"Don't make me use my safety manager voice."
~Random T-Shirt~
If you've ever wondered about the importance of good tires on your rig, this blog is for you. Let's talk about it.
Several years ago, I bought a brand new, 28' bumper pull. Pulled it right off the lot with my sparkly 1/2 ton Chevy Z71. (We're going to talk about that WAY more in later blogs). I had no clue what tires were on it, how they were rated, or even the brand. They were brand new, right?
For the first several months I only pulled from state park to state park every 14 days. Clearly, I was living in it. I had exactly zero issues with my shiny new camper and my soft, glowing tires. Zero.
But next, I decided to pull my 28', 7,000 lb (loaded) rig from Nebraska all the way to Corpus Christi, Texas. (I promise, we are SO going to talk about towing very soon). You know how many tire issues I had on that trip? Also, zero. Do you know why? I was LUCKY!! I mean, I was beyond lucky. I drove too fast for too long because I hadn't a clue. It was winter, so the pavement was cool, and apparently I had them aired up correctly, but I now know I dodged bullet after bullet.
Ask almost any RVer, full timer or otherwise, what their most common roadside issue is, and they'll tell you. It's tires. Do you know why? Because the tires that come on your new camper are crap. With rare exception, they aren't rated appropriately for the weight you're carrying nor the speed you're driving. If you're running with your factory-installed tires in the summer, driving more than 65 mph, with them supporting 3-5 tons of tin and cheap wood, the question isn't whether or not you'll have a blowout. It's when.
I had a lengthy discussion with an RV tech once about tires. (which now makes me a certified expert. lol). What he told me made the blood run out of my face. According to this tech, most RV tires are rated to pull 50 miles at a time at 50 mph or less. In other words, these tires are meant for the weekender who stocks up on beer and runs down to the local state fishing lake. They are (IN GENERAL!) NOT meant to be pulled down the road for miles on end at speeds you should avoid.
So, what can you as an RV owner, do to reduce the odds of you having a blowout? Well, the most obvious would be to replace your crappy tires with light truck tires, 10 ply or above. Whether you do that or decide to roll the dice on your crappy ones like I did, you can also do things like making sure the air pressure is correct, keep your speed under 65 mph (or less, what's the rush?), and when possible, avoid towing in extreme conditions, especially heat. And for god's sake try to stay off the logging roads.
But wait, there's more!
My wife and I now own a 37' diesel pusher and pull a Jeep TJ toad (and yes, you need to pay attention to the tires on your toad, too). We bought the rig used with low miles and the ginormous semi-truck tires on this thing looked great. No cracks in the sidewalls, great tread. Away we went down the road to places like South Dakota, Wyoming, North Carolina (Yes, North Carolina while carrying my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, two cats and a coondog). Know how many tire issues we had? Yep. Zero. Know why? Again...LUCKY!!!
While on the return trip from North Carolina, we happened to park next to a guy that had the same Freightliner frame we run on and we started comparing notes. Apparently, he'd been on the road with his rig for 12 years or more and he had a few great suggestions. In the midst of all that he took a lap around the rig and took at hard look at the tires. Now HIS face turned white.
"Did you know these tires are all over 10 years old?" he asked.
I responded, "Well, first of all, how do you know that? And secondly, so what? They're in great shape."
That's when I learned something VERY important about big truck tires. "Young man," he said. "Truck tires don't wear out. They TIME out."
"Say what?"
Basically, he made me promise we'd at least replace the steering tires when we got home, which we did...at $650 each (remember, we're RVing on a budget. And while this definitely falls under the "Do as I say, not as I do" category, we've continued to run on the drive tires with no issues, yet. It's in the budget and if you're in our situation, I'd tell you to do it sooner than later. We do check them for damage frequently, keep them properly inflated, keep them covered when we sit more than a couple days, avoid speeds generally over 62 mph (1500-1700 rpms), especially in the heat, and...remember those two steering tires? Yep, those are spares and our jeep serves as a holding cell for them while we travel. Is it ideal? No. Should you do it? Also no.
While this is by no means intended to be expert advice, it is some stuff that we've learned along the way and we hope it helps. As always, your mileage may vary...literally and figuratively.
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Remember...Stay safe. Be Smart. See ya on the road.
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