TT Tire question

[jmactootall]

I have been lucky enough with driving habits and maintenance(rotation, air pressure, etc) to get 5+ years and up to 70k miles with tires. I don't have to cover them to prevent problems in the manner suggested for RVs. Do I really need tire covers when parked or is this just a good $income$ item for sellers? I have never had a business tell me my tires should be replaced or were dangerous due to exposure problems. I have had them replaced due to alignment problem I never noticed until too late(potholes) and two rims and tires one time at MM 6 on I65 in Tennessee. I can understand tread depth or belt problem makes a replacement necessary and was hoping that to be true for RV tires. I hope to be able to put several thousand miles per year on the TT and replace tires due to wear. Seems like I spend a lot already on convenience items and other stuff I really needed like blocks, water hoses, dish drain for sink, and the list goes on. So what's the difference between my truck tire and TT tire that one set needs a cover and the other does not.
I know there are a lot of experienced people out there that have opinions one way or another. I'm really looking for a reason to BUY than just because that's how to do it,

Thanks Yall,
2012 Ram 1500 Hemi
2012 Jayco 242

[clubhouse]

Your daily driver vehicle will wear out tires before they rot. Most RVs don't travel nearly as much as your daily driver, therefore the issue with tires isn't use but lack of use causing the tires to rot and crack. Tires sitting static and supporting the RV weight is hard on the sidewalls too. IMO covering tires to eliminate UV exposure while stored is well worth it.

As for when to change, that is up to you. My experience is 5 yrs seems to be when issues occur. Although this my first RV, it's not my first trailer. I have always changed trailer tires at 5 years from mfg date code and haven't had blow out issues some have experienced.

Sure tires aren't cheap to replace, but look at the damage a blow out causes to your RV at highway speeds. Often it's much more expensive than a new set of tires not to mention the potential trip disruption.

[exjay1]

When we store our TT on the side of the house the entry door side faces the sun about 70% of the day. Instead of buying covers I just cut up some scrap plywood to fill the wheelwell and rest it agains the tire. We dont take them with us but good to use when its stored.

[tlhdoc]

When I was towing every week or two I did not worry about covering the tires. Now that my camper is semi-permanent I do cover the tires to reduce dry rotting. I also keep them on blocks.

[tinlizzie23]

In addition to sitting for long periods of time (at least in comparison to your daily driver), TT tires will sit in the same position, and sun damage will be concentrated in certain areas, whereas your daily driver will stop in different positions. Awhile back I had one tire blow out a chunk, and another developed a large bulge while stored for the winter without covers, and both where the sun hit for the longest daily time. I now keep all four tires covered, unless I'm going out again within a couple of days.

[TeamFoxy]

I just had a blow out with a just under 4 year old tire. I had looked them over very well before our trip and they looked perfect. The wheels were off to repack bearings so it was easy to do. The only real contributing factor might have been that we went from fairly cold weather to 85 degrees and I did not check the tire inflation when it got warmer. We did put about 9K miles on the TT in the last year.

My thought now is that one should replace tires before a long trip if they are in the 4th year and not try to get that last bit of use out of them. I just ordered 4 new tires and upped the load range from C to D.

[VicS1950]

Originally Posted by TeamFoxy

...The only real contributing factor might have been that we went from fairly cold weather to 85 degrees and I did not check the tire inflation when it got warmer. ...

That change would tend to raise cold inflation pressure which in my opinion would be a positive factor. I'm a firm believer in running trailer tires at the maximum pressure stated on the sidewall and allowed by your rim specifications.

As has been said, most trailer tires see very tough service as compared to a vehicle duty cycle.

Tire pressure can be a significant factor. There is still argument about the Firestone/Ford tire failure fiasco as to whether the rather low pressures recommended by Ford for their vehicle contributed to the failures. I personally believe that it likely was a contributing factor, but the tires should not have failed so catastrophically .

I would not worry about going a bit over max pressure as I feel that is better than too low. You didn't mention your tire brand. Here is some info specific to Goodyear tires which may make you feel better about running max sidewall pressures. In fact, if you believe the information you should up your pressures for any over 65 mph operation.

http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires...plications.pdf

My new Goodyear tires came from the dealership with 35 psi in the tires. One of the first things I did was raise them all to 50 psi max inflation pressure.

Going from C to D load range is never a bad thing. Good luck. vic

[TeamFoxy]

Originally Posted by VicS1950

That change would tend to raise cold inflation pressure which in my opinion would be a positive factor. I'm a firm believer in running trailer tires at the maximum pressure stated on the sidewall and allowed by your rim specifications.

My new Goodyear tires came from the dealership with 35 psi in the tires. One of the first things I did was raise them all to 50 psi max inflation pressure.

I had 40 psi when checked in Virginia on a 45F morning. After the blowout, the other tires were reading 55 psi on a bright sunny 85F day in Florida. The tire separated about at the tread line all the way around both sides of the tire and I saw it rolling down the road in my rearview. I could fortunately pull over and there was good hard ground outside of the breakdown lane so I could get the driver's side tire well away from the travel lane to work on it.
I seldom exceed 60 with the trailer and often take secondary roads so that we are not constantly being passed by the big trucks. In this case, the only real option was I-95 through Jacksonville and we were running at about 62.

