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Tires - The 10 Year Rule

KendallP
Explorer
Explorer
Hey gang,

Regarding big, DP tires...

I know most adhere to this rule and some prefer to replace tires within 7 years or so of date code. Others replace the steers every 5 and the drives every 10. Others still will have them all removed and the interiors inspected before giving up on them. Etc, etc...

I'm inclined to err on the side of caution, myself, but I'm curious to hear your thoughts. And to see if anything has changed in the last 5 years since this thread.

So given...

6 - Toyo M-154 265/75R22.5 tires with 10,000 miles

Installed March of '13, but approaching 10 years of date code

Babied and covered most of their lives, in beautiful (where visible) condition with no checks

Entire lives in Santa Cruz with a very mild climate. Last couple of years undriven and parked without the jacks down and uncovered with driver's side facing south (the sun... and Central California coastal fog)

On a Freightliner/Cat chassis running fairly close to GVWR / tire max

Replacement cost - $3,100

What would you do?


EDIT: Here's a good read posted by dougrainer 5 years ago. The study indicates 6 years is the maximum for safety. Though it appears to be general tire specific. No mention of commercial, one way or the other.

http://www.ntsb.gov/news/events/Documents/2014_Tire_Safety_SYM_Panel_4b_Kane.pdf

Also... some seem to indicate that commercial truck tires are more robust than RV tires, despite the size. I can say this... the Toyos are spec-ed at 99 lbs vs 90 for the OEM Michelins. All that said... they also undergo more severe punishment.
.
Cheers,
Kendall
33 REPLIES 33

mike_brez
Explorer
Explorer
My 10 year old Samsonโ€™s. Kinda looks like a sign post.
Big Bang at 65mph no damage inside rear passenger dual.

1998 36 foot Country Coach Magna #5499 Single slide
Gillig chassis with a series 40
02 Ford F250 7.3 with a few mods
2015 Wrangler JKU

larry_barnhart
Explorer
Explorer
I just help a class C owner level his rv. Older and they were young so I told him I don't know what you know so I want to help by telling you are so out of level I can't believe you can stand it that way. After we fixed the issue I told him about old tires and he said the fronts are new. Date was 3318 so I explained how I buy tires to get as fresh as possible and never had any tire issues since we started in 1996. never went over 5 years. chevman
chevman
2019 rockwood 34 ft fifth wheel sold
2005 3500 2wd duramax CC dually
prodigy



KSH 55 inbed fuel tank

scanguage II
TD-EOC
Induction Overhaul Kit
TST tire monitors
FMCA # F479110

crawford
Explorer
Explorer
Desert Captain wrote:
"The one thing that has yet to be mentioned is locale. Heat, in the form of ambient temperature, plays a HUGE role in how long tires last. Obviously tires operating around Phoenix experience a lot more heat history that tires operating around Minneapolis. So if you live and/or operate in the desert SW, you need to use a more rapid replacement schedule than someone living/operating in the northern midwest."

Actually I brought this up back on the second page of this discussion, just sayin...

"Admittedly Arizona is a tough environment on all tires but these had been meticulously maintained and always run at the correct psi for the loads they carried. Obviously opinions vary but IMHO if your tires are over 5 years old you are rolling the dice... place your bets."

Clearly we agree. I have spent long days driving in 112 - 115 degrees and cannot even imagine just how hot the road surface actually is. Conversely as winter appears ready to pounce early this year freezing temperatures, snow and ice are all too common throughout most of Arizona {the average elevation of Arizona is north of 4,000' and we have lots of 9,000'+ passes to negotiate}.

The truth is in the real world there is no arbitrary ten, seven or even five year rule per se. One must always take into consideration not only how but where your tires are being used and then decide, as in "Do ya feel lucky punk? Well ,do ya???" :S

Here is a shot of us in the "Dead Zone" 30 miles west of Phoenix on I-10:





This is the reason I go rid of my C Class 16 in LT tires do not belong on those rigs ........

:B
Change from a c class to a A class Georgetown 07 triple slide

KendallP
Explorer
Explorer
For the record, the rig now has 6 new Toyo M-154s. Date codes around 4 months ago.
Cheers,
Kendall

KendallP
Explorer
Explorer
CapriRacer wrote:
The one thing that has yet to be mentioned is locale. Heat, in the form of ambient temperature, plays a HUGE role in how long tires last. Obviously tires operating around Phoenix experience a lot more heat history that tires operating around Minneapolis. So if you live and/or operate in the desert SW, you need to use a more rapid replacement schedule than someone living/operating in the northern midwest.

