new tire mfg dates

[garhawk]

Later today my Eagle is getting eight new tires - 11R  24.5!

My question is:  what should be the maximum age of the new tires before I start to pitch a fit in the lobby?

[Utahclaimjumper]

Try to get them at least less than three months old,, date stamp will be week/year.>>>Dan

[lostagain]

Up to a year would be reasonable.

JC

[luvrbus]

According to my friend a VP at Toyo it is not going to make much difference if the tire is kept indoors the compounds in tires are dormant till the tire is mounted and used and fwiw a tire by government regulations can be sold as a new tire up to 5 years after the manufactures date let the war begin lol but he knows tires  


good luck

[buswarrior]

If you have to pitch a fit, it's your fault for not specifying what you want before you make the deal.

So, busnut strategy is to get to the point straight up, tell the tire folks that age is important, that you will age out your tires before you wear them out, along with your other needs, size, carrying weight, revolutions per mile, price point, and then let them make you some offers.

Shopping at a larger outlet, you have a better chance of seeing the tire right now.

As for setting some arbitrary age, we need to consider how the tire industry works. 3 months is a little short for some of the off beat tires we might desire.

Tires are manufactured in batches, so, if you have ordered a slower selling tire, some of the desired model may not have been made recently. The manufacturers forecast their needs, based on past experience, in order to have close to the right number of the right kind of tires available at the right time. They run a batch, then switch the line over to another model.

The tire may have had to wait in line for transport, and may have had a cruise ship experience as well as sightseeing the highways by truck.

Smaller shops order tires from larger warehouses, a bigger shop keeps a certain amount of product on hand. Whatever arrives in the truck is what arrives, they may have little say in the date code.

Rare or slow moving product gathers dust, or must be ordered in from other supply chains.

There are deals to be made to get slow moving product out the door.

The date code is not as important to most of their commercial customers like it is to us.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[luvrbus]

I have been told by engineers at tire plants and people that know tires like the DOT people those numbers are for one reason and that is to track the tires if failures start and recalls are in order with the numbers they know right where to go to check for the problem to much is made of the manufactures date I believe for bus guys lol


good luck

[Van]

Having never needed to buy commercial tires in the past, so I have no knowledge in this area but are there warranties that go with the purchase of new tires? just outta Curi-viscosity.

[Boomer]

I tend to agree with Clifford.  If your tires are properly operated and cared for, and depending on your climate, I see no need to adhere to this magical 7 year life span that some tire manufacturers recommend and that seems to be preached about on these bus boards.  The tire companies want to reduce their liability, and by the way if you get in a warranty situation I would not expect too much from them.  Key is how they are cared for.  In my case, the bus is always stored inside in a cool climate when not in use, I check the inflation before any trip, do not curb them, and do not go down the road at 70-80 (heat kills).  I have always done my own tire work, even when I ran 20 buses (younger then, dismounting and mounting 8 tires at a whack is no day at the beach).  I'm real fussy about my tires and wheels, seen how too many tire monkeys treat somebody's tires/wheels, so just always did it myself.  If, however, you keep your rig in a high temperature environment or let the sun take it's toll on them you can expect to replace them earlier rather than later.  I have a friend who recently sold his bus.  He kept it year round, outside, in Yuma.  The tires had covers on them, but were over 10 years old (very few miles on them, they looked new).  The new owner made it 40 miles and blew a front one, they were premium tires. Tire rotation is important too, and things like picking the rocks out if you see them.  Our tires are right up there at the top as far as a financial and safety investment, and are probably overlooked way to often.  Just one greybeard's opinion.  Do it your way.

[Oonrahnjay]

(snip) what should be the maximum age of the new tires before I start to pitch a fit in the lobby? 

Whatever you decide, I wanna be there when you do it!!!!!

[garhawk]

The tire shop gave me back the Eagle at 5:00pm with eight new Toyo 11R 22.5 tires.  They looked good, smelled good and felt very soft and rubbery.  It's a good thing because that $3400 check had really dulled  my senses.

After receiving six bids for the exact same tires, this was the lowest number.  The price included installation.  I fear there must be better deals out there but, it is sorta like W.C. Fields said, "A fool and his money were fortunate to have met in the first place."

The tires appeared to be a 'matched' set, as they all had the same manufactured date - 4910.  If I understand that correctly it is the 49th week of 2010, which makes them 15 weeks old at the time of installation.  From what you guys told me, it would seem that's a very reasonable age for newly installed tires. 

So, after seeing the date of mfg, it wasn't necessary to pitch a fit in the lobby.  You'll have to wait for the next show, Oorahnjay!  Thanks to all who proffered advice - it is appreciated and, I most certainly will comply with the care and feeding of these expensive puppies.

[luvrbus]

Eagle buses love Toyo tires

good luck

[Ace]

Found out just yesterday that some mfgr tires are getting very hard to get due to the oil problem. If your after a particular tire or size, you may want to put your order in now and see just how long it will take to actually get them. Top names like michelin, bridgestone etc are availlable but at around 700 bucks each not installed!
Glad I got mine when I did!