Sidewall cracking on tires
 

My myco has six Michelin M&S 235/85-16E tires. They have probably 80-90% tread left. Some of the sidewalls are cracking on them. No cracking in the tread area, just the outside of sidewalls, from the sun I imagine. Hate to toss them, since they are such nice tires, but dont wanna chance it next season considering how much abuse trailer tires take.

Was thinking of replacing all the trailer tires with new rubber. My dually needs tires too. Was thinking of taking the trailer tires and mounting them on the dually? I know on the trailer with the boat, fuel, gear, etc, the tires are carrying alot of weight. Thinking they might last on the truck since not as much weight and heat on them? Not sure at what point the sidewall cracking becomes a blowout hazard?

Trailer tires will crack and rot away before 90% of the people on this board will ever wear them out on the road. It is just what happens to them from the sunlight and sitting around waiting for there big trip 2 or 3 times a year to the ramp. Dont even think of running them on your truck. I would rather have a flat on my triple axle trailer then on the truck pulling the whole shooting match down the highway at 75 mph. And trust me they will blow out in the worst spot on the highway with traffic blowing by you on the should of the road at 90 mph. Its not worth it.
just my 2 cents
good luck

Mike O

agreed, buy new ones and trash the old ones. I see guys on the side of the road all the time with RVs that the sidewalls blew out from cracking and the tread is still new.

Just turn the side that is cracking to the inside so you don't have to worry about it. :D

I wouldn't put them on the truck. It's tire age that's getting to your tires, not wear.

I'd look for a local large tire retailer and see if you can negotiate a deal on 12 tires. That's a pretty tall order for them considering. If you have a buddy with tire machines, see what you can do for cash and carry. I went to a used tire place the other day and had a tire mounted and balanced for $5 bucks plus trading them an old aluminum rim that they could get good recycle money for. Same goes for Tirerack.com or the other retailers. I just bought tires for my DD from Tirerack and got a great price.

Good point. Im gonna get whacked this spring on tires. My boat trailer, dually, crown vic, and semi tractor will all be due for tires at the same time! just got done putting a new set of goodyears on wifeys grand cherokee.

Looks like im gonna be buying 28 tires come spring! :eek:

Here is some informational reading for you about tires.

http://www.303products.com/techinfo/tires1.htm

Maybe YOU should buy a tire machine & balancer.

Come to think of it, maybe I should too. I've got well over 30 tires on the ground right now not including spares and my demo derby car/spares.

I have posted it a few times...

Tires begin drying out the moment they are produced. Tire MFG's consider tire life as 3 years from date of production. Even if the tire has never been sold, if it has been sitting in a warehouse somewhere for three years, the MFG. considers the life of the tire over. Tires will have a code stamped on them at production, that represents the date made. before buying tires look up the codes for the mfg and make sure your not buying an old tire. If a tire fails, it falls back on the tire mfg. if the tire has 3 years and 1 day it's on you even if the tire has less than 5 miles on it.

3 yrs., HOLY CRAP, I thought it was like 7 years from the date of manufacture.

Good info right there!

Fixx
 

Joe, every Michelin tire that you see that are a few years old on suv's have spider cracks in them..have a look at a few when your out and about and you will see what im talking about..they are just serface cracks and will probably be ok for now..

Get out and check the date on the tires, if the stamped date is over 7 years replace the tires. Any use after that time you are just waiting for a tire to blow. You might be lucky when it blows and only damage is to the tire. I have see when a tire blows it can tear up the trailer, boat, & anything that is around the tire when it goes.

It almost never fails that the date is stamped on the inside. You will find a spot where it looks like they took a hot iron and stamped 4 numbers on the tire right next to the DOT info. First 2 number are the week and last 2 are the year. I tire made this week would be 5010. If the last 2 numbers are any smaller then 03 might start looikng at buying new.

As has already been said before, check the dates when you buy the tires. I had to replace a tire due to having a bad date with a piece of rebar. Two years later that tires blows out and when I take it back to the dealer he said I had a 10 year old tire.