And why don't today's tires last longer?

1) Law of Physics (and Chemistry) don't change over time.
2) They didn't, but we have the Internet today and that changes how people perceive things.
3) Then there is this odd thing that our brains do: We think the Good-Old-Days(TM) were better - somehow. Actual statistics don't bear this out.

I think he meant that tire technology has improved and tires last longer than they did in those days of yore.

Also... this from the OP...

"Babied and covered most of their lives, in beautiful (where visible) condition with no checks

Entire lives in Santa Cruz with a very mild climate. Last couple of years undriven and parked without the jacks down and uncovered with driver's side facing south (the sun... and Central California coastal fog)"
Cheers,
Kendall

Desert_Captain
Explorer II
Explorer II
"The one thing that has yet to be mentioned is locale. Heat, in the form of ambient temperature, plays a HUGE role in how long tires last. Obviously tires operating around Phoenix experience a lot more heat history that tires operating around Minneapolis. So if you live and/or operate in the desert SW, you need to use a more rapid replacement schedule than someone living/operating in the northern midwest."

Actually I brought this up back on the second page of this discussion, just sayin...

"Admittedly Arizona is a tough environment on all tires but these had been meticulously maintained and always run at the correct psi for the loads they carried. Obviously opinions vary but IMHO if your tires are over 5 years old you are rolling the dice... place your bets."

Clearly we agree. I have spent long days driving in 112 - 115 degrees and cannot even imagine just how hot the road surface actually is. Conversely as winter appears ready to pounce early this year freezing temperatures, snow and ice are all too common throughout most of Arizona {the average elevation of Arizona is north of 4,000' and we have lots of 9,000'+ passes to negotiate}.

The truth is in the real world there is no arbitrary ten, seven or even five year rule per se. One must always take into consideration not only how but where your tires are being used and then decide, as in "Do ya feel lucky punk? Well ,do ya???" :S

Here is a shot of us in the "Dead Zone" 30 miles west of Phoenix on I-10:






:B

wa8yxm
Explorer III
Explorer III
LandYacht35diesel wrote:
DOESNT the speed of what you cruise at AND PROPER air pressures determine much of this ?

"

under/over inflation reduces tire life.
Excess speed likewise
But none of this has anything to do with the age rules. which may be 10 or less (one state law is 8 years I'm told but have not verified)
Home was where I park it. but alas the.
2005 Damon Intruder 377 Alas declared a total loss
after a semi "nicked" it. Still have the radios
Kenwood TS-2000, ICOM ID-5100, ID-51A+2, ID-880 REF030C most times

CapriRacer
Explorer II
Explorer II
LandYacht35diesel wrote:
DOESNT the speed of what you cruise at AND PROPER air pressures determine much of this ?

And OTHER THINGS to consider is ... that all this is just a tire company GAME to sell more tires. AND WHY ... donโ€™t tires last way WAY longer than the yesterYEAR ones did ?


Yes, there are a lot of variables when it comes to tire aging - operating speed and inflation pressure among them.

The one thing that has yet to be mentioned is locale. Heat, in the form of ambient temperature, plays a HUGE role in how long tires last. Obviously tires operating around Phoenix experience a lot more heat history that tires operating around Minneapolis. So if you live and/or operate in the desert SW, you need to use a more rapid replacement schedule than someone living/operating in the northern midwest.

And why don't today's tires last longer?

1) Law of Physics (and Chemistry) don't change over time.
2) They didn't, but we have the Internet today and that changes how people perceive things.
3) Then there is this odd thing that our brains do: We think the Good-Old-Days(TM) were better - somehow. Actual statistics don't bear this out.
********************************************************************

CapriRacer

Visit my web site: www.BarrysTireTech.com

LandYacht35dies
Explorer
Explorer
DOESNT the speed of what you cruise at AND PROPER air pressures determine much of this ?

