The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Tons 'o Fun Dry rotted rare tires

I just picked up at set of six Yokohama 8r17.5 tires on old dually dodge motorhome wheels, the tires are almost new maybe 5000 miles on them, the problem is that they are a little dry rotted, as they usually are coming off a camper. They all hold 80lbs of air they have no plugs or patches, other then the lite dry rot they are like new, they have no real deep cracks. My question is is running dry rotted heavy duty 10 ply tires a bad idea?? Has anybody done it with out any real,problems?? AIl my redneck buddy's here in Ky told me to rub the cracks in the tires with Vaseline fill them full of air and run them till they wear out. Being that it has taken me 2years to find a set forsale on craigslist or anywhere for that matter, that I can afford I'm thinking I'm Gona have to take a chance.

Don't do it, it's not worth the risk. This is especially true if the tires are any more than 4 years old.

D A N G E R O U S .....

Don't listen to your Redneck friends or they will be going to a funeral and it won't be theirs.

If they were nylon bias tires, I wouldn't worry about them. However, radials are a different animal all together. I make sure the date is within 4 or 5 years. Sitting around without occasional use is especially dangerous. And the fact that they are inflated to 80 psi makes them especially vulnerable to a blowout. In addition to my over the road equipment, I have about a dozen storage trailers. Radials routinely blow out on the storage trailers that are just sitting there. I have recently began deflating the tires on the storage trailers to about 35 psi and they seem to be less prone to blow out.

OK. Just close your eyes and say it: "I am going to drive down the road on rotten tires." Visualize itt... are you with me? PULL OVER!! Don't do it if there is any doubt. You cRazZY?? This is the contact point with the road, my man, with +/- 1000 lbs riding on each tire depending on your rig / load. Stop being silly. Junk 'em. Work nights at a pizza delivery so you can afford some decent tires.

If they're not showing any signs of seperation,(odd humps) then I'd run them. I'm still running the 7.00 18 tires that were on my '49 when I drug it out of the field. It's been on the road for two years now, with no problems. The dry rot on my tires is way beyond light, but they keep on rolling. It all boils down to what you feel comfortable with.

edit: My tires are bias ply. I don't know how ancient radials behave.

remember bias ply tires usually have tubes radials do not... think on that a little!

If the rubber in the tire casing is in poor condition, it won't matter if it has a tube in it or not. Also, the rubber in the tube is most likely as old as the tire itself, and will also be degraded.

Don't do it, especially if they are radial tires, you run the risk of having them "zip" on you, not a good thing as the sidewalks will rip out violently, and then you run the risk of loosing control of your vehicle if you are driving, even more scary if you are airing them up.