RV tire life?

[Alpine Warthog]

I've got a 38 foot Class A RV (gasser. can't afford a diesel) and I'm debating tire replacements. I was told they were a must-replace every 3 years. But I can't understand how anyone can replace tires every three years, especially when they've only been driven 1000 miles.....
especially 6 of them at $400 a pop

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[PuddleJumper]

Well ya see. sitting or not. The psi those tires sit at is quite high. I bet its a structural issue over time. Plus they could also be shitty Chinese bombs if they are the originals as well. But personally if they were a good reputable brand of tires i run em till they are out of tread or 7 years old. whichever comes first. I'd check DOT rules on what is legal though.

 

[AmishMike]

I second Puddle. Unless they have seen damage, low pressure etc. do an inflated visual on them and run them.
I have a fleet of school buses and we run 7 years on them or twice capped, which ever comes first. If I were running non-passenger trucks I would push them longer. Tire technology has come a LONG way - in good tires.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

I literally just drove a 1977 motorhome home on it's way older than 3 years tires, 40 miles, for it's free 440 and 727 lol.

 

[Alpine Warthog]

Mine seem to be a combo of different years. As young as 3 years. I haven't gotten underneath to see what the inner dualies ages are though.... I'm kinda scared to look. All are goodyear or toyo

 

[Freems]

Mine seem to be a combo of different years. As young as 3 years. I haven't gotten underneath to see what the inner dualies ages are though.... I'm kinda scared to look. All are goodyear or toyo

Side wall checking or cracking is the real enemy of all older tires. No cracking?, plot a course captain!

 

[B Bedgood]

I've been rving full time for a few years. I tow my Gladiator behind my diesel motorhome. I just cleaned and put gel on my tires yesterday. Putting the gel on gives me an opportunity to closely examine the tires for cracks in the rubber.

My drive and tag axle tires are 6 or 7 years old and still in good shape. My steer tires are about 3 years old. If you take care of your tires in most cases you wouldn't need to replace them that soon. They would probably be good for 6-10 years.

 

[Dougstdig]

Blew the bottom part of my passenger side slide off on my fifth wheel, and the buddy of mine driving behind me asked me if I saw the trailer jump up because both axles left the ground when it blew.

*** especially with E-rated trailer tires and above….3-3.5 years max no matter the tread depth or visible condition of the sidewall.

 

[Wildtoad]

OP, Three years is horse crap. 7 years is a mythical number developed by those that sell tires, not by any manufacturer of RV tires. Not unlike the 3,000 mile oil change myth. Both Goodyear and Michelin, two of the most common tires on new RV's, have a must swap policy of 10 years. They to however, advise getting them professionally checked starting at year 7.

All is dependent on how one maintains them. Keep them properly inflated according to the placard in the RV, or use the tire charts by tire manufacturer for the actual weight of your RV including fuel, water, and all the people, clothes, food, and misc junk you load into it. Using the placard pressures is simpler, and probably better for the life of your tires. Wash them to remove any road oils.

If you need to store the RV for extended periods of time, inflate the tire to sidewall pressures to help prevent flat spotting, if you have levelers use them to take pressure off the tires. Don't forget to reduce pressure when you want to use the RV again.

If you are'nt already doing so, go to iRV2.com which is a RV user community and look around. There are sections on specific motor homes, chassis makers such as the Ford f53. Most of the people on the forum are friendly, have plenty of experience.

If you ask about tires, oil, waste tanks, waxing you will be inundated with opinions.

The MH in my avatar is a 2016 with original tires on the drive axle. I swapped the fronts a year or so ago due to alignment issues.

I too pull my Gladiator with zero issues, and mine is a F53 gasser.

 

[Alpine Warthog]

I've been rving full time for a few years. I tow my Gladiator behind my diesel motorhome. I just cleaned and put gel on my tires yesterday. Putting the gel on gives me an opportunity to closely examine the tires for cracks in the rubber.

My drive and tag axle tires are 6 or 7 years old and still in good shape. My steer tires are about 3 years old. If you take care of your tires in most cases you wouldn't need to replace them that soon. They would probably be good for 6-10 years.

