Tire covers needed or not

[Nighthawk 96]

I keep covers on the side where the sun shines on the trailer when sitting in our backyard (storage). Don't use them camping.

Our tires are cheap Chinese and will be replaced with Maxxis tires before we venture out on a major trip we have planned for next spring.

[SouthCo]

Who knows... I don't cover mine. I also don't daily drive my tow vehicle and don't cover the tires on it either. Do what makes you feel good. lol.

[ninjahbob]

Homer1959 Like others I don't put much stock in tire covers but they do look cool. I would suggest that you rethink the amount of time for tire usage. We use four years as limit for our trailer tires.

[norty1]

I don't know if they help or not, but they keep the dog pee off the rims!

[gjoesimmons]

Thanks for all of the insight everyone! We just bought our first camper so we're learning a lot. I've seen people using wheel covers and always wondered about.

[Grumpy]

Every RV tire manufacturer says that sun and ozone on a parked tire are their worst enemy. Goodyear and Tow-Max both say that the RV should be moved every 3 months to avoid ozone cracking on the buldged sidewall and to avoid direct sun light.

[iplumb]

So who makes a good cover? Anybody try the cheap ones at Harbor Freight?

[33 RLDS]

They could probably make tires last 50 years but why should they. I wouldn't be surprised if they added chemicals to make them degrade even faster.

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

Every RV tire manufacturer says that sun and ozone on a parked tire are their worst enemy. Goodyear and Tow-Max both say that the RV should be moved every 3 months to avoid ozone cracking on the buldged sidewall and to avoid direct sun light.

Originally Posted by Seann45

Tire covers .. GOOD IDEA.. on your daily driver the tires get exercised on a regular basis.. on your RV they sit for long periods of time.. The daily use makes the oils in the tires move and keeps the rubber "fresher" Uncovered the RV tires are prone to weather cracking and at that point need to be replaced.. On my 1st RV that happened in under 1 year..

What they said...

Plus, I read somewhere (this site?) that vinyl tire covers won't last very long in high sunshine areas (AZ for example) and 'canvas-type' don't last very long where they stay damp for long periods of time. So I will be buying fabric covers for my trailer.

[WVDusty]

Originally Posted by iplumb

So who makes a good cover? Anybody try the cheap ones at Harbor Freight?

Yup and after a year they look awful. But they are now 3+ years old and still in one piece. I do just use them when in storage not when camping.

[skids]

Originally Posted by DocBrown

Ah, rubber bands. when I was 16 I had 4 paper routes that I delivered by car. It was one of the first motor routes in my county. I was given bags and bags of rubber bands to wrap the papers in.

I'm 51 now (you do the math but I think that's slightly over 5 years). I still have 2 bags of those rubber bands. They stay closed up in a drawer and they are perfectly fine. We use them for all sorts of stuff.

So much for the theory that they will degrade in a drawer when protected from the elements. .

Well, Chuck, the ones for the Federal Government must come from lowest bidder. Ours are crap after less than a year. The pencil erasers don't even work when brand new!

[bucko]

So, after the rubber band debate was resolved, what was the final deal with tire covers?

[Polk]

This is what I use. not only for protection but they are fun also.

[Angus]

If the trailer is going to sit for a while, then I am a proponent for the covers. Just helps to protect from the elements and staves off dry rot. I tried to talk my inlaws into this along with tarping the top of their MH. But to no avail. Now the MH with only 5000 miles has dryrotted tires and they have had leaks from the skylights.

[Angus]

Polk, do they spin?

[Jimw606]

Originally Posted by iplumb

So who makes a good cover? Anybody try the cheap ones at Harbor Freight?

ME!!!!!!
Can't say how good they are.

[Macrosill]

I cover the tires on the side that faces the sun. The other side is about 2 feet from a solid fence so no covers there. The only time I do not cover the tires is during a trip.