Tires look brand new, but are 11 years old. Keep or discard?

[plowhog]

I have 8 truck tires-- size 295/80R22.5 Load range H.

They look brand new, have under 1,000 miles on them, but are 11 years old. They have been mounted on a truck that has been rarely used, stored indoors, and only occasionally driven. People are telling me to throw the tires away and replace them. A new set, including installation, is close to $10,000.

Q- are they safe to use? Should I replace them and be "better safe than sorry?" Does indoor storage make a difference in the recommendation to replace every 6-10 years regardless of mileage?

Other than discarding, is there any good use for these "like new" tires I would be removing?

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Not sure where you are coming up with that price . . . $500 each should be easy to find ... But I'd not change them just because of age ... Go drive it!

 

[Rustyiron]

If you're use is local, non highway speeds and personal, I'd run 'em. Just don't overload them and keep an eye on them.
I'm running a much smaller (Goodyear) tire on my f450 that I bought new around 20 years ago!

 

[Farmer495]

Tire age must be a regional thing, climatic differences I guess. Tires don't seem to "go bad" here, they just wear out and and you get new ones.

 

[Rustyiron]

There are DOT regulations on tire age, but there are also "regulations" on issuing a cdl to an illegal alien that ultimately kill 3 people in Florida.
So much for regulations.

 

[Hay Dude]

I have 8 truck tires-- size 295/80R22.5 Load range H.

They look brand new, have under 1,000 miles on them, but are 11 years old. They have been mounted on a truck that has been rarely used, stored indoors, and only occasionally driven. People are telling me to throw the tires away and replace them. A new set, including installation, is close to $10,000.

Q- are they safe to use? Should I replace them and be "better safe than sorry?" Does indoor storage make a difference in the recommendation to replace every 6-10 years regardless of mileage?

Other than discarding, is there any good use for these "like new" tires I would be removing?

Seems financially counter productive to replace $10,000 worth of tires on a truck that is only “occasionally driven”.

Are the people you’ve been talking to in the new tire business, or people who want to see your financial demise?

If they don’t have weather cracks on the sidewalls, damaged or loose tread and they hold air for long periods of time, they should be fine.

 

[Oaktree]

I don't know if it's a law, or just policy but many/most tire places won't repair or remount a tire over a certain age. Could just be liability concerns.

 

[jyoutz]

I don't know if it's a law, or just policy but many/most tire places won't repair or remount a tire over a certain age. Could just be liability concerns.

It’s typically 5 years on the date code.

 

[KennyG]

I've run tires way past the recommended 6 year limit, but I park everything inside and keep them clean. The thing to be aware of is that the rubber will harden eventually and the traction, especially in the wet will be reduced. If there are no cracks, I would go ahead and keep them but I would be careful and I wouldn't drive it in the rain.

 

[Hay Dude]

It’s typically 5 years on the date code.

5 years? Sheesh, I bet 1/2 the country's vehicles are riding on tires over 5 years old.
Another step towards “the wussification of America”

 

[WM75Guy]

I keep track of tire age on my vehicles and trailers. I tend to err on the side of caution. If it were my truck, it would get new tires. Here is the Discount Tires position, which I where I get my tires. They would not service them. And yes, I have replaced tires based on age that looked brand new, such as spares which never hit the ground.

 

[jyoutz]

5 years? Sheesh, I bet 1/2 the country's vehicles are riding on tires over 5 years old.
Another step towards “the wussification of America”

I have tires older than that on my truck and my stock trailer. I was mistaken. It’s 6 years on the date code where most tire shops recommend replacement.

 

[deserteagle71]

I bought a bumper-pull 14k trailer in 1997 I think. Still on the original tires today. Very few miles on the trailer - tread looks like the tires are brand new. Trailer is stored in my pole barn so not exposed to sunlight or to any fumes of any sort. Every time I hook on to it and pull it out of the barn I check the tires very carefully for any signs of deterioration. So far no sign of aging at all so until I see cracking or something like that I'm going to keep using those tires. Goodyear brand...but I don't remember the exact model.

 

[jmc]

I've had the entire tread come off of one tire of my empty, dual axle dump trailer. Maybe 1500 miles on it, max. But 20 years old! Stored inside on concrete 99.9% of the time.

 

[not2old]

I recently purchased a new to me 2011 travel trailer with the original tires where the tread looked like new. One tire had very minor cracks in the side wall near the bead and I've replaced them, keeping the spare. I've heard too many stories of people losing a tire while far from home and can't easily find a replacement. A few years ago I was ignoring the age if the tire looked good and lost a large chunk of the tread on tires I had bought used, ten years previously. I felt the bumping, got out and looked at all tires, truck and trailer. All looked good so I continued on my way, thinking I had a spark plug problem, jerking the truck. After another few miles at 60 MPH, I looked again to see the missing chunk but still holding air. Don't want to repeat that experience. My plan now is to run the new tires for about five years and then find a buyer for them to subsidize the purchase of new ones.

 

[plowhog]

Not sure where you are coming up with that price . . . $500 each should be easy to find ...

I'm talking with potential buyers. I am getting a *LOT* of feedback from truck operators that they won't touch my 11 year old tires with a 10 foot pole. They want me to replace them, or credit them so they can get it done. Some are worried of personal liability if they were hauling a load, blew out an 11-year old tire, and caused an accident.

Still curious-- if I replace them-- is there some other use for them? Kind of hard to sell a "set" of tires to use as a spare, but I'd be OK having one of these as a spare on my truck. Any other ideas?

 

[Rustyiron]

I was curious about the use of rubber in an average automobile tire vs a petroleum product.

 

[Hay Dude]

You do know that Michelins are a premium price tire, right?
Have you tried Continental, Good Year, etc?

I am pretty good at buying/selling tires.
IMO, if you feel scared about your tires, I would look for a set of deeply discounted take-offs on FBM, or a tire reseller.

I’ve had excellent success buying “new” old stock tires, maybe 2-3 years old.
I picked up a new set of tires for my Ram for $2,000. They were $3,000 new from dealers, by just keeping an eye on FBM for a couple months.

I take it these are for a motor home? Should be plenty of them out there for sale. Just look at the manufacturing date.

 

[plowhog]

I’ve had excellent success buying “new” old stock tires, maybe 2-3 years old.

Good idea, thanks.

I can check around, but can't wait long for some to show up-- buyers are "kicking the tires" right now.

If I take the current ones off, the only use I've found so far is to promote catfish spawning. Of all things!

https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=569315

 

[Alan46]

My brother in law had a set of Chinese made tires on his 5th wheel, he thought he would push the 5 year date, well he didn’t make it to the sixth year and when it blew out it took out the side of his trailer !