Should I replace?

[Lost]

I have a 2012 unit. Only put 200 miles a year on the unit so thats 3,000 miles max. The tread is great and there is no cracking anywere on the tires. So should I replace them?

[Essvar]

Originally Posted by Lost

I have a 2012 unit. Only put 200 miles a year on the unit so thats 3,000 miles max. The tread is great and there is no cracking anywere on the tires. So should I replace them?

I'll push the limits of just about everything... except tires.



When in doubt, change them out.

[notanlines]

Look on the sidewall and give the born on date. It will be a four digit number inside an oval usually.

[wiredgeorge]

Oval has four numbers MMYY. If your manufacture date > 4 years, REPLACE.

[Lost]

i have st235/80r16 LR E

[notanlines]

Brands generally regarded as quality on this site are Sailun, Maxxis, Carlisle, and Endurance.

[jasin1]

Tire failures on fifth wheels don’t resemble what your used to with a car or truck…it’s often times a violent chain of events that rips the darco and coroplast and takes out pieces of the lower sidewall trim (skirting)and wheel well trim pieces…you could spend many times more for the repair and still have to replace the tires…of course insurance should cover that but who wants to go through all of that trouble.

[dutchmensport]

I have Hercules tires on my fifth wheel. I'm very pleased with them.

[SargeW]

Trust me, you will spend a lot less on new tires than repairing the damage when one blows out and takes out the skirting, wiring, and any other cables running through that area. I know from experience. Twice.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by SargeW

Trust me, you will spend a lot less on new tires than repairing the damage when one blows out and takes out the skirting, wiring, and any other cables running through that area. I know from experience. Twice.

Skirting!…that’s the word i was looking for..thanks

[JRTJH]

Nearly all RV tires are manufactured with either polyester or nylon cord construction. BOTH of those materials are affected both by moisture and by heat. Over a period of 10 years, that "corded material that holds the tires together" has dry rotted, melted, molded and rendered itself unable to reliably support the weight placed on the tires by the trailer.

It doesn't matter how good the tread looks or whether the sidewalls are "cracked and worn" or "pristine and look like new"... What matters is that the parts of the tire that you can't see are "aged out and no longer reliable"....

[GilaElkHunter]

Tire shops in my area now days will not even fix a flat on a tire that is over 5 years old. You might as well replace them.

[rhagfo]

Well with a GVWR of 12,480#, you might consider LT235/85-16 E tires. Our 2005 Copper Canyon came from the factory with LT tires, they were 12 years old when I replaced them with another set of LT tires. Yes, weight rating is less than their ST counterparts, but the same quality tire you run on the TV, would you want to run ST tires on your TV??

[Gary R.]

I selected Sailun steel radials for our Alpine, and they are very good tires, IMHO.

They are now five years old, even though there is no visible cracking, I am going to replace them before travelling this summer.

Expensive, yes, but still less expensive that fixing all the stuff a blowout can damage.

[GaryUT]

Originally Posted by Lost

I have a 2012 unit. Only put 200 miles a year on the unit so thats 3,000 miles max. The tread is great and there is no cracking anywere on the tires. So should I replace them?

Last year I had a blowout do $1600 in damages to our fifth wheel. The tire was just over 4 years old. They had 6300 miles on them. They were the OEM tires.

I replaced all 5, and went up one load range.

Trailer tires do not wear out, they age out. 4 years is max for a good name brand tire.


Gary

[Bill-2020]

when you replace the four, replace the spare as well.

[Lost]

Called Discount Tires... They told me Goodyear tires are the best? Expensive but i'm ok with that if there good. $1,200 for 4 tires with the tire air pressure sensor's and programing the truck for them. What do you think? They said they would price match.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by Lost

Called Discount Tires... They told me Goodyear tires are the best? Expensive but i'm ok with that if there good. $1,200 for 4 tires with the tire air pressure sensor's and programing the truck for them. What do you think? They said they would price match.

Well i’m sure there will be differing opinions on this but if i was only towing 200-300 miles a year i may go with a cheaper but still good quality tires..i have carlisle radial trail hd and have been pretty happy with them..only around $100 a piece i believe…i feel like your tires will age out again before you get much actual mileage on them…i’d get metal valve stems and a separate tpms system from etrailer or amazon

[JRTJH]

Carlisle Radial Trail HD tires size 235 80R16 are priced at $123.00 each at WalMart. That's $615 for 5 tiers and $25 each for mounting, balancing and new steel valve stems. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Carlisle-...=searchResults

Discount Tire does carry Carlisle ST tires, so if they will price match WalMart, I'd buy them from DT. It'll save you the hassle of picking them up at one place and carrying them to another to have the tires installed.....

With the amount of towing you do, new tires are a "must have" but you do not need the "most expensive on the market" to protect your investment in your trailer.

From all the input and reports available on this forum, Carlisle is "neck and neck" as good as Goodyear Endurance. At half the price they are, for most people, a much better investment. YMMV

[gearhead]

Originally Posted by dutchmensport

I have Hercules tires on my fifth wheel. I'm very pleased with them.

Me too. Two years no issues.