Purchased our 5er exactly 5 yrs ago. Have only used it on 17 trips and have approximately 9,000 miles on the tires. Have read previous posts suggesting replacing tires every 3-5 years regardless of their appearance. Other posts mention owners driving 4 to 5 years or longer with no tire problems. We have had no tire issues at all (Mission Radial ST 225/75 R15 tires) and I drive 65 mph or less. Would like advice from veteran RVers & knowledgeable tire folks. Already have a summer trip planned and hope to get away later this Spring for at least a short trip. Thanks in advance.
3 years would be extreme. 5 years would be good maintenance. The key is to take care of them properly and inspect them regularly which you seem to be doing.
Would recommend you look at replacing them. Try not to buy any made in China. While they may look OK (little tire ware), they dry out and may have some sidewall ware you cannot see. Look on older tire threads to see what people recommend. Consider yourself lucky that you got 5 years out of them.
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Check the date codes. 7 years or over time to go. I hated throwing away the four Wrangler LT 10 ply tires that were on mine but they were 8 years old and I was planning a couple of 1500 mile trips in the middle of summer, these tires did not even show any wear, however I did not want to be beside the interstate somewhere in the TN-KY mountains with a blowout. You have had your trailer 5 years, not sure how long before you bought it the build date was, or how long before that the tires were made. Look on the sidewall for four numbers stamped in the sidewall, example 4706 would indicate the tire was made in the 47th week of year 2006.
I also make it a point when purchasing or ordering new trailer tires to specify that the tires are not older than six months old, since they age out before they wear out. Learned that one the hard way after on the first trailer getting what I thought was a good deal on four out the door that I found out later had sat in the warehouse for 4 years.
Chris
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I'm not sure about tires on a trailer, but I'd keep the tires on our MH for 7-8 years before I think of replacing them.
Of course, they would be checked regularly those last few years......and it is stored out of direct sunlight, so that may help them last a bit longer.
Three years seems like a waste of money......and I think your miles are low enough that you have more to worry about with age than wear.
Unless you plan on a long trip, I'd wait another year.....but then again, I'm cheap
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Most manufacturers will tell you that trailer tires age out before they wear out. Unless you have a misalignment, under inflation or road hazard issue, your tires follow happily along with the occasional braking action and see little wear. Heat and age are the killers. I heard the age could be pushed a little in cooler climates.
I have personally dealt with Chinese manufacturers, though not of tires. IMHO the problems are three fold. First, if they can make it cheaper, they will. Reliability is not even considered. Secondly they have zero quality control. Therefore one batch will be great, the next run all garbage. Third is they pay as little as possible, so the turn over is huge. Very few if any experienced people on the production line.
Just my experience. Sorry, off my soapbox now. Hope I don't offend somebody here.
Chuck
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Chuck&Gail wrote: I have personally dealt with Chinese manufacturers, though not of tires. IMHO the problems are three fold. First, if they can make it cheaper, they will. Reliability is not even considered. Secondly they have zero quality control. Therefore one batch will be great, the next run all garbage. Third is they pay as little as possible, so the turn over is huge. Very few if any experienced people on the production line.
Just my experience. Sorry, off my soapbox now. Hope I don't offend somebody here.
Food for thought. Many companies have the same quality control as their plants located elsewhere.
“We have same global quality standards around the world,” said Keith Price, a spokesman for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. “The standards are the same whether we make it in Oklahoma, Germany, Brazil, Indonesia, or China, the product standards are the same.”
Jim Smith, editor of Tire Review, a trade magazine, said he has seen this for himself.
“Michelin is very persnickety,” he said. “At the Chinese plant you couldn’t tell if you were in China or in South Carolina. The plant has the same controls, the same machines and the same uniforms on the workers.”
Just about all major tire manufacturers have plants in China. In addition-
Consumer Reports magazine tested 23 affordable all-season replacement tires, seven of them made in China, reported Gene Petersen, tire program leader for the magazine. Of those seven, six finished in the top half of the field, he noted.
They included tires from brands such as Toyo, Cooper, Pirelli, and Kumho. “Because these tires are being built with the companies whose names are on the tires, the same specifications that would apply to a tire made in the U.S. would apply to a tire made in China,” said Petersen.
Whatever your experience is in China, it's unfair to paint all the manufacturing industries there with a broad brush.
I keep mine until they wear out or get to be 7 years old. No problems except repairable nail punctures in over 200,000 miles.
HOWEVER
I do not use Chinese tires. I think Missions are made in China, so if they were on my TT, they would be replaced immediately with non-Chinese tires. Probably Maxxis.
The OP stated he had Mission Tires and they are in fact made in China. He also stated he never exceeds 65mph. This is why his tires have not given him any problems.
The problems are not Chinese tires, but excessive speed and poor tire maintenance.
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