Tires

[Kota]

I'll offer these to my classic friends here. I have a pair of essentially unused Ohtsu 225/70R19.5 tires. DOT V4AD 5X2W4610 shows they were made week 46 of 2010. I'm betting they have less than 500 miles on them. They were on the front of that 94 I bought. I put 6 new Michelins on it. I'm packing for the move to Michigan and would rather not transport them back. I'd like $250 for the pair to anyone that wants to stop by and pick them up in Boulder CO.

[bobmiller1]

What size michelins did you end up buying ? I was going to get michelins but I ended up with Goodyears, not because of price. It was availability.

[Kota]

Originally Posted by bobmiller1

What size michelins did you end up buying ? I was going to get michelins but I ended up with Goodyears, not because of price. It was availability.

I'll be over there tomorrow and let you know. I've been real happy with the Goodyears I put on the 95. The improvement in ride and road noise was very noticeable. I run them at 95 psi front and rear. The run cool and quiet. I was going to buy another set but they only had 4 in stock. He talked me into the Michelins which he said were a better tire. Got the same price as the GYs. Haven't really had it on the road to tell the difference.

[Boxster1971]

Five year old tires?

[nrgtrakr]

Ditto ... good for building an earthship, but not much else.

[Kota]

Originally Posted by Boxster1971

Five year old tires?

They were installed 3 years ago according to the paperwork on its last journey before being parked for maintenance issues. Limiting a tires use based on age alone is a highly debated topic in the RV world. Many other factors such as use, maintenance, sun exposure, chemical exposure, etc play an important role in determining the life of a tire. Most specialists I've talked to say 10 years is a reasonable life expectancy from age alone. But I won't get into a debate. Just giving a opportunity for someone to save a buck. I wouldn't offer them if I didn't think they were serviceable.

[tjdonahoe]

ohtsu tires! You don't want me to get started on these, set them on the curb with a for sale sign , if you are lucky, some one will steal them tonight...

[Kota]

Originally Posted by tjdonahoe

ohtsu tires! You don't want me to get started on these, set them on the curb with a for sale sign , if you are lucky, some one will steal them tonight...

I did some research and they seem to be a pretty decent Japanese tire. Do you have any specifics on their truck tires?

http://www.petestire.com/ohtsu-tires.shtml

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Kota

They were installed 3 years ago according to the paperwork on its last journey before being parked for maintenance issues. Limiting a tires use based on age alone is a highly debated topic in the RV world. Many other factors such as use, maintenance, sun exposure, chemical exposure, etc play an important role in determining the life of a tire. Most specialists I've talked to say 10 years is a reasonable life expectancy from age alone. But I won't get into a debate. Just giving a opportunity for someone to save a buck. I wouldn't offer them if I didn't think they were serviceable.

I've pretty much set my limit on RV tire life to no more than 8 years, preferably a lot less. At one time I had a 27' Winnebago that had tires in the 9-10 year old range. I was driving from Dallas to Little rock late one night when the right inner rear dually blew. It tore up the wheel well and the bottom of the bathroom cabinet. Worse, the propane tank was just forward of the wheel well. I got lucky in that none of the propane lines were caught in the debris.

The tires looked just fine and had plenty of tread. I won't risk that again.

YMMV

Brad

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by Kota

They were installed 3 years ago according to the paperwork on its last journey before being parked for maintenance issues. Limiting a tires use based on age alone is a highly debated topic in the RV world. Many other factors such as use, maintenance, sun exposure, chemical exposure, etc play an important role in determining the life of a tire. Most specialists I've talked to say 10 years is a reasonable life expectancy from age alone. But I won't get into a debate. Just giving a opportunity for someone to save a buck. I wouldn't offer them if I didn't think they were serviceable.

I'm concerned about your personal safety and a polite debate is probably worth the effort. Saving a buck is great but old tires are not a good way to save money. Your life depends on the tires on your vehicle. I can understand why owners of RVs that require these large expensive tires would want to run them for 10 years, especially if they don't have much wear due to low use. But tire life is generally considered expended at 6 years. Yes, you will find some sources that say using them up to ten years is OK. But everything I can find says there is increased risk of tire failure after 6 years.

I was once of the view to run my tires up to ten years as you suggest. That is until an 8 year old tire came apart on a vehicle being driven by my daughter when she was in college some years back. These were also quality Michelin tires. It was a scary accident but no one got hurt so I made it a lesson learned. Replace tires when they go 6 years past the age date stamped on the tires.

Here are a few relevant articles on tire age:
http://www.tiresafetygroup.com/tires...-in-six-years/
http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/how-...our-tires.html
http://www.souzastireservice.com/tir...-of-tires.aspx
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTireLife.dos

Stay safe,


- - Mike
2013 Lounge EXT on 2012 Sprinter

[Kota]

Your point is well taken but I bet these tires are safer and have more life in them that 75% of the tires being run on these older motor homes right now. I've had 2 Michelins come apart on my Audi A6 that are less than a year old. I hate low profile tires.

Then there's the retread issue. I have more problems with that than a 6 year old tire.

I'm always amazed at the tires I see on tour busses in places like Costa Rica that haul people up winding mountain passes. They make tires that we replace look like new. I see a lot of focus on things like tires and a lot of neglect on other critical items like brakes, steering, suspension...

But it's a moot point! They just found a new home.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Kota

....I hate low profile tires.

I couldn't agree more!

[J. Morgan]

Most of life on this earth are about ratios, not hard deadlines.

A five year old tire can by no means be legitimately declared unsafe for service because of age alone.


Brevi tempore!

[tjdonahoe]

They might be wonderful but I know of a couple blow outs on the steer axle with this brand, and they were only a few days old, a tire recapper here capped a load of these,he got every one back as the casings failed, not me,

[r carl]

225/70R19.5 tires are real truck tires, in no way should they be compared to cheap ST tires.

[tjdonahoe]

Originally Posted by r carl

225/70R19.5 tires are real truck tires, in no way should they be compared to cheap ST tires.

May be you should check out where they are manufactured.....

[Kota]

Originally Posted by tjdonahoe

May be you should check out where they are manufactured.....

They are stamped made in Japan.