New tires, to buy or not to buy this year?

[JM0397]

I know this has been discussed a lot, but not concisely and all in one place.
Here’s where I am:
2021 Solitude 310 with ~15,000 miles
Current tires: Roadmaster RM130 215/75R17.5 H-rated. Stored outside, but out of the sun. No cracks, treads are still good, no issues, buldges, or other concerns - they’re in great shape and hold air pressure like champs.

I know some folks say replace at 4 years, regardless, and others say replace if warranted (cracking, tread wear, etc).

What’s the general consensus on replace now or next year? I’m anticipating an average 3-4k year for 2025 season.

If I do replace, everyone seems to agree the Saliuns are a solid choice, correct?
The price right now looks good at $188/tire to get them mail ordered, so then will need to have them balance & mounted, of course.

Just not sure I need to pull the trigger this year, but that price is way better than the $300-400/tire for US name brands so I’m thinking about it!

 

[Riverbug]

I don't subscribe to replace every x years personally. It depends on how the tires are holding up, how they've been cared for, etc. If I were to subscribe to such a rule on tires, I would certainly push it out a few years vs every 4. But that's just based on my experience. That's my take on the topic.

 

[goducks14]

Who says every 4 years? Lots of misinfo on the net.

GY says 6 years if they look fine.

Tire Replacement Guidelines - Goodyear RV

www.goodyearrvtires.com

 

[Jason-Texas]

I’m in the 5 year -ish camp, based on mileage and condition. We typically travel 12-15k a year. We are currently running Carlisle’s.

 

[huntindog]

I know this has been discussed a lot, but not concisely and all in one place.
Here’s where I am:
2021 Solitude 310 with ~15,000 miles
Current tires: Roadmaster RM130 215/75R17.5 H-rated. Stored outside, but out of the sun. No cracks, treads are still good, no issues, buldges, or other concerns - they’re in great shape and hold air pressure like champs.

I know some folks say replace at 4 years, regardless, and others say replace if warranted (cracking, tread wear, etc).

What’s the general consensus on replace now or next year? I’m anticipating an average 3-4k year for 2025 season.

If I do replace, everyone seems to agree the Saliuns are a solid choice, correct?
The price right now looks good at $188/tire to get them mail ordered, so then will need to have them balance & mounted, of course.

Just not sure I need to pull the trigger this year, but that price is way better than the $300-400/tire for US name brands so I’m thinking about it!

I just faced this decision. Same tires. My policy has been to change them out at 5 years from their date of birth. A major trip is looming in the near future, slightly before their DOB. So I pulled the trigger on new Coopers last week.
Amazon had the best price. $1600 for 6 of them. Firestone did changeover for $140. The new Coopers look even beefier than the orginals.
The total price was much less than I thought it woud be, and now I will sleep a little better, knowing I have done what I can to avoid a blow out and the associated carnage.

 

[COGrandDes]

I know this has been discussed a lot, but not concisely and all in one place.
Here’s where I am:
2021 Solitude 310 with ~15,000 miles
Current tires: Roadmaster RM130 215/75R17.5 H-rated. Stored outside, but out of the sun. No cracks, treads are still good, no issues, buldges, or other concerns - they’re in great shape and hold air pressure like champs.

I know some folks say replace at 4 years, regardless, and others say replace if warranted (cracking, tread wear, etc).

What’s the general consensus on replace now or next year? I’m anticipating an average 3-4k year for 2025 season.

If I do replace, everyone seems to agree the Saliuns are a solid choice, correct?
The price right now looks good at $188/tire to get them mail ordered, so then will need to have them balance & mounted, of course.

Just not sure I need to pull the trigger this year, but that price is way better than the $300-400/tire for US name brands so I’m thinking about it!

The topic of tire replacement is based on risk tolerance and is different for each person...or so it seems from reading these forums. Personally, I am in the minority it seems of replacing at 3-4 years of use--no matter the mileage. That's because I've seen lots of blowouts on the highway and lost a tire myself which caused $$$ of damage to the side skirting and etc. Never again will I attempt to save a few hundred bucks considering all the money I have invested in my truck, camper, and it's cargo. Once you have a blowout and have to deal with the aftermath....the money you saved on extending your tire life is not the first thing on your mind!

So for me---I replace every three to four (max) of camping seasons and I never consider non-US brands/companies for new tires on any of my vehicles or campers.

 

[Scott'n'Wendy]

Who says every 4 years? Lots of misinfo on the net.

GY says 6 years if they look fine.

