Lifespan of Trailer Tires

[KennyG]

8 years old is 2 times too long for a tire.

Chris

I've been wondering about this. There is a lot of information on the Internet that says 3 to 5 years is the lifespan of a tire. However, it all comes from people who sell tires. Goodyear does not give a specific lifespan but says storage and operating conditions matter. TireRack.com says life span can be 6 to 10 years. My experience on low mileage cars is that after 6 or 7 years the tread starts to harden, hurting performance, but I've never had a structural problem.

This all interests me because I probably use my trailer only a few hundred miles a year. I store it inside and move it often enough to rotate the tires, so I'm inclined to push the envelop a bit on tire life.

 

[hawkeye08]

Proper inflation, protection from sun (when not in use of course) will do wonders. My 20' car trailer has cheap tires on it, I expect to have to replace them soon (4 years old now). I don't use my trailer that much so putting a bunch of money in tires is not going to happen, but if I was using it more, I would put some decent tires on it...

 

[sld]

I have had a number of boats that store in the garage for the last 20+ years and have always been paranoid about the tires. I think when stored out of the sun / weather it adds a couple of years.

I have been replacing at 6-7 years with no issues. I have had good luck with Loadstar tires. Looking at the mfg date is a good idea before buying any trailer tires.

You would shell out the cost of new tires in a heartbeat if given that choice when on the side of the road with a blowout.

 

[ultrarunner]

The family 1957 Fiber-flite with Evinrude Lark motor still has the original wide wall tires since 1957.

The are Goodyear made in Argentina with tubes...

The launch is 10 blocks from home and the boat/trailer has always been garaged...

I'm thinking garage stored and tubes is the why they are still usable?

 

[aczlan]

The family 1957 Fiber-flite with Evinrude Lark motor still has the original wide wall tires since 1957.
The are Goodyear made in Argentina with tubes...
The launch is 10 blocks from home and the boat/trailer has always been garaged...
I'm thinking garage stored and tubes is the why they are still usable?

That and a 10 block run, no long highway trips in 100F heat...

Aaron Z

 

[ultrarunner]

That and a 10 block run, no long highway trips in 100F heat...

Aaron Z

The last time I towed it any distance (200 miles) was May 1998 through Sacramento CA...

Tire size 540-15

 

[3930dave]

The last time I towed it any distance (200 miles) was May 1998 through Sacramento CA...

Tire size 540-15

On my limited budget, I'd still be very willing to buy rounds of beverages for a senior tire design engineer, to get the real skinny on what's going on with tires.

You take good care of your machines UR, but I believe there is an element of They Don't Make Things Like They Used To going on here. Guessing significant reduction of natural rubber content, coupled with the addition of other things to reduce rolling resistance..... just a guess.....

Many tire classes seem to dry rot fast these days, but ST product seems to be distinctly bad. The designs seem deficient, and it appears that there is little/no regulatory oversight (NHTSA). A few tire manufacturers can deliver a decent ST product (I'm happy with the Greenballs that Chris recommended to me a couple of years back), but that seems to be the exception, not the rule today.

Even w/o the NHTSA involved, I'm a little surprised that there haven't been class action suits in the USA over ST tires. Trailer damage is one thing, but at 70 mph, it wouldn't take much for a blown tire to lead to a bad/fatal multi-vehicle accident.

Rgds, D.

 

[ultrarunner]

^^^ Very true...

A friend in the tire industry has a term he uses often for some tire brands... "Sawdust" tires

I think Germany makes some very good tires... the speed rating and liability must factor.

What I am afraid of might result is a standard where tires simply expire once their use by date is reached... it would be boon to the tire manufacturers everywhere...

Speaking of tires... I noticed a co-worker with a soft left front tire on her Tahoe... she said it needs air all the time so I took it to the Goodyear on the corner and sure enough it had a very small nail in the tread.... $28.73.

I remember taking tires there for others and paying $8 for a flat repair... just showing my age.

 

[brain55]

Reading this thread makes me glad (well kind of) that I wear out, and have to replace my trailer (and truck) tires once a year. It has been a long time since tire age has been an issue for me.

Brian

 

[Oliver1655]

I have a simple old tire stand I use to fix tires. It would take me longer to drive to town & back home than to fix a tire myself. This isn't taking in account the time waiting for the repair.

Tire shops around here vary from $9-12 a repair.