Tires past their safe age

[imjeff]

The date stamping requirement didn't start until 2000 and then, coincidentally I'm sure, around 2010 or so the "we can't fix your old tire" line started. Just recently I've had friends tell me they were forced to buy new tires since they were ten years old and were refused repair of even a valve stem. I've seen tires (not ten years old) fail because of overloading and under inflation. I'm willing to bet those two conditions account for more blowouts than age. My 15 year old, well maintained, good tread, parked inside tires have to be replaced, but the 5 year old beaten to death ones don't. Personally, it looks like another arbitrary standard. I have many vehicles, buy quality tires, maintain them, but must replace them so I won't be refused service when I need a flat fixed. I just bought 5 new tires today for a cool $1000 of hard-earned cash....and told them they had better be "fresh". Don't but tires that have been on the shelf for a couple years, they won't care in 8.

[Old Truck Man]

Originally Posted by imjeff

The date stamping requirement didn't start until 2000 and then, coincidentally I'm sure, around 2010 or so the "we can't fix your old tire" line started. Just recently I've had friends tell me they were forced to buy new tires since they were ten years old and were refused repair of even a valve stem. I've seen tires (not ten years old) fail because of overloading and under inflation. I'm willing to bet those two conditions account for more blowouts than age. My 15 year old, well maintained, good tread, parked inside tires have to be replaced, but the 5 year old beaten to death ones don't. Personally, it looks like another arbitrary standard. I have many vehicles, buy quality tires, maintain them, but must replace them so I won't be refused service when I need a flat fixed. I just bought 5 new tires today for a cool $1000 of hard-earned cash....and told them they had better be "fresh". Don't but tires that have been on the shelf for a couple years, they won't care in 8.

Rather than spend $1000 on tires it might have been prudent to invest in a tire machine and tire balancer tire irons ect. I have a few tire machines. we fix all our own flats. Im the only guy around that fixes the old split rim truck tires. I simply carry two spare,s when going on a trip away from home. you can find used tire machines at reasonable on craigslist & auctions.

[Blue Rat]

Originally Posted by Old Truck Man

Rather than spend $1000 on tires it might have been prudent to invest in a tire machine and tire balancer tire irons ect. I have a few tire machines. we fix all our own flats. Im the only guy around that fixes the old split rim truck tires. I simply carry two spare,s when going on a trip away from home. you can find used tire machines at reasonable on craigslist & auctions.

Are you talking about the wheels that go together in the middle or the 10.00x20 type wheels with the ring on the outside? I will do any of them except the ones that go together in the middle of the wheel.

[Old Truck Man]

Originally Posted by Blue Rat

Are you talking about the wheels that go together in the middle or the 10.00x20 type wheels with the ring on the outside? I will do any of them except the ones that go together in the middle of the wheel.

The ones that go together in the middle of the wheel are very dangerous. Split rims are safe enough if they are in good cond. Many times they are rusty and bent. I suppose its a liability issue but none of the local tire shops will work on any type of split rim.

[Blue Rat]

We will do the ones that have the ring on the outside. I am not going to mess with split wheels that go together in the middle.

[imjeff]

Originally Posted by Old Truck Man

Rather than spend $1000 on tires it might have been prudent to invest in a tire machine and tire balancer tire irons ect. I have a few tire machines. we fix all our own flats. Im the only guy around that fixes the old split rim truck tires. I simply carry two spare,s when going on a trip away from home. you can find used tire machines at reasonable on craigslist & auctions.

Good theory if you have room to carry two spares and room for a tire machine. My tires are probably due to be replaced, but they weren't five years ago. My point is that this new "requirement" puts people in a box that could be very spendy and people could be buying tires that already have a couple years of their "life" taken on a shelf in a warehouse. Seems rather arbitrary.

[BR3W CITY]

Cool, another law I can completely ignore. That makes.....most of them.

For the most part, this entire debate is based on "what if" and particular scenarios. As usual, the ONLY shops that will care about the "rule" is chain-stores and dealers. Just like most back-door policies to attempt to force the consumers hand, it will backfire and result in even greater negligence, and even LESS spending.

While they try to "make" you buy new tires instead of fixing your old ones, no independant mechanic will choose to lose out on a quick wham/bam tire repair, if they can help it. All it will do is drive business to the used tire shops and indie mech's that will just do it w/ no warranty or receipt. No one will be secret-shopping to enforce it.

For the record; I have only bought a set of new tires ONCE, in my entire life, on 13+ vehicles. Used tires can be had cheap if you know what to look for, and buying/selling tires can be a great side hustle.

I also don't carry a spare (dear god, let alone 2?...thats just weight). I carry a AAA card, and a wad of cash for emergencies. (and a gun for emergencies related to the cash). No one you can be towed to will have a 325 drag radial on the shelf, so the whole thing is a moot point to me.