Tire Replacement Guidelines - Goodyear RV

www.goodyearrvtires.com

I go 5-6 years personally as GY suggests. I scrutinize the rubber between the tread blocks closely every season. If there are cracks showing up I replace sooner.
I had a friend go 13 years on a set of GY Marathons, so as @COGrandDes says..it's all a matter of your personal risk tolerance. I'm not going to call replace every four years as misinfo, a fair number of people do subscribe to that. I think you are leaving a fair amount tire life on the table, but if it gives you peace of mind, it's a good thing.

 

[triplethreat]

I faced this same dilemma back in 2021 before my 5000+ mile trip out west. My trailer tires, the Westlake "G" rated tires had a bit over 12,000 miles on them and looked perfectly good. Remember all the issues with the "Westlake" tires? Well that didn't seem to be the case with the "G" rated ones, which had, so I decided to make the trip with them. My trailer is a 2018 model and the born on date, IIRC was late 2017, so roughly 4 years old. I had zero issues with them on the trip and everything worked out just fine. I ended up replacing them in 2022 though, as I was starting to see some weather cracking on a couple of the tires. You had to look closely to even see it, but as you know, it wasn't going to get any better, so I bought new ones. I'm now using the Sailun tires on the trailer and have been 100% pleased with them.

 

[coglesby]

Depends on how much of a gambler you are and if you're feeling lucky. I'm not willing to risk a blowout that will tear up my RV and leave me in a pickle on the side of the road and I can afford to change them every 4 years so I do.

Also, when one goes, they are all probably bad so 1 spare gets you nowhere. I had a blowout from old tires once and put the spare on and drove 5 miles and another one went. I had to drop the trailer on the shoulder of the road and take wheels off and take them to tire store and then return. I didn't like leaving my trailer on the side of the road.

 

[huntindog]

I go 5-6 years personally as GY suggests. I scrutinize the rubber between the tread blocks closely every season. If there are cracks showing up I replace sooner.
I had a friend go 13 years on a set of GY Marathons, so as @COGrandDes says..it's all a matter of your personal risk tolerance. I'm not going to call replace every four years as misinfo, a fair number of people do subscribe to that. I think you are leaving a fair amount tire life on the table, but if it gives you peace of mind, it's a good thing.

My last set of new marathons went about 50 miles. I then went to LTs, which are great for lighter TTs.
The momentum I have now gets commercial duty all position tires

 

[huntindog]

Depends on how much of a gambler you are and if you're feeling lucky. I'm not willing to risk a blowout that will tear up my RV and leave me in a pickle on the side of the road and I can afford to change them every 4 years so I do.

The topic of tire replacement is based on risk tolerance and is different for each person...or so it seems from reading these forums. Personally, I am in the minority it seems of replacing at 3-4 years of use--no matter the mileage. That's because I've seen lots of blowouts on the highway and lost a tire myself which caused $$$ of damage to the side skirting and etc. Never again will I attempt to save a few hundred bucks considering all the money I have invested in my truck, camper, and it's cargo. Once you have a blowout and have to deal with the aftermath....the money you saved on extending your tire life is not the first thing on your mind!

So for me---I replace every three to four (max) of camping seasons and I never consider non-US brands/companies for new tires on any of my vehicles or campers.

The ones that push it have never experienced the damage that steel belts whipping around at 60 mph can do....It is like a chainsaw gone wild.
Thousands of dollars and a ruined trip will change anyones mind.
BTW, since I go by the born on date, we are actually pretty close on change out intervals.

 

[traveldawg]

I've got Sailuns. For me it is 5 to 7 years from the date of manufacture stamped on the tires. My rig is stored inside a conditioned garage so it will most likely be at 6 years when I consider it. But I keep an eye on them.

I applied the same logic to a class A I had previously to this rig and replaced them at 7 years (Micheline tires). I found a place that offered me some money for the used tires so at least I got a break on that expense al-be-it minimal. Lots of folks buy good used tires for their work trailers, etc. So maybe look around for what to do with the old tires.

I'm on my second set. The first set wore badly due to some axel misalignment.

oh - I also went up one size when I replaced my tires; from 235-80R16 to 235-85R16. I figures I got a bit more tires with a bit more load capacity.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

The ones that push it have never experienced the damage that steel belts whipping around at 60 mph can do....It is like a chainsaw gone wild.
Thousands of dollars and a ruined trip will change anyones mind.
BTW, since I go by the born on date, we are actually pretty close on change out intervals.

Not necessarily. I've had damage from blown tires, and none of them were due to tires being "too old". I run a TPMS, and watch tire pressure fairly closely. I still change tires at roughly 5-5+ years. The tires that blew were about 2 years old in both cases. I did have one "G" rated Westlake blow that was 4 years old. But considering I'd just drove over a heave in the pavement that felt bad enough to make me think the truck and trailer left the ground, I'm putting it down to road damage, and not an inherently bad tire. I'm on my 2nd set of Sailun tires and wouldn't run anything else.

