Trailer Tire Question??????

[Mike L.]

My Tracker PC175 Is just over 7 years old.



The tires look great, even wear and plent of tread, and have only about 16,000 miles on them.



Because of their age do you think that the tires should be replaced or do you think that they will be good for a while yet?



Mike

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Do they show dry rot (cracking) ?

 

[Mike L.]

No Tee, they don't. Garage kept all summer, and trailers up on blocks over the winter.

Iv'e had car tires that after 4-5 yrs do get that dry rot look thats why I'm concerned about 7 year old trailer tires.

 

[TOMMY RICH]

If you have a spare, just keep a close eye on them. Might want to consider new at somepoint.

Might want to look in the deepest part of the tread to see if there's rot there also.

 

[Marty Klein]

Tires do "break down" in addition to "dry rot" as a non-road hazard. The question is can they break down in 7 years? I don't think so. I owned a van that had two sets of tires in 18 years and the second set was still good when we deep-sixed the van.

 

[Mike L.]

Thanks for the input!!!!!!!!! Guess they are ok as is, I just have to check them a bit more often now.

 

[Berry Lindley]

If they are not cracked run 'em. You can get problems with new ones, with many now made in China I hear of more problems. Just watch them as already suggested.

 

[Jim in VA]

Berry - what you heard is right. Recently, NHTSA recalled nearly half a million tires made in China by a company that was attempting to short cut costs by leaving out critical components. Here's more from a story out of the Detroit News published last Friday (July 6, 2007).

The Senate Commerce Committee's interstate commerce, trade and tourism subcommittee, chaired by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., has set a July 18 hearing. National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator Nicole Nason will testify, she said Thursday.



Earlier this week, NHTSA asked 14 tire makers to submit details on any imported tires from Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co., China's second-largest tire maker.



As many as 450,000 tires made by Hangzhou Zhongce and imported to the United States by New Jersey-based Foreign Tire Sales may be defective. They were sold under several names including Westlake, Telluride, Compass and YKS.



Foreign Tire Sales said Hangzhou Zhongce altered the production of tires, removing a gum strip used to prevent tread separation. The family-owned FTS first had concerns about tires produced by Hangzhou in October 2005, after a jump in warranty claims, and ceased buying them in June 2006.



Foreign Tire Sales said it will begin its recall July 16, with advertisements.