The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk extending tire life, not mileage

If I put new tires on my big bolt, at $200+ per tire, they will probably only get 1,000 miles or so of use each year. Since they will never wear out, I am more concerned about them aging.

Having seen posts on other sites about the age of tires affecting their safety, what can be done to extend their safe life?

I've seen alot of motorhomes with covers over the tires, but in my case, the truck will spend most of the time inside, so ultraviolet light isn't a concern. The truck will not be around electric motors, so ozone around the rubber shouldn't be a concern either.

What else should I be concerned with? These tires will probably be on the truck for 20 years.

I'm sure this would affect quite a number of bolters, since many of our trucks will not see anywhere near the mileage it would take to wear tires out in 20+ years of use.

Thanks,

Scott

Move it around a couple times a month to keep from developing a 'flat' side to the tires.

There is a rubber lubricant that will keep them looking good. In the spec sheet it says that it will renew them. It also works on rubber mounting to eliminate squeaks. I used it many years ago in the gas station to dismount and mount tires. We also used it on the local police cars when they were service and it made the tires look almost new. Beats tire black. Napa sells it and here's the spec sheet.

http://www.agscompany.com/downloads/datasheet/ruglyde_tire_mounting_-_tds.pdf

LG

Unfortunately UV and Ozone will kill the rubber before you wear them out (even if you have them locked in a shed for 20 years, they will deteriorate) My suggestion is drive the truck more and wear them out in 10 years.

Thanks for that tip, LG. News to me.

Bill

As was said earlier make sure you take your truck out for an occasional spin. A protective wax is one of the additives in the tire compound. I was told that, by design, the wax comes out of the compound to protect the rubber. No rollin, no wax.

I also found this on the internet, but I can't vouche for the validity. One thing to keep in mind is it is to everybodies advantage, except for us consumers, for the people selling tires and cars to say you have to replace the tires after "x" amount of years. Keep a sharp eye out for checking or cracking, if they look bad don't take a chance, replace them.

Dangers of aged tires

Research and tests show that as tires age, they begin to dry out and become potentially dangerous, even if unused. Aged tires may appear to have similar properties to newly manufactured tires, but rubber degrades over time, and once the vehicle is traveling at high speeds (i.e. on a freeway) the tread could peel off, leading to severe loss of control. In tropical climates, such as Singapore, tires degrade sooner than in temperate climates, and more care should be taken in these climates to ensure that tires do not fail. Also, tires on seldom-used trailers are at the greatest risk of age-failure, but some tires are built to withstand idleness, usually with nylon reinforcement.

Many automakers recommend replacing tires after six years, and several tire manufacturers (Bridgestone, Michelin) have called for tires to be removed from service 10 years after the date of manufacture. However, an investigative report by Brian Ross on ABC's 20/20 news magazine found that many major retailers such as Goodyear, Wal-Mart, and Sears were selling tires that had been produced six or more years ago. Currently, no law for aged tires exists in the United States.

John

Nylon tires withstand age much better than radials. I have seen a lot of 40 year old fabric tires still roadworthy. Radial tires begin coming apart with age. I have about 100 radial tires on storage trailers and some just in a warehouse where they were forgotten about. They start by humping up in the center tread and then suddenly blow out. I try not to run tires over 4 years because blowouts cause serious damage to aluminum trailers. Date codes are clearly stamped on tires. As for keeping them covered up, I had a spare tire in a Mercedes wagon blow. It was 12 years old. I put a size larger on the ground and as far as I know, the spare was never exposed to daylight in its entire life. It sure made itself some daylight in the back of the wagon. I'm glad it didn't happen while my wife was driving. I agree with Scott. Drive them for 10 years and get some use out of them. Then get rid of them

Dont know its a "Ol Wives Tale" or not ...but I was always told by my pappy to never store my motorcycles or vehicles just on the concrete, always have some 2'X 2' chunks of plywood to put under the tires when storin for a long time to keep the tires off the concrete and help keep em from rotting and developing flat spots?
Tim

i have set of Michelin x tires on mga and they are 40 years old this month. i have tubes in them and just recently had one go flat. for the last 20 years is garaged, put about 500 miles a year on it. ron

What about common products like Armorall, will this do anything to help the tires from degrading?

My guess is that it may help, but very little.

My 54 had a nice set of michelin tires on it when I bought it. They looked like new. One of them blew out a side wall sitting in the drive way. The date code at the time was just over ten hears old.

There are lots you can do to make sidewalls look better including lacquer thinner like the used car lots used to do. The problem is fatigue where the belts connect to the bead. This is internal and there is nothing you can do about it.

I plan on putting my COE on blocks when its not in use. No pressure on the tires, no contact with the ground.

That's a good idea, too.
I'm concerned with the tires on my '48.

Where's the date code on 40+ year old tires, any way?

I would defiently not advise doing that! Laquer thinner will dissolve the rubber compunds, making the tire weaker. It'll make it look better for sure, but it isn't good for it.
Also, take care using Armor All or other tire "protectants". Overuse can cause degradation as well.
The best thing you can do to extend to life is to store them in a cool, dry location away from UV rays, preferably inside a garage. Keeping them off the ground will help, too, by preventing flat spots, especially with bias ply tires.

I was not recommending lacquer thinner. But any thing else you try has about the same effect. Cool, dry away from UV is about all you can do. However, the internal separation of the belts from the bead is part of the aging process. Rubber like pavement needs to flex, otherwise it deteriorates.

I didn't think you were suggesting it, just saying it isn't a good idea. I do also agree that driving regularly is really best for getting your money's worth out of a tire. Bad thing about belt separation is that there's any number of things that can cause it, overstress from overloading/overinflation, potholes, overflexing from underinflation, or simply the fabric or steel belts 9depending on tire construction) simply rotting from deterioration of the rubber encasing them. Been in the tire business for a long time, and I've seen tire failures from all of those reasons.
BTW, ever wonder why tires turn brown? That's the oils in the rubber compounds doing their job. The oils oxidize, rather than the rubber itself. Unfortunatly, even they only last so long.