How often should you replace tires

[goutoe]

How often do you guys replace your bus tires due to age? Iam sure my rear tires are close to ten years old and still have 90% tread left on them, I replaced the steering tires 4yrs ago they are still like brand new, my bus is kept inside out of the sun so there is no sun rot or weather checking, I use the bus only in the camping season and usually travel less than 5000 miles a year.>>> John.

[ol713]

     Hi;
        Usual rule of thumb is 8 yrs.   Different manufacturers vary a year or so
        one way or the other.
        I assume you know how to read the date code on your tires.   I would
        think you are at the end of life for those tires. 
        I use used tires for the drive axel.  While on your travels, you can check
        different tire shops to see what they have.   Last ones I found are less
        than two years old.
                                             Good luck, Merle

[bigred]

Just took tires off my Prevost .Steer tires ten years old ,Rest sixteen years old .Michelin XL'S .Steer tire were Firestone RV Tires.And these tires had a least 60 to 70 percent of their tread left and no cracks or nicks!!

[luvrbus]

It makes you wonder how much money and engineering the Tire co's spent into developing a certain number of years for the life of a tire it wasn't always the case 30 years ago.A old bias tire would last sometimes 20 years without a problem.
You can install new Michelin's and stand back and watch those crack, Michelin told me those were UV cracks don't worry it was BS my UV cracks got bigger and bigger after 2 years so I changed them last week but not to Michelin this time   

[chessie4905]

I bought a 4905 about 20 years ago for parts now. It has Firestone lease tires on the front.The tire sitting in the sun did not show any cracks until 2 years ago, and they are small.None on the shaded side. They put better rubber in the tires when they lease them.

[luvrbus]

I was Camp Pendelton last week and was amazed how much military equipment uses the 12R x 22.5 some of those tires were 20+ years old and with no sign of aging 

[HB of CJ]

This needs to be asked.  Is it something physically in the tire makeup or manufacturing process or is just a situation of aggressive marketing?   Planned obsolescence through aggressive marketing or engineering?  Or neither?

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

I always carry a good spare and replace them as they each blow out.  I found this to be the most cost effective solution.  

Just kidding. It depends on several factors of course, such as if you keep your bus in a garage, and/or you cover your tires when the bus is off the road as well as the weight of your bus and the climate you live and travel in and most importantly if you carry family members on board.

As long as you have good tread on your sneakers and there are no stress cracks, and your hub seals don't leak oil on your tires, you should be fine, but I agree with Merle, about 8 years is the maximum under normal driving/parked conditions, less if you are traveling with family or friends on board just to be on the safe side.  Unlike bus drivers who always wear their seat belts, your passengers may not be wearing theirs at all times which can be deadly if they get thrown around if you have to suddenly over compensate for a tire blowout even if you don't go off the road.  

To be even safer, you may want to consider changing your steer tires at about half of that interval.  This will also allow you to stretch out your tire expenses, now that it costs about as much to replace a full set of sneakers as it does to buy a new bus, you may want to purchase two at a time every couple of years and put the two new ones on the steer wheels and rotate out the old steer tires to the back of the coach to replace the ones that are the most worn out.  The steer tires are the ones most likely to kill you if they blow out while traveling over 50 MPH because one flat tire can make it very difficult to maintain control of your bus, or even at a slower speed if you are driving down a steep grade with a big drop-off on one or both sides. Or worse than that if you don't have power steering in your bus.

Another very helpful lifesaver is to purchase a TireTraker Pressure Monitoring System, the only system with a lifetime guarantee which will give you an audible and visual warning if your tire pressure is low or a tire is running hot, which can happen as they lose air pressure as it may save your life and the life of your loved ones as well.  Underinflation of tires is your worst enemy and is one thing that can easily be prevented. Check them out at http://tiretraker.com.

I run this system on my bus and have never experienced a low air pressure situation that got out of control since installing this system.  Sometimes with duals, it is difficult to see if your inside tire may be low unless you do a walk-around inspection of your bus at all stops like you are supposed to and beat on every tire with a baseball bat or something to ensure the tires are hard i.e. fully inflated such that the bat bounces back and hits your wheel well.  This is a pain to do at every stop especially in the rain or a snowstorm.  Worst case scenario if you blow out a tire is of course death of you and your loved ones, but even if you blow out a rear tire it can tear up your wheel wells and braking systems which can run into thousands of dollars in repairs or could even distract you and cause you to cross lanes of traffic or run off the road and flip onto your side.  Both very embarrassing situations.

