Towing vehicle tire longevity??

[Diamondpilot]

you sure have an oddball of luck with tires.:confused2:

Yes I do. You also have to remember that I currently have 3 trucks so thats 12 tires, 2 tandem trailers so thats 8 tires, and a tri axle trailer so thats another 6. Grand total of 26 tires for me not including lawn mowers, tractors, ect.

I also tow as many as 75 times a year with different trailers about 10,000 miles a year so I just about everything.

Chris

 

[JDgreen227]

I purchased a Y2K GMC Yukon XL 2500 new, the current mileage is under 37,000 actual. The OEM tires are Firestone LT245/75R16E, and the tread isn't even half worn out. The only sign of use, other than the tread wear, is tiny, hairline checking in the bead area. The truck is garaged 99% of the time, and the only towing use is a half ton aluminum utility trailer that might get 100 miles use per year, half of that when loaded to it's one ton capacity.

Every spring, I rotate the tires front to back, cleaning the sidewalls well with a power washer, and then applying two coats of Protect-All. EVERY year...at least every 2000 miles.

Now, if you were me, in my situation, would you shell out $1000 for new tires?

 

[thompsonoutdoor]

Just so the rest of you feel better, I drive 35,000 miles a year and get approx. 20,000 miles out of any tires. I work road construction and drive on a lot of bad surfaces, and tow 3 different trailers at times. Yep thats 2 sets of tires a year!

 

[JDgreen227]

Just so the rest of you feel better, I drive 35,000 miles a year and get approx. 20,000 miles out of any tires. I work road construction and drive on a lot of bad surfaces, and tow 3 different trailers at times. Yep thats 2 sets of tires a year!

Your first post here huh? Welcome to Tractor by Net, lots of great members and unlimited amounts of useful information here....

Two sets of tires a year huh? Man, you make me feel miserly trying to eke out another year on my 11 year old ones....LOL.

 

[clemsonfor]

I purchased a Y2K GMC Yukon XL 2500 new, the current mileage is under 37,000 actual. The OEM tires are Firestone LT245/75R16E, and the tread isn't even half worn out. The only sign of use, other than the tread wear, is tiny, hairline checking in the bead area. The truck is garaged 99% of the time, and the only towing use is a half ton aluminum utility trailer that might get 100 miles use per year, half of that when loaded to it's one ton capacity.

Every spring, I rotate the tires front to back, cleaning the sidewalls well with a power washer, and then applying two coats of Protect-All. EVERY year...at least every 2000 miles.

Now, if you were me, in my situation, would you shell out $1000 for new tires?

I wouldn't but you must be retired or thats your sunday driver? Thats a lot of money to spend on a brand new truck not to ever hardly drive it? Just sayin!

 

[clemsonfor]

I run the BFG all terrain KOs on my Tundra and after 5 years there isn't the slightest sign of cracking and at the rate of wear I doubt I'll be buying new tire for at least another 5 years. I think lesser quallity tires wouldn't last but BFG makes so real good tires.

Wow this must be either a tow vehicle for trips to the lake in the summer etc? Those tires i know can give 80K on the upper end till bald but still thats less than 10K miles a year, i just dont understand how you folks can live in more rural conditions and not drive more miles per year than this. Rural = road miles, period. I drive 12,500 miles just to work and home per year and the wife does about 12 K. That seems low but thats not counting the 300 or so round trip to the farm a dozen times a year, dosent count going to see family hours away, going to town on the week end ever going to the store, to get parts groceries, trips to looks at for sale stuff, trips with the boat to the lake hunting miles which can total into the hundreds etc.

I do like BFG's and so do they with that price, i personally am to cheap to buy them, id rather buy 2 cheaper sets for the same time and get similar life out of the 2 sets than to buy one expensive set that is older when worn out as well as if you tear one up the replacement cost is huge compared to a cheaper set.

 

[kenmac]

your talking about a 10 ply tire. Unless you tow alot of weight. If the tires are in good shape not dry rotted, etc. I wouldn't have a problem using them. I put a new set of ToYo open country on my dodge 2500 a few months ago. When their 7 yrs old I'll continue to use them if their still in good shape

 

[JDgreen227]

I wouldn't but you must be retired or thats your sunday driver? Thats a lot of money to spend on a brand new truck not to ever hardly drive it? Just sayin!

My wife and I worked in the same place, a 12 mile commute one way, but we needed two vehicles so our car got used for most of the work miles, and less than 3 years after we purchased the GMC our employer offered an early retirement deal that we both took. I used the truck for a materials hauler and my part time carpentry job after we retired but the way it sucks gas (4X4 with 4:10 gears) I try to drive it as little as possible. Thought about selling it when we retired but I really liked it and the depreciation hit would have been really bad at 3 years old, so we are keeping it.

 

[timswi]

My wife and I worked in the same place, a 12 mile commute one way, but we needed two vehicles so our car got used for most of the work miles, and less than 3 years after we purchased the GMC our employer offered an early retirement deal that we both took. I used the truck for a materials hauler and my part time carpentry job after we retired but the way it sucks gas (4X4 with 4:10 gears) I try to drive it as little as possible. Thought about selling it when we retired but I really liked it and the depreciation hit would have been really bad at 3 years old, so we are keeping it.

Is it that bad on gas?...I bought my wife an '01 Tahoe with 4:10's and a 5.3. It averaged around 16-17 MPG...Mileage is relative too...Depends on what your other daily driver is I suppose.

She now has a Hummer H3 and it gets similar, or slightly worse mileage. I think it has 4:56's in it, at least that's what all of the OEM stickers say. Bought this used.

 

[jgriswol538802]

Most of the tire stores around here will not repair a tire that is more than 6-7 years old. They say that the tire's age is as important as the mileage in determining it's condition and potential for failure.

I suspect it has as much to do with the potential for lawsuits as anything else.

I just replaced the OEM tires on a 2002 F150 that has 87000 miles on the truck and tires. They still had really good deep tread in the middle, but were worn on the edges to the point where I was becoming concerned. That and their age was enough to convince me it wasn't worth the risk of waiting for a tire failure.

I also replaced 4 tires on a GN horse trailer last year because of age. The trailer gets a couple of 200-300 mile trips a year at most, with the rest of travel within 5-50 miles of home. The trailer sits outside all of the time. Even so, the tires weren't really age cracking and the tread still looked almost new. I had one tire with a slow leak and the dealer refused to fix it due to it's age and I decided the last thing I wanted was a blown tire with horses loaded so I replaced all four.