And OTHER THINGS to consider is ... that all this is just a tire company GAME to sell more tires. AND WHY ... donโ€™t tires last way WAY longer than the yesterYEAR ones did ?

dougrainer
Nomad
Nomad
Years ago, a retired Tire Engineer from I believe Goodyear used to give Tire seminars at FMCA and Good Sam rally's. He used a Potato salad analogy to let people determine how good a tire looks versus its age or mileage(lack of mileage) I will Readers Digest the tale
1. Wife makes the Potato salad for a large Family gathering and puts it out that mid morning ON A WARM DAY.
2. Later that evening Wife tells Husband to put Salad in refer
3. Husband forgets
4. The next morning Husband walks out and sees the Potato salad and realizes he is in deep trouble with wife
5. He covers the Salad and puts it back in the refer and tells no one.
6. WOULD ANY NORMAL PERSON THEN EAT THE POTATO SALAD?????????
7. SAME with Tires that show no deterioation but are old and have very few miles

KendallP
Explorer
Explorer
Desert Captain wrote:
One salient fact that I inadvertently omitted was that I consistently put 8 to 9,000 miles a year on our coach. That means at 5 years I have 40,000+ miles on those tires and it is clearly time to start shopping for replacements. As noted above folks that don't use their rigs much, that spend most of their time sitting only exacerbate the potential for catastrophic tire failure {such as I experienced} due to the the low use tires "drying out"{for lack of a better description}.

Yeah, I gathered that since you had such little tread left. I definitely envy you for that kind of RV mileage. Hopefully I'll be able to do the same someday.

And now you bring to mind another thought...

If tires spend most of their lives in a foggy place like Santa Cruz, will they dry out as quickly as those who spend their lives in Yuma?

It's an interesting thought, but I'm in agreement. I don't want my family to be the beta tester for such a theory.

It will be interesting to see what those 9+ year-old Toyos look like on the inside when they're replaced.
Cheers,
Kendall

Desert_Captain
Explorer II
Explorer II
KendallP wrote:
Desert Captain wrote:
"So your codes showed 5.5 years at the time of the incident? Or...? "

Yes, the three oldest were all 5.5 years old with 4/32" of tread and looked fine and all three were on the rear. I normally start shopping at five years but as noted, my bad, just lost track of how old they were getting. When I buy new tires I always have them put on the front and rotate the fronts to the rear. As noted in a subsequent post losing a rear is bad but a blowout on one of the fronts has a lot more potential for disaster.

:C

Roger that.

I didn't realize you had already been on a 5 year maximum plan. I thought you started that subsequent to your incident.

Seems like you're giving yourself a pretty good beating when most don't replace tires earlier than 6 or 7 years... and many go to 10... and some even longer.

If anything, a blowout at 5 1/2 years would make me question the tire quality much more than my change-out plan.




One salient fact that I inadvertently omitted was that I consistently put 8 to 9,000 miles a year on our coach. That means at 5 years I have 40,000+ miles on those tires and it is clearly time to start shopping for replacements. As noted above folks that don't use their rigs much, that spend most of their time sitting only exacerbate the potential for catastrophic tire failure {such as I experienced} due to the the low use tires "drying out"{for lack of a better description}.

I have always been a Michelin guy and while they are a bit more money tires are simply not where I want to be thrifty. My tires have always worn evenly and gotten me 40,000 mile {+/-} with a quality ride and handling. My coach has not been aligned since it left the factory in 2012,{that is the last stop on the Nexus production line} but now after 69K+ miles I am seeing a slight bit of outside edge wear on the front right. I'll be taking it in soon to have the alignment checked and adjusted as necessary.

IMHO: if you consistently get 40k miles out of a set of motorhome tires on a coach that is used on a regular basis you're doing more right than wrong. The original point being that RV tires are far more likely to time out than wear out regardless of they "look".

As always... Opinions and YMMV.

:C

Bruce_Brown
Moderator
Moderator
^^^ We went 9 years on our last set, but our MH is garage kept. The tires never see the sun unless we're using it, and there is a vapor barrier under the concrete it's parked on.
There are 24 hours in every day - it all depends on how you choose to use them.
Bruce & Jill Brown
2008 Kountry Star Pusher 3910

mountainkowboy
Explorer
Explorer
6 years is my timed out, they're hard as a rock by then and ride horrible.
Chuck & Ruth with 4-legged Molly
2007 Tiffin Allegro 30DA
2011 Ford Ranger
1987 HD FLHTP