Tires

We have always heard that you should buy new tires for your motorhome/RV every 7 years regardless of the wear and tear. Ours are coming up on 7 years old but only have about 30,000 miles on them and look in good shape. Also when parked at home (which was an accumulated total of about 8 months each year) the tires have always been on concrete with tire covers on them, so we're wondering if those conditions could make a difference with the 7 years guideline. We don't want to take chances, but we would rather not replace tires that are still good. Do most of you follow the 7 years guideline?

 

We are in the same position as you are. We have just under 30,000 Miles and we too have them covered when parked. I have checked a lot of URLs, spoke to dealers and get different stories. Some say 6 to 7 years others others say up to 10 if they are good quality tires. We also have a spare that has never seen the light of day. I felt I could use it as new and only buy five. I was told that just having air in the tire causes decay and not to trust the spare.

I have decided that we will replace six tires as.....what are our lives worth? That being said, I am going to try to sell the old rubber including the spare. There still might be 4 years that someone can use up.

Darrell

 

Michelin recommends having the tires professionally inspected annually beginning at 5 years, and replaced at 10 years if no problems are found before then.

Michelin TB_Service_Life_RV_Tires.pdf

 

We replace our tires about every five to six years and inspect them regularly along the way for any signs of deterioration, cracking and tread wear. When the coach sits for more than a month I move it forwards or backwards about a foot so as not to have the tires flat spot. Also I keep the air pressure at our specified pressure at all times. All six are 14 ply but I have a different tread pattern on the front than on the back. Front is a "road tread" that is better suited to steering and handling, the rears area more of a gripping tread. I use those "bean bags" inside the tires for balancing purposes and they have worked great in that dept. and I highly recommend them.................

BankShot............(aka Terry)

 

Before we sold our travel trailer we replaced the tires when they were only 4 years old. There was about 20,000kms(12,000 mi)of use,but because they were manufactured in China we thought it would be a good idea to replace them. The tires themselves had plenty of tread left and I always maintained proper air pressure.

 

Thanks for all the great responses. I didn't mention it in my original post, but during the longer times the coach was parked, we would start it up and drive it around for a while which of course changed the position of the tires. And we kept the correct pressure in them. In other words I think we have done a lot to take care of the tires, but we can't do anything about the fact that they are almost 7 years old,

Currently we have Sumitomo tires and they have been fine. No problems. Does anyone know where these rank as far as quality, and what brands would you recommend?

Bankshot, you mentioned different treads which we will definitely look into when we eventually do buy new tires, but we are not familiar with the "bean bags" you talked about. Can you please tell a little more about them?

 

We've been running a pair of Hankook tires on our steer axle for the past couple of years and they have been far better than the Michelins they replaced and were only ~60% of the price. I've driven Hankooks on my cars for years and know they are well respected in the trucking field. When I replace my remaining Michelin's next year it will be with Hankooks. I'm talking about 22.5" tires for a Class A DP; I don't know if they make the smaller tires needed for a gas MH.

As for Sumitomo's that's the brand I'll be buying for my CR-V in a couple of months before we leave on our summer trip.

As for when to replace tires, IMHO people have taken that Michelin link noted above and have gone nearly crazy over it. Yes, it does say that at 10 years tires probably should be replaced, but it doesn't make any judgments about replacing before that point unless tires show signs of cracking, etc. If you're basing your replacement based on that document, why replace at 7 years? Why not replace at 5 which is when annual inspections are suggested? Micheln is hedging its legal position by issuing a statement which essentially says "we will only stand behind our product for 5 years; anything past that is on your watch." Personally, I think that how carefully you maintain inflation pressure will have as much or more impact on tire life than will age. Do you inflate for load using the tables provided by the tire manufacturer or are you one of those folks who inflates to maximum sidewall pressure?

 

The Michelin RV tire replacement guide is the only time based one that I know of. Goodyear's RV tire replacement guide is more generalized, although it does note that the more a tire is used, the longer it will last without weathering, etc., and that storage for more than 6 months is not good for the tire.