The TireTraker is good insurance which will not only save you money in the long run but may avoid a catastrophe while away from home.  It can also save you on tire costs because overinflated or underinflated tires wear sooner than properly inflated tires.  Also many blowouts start with a small leak which goes unnoticed until it is too late.  The TireTraker will let you know as soon as your tire temperature or pressure reaches a pre-set threshold, set by you to let you know before there is a major failure.  The other advantage is that you no longer have to leave the safety of your bus on the side of the road or in a dark parking lot where you can get attacked.  Now-a-days, this is becoming more of a concern since the 2008 depression and less people have jobs and are desperate to feed their families any way that they can.

BTW, if you decide to not replace your tires on a regular basis or purchase a TireTraker system, remember this.  If you have a front tire blow out, NEVER hit the brakes.  Stomp on the throttle fast and hard to apply more rotational torque around your rear tires to help to reduce the weight on your steer tires and then after you get the beast under control and off the side of the road, gradually apply the brakes.  Another option is to use your E-Brakes, but only after you get it off to the side of the road as this will apply only the rear brakes so you will be able to steer with the one remaining front tire without it pulling to the side of the road. However at less than about 40 MPH once it is under control, you should be able to stop safely with regular brakes or better yet, just come to a rolling stop immediately after you get it under control if you have the space because a blown out tire creates about as much friction than a single tire brake do and will be easier to handle.

Everyone should watch this very interesting video that may one day save your life or the lives of your loved ones on what to do when your front tires blow out: http://www.michelinrvtires.com/tires/tires-101/tire-maintenance-and-safety/how-to-handle-a-blowout/.

Even though we all know that a bus conversion is the safest way to travel, one must also take every possible precaution to protect ourselves and our loved ones.  There is no need to take chances when there are measures you can take to make your bus safer.

[sledhead]

my tire guy ( 30 years in the tire business )  told me I am    NUTS   for changing my 10 year old tires as they are almost alway inside ( out of the sun , weather ) other then a few weeks a year when we use the coach . if they have zero cracks in the side wall there is no reason to change them . if it was stored out side in the sun then it would be different . his words ! and there are no cracks at all on them now . my steers are only 2 years old , inside drives are 4 years old  but the drive out side  tires and the tag tires will be 10 years old this summer . so against his advice I will be changing at least the 2 outside drives this year but I think I will leave the 10 year old tag tires on ?

so am I nuts by only changing 2 or is he right and not change any of them ?

thanks dave  

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

Depends if you like playing Russian Roulette.   

Just think if I was killed by a blowout in my bus, there would be no more BCM Magazine or Forum for you guys to read. 

I don't think my life is any more valuable than anyone else out there (well it is to me), but if you decide not to change your tires on the recommended intervals that are published by several (no-biased ) tire companies, you have to be cognizant of the consequences.

Or if you always keep your bus under 30 MPH, you should be fine, but you may want to shore up your rear bumper and get some rugged seat headrests first. 

[luvrbus]

Wonder if the Tiretracker system will work with the SilverLeaf I need some new sensors @50 bucks ea,the replaceable batteries in the Tiretracker sounds good to me

[chessie4905]

No more forum??? You better change out your tires every year.

[kyle4501]

I'm pretty sure that the cost to replace tires as preventive action is less than the repair bill after one unfortunate turn of events - - -
http://www.livetrucking.com/motor-home-blows-a-tire-flies-over-median-on-i-10/

I have had the misfortune of having a front tire blow out more than once (Both times, the tires were old, but looked perfect! ). Just after it happened, I would have gladly paid for 2 new tires to avoid the hassle of dealing with that aftermath, not to mention repairing the collateral damage.

Rubber will allow moisture to pass thru to the steel cords- it takes a while, but eventually, rust will develop.

Also, as rubber ages, the plasticisers leach out - regular usage works the rubber to keep the plasticisers evenly distributed which keeps the rubber flexible.

Lets not under estimate the negative impact of road hazards.

It is hard to predict how all these things add up to influence the life of the tire.

I am planning on replacing the steers at or before 5 years, The drives at 8, sooner if they show any signs that cause concern.

[Lin]

When I bought new tires about nine years ago, I thought 8 years was a reasonable change interval.  Now, with these tires still looking perfect, I tend to think I will make a decision one trip at a time.  My bus is kept outside, but I do have tire covers.  I also bought this 303 tire treatment, which is supposed to be pretty good, although I really have only used it a couple of times and then only on the outer tire wall.

[ArtGill]

On my way to Arcadia last December, my only 14 year old tire blew out on my inside dual.  I didn't realize that I had a tire that old.  I did have a spare and Coachnet so everything worked out OK.  When I returned home I purchased two new tires which I put on the fronts and moved the fronts to where I had old tires.  I now have two new tires and 6 tires that are four years old and two good spares.  My plan is to trade in tires as they approach 8 years old and let the tire dealer sell them to log truck trailers.  One blowout is enough to make me a believer.  I just don't want to test the age thing!

Art