Tire Life estimate for factory tires?

[Drake]

I realize there are a lot of variables in determining tire life, and that you can't necessarily judge the condition of a trailer tire by the amount of tread left (as you can with cars). I have also read on this site, that the original factory tires may not be of the best quality...

I have a 2017 29.5 BHDS, that we purchased this past spring. I have about 4,000 miles thus far on the tires. Mostly highway and freeway miles. When not in use, the rig is parked in my driveway during the summer, and in an enclosed pole barn for the winter.

When should I start thinking about new tires? And are there obvious things I should watch for to indicate it is time to get new tires? or should I go more by the miles on the tires, etc.?

I would rather not experience the "joy" of having a blow-out when going highway speeds....

[sailor]

Trailer tires usually age out before you can see much wear. Currently the information I have says the life is 3-4 years on original equipment tires. A significant number of campers have had problems earlier than that. I replaced camper tires at two years because of the heavy camper and poor reputation of the original tires. There are many discussions about tires on this forum.

[clubhouse]

4 years from date code on tire or sooner if wear dictates- regardless of brand or country of origin.

It's the sitting and UV that does them in.

[schrederman]

I picked up my new travel trailer on August 3 of this year. We went on a couple of overnight trips for new camper shakedown, and then took a 3,000 mile trip to Virginia and back at the end of October. On the way back we blew a tire. I am careful with speed and tire pressure, and I'm pretty sure this wasn't a road hazard. So, we got about 2,700 miles out of the factory tires before we had trouble. I have since changed out all of them and changed from load range C to D... with an added advantage of a higher speed rating. This is about the same situation I had with my previous trailer, thankfully without the blowout. I actually found a bad tire on a pre-trip inspection. I'm not happy with the RV Industry with their cheap, factory tire policies... I know they have to make money but the extra $100 to $200- or so I would have had to pay for decent tires would have been worth it to avoid the inconvenience of the blowout we had... not to mention the safety factor of not having to change a flat on a busy, Little Rock freeway... ... I should also mention that the dealer was no help in finding an aluminum wheel to replace the busted one, and that this blowout cost me $710- for a new wheel, and new tires... ... Did I mention that I'm not happy about all of that?

[Drake]

Thanks all for the input...

[nunyadamn]

I have a 2014 32bhds and 2 tires started blowing at 1 year another at 1.5, about 3000 miles on them. Jayco covered the tires and the damage to both sides of my trailer under warranty. I put on all new tires right before my warranty was up.

[Atlee]

One other thing to think about is this, the possible abuse the tires received during delivery.

Remember, most trailers are pulled from the factory to dealers. Who knows what high sustained speeds those tires were subjected before they ever got to the dealer's lot.

[edatlanta]

Everyone will have their own opinion and honestly all of our needs and RV uses are different, but.....

I have a heavy RV and I feel the OEM tires useful life is from the delivering dealer to the nearest good tire dealer and immediately replacement and only then if you drive very slow and not in the heat of the day during the summer.

Seriously, most OEM tires especially for the heavier units are sized just barely enough to handle the weight. I like a little more wiggle room than that and a name brand tire also.

[eldermike]

Originally Posted by edatlanta

Everyone will have their own opinion and honestly all of our needs and RV uses are different, but.....

I have a heavy RV and I feel the OEM tires useful life is from the delivering dealer to the nearest good tire dealer and immediately replacement and only then if you drive very slow and not in the heat of the day during the summer.

Seriously, most OEM tires especially for the heavier units are sized just barely enough to handle the weight. I like a little more wiggle room than that and a name brand tire also.

I agree.

[PlayersZ28]

I bought my trailer used and it had the OE tires on it but it hadn't been hauled much other than from the plant to the dealer. After I brought it home I replaced the tires with G-rated S637's. I figured the cost of new tires was likely less than the repair costs from a blowout which in most cases causes body damage and you still need to replace them after that. I sold my stock tires to a guy with a boat trailer to offset the cost. As far as age replacement, I go with 5 years from date of manufacture and when I buy tires I check that they are fresh.

[etex211]

The cheap tires they put on at the factory become suspect the moment they mount them on wheels and put air in them.

[Mopar_Earl]

If they are china, which I'm sure they are, get rid of them ASAP! Get some US made LT truck tires. Or Maxxis tires. Never hurts to have a good pressure monitoring system as well.
I've experienced 4 blow outs on my current trailer. This past June I went with Firestone LT Transforce HT tires. Pulls better, rides better and handles better with the LT tires on.

*Note, just about all st tires are only rated for 65 mph. If you plan to drive over 65, you will want higher rated tires.*

Earl

[schrederman]

I don't plan to drive over 65 but my new tires are rated for 81 mph. They are ST tires. The LRC tires that came on it were within their limits but barely, so I went with LRD when I changed them out. Unfortunately I'm still dubious about the quality of even these replacements... Maybe I'll be more comfortable with them after I have a couple of trips on them.

