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Old 04-28-2013, 04:52 PM   #1
coop
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Tire protection while parked and not in use

We have a Keystone Cougar Xlite 21RBS, we purchased it last fall. One of the issues we had with our previous TT was premature tire Deterioration. With that one we were told to park the tires on something to keep them off the ground. This year we used leveler blocks but would like a better solution. Any thoughts or tips?
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Old 04-28-2013, 04:58 PM   #2
Festus2
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You might want to buy 4 TT tire covers and place them over your tires when the unit is just sitting. They help reduce UV rays and heat both of which are not conducive to tire longevity.

I'm not sure whether having the tires rest on wood or plastic rather than on concrete, pavement or the ground makes any difference. Anyone have any evidence that it does?
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Old 04-28-2013, 05:04 PM   #3
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Other than maybe the heat from the concrete transfering to the tire I have never heard of that before. Maybe someone else might know. I agree about tire covers though, that should help quite a bit.

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Old 04-28-2013, 05:14 PM   #4
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I've read that letting a trailer sit on concrete for long periods of time (months+) is not a good idea because some of the essential oils can be leached out of the tires by the pavement. The remedy is to just park it on boards. Is this totally true? Hard to say. If you search the net, you'll find all kinds of answers. When we parked our last trailer for the winter each year on a concrete pad, I always drove the four wheels up on boards. It didn't hurt anything, and the tires lasted quite a few years.

More verifiable is the damage from UV to tires that sit in the sun day after day. Tire covers of some kind are essential, especially if there's direct sunlight on one side or the other. I made up a piece of plywood to cover the tandems on one side of the trailer. The other side was always stored where the sun could not reach it. Where we store the Cougar now, the sun can't reach either side so I don't cover them. Interestingly, the opposing slides completely protect both sides of the trailer when we're actually using it so the sun rarely shines directly on the tires.
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Old 04-28-2013, 05:36 PM   #5
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Ours (Sunline) is garaged when not out camping. Our new Cougar 31RKS will be garaged as well. A critical measurement I had was the height clearance into the garage and the height of the Cougar. I have 4 inches to spare. I park it on two plywood strips so the tires are off the concrete.

Probably will get disagreement on this but my experience is that chinese rubber will deteriorate far faster under UV exposure than USA made rubber. That is true for more than tires.
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Old 04-28-2013, 05:46 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bugle Boy View Post
Ours (Sunline) is garaged when not out camping. Our new Cougar 31RKS will be garaged as well. A critical measurement I had was the height clearance into the garage and the height of the Cougar. I have 4 inches to spare. I park it on two plywood strips so the tires are off the concrete.

Probably will get disagreement on this but my experience is that chinese rubber will deteriorate far faster under UV exposure than USA made rubber. That is true for more than tires.
As much as I hate Chinese tires I have to disagree with that statement. One of the reasons for using ST tires is the additives they contain that prevent UV damage. LT tires do not have as much of these additives. Also tires can be affected by UV even if not in direct sunlight so it's easier to cover them.
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Old 04-28-2013, 07:09 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bugle Boy View Post

Probably will get disagreement on this but my experience is that chinese rubber will deteriorate far faster under UV exposure than USA made rubber. That is true for more than tires.
I am also very skeptical of this statement since you offer no proof other than "your experience" that Chinese rubber will deteriorate far faster under UV exposure than USA made rubber. Do you have any data from any comparative studies or tests that have been conducted on the effects of UV rays on tires that I can refer to that will verify what you stated is factual.
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Old 04-29-2013, 08:40 AM   #8
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Tire Protection

I appreciate all the feedback, we did start using tire covers last fall, the tire dealer where we bought our replacement tires recommended that, the parking on something other than the ground I wasn't sure of.

thanks
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Old 04-29-2013, 08:57 AM   #9
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I'm sorry... I just got to ask??????

Y'all cover your TV tires and park it up on boards every day... seems like a lot of work to me...

Over the years I've noticed that tire of all makes and sizes seem to last about 5 years before they start cracking from exposure... Some a bit less and some a bit more... but generally if I don't wear them out first I end up replacing them in about 5 years... and it don't seem to matter that much where I store them...
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Old 04-29-2013, 09:16 AM   #10
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Javi -

When we are not out camping and our RV is sitting parked at home, I put covers on two of the wheels which face the sun - when it makes its rare appearance. Take a couple of minutes. When backing into our side driveway, I back onto 2 long, wooden 2x10's. The boards just sit there and I back onto them. Takes no additional time or work.
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