Rolling the tires in the off season

Twisty · 08-25-2012, 09:02 PM

I can easily hitch up and go for a drive any time of the year.
During the off season, how often should I take the TT out for a drive to "exercise" the tires?

Dave_Monica · 08-25-2012, 09:13 PM

???What are you hoping to accomplish???

Dave

bakken · 08-25-2012, 09:23 PM

The tire experts have said that tires need to be run to warm them up and flex them so the oils in the rubber come to the surface to protect the tire.
I have never done it, and have always had vehicles, trailers, and campers sit all winter without moving. And I have never had tire problems.
So from my experience, it would seem to be a waste of time.

OldCoot · 08-25-2012, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twisty

I can easily hitch up and go for a drive any time of the year.
During the off season, how often should I take the TT out for a drive to "exercise" the tires?

Best thing you could do is jack the trailer up to lift the tires completely off the trailer and take them inside and store them laying down on cardboard or wood in a cool place.
OR at least, jack them up to take the load completely off the tires.

Twisty · 08-25-2012, 11:36 PM

"The tire experts have said that tires need to be run to warm them up and flex them so the oils in the rubber come to the surface to protect the tire."
That is what I'm hoping to accomplish.

**Herk7769** · 08-26-2012, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twisty

"The tire experts have said that tires need to be run to warm them up and flex them so the oils in the rubber come to the surface to protect the tire."
That is what I'm hoping to accomplish.

This is correct as far as I have been able to determine. If you have "ST" Special Trailer tires on your camper you have almost double the amount of vulcanizing lubricants in your tires due to the planned long periods of "non-rotation." "LT" Light Truck tires on the other hand have the normal amount since they are used far more often.

By running the tires to "warm", the lubricant in the rubber is circulated between the rubber lattice structure and is brought to the surface. This prevents premature cracking and checking that leads to leaks.

IMO, getting the tires warm is the answer to your question. As the tires warm, the internal air pressure will rise. I would think that getting a 3-5 PSI increase in air pressure would be warm enough to do the job. This has no basis in fact or test (that I am aware of anyway) just extrapolating the physics of the problem.

MtnGuy · 08-26-2012, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twisty

I can easily hitch up and go for a drive any time of the year.
During the off season, how often should I take the TT out for a drive to "exercise" the tires?

I try to go out and "spin the tires" on the road about once a month in the off-season.

bakken · 08-26-2012, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dunnnc

Best thing you could do is jack the trailer up to lift the tires completely off the trailer and take them inside and store them laying down on cardboard or wood in a cool place.
OR at least, jack them up to take the load completely off the tires.

It is also recommended to let most of the air out of the tires, lets them 'rest' I suppose. And if you have nitrogen-filled tires, don't worry, refilling them with regular air makes little difference.

joelek · 08-26-2012, 08:30 AM

I live in Minnesota. The only thing we rotate in the winter are seasons ala pray for spring. Blocking up frame to take load off of tires makes good sense. I might try that trick this fall. Never did it with my Donzi boat and did notice tires were flat spotted for first few miles of towing in spring but within a few minutes she felt normal again. Biggest issue was air loss over winter. 5-15lbs was typical. Keeping tires covered so sun doesn't beat on them really helps with dry checking and keeping rims looking good.

murry52 · 08-26-2012, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bakken

It is also recommended to let most of the air out of the tires, lets them 'rest' I suppose. And if you have nitrogen-filled tires, don't worry, refilling them with regular air makes little difference.

If you have Tires with Nitrogen. Remove from TT , mark position they came off and rotate in spring, store tires on their sides one on top of each other and cover loosely

OldCoot · 08-26-2012, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by murry52

If you have Tires with Nitrogen. Remove from TT , mark position they came off and rotate in spring, store tires on their sides one on top of each other and cover loosely

Agree, but don't think I'd be rotating them, I would put them back in the same location as before to be able to detect any abnormal wear caused by either suspension or something else.

Twisty · 08-26-2012, 12:01 PM

Thanks for all the replies!
I am not going to remove the wheels because we want to be able to take off on a whim - one of the reasons that we went from a popup to a TT.

OldCoot · 08-26-2012, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twisty

Thanks for all the replies!
I am not going to remove the wheels because we want to be able to take off on a whim - one of the reasons that we went from a popup to a TT.

Just park the tires on a couple of 2" x 10" or 12" planks or the composite deck planks.

backin15 · 08-26-2012, 01:00 PM

I also live in Minnesota and park my trailer in mid October and it is not moved again until mid April. I have been doing this for 10 years and have never had a problem with flat spotting or cracking. Maybe it is because of the different construction of the ST tire. I do have a square of pressure treated plywood under each tire. Is storage time really only a month and a half away?!

Twisty · 08-26-2012, 01:56 PM

The TT is parked on concrete pavers just like the Pup was.
I've never had any problems at all with trailer tires.
Now that there is four (five with the spare) tires instead of 2 or 3, I would like them to last as long as possible.

bakken · 08-26-2012, 03:01 PM

Just to be extra safe, putting non-treated wood boards under the tires might be a good idea. The concrete pavers could still leach out some chemicals that are not-so-friendly to rubber. No facts to back that up, just an extra precaution. Tires are not that cheap anymore.

OldCoot · 08-26-2012, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bakken

Just to be extra safe, putting non-treated wood boards under the tires might be a good idea. The concrete pavers could still leach out some chemicals that are not-so-friendly to rubber. No facts to back that up, just an extra precaution. Tires are not that cheap anymore.

Composite deck planks won't rot and won't leach chemicals.

murry52 · 08-26-2012, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dunnnc

Agree, but don't think I'd be rotating them, I would put them back in the same location as before to be able to detect any abnormal wear caused by either suspension or something else.

The problem you may have by installing back on same location : The uneven wear will progress to far before you notice the wear, take this into consideration

bakken · 08-26-2012, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dunnnc

Composite deck planks won't rot and won't leach chemicals.

True, but they don't make them wide enough to cover the tire footprint, so one would have to lay two down side-by-side. That might provide uneven support. Regardless, my point was to NOT use anything that might leach chemicals, like treated lumber would. It is obvious that the composite boards would qualify.

OldCoot · 08-26-2012, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by murry52

The problem you may have by installing back on same location : The uneven wear will progress to far before you notice the wear, take this into consideration

Don't understand your logic, I was under the impression that by inspecting tires that was how they found the uneven wear and by rotating them, you would be distributing the uneven wear to another tire and therefore hiding the cause.

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