Desert Captain wrote:

"The one thing that has yet to be mentioned is locale. Heat, in the form of ambient temperature, plays a HUGE role in how long tires last. Obviously tires operating around Phoenix experience a lot more heat history that tires operating around Minneapolis. So if you live and/or operate in the desert SW, you need to use a more rapid replacement schedule than someone living/operating in the northern midwest."

Actually I brought this up back on the second page of this discussion, just sayin...

"Admittedly Arizona is a tough environment on all tires but these had been meticulously maintained and always run at the correct psi for the loads they carried. Obviously opinions vary but IMHO if your tires are over 5 years old you are rolling the dice... place your bets."

Clearly we agree. I have spent long days driving in 112 - 115 degrees and cannot even imagine just how hot the road surface actually is. Conversely as winter appears ready to pounce early this year freezing temperatures, snow and ice are all too common throughout most of Arizona {the average elevation of Arizona is north of 4,000' and we have lots of 9,000'+ passes to negotiate}.

The truth is in the real world there is no arbitrary ten, seven or even five year rule per se. One must always take into consideration not only how but where your tires are being used and then decide, as in "Do ya feel lucky punk? Well ,do ya???"

Here is a shot of us in the "Dead Zone" 30 miles west of Phoenix on I-10:





This is the reason I go rid of my C Class 16 in LT tires do not belong on those rigs ........