shiners780

These are only three years old. They have plenty of tread left, but are badly cracked on the sidewalls. The two tires on the sunny side appear to be worse than the two on the mostly shady side.

1. I assume these are not safe to use? How much cracking is considered too much?

2. What can be done to prevent this from happening again? I see a lot of RV's with canvas covers on the tires, do those help? Should I refrain from using tire dressings?

BlueRiver86

Wow Jim, those are pretty cracked. I'll try to get in touch with the guys at work and see what we use on our race trailers.

Bull

Jim, I would replace them, as it isn't worth it to me to have a trailer tire problem going to or from an event. The tires are inexpensive compared to what we all are used to paying for track tires. I just payed $290 + tax for four Goodyear Marathons from Tire Rack for my trailer.

I guess I don't park in the sun as much, as my sidewalls don't crack. I replace them after 5 years even though the tread is still excellent. Trailer tires deteriorate from the inside, and many of my friends have had tires go down after 5 years.

shiners780

Thanks Dan.
Thanks for the info Bob. Tire Rack lists those at $96 each, how did you get them so cheap? At $384 I can get a local deal and not have to pay and wait for shipping. Did Tire Rack have those on sale recently?

I agree they are shot and I will get them replaced. Any preventative maintenance tips for the future? Three years seems like a short lifespan.

Gary R.

Is there a D.O.T. date on the sidewall? Those sure do look a LOT older than 3 years.. mine are 3 years old and have 0 cracking and it's always outside here in the northeast..

MomentumGuy

Using something like an RV tire cover might help control the damage:

http://www.etrailer.com/c-rvtirecov.htm (no affiliation, just an example)

It sounds like you don't need a set for the shaded side. . .

shiners780

I just checked, they are stamped "2804". So I guess they are almost 4 years old. I bought it new in '05 which is why I said 3 years. Maybe they are just crappy tires?

Do you guys cover your tires with canvas covers? Do those help by reducing UV light damage? edit: yeah MomentumGuy - those are what I am referring to.

Bull

I bought them a couple of months ago, so prices may have gone up??? I may have gotten a wholesale price (), but that is usually only $5 - $10 savings.

I have not used them, but I am told that those tire covers do help protect from UV rays. Like Gary, my trailer is outside 100% of the time, but I have never seen any sidewall cracking. I also agree that they look older than 3 years. Maybe they were on the rack for a long time before you bought them?

Bull

Jim, I forgot to ask you what size you use. My Trailex uses 215/75 x 14s, which are on the TR retail site for $79 ea. I assume you are using 15s, which is the price diff.

Chaos

Good year Marothons ONLY
303 Space age protectant spray
Cover them when stored
CARRY TWO SPARES

Larry Herman

I have had both the Carlyle tires and the Goodyear ones live outside for years. One thing, do not use any "protectant" spray. Trailer tires have a high wax content which helps reduce some of the friction in the turns and acts as a preservative. Your tire dressing displaces this wax and actually promotes cracking.

Bull

I too have never used any "protectant" sprays for many years.

shiners780

You are correct, mine are 205/75/15.
I just had a friend at a tire dealer tell me the same thing. I didn't know that, and had been applying dressings since I purchased the trailer to keep the tires 'looking nice'. Now I know.

Qwickrick

[QUOTEGood year Marothons ONLY
303 Space age protectant spray
Cover them when stored
CARRY TWO SPARES][/QUOTE]

Since blowing out a trailer tire on Route 80 with 200 miles to go to get to the Glen, I now carry two spares. Trailer tires are cheap (I use 14's), so if in doubt, replace them all. Not even the cost of one MPSC.

shiners780

Spares? I guess I should get one of those also, eh?