Tire Covers

[Sandra F]

We have a 2011 Bambi International. We are looking for tire covers.

Questions:
What brand would you recommend?
What color White or Black? I would like to buy Black but husband says Black attracts heat....has anyone figure out how to counter-act this?

We plan on traveling west....desert.

Thank you for taking the time to help us!

[Belegedhel]

Yes, black absorbs energy and heats up more than lighter colors like white. Want to keep your tires cool, buy white wheel covers. The main function of a tire cover is keeping UV off of your tires during storage, or long term parking. So whatever wheel cover you buy, make sure it will effectively block the UV (shouldn't be a big deal as most opaque materials will also block UV).

[switz]

Check out a Camping World location or their online site. Just enter the word tire cover in the search bar and I think there are sizes for nearly any tire size. White is probably the color used out West because I have never seen another choice in the stores.

[Gene]

We got ours through Walmart online—cheaper than Camping World. White may not be as pretty on the trailer, but it is hot here in the west, go with white.

We only use them when the trailer is parked at home. We keep moving a lot when traveling, so we don't need them then. Even in Michigan, the sun is bad for your trailer tires, so use them there. If you are parked in the west for several days, no harm in using them to keep the sun off.

Also check the tires carefully before you leave for any evidence of bulges, tread separation or other signs of deterioration. The Marathons they come with can fail even at 10,000 miles.

Gene

[Silver Hawk]

Bought mine at 'Sportsman's Guide' - they had black, white and silver (gray). When on from a distance they blend right in and look like they belong.

[m.hony]

I have white tire covers. I am thinking about getting rid of them. The trailer doesn't sit still long enough to bother.

[Safari-Rick]

K mart and Walmart carry them for about $17. (White or black)

Same as Camping World.

[Sandra F]

Thanks to the person who moved my comments to the correct place here and thanks to the people who gave their opinions including the one who said he doesn't stay in one place long enough to warrant needing tire covers....love it!

[Tireman9]

I did a post with actual data showing the advantage of white covers on my blog

[TBRich]

I prefer black tire covers over white, even though the white ones probably reflect light better...but the goals is to protect them from UV damage...they are going to get hot with either color where we live. We store our Bambi out of direct sun, so we don't even use them unless we are at a campsite in direct sun for longer than a couple of days... I would have got silver ones if Camping World had them!

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, I don't use tire covers. My trailer sits in between two houses facing East; It never gets direct Sun light on my tires. I wouldn't bother covering my tires while at a camp ground, and certainly can't cover them while driving. So unless one of your tires [single axle] are facing South all day long for months on end, I wouldn't buy or use tire covers.

[cwf]

PO used garbage bags for tire covers. With six tires it is bulky and expensive to get factory covers...?

Things that make you say "Hmmm..."

[m.hony]

I only use them to keep dogs from hiking a leg on my wheels.
What size garbage bags?

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by TBRich

I prefer black tire covers over white, even though the white ones probably reflect light better...but the goals is to protect them from UV damage...they are going to get hot with either color where we live. We store our Bambi out of direct sun, so we don't even use them unless we are at a campsite in direct sun for longer than a couple of days... I would have got silver ones if Camping World had them!

You might take a look at the temperature numbers in the blog post. While it is true that almost any solid cover will shield the tire from UV, you need to remember that UV only attacks the surface while heat soaks the entire structure of the tire.
Increased temperature accelerates the aging process and doubles each 18°F increase. 1 week at 107°F is like 2 weeks at 88° or 4 weeks at 70°.

This aging causes structural weakening at the molecular level and is cumulative so it always is worse for tire durability. The damage also never repairs itself so once you have overheated a tire, the damage is done. This damage can lead to failures like Tread Separations as seen in the original post of This Thread.

Based on the test we see that a tire under a white cover only increased by 1°F while the black tire with no cover was 36°F hotter (aging 4 times as fast vs when under a white cover)

This aging rate difference is one of the major contributors to tires in AZ, TX, FL running worse than tires in OH, NY, WA etc.

Depending on how you are parked you really only need to cover the tires in direct sunlight.

[m.hony]

The tire covers are basically on from December to April. They are white. I am not really worried about heat. The covers are a little tough to put on and take off for me. I have a hard time getting on the ground to fasten them behind the tire. When I took them off in April I got into a fire ant bed.

[Tireman9]

Sorry to hear bout the fire ants. The covers I have are "Classic" brand. A Google search - classic accessories rv tire covers - will find hundreds of stores that carry the brand with prices as low as $20 a pr.

The top "hooks" over the tire with some elastic sewn in on the back side so I have no straps to ties or hooks to mess with. I'm 68 and don't have to get on my knees to slip then on or take them off. Reviewers say "50 out of 52reviewers would recommend this product to a friend."

I use the covers whenever I am parked for more than a day and the sun is out.

Never had a cover come off in 5 years of use. "Snow White" is the color of choice.

Someone saying they don't care about heat seems to tell me they also don't care about air pressure, load or speed.

Heat is the #1 killer of tires. Be it short term "Blowout" from run low flex or a tread detachment due to long term overloading and or excess speed. But that's their decision. I am only offering my expert opinion as a tire engineer with 40 years experience, but what do I know?

[m.hony]

I just don't think heat is a consideration when storing between December and April.
There is no way there can be as much heat built up under the tire covers in winter as traveling in summer.
The tires won't last very long in any circumstances. I replaced the tires on my previous trailer after 3 years. Somehow I don't believe heat buildup in storage had much to do with that.
My tire covers have a bungee cord with a loop on one side of the bottom and a bungee cord with a ball on the other end at the bottom. The idea is to get on the ground, reach under the axle, get the loop and the ball and insert the ball into the loop to securely fasten the tire covers. maybe i should get another type of tire cover that just attaches over the top of the tire with elastic. Problem with that is the elastic seems to wear out in 2-3 years.
Dogs hiking their legs on my aluminum wheels is a way bigger consideration for me than heat buildup. Rank acid dog pee will eat up a wheel.

[cwf]

Originally Posted by m.hony

I only use them to keep dogs from hiking a leg on my wheels.
What size garbage bags?

30 gallon or Drum Liners.

[Gene]

Our tire covers have something at the bottom that hooks around the back. I just put them on and leave them unhooked. They've never blown away.

Gene

[RTurnConn]

My trailer is stored in an open storage lot with no large trailers on either side of it. It faces directly south meaning the sun if fully on one side in the morning and the other in the afternoon. My tires (Michelins) cost me about $150 each and I have 6 of them. Tire covers for all 6 tires cost less than $100, a relatively small amount of money to protect a much costlier investment. Penny-wise and pound foolish would seem to apply here. Mine, btw, are white and they are on my trailer all the time it is stored.