Threaded Mode | Linear Mode

10-14-2007, 02:18

John,
The device I was referring to is not a pressure sensor, but and infrared
thermometer, to see what the temps are on the tires when you have driven for a
while... too much heat is an indication of under inflated tires...
The thermometer I have is a Fluke 561 HVAC Pro IR Thermometer...
HTH

Sea Ya
Larry
NYC
84 35FCSB

----- Original Message ----
From: bubblerboy64
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, October 12, 2007 3:59:29 PM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: Just to stir the tire pot....

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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