[Bassdogs]

After suffering an interstate blow out on a recent Tgiving holiday trip, I tightened up my rule of thumb concerning TT tires. I am not one that condemns all tires coming out of China. Thought I was going US made when I replaced my blow out with a Goodyear Marathon, only to find out when I got home that it was made in China and had exactly the same ratings as the oem tires. I have a 2014 W Hawk and had 3+ years and something like 12000 miles on the tires. Had already replaced one on the front right that had excessive wear on the outside tread. Swapped another off the ground for the spare before the return 700 mile trip. The one that blew was another tire that looked good with very little wear. Got home after the blow out and replaced the last 2 oem tires.

My recommendation is to always inspect tires before and after each trip and be very critical after 2 years. Oem tires that have defects when new will usually cause a problem in the first few hundred miles. After that you are likely good thru the 2nd year and maybe the 3d year depending on miles traveled and how they are stored. The tire that blew on my last trip may well have been due to hitting a curb cut into a newly paved section of the highway. The curb was maybe 3 inches tall when new pavement started. I hit it at about 55mph and all was good to go for maybe 300 miles. It was the lead tire on the driver side. I do believe that tire had another good year but given that they had been on the ground for 3+ years of ownership its not worth the risk of another blowout at highway speeds.

IN your case, first year and 1000 miles gets you passed the shakedown period when a faulty tire would most likely have failed. I am not in the camp that recommends buying new tires as soon as you leave the dealership and consider that overkill. In your case it would put you right back into the shakedown period on another set of new and maybe better tires.

[cariboocreek]

Originally Posted by edatlanta

Everyone will have their own opinion and honestly all of our needs and RV uses are different, but.....

I have a heavy RV and I feel the OEM tires useful life is from the delivering dealer to the nearest good tire dealer and immediately replacement and only then if you drive very slow and not in the heat of the day during the summer.

Seriously, most OEM tires especially for the heavier units are sized just barely enough to handle the weight. I like a little more wiggle room than that and a name brand tire also.

This.....

[skijlw]

I got about 3000 miles out of my original tires before the first blow out. I got about 8 miles father out of the tires before the second blow out. I have a good tire monitoring system installed and it told me exactly when the tires blew. Monitoring systems don't give you a warning of a catastrophic tire failure. Both sides of the RV tore up to the tune of about 4K. If the tires come from china getting it home from the dealer is about as long as I would trust them.

[cariboocreek]

Originally Posted by skijlw

I got about 3000 miles out of my original tires before the first blow out. I got about 8 miles father out of the tires before the second blow out. I have a good tire monitoring system installed and it told me exactly when the tires blew. Monitoring systems don't give you a warning of a catastrophic tire failure. Both sides of the RV tore up to the tune of about 4K. If the tires come from china getting it home from the dealer is about as long as I would trust them.

I even worry about that.....

[Drake]

Originally Posted by Drake

I realize there are a lot of variables in determining tire life, and that you can't necessarily judge the condition of a trailer tire by the amount of tread left (as you can with cars). I have also read on this site, that the original factory tires may not be of the best quality...

I have a 2017 29.5 BHDS, that we purchased this past spring. I have about 4,000 miles thus far on the tires. Mostly highway and freeway miles. When not in use, the rig is parked in my driveway during the summer, and in an enclosed pole barn for the winter.

When should I start thinking about new tires? And are there obvious things I should watch for to indicate it is time to get new tires? or should I go more by the miles on the tires, etc.?

I would rather not experience the "joy" of having a blow-out when going highway speeds....

On a related topic... where does one go to purchase top quality trailer tires? Do you go to the Jayco dealer, or to a tire distributor like Goodyear?

After reading all of the responses to my questions about tire life; I am inclined to replace the factory tires with better quality tires - sooner than later. Thanks again for all the helpful suggestions.

[LabMan]

I got 28,000 trouble free miles out of the original factory TowMax tires on a 10,000# Octane Toyhauler. Only changed them when I hit a giant pothole and one tire had the tread start to separate. Since I was on the road with 4,500 miles to go, I replaced all 4. If the shop in Detroit Lakes MN had them, I would have replaced with same tire. I have 4 neighbors that have TT's. No one has ever replaced new tires and they all travel thousand of miles yearly. Just my experience.

[Bassdogs]

Originally Posted by LabMan

I got 28,000 trouble free miles out of the original factory TowMax tires on a 10,000# Octane Toyhauler. Only changed them when I hit a giant pothole and one tire had the tread start to separate. Since I was on the road with 4,500 miles to go, I replaced all 4. If the shop in Detroit Lakes MN had them, I would have replaced with same tire. I have 4 neighbors that have TT's. No one has ever replaced new tires and they all travel thousand of miles yearly. Just my experience.

This is an argument that we can not win. I totally agree with your assessment but as I explained I have become a bit more conservative and recommend new rubber after 3 years and a very close watch in the 3d year. There are 10's of thousands TT's and 5'ers on the road at any given hour with only a few problems reported.

If you change out oem tires soon after purchase, I am strongly of the opinion that you are over killing the issue. But we will never change the minds of the "I know better" members who recommend an immediate change out of the oem tires. This is a use your best judgement and its your decision at the end of the day. After over 25000 miles in recent years with 2 TTs and 2 pups, I have experienced 1 blow out and it may well have been the result of a road hazard.