OK, we just bought a 2002 MH. What are the life of tires? I know there is a way to find the date they were made but a couple of mine do not seam to have a date on them? And one of my fronts I think is an origenal. They all seam great, no cracks in the side walls, no bumps, treads are all good. But how often do you all change them? My fater in law has been RVing for over 20 years and he thinks their ok but I was just wondering what others think and do?
Thanks
35' 2002 Rexhall Aerbus
“Life is not a journey to the grave with intentions of arriving safely in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming... Holy Cow!! What a ride!”
stroza99,
99.9% of most tires made have a "DOT" code on them. Sometimes the tires are mounted in such a way that the DOT code, is on the inside of the tire/rim combo. In that case, you'd have to either jack up the rig or, get underneath it and contort yourself to scan around on the side wall to find that code.
Now, if it was mounted with the code on the outside where it's visible, it will say something like: DOT 3410. Or, there might be a series of numbers in there but, the last four are the ones you're concerned about. In the example above, "3410" means, the 34th week of 2010. So, that particular tire, (mine) was made around August of 2010, plus or minus, depending on that particular year.
P.S. I forgot to say, the average life of RV tires, based on reports, here on this site, and some experts, is around 7 years. Some stretch it to say, 8,9 or 10. But, that's pretty much taking a chance, no matter what they look like. I, like many, hate the thought of throwing away, $3000.00 worth of "good looking" tires but, the consequences of what "could" happen if you leave them on longer for more than 7 years, are well, sometimes disastrous. But, there's no guarantees.
That is, there's no guarantees they will run flawless for another couple-three-four years without issues, or, will the "auto" self destruct right after the end of the 7th year, most likely not. It's a matter of choice and self satisfaction. They are a lot of money, and they go up about every 15 minutes so, it's your choice.
Scott
* This post was
edited 06/25/12 05:24pm by FIRE UP *
Scott and Karla SDFD RETIRED
2004 Itasca Horizon, 36GD Slate Blue 330 CAT
2011 White Honda CRV EX-L,4WD w/NAV Toad 2008 Caliente Red LVL II GL 1800 Goldwing KI60ND
If you decide to drive on an original front tire made in about 2001-2002 make sure your health and life insurance are paid up. Almost all tires have the date made somewhere on them. Some are hard to find. My rule is when in doubt replace. I am on the six year replacement rule.
The DOT code is the place to start, then as mentioned above if you do not know the history of the tire like inflation rates etc. the seven year rule is good. I just replaced a set of Michelins (6) 255/80R22.5 for close to $4k, they were 10 years old and we knew the history on them. Michelin says these XRV tires are good for 10 years if inflated properly, covered when not in use and inspected regularly. They still looked like new but we are looking at a long distance run and not looking for a big repair bill on a blow out damage. If those tires are original they should be replaced (ouch) before you go down the road...just my opinion. Find a good tire shop in your area and do the research on them before committing. We used a T&W tire shop, it was a little more expensive but had a shop big enough to work on our Motor home, some shops were going to change out the tires in the yard..that just spelled trouble down the road to me.
Tom
Tom and Adrian
2004 Suburban towing 2013 Coachmen Freedom Express 246RKS
Enjoying the beauty of God's creation, so many places to go
Do you have to go to a truck tire place or do most Tire places do MH's? Also, I understand about the timeframe, would the fact that our MH only has 12,000 miles on it be differant? The backs are from '07 so the front ones are my only real concern right now. How do you know what make, load range, etc. that is right for your MH?!? So much to learn!!!
stroza99 wrote: OK, we just bought a 2002 MH. What are the life of tires? I know there is a way to find the date they were made but a couple of mine do not seam to have a date on them? And one of my fronts I think is an origenal. They all seam great, no cracks in the side walls, no bumps, treads are all good. But how often do you all change them? My fater in law has been RVing for over 20 years and he thinks their ok but I was just wondering what others think and do?
Thanks
My grandfather once had what LOOKED like a BRAND NEW tire on the front of his coach. Come to find out it was over 10 years old. Went out of his home one day, and it was BLOWN OUT. I don't know if it was the temperature, the age, pressure, or what. We put on the spare tire, and on the way to get the other tire changed the other front blew out.
Always check the DOT code on the sidewall and find out the age.
4 whopping cylinders on Toyota RV's. Talk about great getting good MPG. Also I have a very light foot on the pedal. I followed some MPG advice on Livingpress.com and I now get 22 MPG! Not bad for a home on wheels.
I have some Goodyears that are DOT date Stamped on one side of the tire only, not both sides. If you can't see them on the outward facing side, you need to look on the inside of the tire.
2007 Fleetwood Excursion 40E Cat C7 350 HP
2007 Chev 2500HD D/A Long bed CC
2011 Toyota Tundra
Gone but not forgotten, 2008 Jayco 299 RLS
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