Just to stir the tire pot....

[bubblerboy64]

Hi Larry, Your experience and those of others have pushed me into
making the move to six new tires (and I was only side tracked by my
dealer) When the tire dealer says a fellow doesn't need new tires a
person can get off course. It more of less gave me an excuse to go
against my better judgment, if that makes any sense. I am leaving as
soon as I finish here to check on the bus. They are checking the
wheels to see that they are going to work. The tires should be here
next week. Larry, maybe you could expand on your tire pressure
sensor device. Sounds interesting.
John Heckman
central Pa
1973FC
>
> Hi John,
> I am writing to add to the many suggestions that you are
receiving... I was in the boat, that you are in now... When I bought
my coach it was stored indoors, in a heated garage for the ten years
that the PO has had it... When I purchased it, it had ten year old
tires on it that looked like they were installed the day before I
looked at it... checking through the paper work that was in the
coach, as the widow did not know anything about the coach, I found
that the PO had purchased the tires 4 years prior to putting them on
the coach, and being that they are only garanteed by the manufacturer
from the time they are installed. I figureed I had at least another 2
to 3 years use in them... With this thinking I went to Delray Beach,
FL, and back, then went to Key West, FL and back on the 10 YO tires,
I thought I was doing great, when twenty miles from my storage
facility I had a blow out on the left front, luckily the blow out did
not do any damage to the
> bus, except knocking off some foam insulation... I calle road
service, they came and replaced the tire and wook the tire... Then
went the following week to get 6 new BFG's for the bus, which they
gave me $50 each for the 5 remaining tires...
> The tires, even the one that blew out did not have any signs of
deterioration, nothing visible...
> I will never make that mistake again, thinking that because they
look good that they are OK...
> Also, I always check the air and fill them up if they were low...
Also stop in road stops and thump the tires also, now I have an
infrared temp tester...
> I do not think that you have to justify the purchase of the new
tires because they still look good...
> Tires are like books, you can't tell them by the cover!!!
> HTH
>
> Sea Ya
> Larry
> NYC
> 84 35FCSB
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: bubblerboy64
> To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Thursday, October 11, 2007 11:42:38 AM
> Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: Just to stir the tire pot....
>
> Lots of good information there Dave. Trying to think about this
> logically is the issue. Some of these tires that I am replacing on
> my bus look brand new and that is my hang up. They are ten years
old
> and I can't be certain as to how they were treated or used. Must
have
> been handled fairly well or there would be obvious signs. My
> decision was finally made thinking this way: The tires look new but
> are not and there could be and likely is some deterioration. Over
the
> period of time that I own the coach I will certainly have to change
> out the tires. It may may as well be sooner then later and then I
can
> put that to rest. There is a "bell" curve in this with factors that
> push the tire to the left or right under the curve. Even though ten
> year old tires may have been shifted to the left due to proper care
> and use the fact that they are ten years old shifts them firmly to
> the right. Another fact is that because they look perfect today
they
> certainly may not look good or even acceptable in a year. Best to
> just getter done.
>
> John Heckman
> central Pa
> 1973 FC
> >
> > Folks,
> >
> > With permission from Neil, I'm cross posting this post Neil
> > wrote for the DieselRvs group:
> >
> > ------------ --------- ---cut here-------- --------- --------- ---
---
> >
> > ------------ --------- -----cut here-------- --------- --------- -
---
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Neil & Pat [mailto:undoone@ ...]
> > Sent: Tuesday, July 18, 2006 8:43 AM
> > To: Diesel-RVs@yahoogro ups.com
> > Subject: RE: [Diesel-RVs] Tires
> >
> >
> >
> > For all of those following this very important forum thread re:
> tire ageing
> > I offer the following from the perspective of a 36 year tire
> design/product
> > support engineer, an RV Safety author and a 32 year active RVer.
> >
> > Tires are made primarily of rubber, and we intuitively know
rubber
> ages and
> > deteriorates over time. It follows that TIRES DO NOT LAST
FOREVER!
