When do you replace tires?

[jking46]

Our 23ikss has just completed its 3rd season. SWAG system says the tires have about 7000 miles on them, maybe less. Majority of our trips are 200 miles or less, some as little as 50 miles. Tire are Chinese of course, but I check pressure twice each trip . Wear is even. Visually tires look like new.

So, should I keep them or replace them? How much life should I expect from OE trailer tires?

[wahoonc]

Before they blow out!

Three to five years from date of manufacture. I also factor in loading, if you are running close to the maximum weight rating on the tires I would replace them sooner. They lose capacity as they age.

Aaron

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by jking46

Our 23ikss has just completed its 3rd season. SWAG system says the tires have about 7000 miles on them, maybe less. Majority of our trips are 200 miles or less, some as little as 50 miles. Tire are Chinese of course, but I check pressure twice each trip . Wear is even. Visually tires look like new.

So, should I keep them or replace them? How much life should I expect from OE trailer tires?

I would say you are on borrowed time already. And if you are worrying about it, you are thinking so also. Lots of threads on tires in this forum, you just have to weed through the BS to get to the facts that are pertinent to your situation

[jking46]

I know about all the horror stories. I read about them here all the time. However, many have suggested that owner neglect ( proper inflation pressure, visual inspection for weather checking and other problems, etc.) are sometimes more to blame than the country of origin.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by jking46

I know about all the horror stories. I read about them here all the time. However, many have suggested that owner neglect ( proper inflation pressure, visual inspection for weather checking and other problems, etc.) are sometimes more to blame than the country of origin.

On that I will totally disagree with you out of my own personal experience. I have yet to meet an active RVer who wasn't anal about their tires, as you can tell from all the threads. But if you really feel that way then your china tires should be good for another 2 years.

All I know for certain is that those in our fairly large group who didn't change tires immediately when they bought their rig all had failures within 2 years with the OEM tires from china, and zero non-road hazard failures after going to LTs or Maxxis.

[brad2388]

3 years max is what im planning on doing from now on.

We has a set of china tires on our sierra and they were 3.5 years old and one blew out. Tore up the side of our camper more than the set of tires would have cost.

The maxxis tire holds up well. We just switched our trailers at work to them a couple of years ago and they get pulled daily. No problems with the maxxis.

[jking46]

Ok. That was the feedback I was looking for. If we decide to keep the Shamrock , it will have new tires next year.

[Ford Idaho]

Originally Posted by jking46

Ok. That was the feedback I was looking for. If we decide to keep the Shamrock , it will have new tires next year.

Be sure to check the date code on all of them BEFORE they are mounted, you are looking for newer tires with codes that are the same or REAL close.

Have metal valve stems installed and have the tires balanced and inflated to the correct PSI.

[brad2388]

Originally Posted by jking46

Ok. That was the feedback I was looking for. If we decide to keep the Shamrock , it will have new tires next year.

Tires are expensive but so are roadside services plus the damage done to the trailer. Not counting the headache and the dangerous side of the road tire changing.

[RACarvalho]

My rig is not 1yo and I already have more than 6k miles on it.
I read somewhere that tires have a life expectancy of 5 years and this is what I intend to follow.
I do inspect them a keep the pressure 5 psi below the max though.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by RACarvalho

My rig is not 1yo and I already have more than 6k miles on it.
I read somewhere that tires have a life expectancy of 5 years and this is what I intend to follow.
I do inspect them a keep the pressure 5 psi below the max though.

I would of agreed with you 6 or 7 years ago. Up until then every RV we owned came with tires made in the states and they did last 4 to 5 years. Since then, our last 2 rigs came with cheap tires that China was dumping in the US and the manufacturers were using them. I quickly learned these Chinese tires were not the same quality and didn't have the longevity of previous tires, no matter how much you baby them. So if you have Chinese tires I wish you luck.

[acadianbob]

I ran my original Goodyear Marathons for 5 years and 25K miles without a hint of a problem. This over rocky National Forest Service roads, all-day tows in 95 degree heat, etc. Tough tires that did their assigned job.

[CaptnJohn]

I generally figure about 4 years which is about 60,000 miles. However, if one blows, both on that axel are replaced and if more than 2 years old all 4 are replaced. Any flat is repaired and used as a spare if I cannot get a replacement within a day or so. Have had great luck with Carlisle and will stick to them.

[rsdata]

I also look at the tire's load bearing capacity...

I looked up your trailer's dry weight spec (4,900+#) and added 1,000# so you are running about 6,000#...

on load range C tires that have 1,760# carrying capacity you have that x 4 = 7,040# total capacity... so you are using about 85% of the load bearing capacity of the tires.

If you have Load range D tires then you have 2,040# per tire or 8,160# total capacity and about 74% capacity.

I would bet that your stock tires are load range C, as are mine. When I replace my tires I am going to Load Range D tires.

If I were you, I would consider adding a TPMS system... I use the TST 507 and upgrade to D range tires fairly soon.

I am at about 8,000 miles on my 2014 Shamrock 183 going on my third season in May. I will be looking for new tires at that time.

As far as owner neglect... I believe that most owners treat their tires well, but unexpected problems caused mainly by curb and pothole strikes on the sidewall take a toll on failed tires that cannot be accounted for.

[boaski]

My load range D are rated at 2540lbs.

[rsdata]

My load range D are rated at 2540lbs.

boaski...

My Shamrock 183 tires are 14" and I wrote about 14" tires as I think the OP has 14" tires... larger diameter tires have higher load ratings...

I should have mentioned the tire diameter in my reasoning here... thanks for pointing this out

[larryandamy]

If you have money to burn, then replace them now.
If money is tight, then you should be good at least another 2 to 3 years.
You are not going to get consensus from this forum as everyone has their own experiences and many don't consider that most of these tire failures are due to under or over inflation or extreme conditions.

Better to invest in good tire pressure monitor system (TPSM) and make sure your tires are always inflated properly.

Before I did an 11,000 mile trip to Alaska I replaced my class C China tires with class E Carlisle tires. I still blew one on the Denali hwy, but that road is crazy on tires. I will not tow a trailer on it again.

Thanks

[Igave]

Ours (oem) went almost two years before the first went, and as we replaced it at the tire shop we noted the other three had bulges and slipped chords. Tread looked nearly new. Like most of the RV folks I associate with, I am religious about tire pressures, correct torque, etc from day one. I'd say if you're wondering about them try to really keep an eye on them. Unfortunately when they blow you probably aren't going to get a warning and the damage is done (literally).

[Homebrewer29]

Anytime I can read the letters ST on my tires, I replace them with tires that read L/T.

[justpassinthru]

Do all rv's come with chinese tires from factory? Is there a way to tell if your new rv has them? A clarification would be helpful Thanks Jim