Administrators BRAAP Posted December 1, 2009 Administrators Share Posted December 1, 2009 (edited) First hand experience this weekend with how important a commonly overlooked aspect of tires really is. Production date. Tires don’t last forever and over time become extremely unsafe. We bought or 33 foot 1998 Winnebago Chieftain Class A motor home a few years back, tread looked great, 75%+ tread, I regularly make sure the tires have adequate pressure before we use the motor home etc. Didn’t once think to see just how old these tries are. Made a trip to Disney Land summer of ’08, sever camping trips to the cost, silver falls, we take it to Medford for Thanksgiving to see my wifes father. This trip to Medford I removed all the tires checked the brakes, lube the caliper slides, verified tire pressures, anti-seized the wheel studs, reinstalled the wheels. Got into town filled up the gas and propane and off we went to Medford. 5 and a half hour drive non stop in the motor home. Had a good Thanksgiving, (other than forgetting my favorite jam in the whole world in my father in-laws fridge), we get half between Grants Pass and Medford and loudest boom we had heard just shook the motor home, lot so flappety flappety flapping coming from the passenger rear. Instantly knew what it was, lifting off the accelerator, came to slow stop on the shoulder, verified blown tire inner passenger side dual! We are the Valley of the Rogue state park Rest area so I limp the motor home in the rest area to change the spare. Call for Les Schwab to come out and help. They replace the tire with a brand new one right there in the parking lot. Tire guy noted the date of the tires were 1996, most likely original tires! He attributed the blow-out to age. Back on the road just south of Salem, another huge explosion, right front corner of the motor home drops approx 9”, CRAP! Motorhome was slightly pulling to the right so I let it pull as I lifted slowly off the accelerator again, not wanting to upset the 50 MPH forward momentum we had. Slowly nursed to the shoulder, passenger front blown out and it’s now dark! Thank goodness we elected to have Lesters install a brand new tire for the rear, still had good spare to use. Rest of the trip home was 45-50 MPH, white knuckle ride, puckering up over every bridge seam, pavement ripple, etc! Next trip of the Motorhome is up to the tire store for complete set of new tires, including a brand new spare! We were very fortunate the blow outs didn't damage the motorhome. Wheel wheels are 100% intact, brake lines un touched, etc. Only damage was the rear mud flap folded up a little, was able to straighten that back out. We were very fortunate. First pic is the rear tire, second and third shots are the front tire that blew! Moral of the story, don’t judge a tires condition solely on tread or lack of weather checking! Check the date code as well and don’t drive on old tires! Edited December 1, 2009 by BRAAP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Very common problem on motorhomes and trailers. I just replaced my car trailer tires because they were 6 years old. Plenty of tread left but you could just start to see the little tread separation cracks forming. My 2004 motorhome tires are about due which is going to be expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 There was a news report or something about this a while ago, told you rough useful life of a tire, and how to check the age of the tire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Purple240zt Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 I put new tires on a boat trailer for grins because I had to tow it an extended distance (4 hours) and knew the tires were elderly. Good piece of mind, and the trailer ones are fairly inexpensive. Evan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soundmasterg Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 The real reason those blew out was because you didn't diet over the summer Paul....too much weight on the vehicle. Glad there was no damage and you all made it home safely. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkumaNoZeta Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 The tires on my Z are about 10 years old but they look brand new, no cracks inside or out, still perfectly black color, and 100% tread. Do you think I should change them before I start driving it regularly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eec564 Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 How about those old space-saver spares that came in the S130 and Z31? I still have mine in my car, albeit never used, but twenty plus years old. I've looked around for a mini-doughnut from a newer car I could replace it with, but nothing I find will fit inside the storage area in the fender and bolt up to the car properly. -Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackice280zxt Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 The tires on my Z are about 10 years old but they look brand new, no cracks inside or out, still perfectly black color, and 100% tread. Do you think I should change them before I start driving it regularly? yes its not worth risking it. Think of it this way the total weight of your car (and your life) is only touching the road by 4 spots on average 7inx4in. Its just not worth risking your safety and others because you were to cheap to spend 500 bucks for tires How about those old space-saver spares that came in the S130 and Z31? I still have mine in my car, albeit never used, but twenty plus years old. I've looked around for a mini-doughnut from a newer car I could replace it with, but nothing I find will fit inside the storage area in the fender and bolt up to the car properly. -Eric I think Michelin still makes those collapsible spares. But it doesn't matter it is called a temporary spare for a reason. and Braap Im glad you and your family didnt get hurt. That could of turned out reallybad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikez31ss Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 There was a news report or something about this a while ago, told you rough useful life of a tire, and how to check the age of the tire. I saw that. There were still tens of thousands of tires in store stock that had passed the "safe" date. Glad you were able to control it there BRAAP. That could have gone bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasper Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11& Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fhptom Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 At the Daytona Z convention I was almost not allowed on track because my Hoosiers were considered to be too old. Luckily since it was not a race they allowed me to do my laps. But I did replace them before I did my next track session with NASA. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONGO510 Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Glad you made it home safely! I can help you with the missing jam problem! LOL Mongo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zmanco Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 From what I've read elsewhere, exposure to ozone and UV from sunlight are two of the main things that cause tires to age. IIRC, I think it was Consumer Reports that was saying a general rule of thumb is to replace tires after 6 or 7 years regardless of tread depth or mileage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eec564 Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 I think Michelin still makes those collapsible spares. But it doesn't matter it is called a temporary spare for a reason. That's very interesting. I believe my originals are made by Yokohama, I'll check when I get a chance to do stuff at home when it's light out. I'll have my tire guy call his Michelin rep and see what I can get. -Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 From what I've read elsewhere, exposure to ozone and UV from sunlight are two of the main things that cause tires to age. IIRC, I think it was Consumer Reports that was saying a general rule of thumb is to replace tires after 6 or 7 years regardless of tread depth or mileage. Yeh the sunlight kills them and makes them hard too. But given the carcase fabric is protected by the rubber from direct exposure it seems a bit disturbing that there would be an outright failure. In say less than ten years at the very least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckolander Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 So if my tires end in 131, probably a sign that I need to replace them huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikez31ss Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 http://www.wisebread.com/are-your-new-tires-really-6-year-old-ticking-time-bombs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanuki Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Well grammatically it would be the "tire's" age right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan5138 Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Similar situation happened to me last week. Went over to america's tire to apply for a job. Then this thread came to mind.... Talked to the manager some and asked if I could get my tires balanced. He showed me how to read the DoT numbers to estimate mfr date. Turns out the tires I was running were made in '96 they didn't look bad, had %70 tread. Decided to get some new ones and turns out one of my rears had a bubble, thats where my high speed vibration was from. I'm glad I had those replaced before the blew out on my way to school! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators BRAAP Posted December 15, 2009 Author Administrators Share Posted December 15, 2009 Well grammatically it would be the "tire's" age right? Touché. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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