Goodyear Tire Replacement Guidelines and Sidewall Weathering

 

Uh-oh, we're in trouble then. Due to some unfortunate events that kept us from traveling, our coach has been sitting since last June (except for the times we just drove it around the neighborhood). Under the circumstances I think a professional inspection would be very prudent.

Joel, thanks for saying you are going to buy Sumitomos. That gives me confidence about their quality.

 

I agree, Tex. If the tires are more than a few years old anyway, I think I'd be more comfortable having a pro check them out before any extensive travel.

 

IMHO Michelin has done a good job of convincing many RVers that it is the "best" solution when, in fact, there are quite a few equally good brands. Michelin has built its reputation into a price premium which may or may not be justified.

 

I have been pricing tires and so far I have discovered that Michelin is less expensive than the Continentals that I have now. The Continentals are factory. They seem to be wearing very well but there is less than 30,000 M on them. I really can't complain about them but I have nothing to compare them to since they are the only tires that have been on the coach.

I have checked on line and there doesn't seem to be a strong consensus as to what is the best tire out there. In the past I have used Uniroyal, Michelin and Goodyear and Dunlops on light duty and passenger vehicles. The Goodyear Wranglers that came factory on my Jeep did not last long but gave me great traction off roading but so have the Michelins I have on now and are wearing very well. A set of Dunlops I bought were garbage. I never had a problem with the Uniroyals or Michelins before but reviews for the 19.5 Michelins I need for the coach were not all that good. I hear good things about Hankook. What can you tell me about the tires that you have on your rigs now? Are you happy with them?

Darrell

 

It was a long story but we needed to replace the steer tires a couple of years ago and the tire distributor said that Hankook's were the only tire he would recommend other than Michelin. We ended up getting Hankook AH12's, I believe, in a 275/70x22.5. They were 2/3 the cost of the Michelins and we are convinced they are quieter and better riding than the Michelin XZE2+ they replaced. When we replace the four on the drive axle we plan to buy Hankook.

I've had several sets of Hankooks on cars that we've owned and have had nothing but good experiences with them.

 

As a side note, Discount Tire will not warrantee, nor will they repair, a tire that is older than 6 years because of the time related deterioration of old tires. BE VERY careful after 5 years regardless of wear.

 

With all due respect this is not correct. The attached screenshot is from the Discount Tire website and it states that tires more than 10 years old won't be serviced.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The "bean bags" I referred to take the place of having lead weights put on the wheels. All they are is a small bag of plastic balls/beads that gets emptied into the tire as it's being mounted on the rim. Those beads spin around constantly while driving and keep the tires in balance. I was told that they are used by many truckers. We've used this method since day one and it really does work and saves taking the coach in to have the tires re-balanced every few thousand miles. I'm sure if you ask your tire shop about them they will know about them and probably even use them on large trucks and RVs. We've never had a problem with them and the tires stay in balance all the time. And in case yu are wondering, no, they make no noise on the road.............

I forgot to mention in my previous post that we have Toyo tires on the rear and Coopers as our steering tires and have had no problems with either brand...............

Regards, BankShot..................(aka Terry)

 

Nope. No bats in our belfry Paythebill.. We take them out of our attic and bring them with us on trips. We keep them in their own cubby space and only let them go out at dusk and only with their leashes on. We have just two, Hortense and Ossie but between them they really mess up that cubby with all their guano droppings. And guess who gets to clean up after them.............

BankShot...............(aka Terry)

 

Thanks for the info on the bean bags. We will look into that.

Also, Bankshot, since Paythebill is a relatively new member, you might want to tell him about the other critters you take on your trips, if you can remember all of them.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think they cost a bit more than using lead weights but you never have to have the tires balanced again which saves time and money in the long run...................

OMG no, I can;t do that. He already thinks I have bats in my belfry and if he found out about all our other pets it might scare him off to another RV review website..........

Regards, Terry.............(aka BankShot)