I'm pretty sure I've got a couple that are past the 6 year mark. I'll take a close look at each of them.

OP, Three years is horse crap. 7 years is a mythical number developed by those that sell tires, not by any manufacturer of RV tires. Not unlike the 3,000 mile oil change myth. Both Goodyear and Michelin, two of the most common tires on new RV's, have a must swap policy of 10 years. They to however, advise getting them professionally checked starting at year 7.

All is dependent on how one maintains them. Keep them properly inflated according to the placard in the RV, or use the tire charts by tire manufacturer for the actual weight of your RV including fuel, water, and all the people, clothes, food, and misc junk you load into it. Using the placard pressures is simpler, and probably better for the life of your tires. Wash them to remove any road oils.

If you need to store the RV for extended periods of time, inflate the tire to sidewall pressures to help prevent flat spotting, if you have levelers use them to take pressure off the tires. Don't forget to reduce pressure when you want to use the RV again.

If you are'nt already doing so, go to iRV2.com which is a RV user community and look around. There are sections on specific motor homes, chassis makers such as the Ford f53. Most of the people on the forum are friendly, have plenty of experience.

If you ask about tires, oil, waste tanks, waxing you will be inundated with opinions.

The MH in my avatar is a 2016 with original tires on the drive axle. I swapped the fronts a year or so ago due to alignment issues.

I too pull my Gladiator with zero issues, and mine is a F53 gasser.

Thanks for the pointers and I'll check out the forum too. I can't remember which chassis is under mine. I know its a ford with the V-10. Probably the 53. How does the towing go? Is it a killer on the gas mileage?

 

[Stuntman Mike]

Change after three years is BS.

Here in overregulated Germany we have to change the tires on the trailer every 6 years, but only if we want to go up to 63 mph (of course the trailer needs a special permission for this speed).

 

[Wildtoad]

Gas mileage on Ford V10, it’s what I have, is in the mid single digits. Towing will affect it some. Towing I get a bit over 6, not towing just over 7. Downwind on a flat road maybe 8.

Towing my Gladiator has not been a problem. I can tell it’s there on steep inclines but not much more than my old Jk Wrangler.

If you haven’t already looked into a braking system for your towed car, take a good look at the NSA Ready Brute Elite system. It’s a tow bar / brake system all in one, requires no power at the car. Simple install on a Jeep.

 

[bd100]

May help to cover the tires while parked for long periods of time.

 

[Alpine Warthog]

Gas mileage on Ford V10, it’s what I have, is in the mid single digits. Towing will affect it some. Towing I get a bit over 6, not towing just over 7. Downwind on a flat road maybe 8.

Towing my Gladiator has not been a problem. I can tell it’s there on steep inclines but not much more than my old Jk Wrangler.

If you haven’t already looked into a braking system for your towed car, take a good look at the NSA Ready Brute Elite system. It’s a tow bar / brake system all in one, requires no power at the car. Simple install on a Jeep.

Hmmm, I'll definitely check that out as well. I've flat towed before but it was bare bones $50 bar bolted to the front stock bumper of my XJ. it got a little squirrely at 55 lol

 

[Rusty PW]

Used to be a rule of thumb was to change tires every 7 years on a RV. On my '09 Fleetwood 40X diesel pusher. I had to change tires just before they got to 6 years. They started to crack inbetween the treads. Only had 45,000 miles on it. Michelins are the top shelf RV tire, but are $800+ each. I went with Yokohama's for $500 each. Tire covers do help with the ozone and UV rays.

Towing with my first motorhome. A 2014 Bounder 36R with the ford V10 sucked. It only had a 5,000 lbs towing capacity. The second motorhome was the Discovery 40X with a 10,000 lbs towing capacity. I towed a 2013 Grand Cherokee TrailHawk behind them. The V10 knew the GC was back there. The Diesel don't know anything was back there. Fuel mileage with the V10 was low as 2 mpg when towing at times. The diesel got 8 mpg regardless if I was towing or not.

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