Changing tires on flying cloud

[AnneFitz]

We have a 25 ft FBT flying cloud that we purchased new in 2018 . We have traveled about 1,000 miles with it , this has been sitting in our yard in northern New Hampshire for about 2 years due to covid restrictions, we recently put it into covered storage in NH when we sold or house. My question is , we plan on taking it out of storage and driving it to NC for the summer , for safety reasons Since it has been sitting for so long should we replace all 4 tires

[LNBright]

Well, bought in 2018, means they're probably 2017 or even 2016 tires (check the date code). That means they're at least 5 years old now.

Your profile is listing a 22' Sport, which is a single axle: I wouldn't hesitate at all to go ahead and change tires. But you've mentioned a 25', which is a dual-axle. I would still go ahead and change them, especially if they're Marathons. I'd probably change them anyway. If you're wanting Endurance tires, right now Discount Tire is the place that has the best chance of having them. If instead of 15", if you have 16" wheels, you can run Michelins instead. Good luck!

[uncle_bob]

Hi

As noted above, the date codes on the tires do matter. If there was significant sun exposure while sitting a for a few years, that also matters. Tires don't like lots of UV exposure. Also as noted above, the brand / model of tire you have matters. The Marathon's ( and a few others ) don't have a great reputation for longevity.

Is there a magic date? Most get worried at the 5 year point. You look at the tires to see what's going on. Almost inevitably you find this or that. Some of it could date to the day you pulled the trailer out of the dealer lot and bumped that long forgotten curb . Some things (major cracks) are red flags in terms of replacement. Judging exactly what is "major" is not as easy as it might seem.

Your trailer is worth a lot of money. A pair (or a set of 4 depending on what you actually have) are a lot less expensive that even minor damage to the trailer. Unfortunately the clearances on the AS wheel wells make it possible that a full blowout can do damage. No, it's not likely .... how lucky do you feel?

Our answer on a 2017 was to replace the tires a few months back.

Bob

[Bill M.]

Yes.

[Lucky Dog]

Originally Posted by LNBright

Well, bought in 2018, means they're probably 2017 or even 2016 tires (check the date code). That means they're at least 5 years old now.

Your profile is listing a 22' Sport, which is a single axle: I wouldn't hesitate at all to go ahead and change tires. But you've mentioned a 25', which is a dual-axle. I would still go ahead and change them, especially if they're Marathons. I'd probably change them anyway. If you're wanting Endurance tires, right now Discount Tire is the place that has the best chance of having them. If instead of 15", if you have 16" wheels, you can run Michelins instead. Good luck!

As has been recounted often on the forum, many of us run the Michelin 235/75R15 LTX Defender…no need to go to 16” to get a Michelin if desired and appropriate to the trailer/weight. I run them on my ‘14 Flying Cloud 25FBT.

Safe travels to you.

Rich