I learned that when I had 'new' tires on a truck I had, 1200 miles and had the tread seperate at 70. crumpled the bed side and put the truck instantly sideways and on 2 wheels. I saved it but had to change my shorts. Called the tire company, they told me to go get the date code of the tire and told me the 3 year deal. under 3 years they would have fixed the bedside, replaced the tire etc... Turns out my 2 month old tires were 5 years old.

that's why you don't buy tires at a box store or similar
they buy up dated tires (dated lots that real tire shops won't accept as new stock) for cheap in big quantities, (it's huge business) and then distibute and sell them to the clueless consumer, undercutting genuine volume tire shops and still make a killing
it may be you they kill...
buy your tires from a genuine well-known tire shop that does volume and pay the extra few bucks
AND check the dates before they go on the machine for peace of mind
have the serial# and the man. date of each tire accordingly put on the reciept
a shop that does genuine volume shouln't have much in name brand rubber and common sizes that are much more than 6-8 mos. out from manufacture
I remember one time catching sears trying to put 4 year old (new) tires on a gal I knew's minivan that she was carting her 2 little ones around in all the time including long road trips!
ozone starts killing tires the second thay come out of the mold. think of them like fruits and vegs....kinda
you want FRESH

tire safety/quality/age is very important! :eek:

I have the good year wrangler HT's on my myco same size 238-85-16, however after checking around I am switching to the BFG, they are 115 each as opposed to the 148 for the goodyears. I have had very good lock with BFG as well.


http://www.treadepot.com/tirelist.html

Firestone TransForce was recommended to me by a good friend in the tire biz, and OSO member; for trailer tires. When I was swapping out the tires on my last trailer, I was replacing them with the Firestones and they were far superior to the Road Kings that came on it.

If your tires are cracking buy these;

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...&ci_sku=450662

just wondering...would a tire shine like black magic help with tire cracking. plus it would look good.

it should help protect the tires a little.

You will have good looking chunks of rubber all over the road.

the HT is very tough. The wear like iron as well. We use them on the ambulance fleets we service here. too bad i dont have a trailer with the same size tires. they make us replace the at 6/32 for their own reasons. and they are only on the units for about a year.

my point was to use it as a preventitive measure before they actually start to crack...hahaha

NO NO NO and HELL NO!!!!!!!


Most all tire shine products have petroleum distillates in them which causes a chemical reaction with UVB and UVA from the sun. this reactions ACCELERATES the deterioration of tire rubber and strength.

One product that protects a tire because it uses the same chemical properties that are used in tire mfg process to protect agains sun damage and aging is "303"!!! It has to be reaplied in monthly intervals but it is a protectant unlike most others.

I use this on my tires, boat vinyl and all the other things it recommends on the bottle.

+++++1

the tire shine deal is a myth.

you could also invest in those tire covers that they unse on rvs. keep the sun off of them. slow it down a little i bet

[QUOTE=Fixxxer22;3276766the tire shine deal is a myth.

you could also invest in those tire covers that they unse on rvs. keep the sun off of them. slow it down a little i bet[/QUOTE]


What do you mean on the myth part? Shine bad shine good?


Yes the covers help to protect and the "waxing" that takes place from the tire in motion will also be protected.
I made up some of my own covers and use them on my trailers when ever they are outside in the sun.

wow i didnt know this...good info.

when I tire shine my car wheels it seems as though it keeps the rubber in good shape. even after washing the tire...

the myth: tire shine will help preserve your tires from dry rotting. like its tire lotion or something.

im agreeing with you!

What about spray silicone? Is that good for tires?

Ok, I follow what your saying.
Purely cosmetic and nothing good at all.

Silicone is used popping tires out of the mold and in other forms of mfg so it would do no harm that I am aware of. It would not offer specific protection though. The material in the 303 product has specific UV blockers for protection. The shine of 303 is not briliant and wet looking. It only makes the tire look brand new again with the same appearance of when it was mounted on the wheel.

I am a ase master as well as a lexus master tech, if the cracks are deep dont use the tire. Tires will always rot from the outside in due to exposure to sunlight. Light cracks are not a reason for replacement, not at 80% tread life!! Just my 2Cents. Guarantee you take them tires off and they will be like brand new on the inside!! seen this for years...!