Would like advice. The Goodyear 670s on Old Blue are 8+ years old. It's always been kept inside and exercised maybe 3 or 4 times a year. We have used the motor home very little since the tires were bought, one trip to DC,one to Indiana, one to Chatanooga, one to Atlanta and a few to Townsend in the Smoky Mtns. There is no checking or dry rot that I can see, even with a magnifying glass. Spending $2500 on something that is not used much is going to be a hard decision. We would definitely do it before any long trip, but what do you all think about short trips like 100 miles each way? Don't be afraid to voice your opinions. I take advice pretty well. BTW, if you would rather not put your opinion in the public forum, please send me a PM.
Jim

Mileage and appearance don't matter, age does and I would never risk running on tires that old.

I replaced the tires on the van last month, and felt I'd been walking the edge at 8 years.

Here is Michelins PDF on RV tires:

http://www.michelinrvtires.com.../RVTiresBrochure.pdf

How long the coach sits without moving means more than miles or age. A weekly drive keeps tires nicely blooming, and avoids the stress of sitting with the same spot on the sidewall being distorted.

I wipe mine down every so often with BFG Age Master, too. back in the days of rubber de icer boots on airplanes, I got a real education on what it can do for rubber.

I think it has a lot to do with climate: temperature and UV are the enemies. Florida, Texas, etc are hard on tires just sitting around.

I have seen tires in the snow country that were 20 years old and still looked good, no checks, etc. (Not saying they are safe, deterioration is hard to judge.)

I take no chances with front tires. Rear tires (4 per axle, or tag axles) won't necessarily put you in the ditch. OTH, if the belt flops around it will trash the wheel wells.

How's that for wishy washy?

I've always been on the other side of the fence on this one. I have a very good friend who owned the biggest chain of tire stores in Connecticut, and he said the 6 year rule is great, for the dealers. He trained every salesman to preach it. Otherwise how would you ever sell tires to RV owners. If you have enough money to buy new tires, do it. My tires look like brand new, have always been covered and turned regularly, and I'm not going to drop 2400 bucks just because someone says they're old. But then, I've always lived dangerously in some peoples mind. If I happen to blow a tire, I'll let you know.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve VW:

I take no chances with front tires.

How's that for wishy washy?

Well-reasoned. Same here. I even had my oldest tires on the tag axle for a while. They were removed from the front, but were OK in back with the light load on the tag axle.

Well, reluctantly, I guess we need new tires. 8 1/2 years is pushing the limit.
Based on research here, we will go with Bridgestone. The question is, which Bridgestone? They don't show an RV tire on their website. It's Sunday so there's no one at Bridgestone I can call.
I guess the original tires on Old Blue were 8/R19.5 and as such, a little taller than metric. Should we try to find the 8/19.5?

I have Bridgestone (Japan) 8R19.5 R18 187's on the rear. No issues. They're about 4 years old.

I cap tire's age at 7 years; I have yet to figure out a positive aspect of a blowout.

Bridgestone 8 R 19.5s all around, and never had a problem. Maybe a tad noisy on certain surfaces, but our coach isn't a Rolls.

My 'stones on the back wheels still look good after 10 years. They will be swapped out soon, but have no signs of sidewall checking or tread damage (much less wear!) They have only about 15,000 miles on them. Tag axle tires are 4 years old.

Swapped the front ones at 8 years, about 10,000 miles. No sidewall chalking or cracks, insides are pristine.

Shop around you can get Bridgestones under 300 each. Hard to beat.

The Tire Rack has quoted me $1664.28 for 6 Bridgestone 8R19.5 R187 tires, delivered to my installer in Knoxville, TN. This seems like a reasonable price to me. Only negative is that they cannot guarantee when they were made. The 8 that they have in stock were probably made in the 50th week of 2012. They were made in Japan. The installer will charge about $25/tire to spin balance and install them. I've used this installer before and they did an excellent job. What do you all think?
Jim

That is about what I paid for the 2 front ones last summer. Checked on the web, found out Sears had them on sale for $249 free shipping! Imagine their surprise when Liz showed up to get them in her Prius!

Local guys mounted and balanced for $25 each. I put them on the coach since I had it jacked up to check wheel bearings.

Date codes show a little over 1 yr old when I got them... shipping from Japan I guess? Not sure where to get "fresh" ones..

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:
How long the coach sits without moving means more than miles or age. A weekly drive keeps tires nicely blooming, and avoids the stress of sitting with the same spot on the sidewall being distorted.

I wipe mine down every so often with BFG Age Master, too. back in the days of rubber de icer boots on airplanes, I got a real education on what it can do for rubber.

Where do you get that product???