A Tire-some Expense

 By the Never-Bored RVers

The fact that we have bought 11 RV tires in the past four years does not make us experts on RV tires, but we have learned a few things that may have saved us money and agony.  No matter what type RV you use, this is applicable to you.

We owned a 22-foot light weight trailer that we loaded up right to the 5,000-pound GVWR limit and drove across the U.S. and back for a year.  We had two blow-outs caused when I scraped the sides of the tires on the edge of narrow roadways, plus we wore out the original four tires.  Since they were 14” tires, the cost wasn’t too bad, but we would have preferred to use that money for more enjoyable pursuits.

On our way to Death Valley this week pulling our 28-foot Bigfoot, we stopped off to have our wheel alignment checked, concerned because of what we considered unusual wear on the outsides of the front tires in our two-axle tandem.  We learned that: 1) axles were correctly arched upward to compensate for the weight and bounce of the trailer, and 2) that our wheels were aligned, so that was not the problem.

There was no problem, except for the way tandem tires wear.  We were told that when we turn sharply, the tires actually skid along the road surface.  We are on the move a lot, often backing into a half-dozen or more campgrounds each month, so the wear is not unusual. 

Well, that should have made us feel better about the situation, but an hour later we forked over $800 for a set of new 10-ply LT tires.  Ouch!

And, while we’re on the subject of scraping tires, wear on the front tires of our truck is also sacrificed every time I turn the wheels while not moving to line the ball up to the tongue.  Turning when you’re not moving costs you tire rubber no matter what RV you have. 

Here is some non-expert advice you might find helpful.  Since we travel North America full-time, we are now buying tires from national retailers.  How else can you take advantage of the warranty, if it applies, if you’re 2,000 miles from a local dealer?  And warranties apparently don’t apply to trailer tires, since they have no way of knowing how many miles you’ve put on them.

As we write this, we have Good Sam Club’s ActionLine working on our behalf concerning a repair problem, a situation that happened before we started writing for rv.net.  We bought a set of tires from a local outlet in Louisiana, drove 3,000 miles on them and happened to be in the same place when one trailer tire picked up a large screw in the tread.  Road service came out, put on our spare and I took the flat back to the original dealership for repair. 

On our way out of town, we had the repaired tire remounted and went on our merry way to Tucson, where the same tire went flat on us.  We drove into a national retailer.  They determined that the tire was plugged but without a patch inside, as was specified by the NHTSA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

We paid $180 for a new tire.  Ouch, again!

Another tip.  We don’t stay in any one place very long, but my son’s 5^th wheel often sits on his rural homestead for months at a time.  For him, it is recommended that he take the weigh off the tires, so that the bottoms don’t develop a flat spot.  I don’t remember where I read that, but it makes sense to me.

The company from whom we purchased our Bigfoot trailer recommended that we put 50 psi in the tires, which seemed low to us.  On the side of the tire, it sets the max psi at 65, so I e-mailed the factory to ask the proper pressure.  I was advised that I could do whatever I wanted, but they recommend 50 psi. 

The tires we bought this week have a maximum rating of 80 psi.  When I told them to put 55 pounds in the new tires, the manager told me they will only put in 80 pounds, as recommended by the manufacturer.   I’d like to hear your comments about this in the Comments section below.

 

HERE ARE SOME OTHER TIPS

You have probably read often that there are some “musts” to ensure better tire safety.  For instance, the expected life of most RV tires is 5 to 6 years.  The older they are, the more attention you should give them. 

Weigh your rig to make sure you aren’t putting more pressure on your tires (and axles) than they are designed for. 

When we were with our Alaska caravan this summer, the caravan tailgunner went to each rig – all 19 of us – each morning and tapped the tires with a club.  He explained that he listens for a different sound from any of the tires in the set.  He alerted members of the group to problems several times during the trip.  It’s an easy way to check your tires, even if you have an RV that has an automatic tire inflation system.

Having tires on our RV and having put out money to fix tire problems doesn’t make me an expert.  I checked the websites for a few brands, where I found very good information; for example, Michelin has an easy-to-read guide at http://www.michelinrvtires.com/michelinrv/toolbox/reference-material.jsp  It’s probably a good idea to check the website for the tires you have or are considering. 

Another excellent website is http://www.nhtsa.com/cars/rules/TireSafety/ridesonit/brochure.html, which is the U.S.D.O.T. guidelines and recommendations for car tires.

One final terrifying thought.  We have spoken with several RVers who had major damage from blow-outs.  One caused thousands of dollars of damage when pieces of tread went up through the flooring and practically destroyed the bathroom.  Another lost a section of outside paneling that left a bay open.

This is serious business, not something about which to take chances just hoping everything’s okay while trying to save money by pushing your tires beyond the point of safety.  

From the “re-tired” & “Never-Bored RVers,” We’ll see you on down the road.