> The life
> > expectancy of a tire in RV service is not easily predicted. In
this
> case we
> > are speaking of the casing life as opposed to the tread life. The
> difficulty
> > of this is that the life of a tire carcass depends to a great
> degree on how
> > the tires are utilized and maintained. For instance, a tire
exposed
> to the
> > rays of the sun for extended periods of time, or stored in the
> presence of
> > high levels of ozone, may have a relatively short life.
Similarly,
> a tire
> > operated near, at, or over its rating may also have a relatively
> short life.
> > Recalling that under-inflation is the same as overloading, poor
> maintenance
> > practices will also adversely affect the tire life.
> >
> > Rubber products are cured during the manufacturing process using
a
> process
> > called "vulcanization" , this process is promoted by both a
chemical
> reaction
> > and heat. During this process the rubber changes state from a
tacky
> soft
> > material to the pliable yet strong material we are used to seeing
> in our
> > tires. When the tires are removed from the heat and mold the
> chemical
> > action continues; therefore, the curing continues throughout the
> life of the
> > tire. This accounts for some of the ongoing deterioration we
> observe in our
> > RV tires.
> >
> > In fact tires operated on a regular basis will generally enjoy a
> longer
> > carcass life then tires which sit statically for a high
percentage
> of the
> > time. This is because tires contain compounds that keep the
rubber
> supple -
> > tire flexing and internal heat activates these compounds. If the
> tire is not
> > used regularly (flexed), it dries out quickly! Visit an
automobile
> museum to
> > see this principle in action. Many of the automobiles there were
> restored
> > using new tires. After several years in a fully protected
> environment the
> > tires are deteriorated and cracked. The infrequent usage of RV's
> somewhat
> > parallels this action.
> >
> > RVers commonly use chemicals to polish the sidewall of tires to
> enhance
> > their appearance. Often this causes or accelerates damage because
> of harmful
> > components contained in the "tire dressing." The tire
manufacturers
> suggest
> > using nothing but mild soap and water .. (They go on to
> specifically state)
> > that product(s) that contains petroleum products, silicon or
> alcohol should
> > not be used." ... Even with an acceptable "tire dressing" you may
> be wasting
> > your time and money because you cannot coat all areas of the
tires
> inside,
> > outside and in the tread grooves that are acted on by ozone and
> ultraviolet.
> > Meanwhile, the vulcanization process continues.
> >
> > ...storing our RVs for long periods...hurts tires two ways:
first,
> the tire
> > is not flexed regularly activating the chemicals in the rubber
> placed there
> > to retard deterioration; and second, we often park our RVs
> on ...asphalt or
> > concrete. These materials will leech those same chemicals from
the
> tires
> > with the effect of shortening its life. (Use a barrier or wood or
> plastic.)
> >
> > So how long will a tire last?...most tire manufacturers agree
that
> five to
> > seven years of age is the norm for RV service ...should (you)
panic
> and
> > immediately throw away your tires when they reach the five year
> age? No.
> > What a knowledgeable RVer should do at this point is to become
more
> diligent
> > and watchful of the tires on his/her RV. That means that you
should
> be
> > especially observant of the sidewall (both sides) looking for
> deterioration
> > or cracks, which might expose the carcass material (cords) to the
> > atmosphere. Do not forget the bottom of the tread grooves, and
look
> for
> > blisters or bulging on the sidewalls, watch air pressure closely
> because an
> > unexplained or recurring air pressure loss could be deterioration
> of the
> > inner liner of the tire.
> >
> > If any tires fails ... (or) when any of these signs of
> deterioration begin
> > to show, that is the time to go shopping (to replaces all tires
of
> the same
> > age). Hopefully, this pro-active approach will afford you the
> opportunity to
> > shop for tires in a more convenient manner and avoid the very
> costly and
> > dangerous potential of failing tires on at a time while on the
road.
> >
> > Neil LeKander
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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