[Bob Landry]

I run every tire I have at the maximum pressure indicated on the sidewall. Some of the engineering types attempt to turn it into rocket science by trying to calculate weights, load ratings, weight per axel and weight on each tire, but I really don't see a point to it unless you really have a lot of time on your hands. Every tire dealer I have ever talked to said to run them at max, and I have proven to myself that it works. YMMV.
I carry an air compressor and I check trailer and truck tire air pressure every time I hitch up.
I just ordered a set of Maxxis tires for my two year old trailer, just to get rid of the China Bombs. It's the same size tire, but 10 ply with a load rating of 2,830 lbs at 80 PSI as opposed to the 2,540 at 65 PSI rating of the current tires. Guess what pressure these will be run at.

[VicS1950]

Originally Posted by TeamFoxy

I had 40 psi when checked in Virginia on a 45F morning. After the blowout, the other tires were reading 55 psi on a bright sunny 85F day in Florida. The tire separated about at the tread line all the way around both sides of the tire and I saw it rolling down the road in my rearview. I could fortunately pull over and there was good hard ground outside of the breakdown lane so I could get the driver's side tire well away from the travel lane to work on it.
I seldom exceed 60 with the trailer and often take secondary roads so that we are not constantly being passed by the big trucks. In this case, the only real option was I-95 through Jacksonville and we were running at about 62.

I think that running max pressure helps. I didn't mean to imply that it will prevent all failures. There weren't many details in the original post as to pressures.

For many years I thought that Goodyear Marathon radials were the way to go. They have had problems over the years, so I no longer think that. My local independent mechanic recently made the comment that he doesn't recommend any particular trailer tire anymore because he has seen problems with pretty much every brand.

I no longer feel very comfortable even with brand new tires. vic

[TeamFoxy]

Vic,

I feel the same way about tires which is why I always carry:
1) A full size spare.
2) A 12v powered compressor.
3) A pipe to extend the wrench so I can always get the nuts loose.
4) A plug set to fix punctures.
5) Two jacks, jack stands, chocks etc.
If you travel, you will have problems to deal with.

[VicS1950]

Originally Posted by TeamFoxy

Vic,

I feel the same way about tires which is why I always carry:
1) A full size spare.
2) A 12v powered compressor.
3) A pipe to extend the wrench so I can always get the nuts loose.
4) A plug set to fix punctures.
5) Two jacks, jack stands, chocks etc.
If you travel, you will have problems to deal with.

Yep. I carry all that too, plus an old fashioned tee handle hand pump for our bicycle tires and in case the 12 volt one goes south.

I learned something with one blowout that I had. Take your spare to the 12 volt compressor to top it off BEFORE you install it. I didn't do that and ended up pulling into a parking lot, disconnecting the trailer and backing up to where the compressor could plug in. It was too hot to hand pump it.

I felt pretty dumb right about then. vic

[TeamFoxy]

Picked up the new tires last night and Scott told me that the valve stem on the blow out was cracked and all of them easily broke off when he went to replace them. His theory was that the cracked valve let the air out and the tie shredded as a result. I guess the previous owner kept the original stems when he had tires replaced.

[Dwilcox353]

I check pressure every morning when traveling, and stop to stretch every 2 hours (sucks getting old and stiff) and wack the tires with my tire knocker (looks like a small bat) and if the sound is not uniform, out comes the gauge again. Been thinking of buying remote electronic monitors for trailer but the wife thinks they are to pricy yet, and I'm the one driving, not her
Anyway, I know all of mine have been blow outs cuz we heard all but one blow. The one we did not hear was traveling thru a construction site but we saw it shred. She is becoming more open to the cost because of the damage done to the trailer by the shredding tire but Jayco took care of the damage this time do to the LGT axle height recall.

[dhinkle57]

Our 2007 Honda Ridgeline has only 16600+ miles on it. The dealer, along with Michelin just replaced the original tires because they had ozone damage in the side wall and tread. I guess if I would have been covering them they would have lasted longer. I,m glad they did because we expect to start putting more miles on the truck when our new TT comes in.

[milw156]

Originally Posted by TeamFoxy

Vic,

I feel the same way about tires which is why I always carry:
1) A full size spare.
2) A 12v powered compressor.
3) A pipe to extend the wrench so I can always get the nuts loose.
4) A plug set to fix punctures.
5) Two jacks, jack stands, chocks etc.
If you travel, you will have problems to deal with.

Great list. Time to put some more items in the TV tool box!

[jmactootall]

Thanks to all of you for the info. As I am on almost new tires it sounds like the best thing I can do is keep the tire pressure correct now. We plan to be on the road for a while with one 2 week stop planned and the rest for maybe 2,3,or 4 days at a time. Will look into covers after we get back. Plan to have a great time and hoping for lots of luck traveling. New England states here we come.
Is there any place to get extension piece to connect 12 compressor so It will reach the tires that are over 20 feet away. Or dose any specific compressor already come with a long plug in wiring ?

[TeamFoxy]

I decided that since I had all new tires, I should make some covers for them from some acrylic coated polyester left over from another project. I looked at several types of covers in the storage yard and decided to add the shock cord to the design since we get a lot of wind around here and I could see that most of the covers were no longer correctly in place. Now I just need to get some blocks under the tires and hopefully they will last a few years. (The white wheel is our spare.)