[Old Truck Man]

Did any of you watch the movie titled Worlds fastest Indian? Its a true story about this New Zealand inventor Mechanic who built a high speed indian motor cycle. He brought it to the bonniville salt flats. The bike wouldn't pass tech inspection due to weather cracks in the tires. so he filled the cracks up with black paste wax shoe polish. He went on to set world record on those supposively unsafe tires. Ive bought & run lots of used tires successfully. Ive also bought new tires that where good. Ive had good looking radials that where not very old fail. I wanted to run bias ply heavy tires on my ford ranger. I found some new trailer tires and bought them. when I got them there was a raised part staring for trailer use only. I took my electric sander and sanded the wording away. Ran them many miles and there sill on the little ford. Nothing to keep me from sanding the date code off my own tires. Its not about safety its about money.

[Old Truck Man]

Originally Posted by imjeff

Good theory if you have room to carry two spares and room for a tire machine. My tires are probably due to be replaced, but they weren't five years ago. My point is that this new "requirement" puts people in a box that could be very spendy and people could be buying tires that already have a couple years of their "life" taken on a shelf in a warehouse. Seems rather arbitrary.

I run the split rim wheels. get a flat on one away from home and you would need to be very lucky to get it fixed at any price. so I carry two spares. All of my trailers have 6 or 8 hole chevy rims. so the same wheels will fit both the truck & trailer. I found a place where you can buy a brand new 6 lug hub bearings that will fit on a house trailer axle. does away with the 14.5 tires & Dayton wheels & hubs.

[imjeff]

Originally Posted by Old Truck Man

I run the split rim wheels. get a flat on one away from home and you would need to be very lucky to get it fixed at any price. so I carry two spares. All of my trailers have 6 or 8 hole chevy rims. so the same wheels will fit both the truck & trailer. I found a place where you can buy a brand new 6 lug hub bearings that will fit on a house trailer axle. does away with the 14.5 tires & Dayton wheels & hubs.

Haven't found any split rims for my Jeep, Chevelle, Tahoe or Harley.

[truckdude239]

i got my f-150 when i was 15 teen i am now 27 the rear tires where on there about a year before i bought it so that makes them about 13 years old and the front are about 10 years old, and i worry everytime i hook my tailer up to it. i was trained by michelin tires when i working in teh tire field basliy the glue breaks down after so long. i had a flat on one of my rear tires bad vavle stem. and had a nail in it the local shop wouldn;t fix the nail but they did break it down and put a stem in it. currently looking for a new set of tires.


Now to a story when i worked for sams club we had a guy come in after getting back from a trip from nc to ca, he blew the outer rear tire on his dully and it destroyed his bed side and he wanted us to pay for it, with the tires where 7 years old only been rotated 2 or 3 times, claim from us was turned down due to age, Michelin deturmend that the tire peeled apart form the the age of it and the gule breaking down they also turned down his claim due to age

[Old Truck Man]

Originally Posted by truckdude239

i got my f-150 when i was 15 teen i am now 27 the rear tires where on there about a year before i bought it so that makes them about 13 years old and the front are about 10 years old, and i worry everytime i hook my tailer up to it. i was trained by michelin tires when i working in teh tire field basliy the glue breaks down after so long. i had a flat on one of my rear tires bad vavle stem. and had a nail in it the local shop wouldn;t fix the nail but they did break it down and put a stem in it. currently looking for a new set of tires.


Now to a story when i worked for sams club we had a guy come in after getting back from a trip from nc to ca, he blew the outer rear tire on his dully and it destroyed his bed side and he wanted us to pay for it, with the tires where 7 years old only been rotated 2 or 3 times, claim from us was turned down due to age, Michelin deturmend that the tire peeled apart form the the age of it and the gule breaking down they also turned down his claim due to age

I think you are referring to radial tires. the carcass is made by wrapping strands of wire and the loose ends glued. All the older tires that ive had any luck with are Bias Ply. Its my opinion that radials will 90% of the time fail before the tread get worn down. Changing the direction of rotation on a radial is a recipe for disaster. take a old radial and fill it to max pressure and set it in the direct sun in the summer here in Arkansas. And it will in a few days blow out. the sun loosens up the glue that holds the wires. I had a radial tire fail in the back of the semi trailer I was pulling about three years ago. It was a almost brand new tire. less than a 1000 miles on it. I was doing 60 on a hot day loaded to 80,000 lbs. By the time I got stopped it had torn off the rear mudflap and the trailer lights. It had flapped around and injured the sidewall of the dual next to it. They where yokahamas. I called a tuck tire road service center and had them bring me two new Kelly Springfield Bias trailer tires. we eventually replaced all of the radial trailer tires with bias ply tires.

[imjeff]

I've worn out radials without ever blowing one up. All the newer ones can be rotated either direction. That issue was fixed long ago. Just about every tire company and manufacturer orates all the tires through all positions on the vehicle.