Check your tires date code

[PastorPaul]

My wife and I loaded up the animals and headed out to MS this past weekend to see our son,daughterinlaw and the grand kids. we got about 100 miles into the trip and had a flat tire on the trailer. got looking at the other three and did not like what I saw. we had bought the trailer a year ago used. The tire shop said the date code on the tires showed that they were made in 1998 the year the trailer was new. It could have been a disaster if they had all let loose. If I am not mistaken the rule is if they are over 5 years old they need to be replaced.

[rthrbelsewhere]

Agreed, even 5 years is pushing it, but if they have good tread and proper inflation and the sidewalls are protected while it's in storage, then you might be okay. I think the average suggestion is every 3 years, if they are unprotected from the elements, per the Discount Tire Company place mat at their counter. I had a similar story on my used Roo that i bought 2 years ago. The owners said that the tires were in good shape and a quick glance didn't tell me much more until about an hour into the trip and i blew one of the tire sidewalls. Come to find out, they were all under inflated, had dry rot from sitting in water while it was in storage, and the sidewalls and inside the tread area was cracked. My mistake for pulling out of their driveway like that, but I learned a thing or two about tires...but the hard way. I wrote up a sticky a while back about tire care and storage and all that good stuff. Here's a link to it - http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...care-2846.html

I wound up replacing the small 13" wheels and tires on my roo to a set of 14" wheels and tires and that was the best thing I ever did. I've towed that trailer around now for almost 500 miles and not a single problem (knock on wood).