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Jake21

Santa Fe, NM

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Posted: 04/14/12 06:45am

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I noticed small sidewall cracks in the tires on my new to me 2002 eagle. The guy at PPL, who worked for Discount tire for many years, told me that it was called "checking" and that it was purely cosmetic. The date code is 4608, so they should have life left in them.

Should I call Michelin and see if they will warranty them?

Should I not worry and get another two years out of them?

Thanks for the input,
J

phillyg

Front Royal, VA

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Posted: 04/14/12 06:57am

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Checking won't be warranted. Since they're only four years old, I would just keep inspecting them before each trip, including running your hands around the tires to feel for bulges, especially on the back sidewall you don't normally see. Slight checking is okay, deep cuts may not be.

You'll see a lot of different opinions, but I can tell you from my experience that my XPS Ribs started to fail (by blowout) at about 6-1/2 years. I became a believer in the 6-7 year life expectancy for RV tires, regardless of the fact they still appear to have good tread.

2002 Keystone Cougar 286, 8,400lbs loaded, pulled with a 2004 F150 Supercrew, 5.4, 3.73 gears. Retired and enjoying life

wolfe10

Texas

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Posted: 04/14/12 07:03am

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Much of a tires reasonable life expectancy has to do with how they were cared for.

Left out in the sun or covered?

Properly inflated or run low on air?

Parked for many months at a time or driven occasionally?

Overloaded or reasonable safety reserve?

Our Michelins are 7 years old with ZERO checking, but they ARE well cared for.

If you can get your fingernails in the cracks, have a professional tire dealer inspect them.

Brett Wolfe
1997 Safari Sahara 3540
EX: 1993 Foretravel 36' U-240

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Weathertodd221

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Posted: 04/14/12 07:12am

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wolfe10 wrote:

My neighbor is on 11 yr old michelins. Always garaged or tires covered when parked. Pressures always checked before driving (guage and TPMS) He does not want to spend $3600 out of fear.
And currently has 60000 miles on the original tires.

rgatijnet1

Florida

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Posted: 04/14/12 07:13am

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I believe that Michelin considers any sidewall cracks/checking, under 1/32" in depth, to NOT be a problem. That said, you may want to have your tires completely checked since most tires are not developing cracks at less than 4 years of age.

crickeydog

Marietta, Ga.

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Posted: 04/14/12 07:11am

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Jake21 wrote:

Should I not worry and get another two years out of them?

Replace'em, then you can "not worry" a little less.

Happy camping!!! See y'all down the road!!!

USAF RETIRED. "EITHER LEAD, FOLLOW, OR GET OUTTA THE WAY"!

PULL DOGS:
2006 GMC 3500 CC DRW D/A LBZ 4X4 SLT "THE SILVER FOX" PRIMARY
2000 DODGE 3500 QUAD CAB DRW CTD LARAMIE "THE ROAD TRAIN LOCOMOTIVE" BACK-UP

2004 HOLIDAY RAMBLER PRES. 30 SCD 5'ER

STEVEP220

VA.

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Posted: 04/14/12 07:29am

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I had the same problem with my michelin tires. They are warranted for 5 years. take your motor home to a michelin dealer and let them tell you that they are ok. They may replace them under warranty. Michelin replaced mine under warranty they were 4 years and 8 months old tires. You will at least know they are safe to drive on.

video23

Delaware

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Posted: 04/14/12 07:46am

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topflight51..............X2

Ro646a

New Boston, MI

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Posted: 04/14/12 07:53am

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I just went through this. I had put a new set of Michelin tires on our RV in July of 09. The DOT codes were 3 weeks old at the time I bought them. Last August (at 26 months old) the tires were already cracking in a 1/2" wide area all around each of the tires.

I took the tires to the Michelin dealer, sent pictures to Michelin, and spoke to the Michelin rep. on the phone. They did nothing to help me.

I take excellent care of all of my stuff, including my tires. I also kept them covered.

We recently bought a different motorhome with 10 year old Goodyears on it that still looked like new, just as the 10 year old Goodyears on our former motrhome looked when we bought it. I bought new tires again, but this time I didn't buy Michelins.

2001 Fleetwood Southwind 35R on 2000 Ford F53 Chassis
V10 310HP
Roadmaster Sterling All terrain tow bar
Ready Brake
2002 Chevy Tracker V6 4x4 SUV

topflite51

In The Desert of Nevada

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Posted: 04/14/12 07:22am

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I am on my second RV, on both the first thing I did was replace the tires since I had no idea how they had been cared for. On the first rig, one of the tires that was removed from the rear had been driven on flat at one time. Better safe than sorry.