals.

 

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: Eric Smith

Was his a Class A? They have different handling characteristics versus the Class C's. Would be easier to control with the C but not by much. I've thought about doing just the front's due to that and keep the old for the back in case of a blowout.

I don't know the class's it was a custom build on a coach bus chassis with a pusher motor, I think it was a Cat around 500hp. The tires were full size OTR truck tires, air brakes, air suspension etc.

 

[Ken2]

There are preservative chemicals blended into the tire rubber. Rolling along the highway brings these to the surface. When the tires sat, even covered, these chemicals on the surface became depleted. Capri Racer would know if these tires remain relatively safe. Very important point above about overloading RVs. Always keep in mind that RVs are made as cheaply as they can usually get away with. It is very smart to weigh all four corners individually, with the tanks full and the rig loaded for a trip, and be sure your tires have an adequate safety margin. Going up a Load Range is probably wise, and perhaps going up one size might be needed. Check that the wheels can handle the higher inflation pressure of Load Range E tires.

 

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted By: Ken2

.......Capri Racer would know if these tires remain relatively safe.....

What I find interesting is that the photos at the beginning of this thread show different conditions. The first photo is weather cracking (slight). The second is is a crack between junctions (that one needs to be replaced fairly soon.). The third is curb abrasion. The 4th one is weather cracking - slight to moderate. The 5th one is ...... well, the only thing I see is stress marks at the bottom of the grooves. They aren't even cracks yet. I think this points out how the average guy doesn't have enough expertise to judge these things. I'll go so far as to say that half of the folks working in tire shops don't have the expertise as well.

Originally Posted By: Ken2

.......Very important point above about overloading RVs. Always keep in mind that RVs are made as cheaply as they can usually get away with. It is very smart to weigh all four corners individually, with the tanks full and the rig loaded for a trip, and be sure your tires have an adequate safety margin. Going up a Load Range is probably wise, and perhaps going up one size might be needed. Check that the wheels can handle the higher inflation pressure of Load Range E tires.

I don't quite understand it, but the RV industry has been very slow to react to the Ford / Firestone thing a few years back. Those RV manufacturers that take a chassis and convert it, benefited from the upgrades the chassis manufacturer did (that would be GM, Ford, etc.). Those RV manufacturers that are using bus based chassis benefited as well. But the guys building from scratch - like trailers - haven't seemed to gotten on board with the idea that the GVW of the trailer needs to be checked to see how people are using these things. Weighings have indicated that many are overloaded. Further, they haven't incorporated a reserve capacity in their tires. They are running them at nearly 100% - not a good plan! So, yes, weigh your RV: tire by tire, if possible. If not possible, account for side to side and front to rear loading variation. And I like to use an 85% rule - that is no tire should be run at more than 85% of its rated capacity.