Tire question - Montana Owners Club

scattershot · 04-15-2008, 11:36 AM

I bought new tires two years ago for my 2955RL. They are BF Goodrich Commercial T/A, load range E, and rated for the load I'm carrying. (Under gross, BTW). Today I noticed small cracks running radially around the tires about 3" in from the tread. They are shallow, but my question is, are these normal weather checking, or an indication of something serious about to happen?

The rig is stored outside with no wheel covers, but the units on either side provide shade. Maybe 5,000 miles on the tires.

Thanks for any insight.

ols1932 · 04-15-2008, 11:52 AM

I'm not a tire expert but from my experience over the years, these cracks that are appearing are probably caused by UV rays and other weather things. I've found that some tires seem to be almost oblivious to weather while others seem to react early in their lifetime. I'm sure it has to do with the rubber composition that the tires are made from.

I don't cover my wheels. I used to but found no difference in tire life with or without covers. We have to be sure that we don't rely on tire tread to determine lifetime of the tire. It's the sidewall that's important. I'm sure LonnieB will be able to give you an expert opinion on this.

One thing I have noticed in my travels is that there are some RVers who will pull into a park and immediately cover their wheels--almost before they do the rest of the important stuff like putting up the TV antenna. Then, two days later they move to another park and go through the same procedure all over again. I see no benefit in covering tires this way. They didn't cover their tow vehicle tires and they were subject to the same weather conditions as the RV.

Orv

LonnieB · 04-15-2008, 02:36 PM

scattershot, this question kinda goes back to what was said on the thread about Tacoma tires. Without being there to see the cracks firsthand, I can't tell you if they are safe or not. My advice would be to go to a reputable tire dealer and get them to inspect the tires.

Orv is right about the covers, they are more trouble than they are worth.

billhoover · 04-15-2008, 03:30 PM

If I'm going to stay somewhere for a week or so, I cover the RV tires. Granted, the TVs tires are not covered, but they get exercised and moved every day. The Montana just sits there in the same spot for weeks on end. These Chinese tires do not seem to do to well, and I'm doing everything I can to make them last as long as possible...so far so good.

skypilot · 04-16-2008, 05:39 AM

Scattershot - Lonnie is the tire guru. I can only give an experience event to support what he says here -- I can't talk about BFG brand but had a set of Merit's on my SOB and the local Goodyear dealer (only place in this town that has the equipment / training to work on our rigs properly) took a look at them and immediately got on the phone with SOB tire source -- they warrantied all 5 tires. His comment was that the cracks running the way they did indicated abnormal sidewall wear and a problem.

Our tires take a lot of sidewall stress that our tow vehicles don't endure -- the weight, long-term parking, and the stresses of turns, some very sharp that cause the sidewalls to flex on our trailer tires. All of these generate wear that doesn't show up on the wear at the tread. Only some of the reasons we all recommend replacing the tires based on time, often long before the tread is gone.

scattershot · 04-16-2008, 05:42 AM

Thanks for the replies. I'll get the dealer to check them out. I thought it might have been weatherchecking, but now I'm not so sure.

Glenn and Lorraine · 04-16-2008, 11:20 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by LonnieB

scattershot, this question kinda goes back to what was said on the thread about Tacoma tires. Without being there to see the cracks firsthand, I can't tell you if they are safe or not. My advice would be to go to a reputable tire dealer and get them to inspect the tires.

Orv is right about the covers, they are more trouble than they are worth.

I can only repeat what Lonnie said and reenforce the comment that Orv made, "Orv is right about the covers, they are more trouble than they are worth."

TLightning · 04-17-2008, 02:10 PM

I have tire covers, but only use them if spending two weeks or so in the same CG. They aren't much trouble...slip them on, secure the cord, that's it.

sreigle · 04-20-2008, 07:09 AM

I have BFG tires on this truck and on the prior truck. I've not seen the condition you described on our tires. I also put the BFG Commercial T/A LT tires on our 2003 3295RK but we traded that rig after 7,000 miles on those tires. The tires looked almost new at that time but that was only a few months, not two years. I am not a tire expert by any stretch but would take the advice of having a reputable tire dealer take a look. If one says it's a problem you might want to get a second opinion just to satisfy yourself you're not being ripped off.

scattershot · 04-20-2008, 09:48 AM

Thanks, Steve. I'm planning to do that in the very near future. Our tires look new, too, except for the cracking. I went to these specifically to get away from problems with Chinese tires, but it looks like the problems may have followed me!!

sreigle · 04-20-2008, 05:24 PM

I would appreciate hearing what you find out from the tire shop. I was thinking when these Missions either wear out or fail I'd replace them with the BFG Commercial T/A again. So I'm interested in your experience. Thanks.

scattershot · 04-20-2008, 05:28 PM

I'll keep you posted, Steve.

Gene

scattershot · 05-06-2008, 11:30 AM

Well, I got the Monty out of storage today, and took it by a tire shop. They indicated that the cracks in the sidewall were minor weatherchecking, and nothing to be concerned about. I had never seen the small cracks going all around the tire like that, so I wanted to be sure. The tires were made in December of 2005, and installed on Monty in April of '06. Just to be on the safe side, I'll probably run them this summer and change 'em out in the spring.

Gene

ols1932 · 05-06-2008, 01:03 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by scattershot

Well, I got the Monty out of storage today, and took it by a tire shop. They indicated that the cracks in the sidewall were minor weatherchecking, and nothing to be concerned about. I had never seen the small cracks going all around the tire like that, so I wanted to be sure. The tires were made in December of 2005, and installed on Monty in April of '06. Just to be on the safe side, I'll probably run them this summer and change 'em out in the spring.

Gene

It might be a good idea to keep an eye on them as you travel. Some tires with cracks have been known to have the cracks enlarge once you start rolling.

Orv

scattershot · 05-07-2008, 08:37 AM

Thanks, I'll sure do that. I'm kinda a safety nut, and firmly believe that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

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