 

[Steven@147]

I know this has been discussed a lot, but not concisely and all in one place.
Here’s where I am:
2021 Solitude 310 with ~15,000 miles
Current tires: Roadmaster RM130 215/75R17.5 H-rated. Stored outside, but out of the sun. No cracks, treads are still good, no issues, buldges, or other concerns - they’re in great shape and hold air pressure like champs.

I know some folks say replace at 4 years, regardless, and others say replace if warranted (cracking, tread wear, etc).

What’s the general consensus on replace now or next year? I’m anticipating an average 3-4k year for 2025 season.

If I do replace, everyone seems to agree the Saliuns are a solid choice, correct?
The price right now looks good at $188/tire to get them mail ordered, so then will need to have them balance & mounted, of course.

Just not sure I need to pull the trigger this year, but that price is way better than the $300-400/tire for US name brands so I’m thinking about it!

Colin, I understand your concern. Nobody wants their side tore up by a tire coming apart. Changing a tire on the side of the road is no fun. Of course if you don't, and then it happens to you, then you'll wish you had replaced the tires. All you can do is, Do what you think is best.

I don't follow a set duration of tire age like 3-4 years. For me 5 - 5.5 years is getting close with our weight, being fulltime and the road conditions these days and the crap you night run over,,,,,,,,,,,
You could have a damaged tire regardless of tire age, so I look them over often and if I see something I don't like, I replace a tire or if they're close to my 5-5.5 age look see, and at a good price, all of them.

Now we replaced our original Westlake G tires at about 5 years and 15,750 miles. They still looked ok but with some scuffing on the edges. We were looking at a long trip out west so I replaced them with Sailun of the same size and load range. I got the tires from simple tire and had them delivered to the campground. Had them mounted at a local truck stop tire service. Yes they are made in Vietnam but way after the recall for Sailun tires.

Seems like US tire manufacturers are becoming fewer and fewer. Saw recently in the news where another tire manufacturer was closing plants in the US.
If I was on the fence right now about changing tires, and I think maybe the price of all tires from all manufacturers maybe going up, so I probably would go ahead and do it.. I would hate to put it off, see tire prices go way up and cost me a lot more, or then not do it and have a tire come apart,

Roll the dice, or play it safe. How lucky do you feel? Yup it's a crap shoot. Sometimes i think with my luck,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,hum!!!!!!

 

[coglesby]

If the trailer sits a lot the tires will not last as long. The rubber has a conditioner in it but it only moves around throughout the tire when it’s moving down the road flexing. Just saying that’s another factor in tire life.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

If the trailer sits a lot the tires will not last as long. The rubber has a conditioner in it but it only moves around throughout the tire when it’s moving down the road flexing. Just saying that’s another factor in tire life.

While I have heard that also, I've not necessarily found it to be true to the extent that will inevitably lead to failure. Our trailer sits for months at a time, and have not had failures that can be directly attributed to that, i.e. unexplained tire failure.

 

[JM0397]

Thanks all, I’ve circled around back to being undecided!
We have about 7 weeks before 1st trip this year, so some time to consider.

 

[JM0397]

I’m not too worried about this year, so might keep a close eye on things and plan to change out next year, or mid-year ’25 if anything looks off.

 

[huntindog]

Not necessarily. I've had damage from blown tires, and none of them were due to tires being "too old". I run a TPMS, and watch tire pressure fairly closely. I still change tires at roughly 5-5+ years. The tires that blew were about 2 years old in both cases. I did have one "G" rated Westlake blow that was 4 years old. But considering I'd just drove over a heave in the pavement that felt bad enough to make me think the truck and trailer left the ground, I'm putting it down to road damage, and not an inherently bad tire. I'm on my 2nd set of Sailun tires and wouldn't run anything else.

I run a TPMS as well. When I first started RVing the internet wasn't a 'thing".
Info was not so easy to get. I bought into the ST tire propaganda. That cost me more tires and money than I care to remember. That ended when I made the jump to LTs in 2006. Zero tire problems ever since

Goodyear was one of the loudest pushers of STs back then, and is the reason I will not give them any money. They already have more of my money than they deserve.

 

[coglesby]

While I have heard that also, I've not necessarily found it to be true to the extent that will inevitably lead to failure. Our trailer sits for months at a time, and have not had failures that can be directly attributed to that, i.e. unexplained tire failure.

I read it on the carlisle tire website a few years ago so I assumed it was true.