Tyre age again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TheTravellingRooster]

Hi to you all. I have just had somewhat of a surprise. I have had a troublesome NS front tyre on the twin axle that was leaking air when in storage and or stationary but at vastly different rates of loss. I put this down to some positions of the tyre being less prone and possibly keeping a tighter grip on the offending 'Spear'.

The tyre repairer/dealer tells me that the tyres on my Elddis Crusader SuperSirocco are actually between 12yrs and 14yrs old. There are two Dunlop and two budget tyres on the caravan. The oldest of the tyres would almost certainly be the original fitments and the budget ones were fitted as 'new' and just before the caravan was put in PX by the original owners.

The bottom line of this is that even at the point of fitting the two budget tyres by a dealer in Perthshire,Scotland - the tyres were extremely old to have been sold as new.
I have had the SuperSirocco since 31st July 2010 and this is the first time that a tyre has needed to be removed for repair.
There is no evidence of cracking/crazing of the walls or tread at the edges and albeit there is some hairline crazing evidence on the tread blocks - it really has got to be scrutinised to find.

I am told by the repairer/dealer National Tyre Service that the company policy is that tyres that reach 1yr old from date of manufacture are not fitted but are returned to be dealt with as appropriate!!!!!

 

[RogerL]

The tyre industry generally allows up to 2 years from manufacture date to allow for distribution, bulk purchases, etc - that's why the recommendation on tyre life of 7 years involves replacement every 5 years.

AFAIK, there's no legal requirements on tyre age, only guidelines and some MoT testers won't pass old tyres on the test.

 

[Raywood]

Not sure there is anything you can do now having had the caravan over four years. It does look as though it pays to check this out when buying a caravan.
I do wonder if the tyres National are sending back are then turning up at the less reputable dealers or even with vehicle manufacturers given the age of the tyres some people seem to end up with. This is probably more a problem with caravans as on most other vehicles the tyres will wear out before they become unsafe due to age.

 

[otherclive]

I always check tyre age prior to letting the dealer fit them. For the caravan I used to buy commercial van tyres (Firestone vanhawk) as not only were they a better LI but turnover through the tyre outlets tended to ensure a younger tyre to start with. Although recently I bought five mud terrain tyres for my Pajero and wanted a 10.5 inch width which tends to be uncommon in uk. Obtained them from TyreLeader a German internet supplier and got a very good discount on account of them being just over two years old. But given their intended usage and low loading they will outlast my ownership of the car.

 

[RogerL]

Although recently I bought five mud terrain tyres for my Pajero and wanted a 10.5 inch width which tends to be uncommon in uk.

You use cross-plies ?

 

[otherclive]

They were BF Goodrich MT 33x10.5x15 whereas most UK Pajeros that go for bigger tyres use 33x12x15 which requires wider wheels and which tend to "squeeze" into ruts left by Land Rovers! The 10.5 is a more common width in Europe and US where lots of Jeep Wranglers use it.

 

[chrisbee1]

AFAIK, there's no legal requirements on tyre age, only guidelines and some MoT testers won't pass old tyres on the test.

So on what grounds do they fail the tyre?

 

[ProfJohnL]

AFAIK, there's no legal requirements on tyre age, only guidelines and some MoT testers won't pass old tyres on the test.

So on what grounds do they fail the tyre?

Whilst I can't verify the accuracy of this document. it seems to come from a good source.

http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_410.htm
According to it there's no stipulation about the age of a tyre, so the only reasons for an MOT tyre fail will be on the testers opinion based on the list in the document.

 

[chrisbee1]

Prof, thanks for the link but I am well aware of the regulations regarding tyres and MOT tests. That is why I was questioning Roger on the grounds for failure based on tyre age alone.

 

[RogerL]

Prof, thanks for the link but I am well aware of the regulations regarding tyres and MOT tests. That is why I was questioning Roger on the grounds for failure based on tyre age alone.

I can't directly answer that as it's never happened to me, nor likely to since I'm aware of the tyre age limit recommendation and change tyres accordingly - so it's anecdotal evidence from others that tyres over 7 years old was the stated reason - given that any tyre that age will have minor cracks it may be down to MoT testers opinion as to what constitutes an advisory and a failure.

 

[chrisbee1]

In truth Roger it's largely academic as I wouldn't imagine there are many cars running around with 7 year old tyres. Mine certainly don't last that long. Even those that are 7 years old are likely to have been in use on a more regular basis than most caravan tyres, a lot of which never turn a wheel for 8 months of the year.

 

[RogerL]

In truth Roger it's largely academic as I wouldn't imagine there are many cars running around with 7 year old tyres. Mine certainly don't last that long. Even those that are 7 years old are likely to have been in use on a more regular basis than most caravan tyres, a lot of which never turn a wheel for 8 months of the year.

Plenty of FWD cars with 7+ year-old tyres on the rear - many drivers simply replace the fronts when worn.

 

[chrisbee1]

Think I'll have to change my brand of tyres or driving style if I want to achieve c100,000 miles, even on the rears.