My Barth has 245/75 R 22.5 tires and they are 10 yrs old on the front and 14 on the duel backs. They do not show any sign of dry rot and only have about 15K miles on them.

I am familiar with the general topic of rubber aging(as it applies to car tires) but wonder if the big truck tires are constructed stronger and off set the general age concept of about 10 yrs safe life.

I have researched the forum history on this topic and most folks say no more than 10 yrs but there are not many facts out there --- just opinions.

How long will a big truck tire last on an RV with low miles?

Michelin on RV tires

http://www.michelinrvtires.com...nties-and-bulletins/

read: Service Life for RV/Motorhome Tires

As you have found, there is much variation from one source to another on tire age.

The tires guys will always lowball, wanting to sell you another set of tires… they say 6-7 years!

Most people get nervous at about 10 years but I have seen tires twice that old around here that looked good and held air. I believe that a lot has to do with exposure to sun, heat and ozone, also flat spots when sitting too long. Also, load and inflation are important.

So, tires that never see the sun or high temperatures, don't get overloaded, and driven regularly may last a long time. OTOH, tires that run heavily loaded, get exposure to sun, ozone and high heat, and irregular use may be bad in 5 years.

I guess it comes down to how nervous you are about losing a tire underway. Even if the coach doesn't roll or end up in a ditch, the tire can do serious damage to the wheel well area. I have seen wiring torn out, brake lines broken, gas tanks and filler necks smashed as well as mud flaps and wheel wells torn apart.

The last tires I replaced on my coach were 11 years old, looked good, no checking, lots of tread. I gave them to a farmer friend who uses them on a potato wagon that never goes over 20 mph. He has some tires that are over 25 years old, he runs them until they won't hold air.

The commercial big trucks run many miles a year, usually wear them out way before they get very old. They can get them regrooved or retreaded if the tires are not too old.

Motorhome tires almost never get run out, majority are replaced with less than 50% tread gone.

Not really a good answer, but there are so many variables it is tough to find a single answer. Keep us posted.

Ok, one of the problems in growing old is we aquire knowledge or rumors which we change into knowledge as we forget the source and treat it as fact. Anyway this is my disclaimer.

Natural rubber will outlast synthetic rubber.

Asian mfgers use more natural rubber. Therefore, Japanese, Korean, and yes even Chinese will outlast US and European brands.

Only two brands have I had problems with. Goodyear cupping and Michilan rotting.

Here in FL, I give mine 8 years due to the Sun's UV.

I live a little further south (in Florida)than Rusty and I agree with him 100% To add to the effects of the sun & heat, I get a new battery for my car every three years almost to the exact date. .......Carl

johnrobinlee@homesc.com
We would like to share a recent experience while returning home from an 1000 mile road trip to the Outer Banks. We were 30 miles from home when we heard an explosion. Oil and temperature were good and then I noticed in the rear view mirror sheet metal that had been blown out. We immediately pulled over thinking that a house battery had exploded until further inspection found a blown tire on the drivers side rear inside. The battery compartment door was blown all the way across the highway along with the mud flap and some sheet metal. The repair cost us over $1000 and prevented us from making it home that night.
There are Michelins on the coach. Early this year we had 2 new Michelins XZA3+ installed on the front for piece of mind and had all 4 rear tires removed from the rim and inspected.
They are 8 years old. The dealer said that the tires looked in excellent shape and he would had no problem running them. Our plan were to buy new rear tires in early 2016. I was aware of Michelins recommendations for yearly inspections not to exceed 10 years.
In hindsight there is to much riding on old tires and the coach will have new XZA3+ on the rear before our next road trip. They have a 7 year warranty.
It could of been much worst.
I tried to attach a picture of the damage. If you can't view the photo please email me and I will be glad to send it to you directly.
It is amazing what a 275/80/22.5 tire at 105 psig can do.

John and Robin Lee
Jamestown, SC
1989 Regency
36RDG-C1

No one manufacturer can claim solid reliability. I had 3 Continental radials suffer belt separation on a M-B 220Seb. My diesel Maxima went through 7 Michelins. A company Mercury Monarch went through 5 Goodyears. My 1T Ford van had 3 Bridgestones replaced, as did my Lexus LS 400, for belt separation. I've had 3 Bridgestone blowouts on the Barth in the past 2 years. I earlier replaced the Kelly steer tires on the Barth due to blistering. The replacement Wan-Lis were replaced by Goodyears due to belt separation.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve VW:

I guess it comes down to how nervous you are about losing a tire underway. Even if the coach doesn't roll or end up in a ditch, the tire can do serious damage to the wheel well area. I have seen wiring torn out, brake lines broken, gas tanks and filler necks smashed as well as mud flaps and wheel wells torn apart.

Living proof of the real cost of tire failure. I am glad it wasn't worse. It sounds like you did your homework, inspections, etc still no guarantee. Looks like 7-8 years may be all we get. Thanks for getting the word out. Take care.

As a word of caution tires always need to be properly inflated. Running low can cause internal damage and a blowout, also "curbing" aka dragging alongside a curb weakens the sidewall.
Check tire pressure COLD before taking off.
And there are nails, screws ...

Rusty, you have had TERRIBLE luck with tires!!!
While I have experienced fewer failures than you, I have been paying Discount Tire for road hazard protection. have had several screws, nails and other pieces of metal in auto tires too close to the sidewall. With one Conti run-flat, Discount said they were not allowed to fix them. Fortunately, a local independent shop did. In that case, the puncture was not near the sidewall, simply in a run-flat tire.

In the process of looking for these tires, I have run across a couple of other interesting topics:

- Sumitomo tires are popular around here and the company is home based in Japan. $300 ea gets them mounted with tax but not balanced.

- Balancing by putting a 'bag of beads' inside the tire at mounting for about $10 ea. This method is popular around here due to many log trucks and not many facilities to handle machine balancing.

Has anyone experienced this method of balancing? I have never heard of it until now.
Never heard of Sumitomo tires either.

I am in the process of balancing my rig. I was skeptical of the bag of beads, some say they are OK but I went with the Centramatics on the rear duals.

See here: https://www.barthmobile.com/eve...061/m/2343963687/p/1

quote:

Originally posted by Mogan David:
Rusty, you have had TERRIBLE luck with tires!!!
While I have experienced fewer failures than you, I have been paying Discount Tire for road hazard protection. have had several screws, nails and other pieces of metal in auto tires too close to the sidewall. With one Conti run-flat, Discount said they were not allowed to fix them. Fortunately, a local independent shop did. In that case, the puncture was not near the sidewall, simply in a run-flat tire.

The former owner of the tire store I deal with is a close friend, and I have a sturdy friendship with the current owner. All the tires on the Lexus and Ford van were adjusted well in my favor. The Bridgestones on the Barth were discarded.

Finally got my new "shoes" installed and was sick to find that the old Goodyears looked great. No dry rot cracking or other signs of failure but at least I feel safer.

I will try to sell them on Craigslist --- found out they will fit many 'low boy' trailers that are used to haul heavy equipment.