Tires

[Welshes]

We're going to Alaska and have 35k miles on the Goodyear tires, 4 years old. Fronts are showing some cupping and have been aligned. Road conditions can be hard on tires, so do I roll with the old or replace my fronts and hopefully not tear up my new rubber?

[erniet]

I have 2 points. One I had bad luck with Goodyear so I wouldn't take off with them on the front. Sideline input, I had a buddy buy trailer tires in Anchorage and they were a lot cheaper than in Wisconsin, same tires! 2nd point. I heard all the horror stories of Canadian and Alaskan highway/roads before I left. I drove a 40' diesel pusher pulling a 20' trailer hauling my jeep. We even went came across the Top of the World" 'highway' with NO tire problems in the whole 10,000 mile trip. This was in 2014. Good luck and have fun.

[gordonsick]

Originally Posted by Welshes

We're going to Alaska and have 35k miles on the Goodyear tires, 4 years old. Fronts are showing some cupping and have been aligned. Road conditions can be hard on tires, so do I roll with the old or replace my fronts and hopefully not tear up my new rubber?

The cupping on Goodyear steer axle tires can be a result of "rivering". I encountered this and Goodyear gave me a free replacement set of front tires. I discussed this at http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...nt-142337.html

Note that the Goodyear dealer (not owned by Goodyear, of course) carefully documented the alignment specs before an after. Since the wheels were toed in, and the cupping was on the inside, Goodyear concluded it was their fault.

I don't believe that this cupping presented a safety problem. It is only a tread problem. And the treads are so deep that cupping doesn't get you close to wearing out the tread. The tires gave some vibration with the cupping and it would get worse.

Given that you might damage your tires on the Alaska highway in some other way, it might make sense to wait till you return from the trip before replacing them.

–Gordon

[Brother Les]

Alaska roads are not as bad as you may think. Go with what you got.

ps... if you have a small dog/pet, keep him/her on a short leash, under a watchful eye at all times. Other wise, birds from the sky or critters in the bushes will have a fast meal...

[Welshes]

Thanks all, we made the trip 8 years ago and did find most of the roads decent. But then there's a lot of gravel and poor roads as well. I like the idea of checking out Goodyear and see what they say. I did have the front end aligned a couple of years ago. Good blog...