Tyre Age

[pensioner]

I know, from reading topics on here how important it is to change the caravan tyres about every 5 years,and I don't have a problem with that.

We bought our caravan in September 2014 and I know that the tyre age is date stamped at 0114. So they were several months old when I bought it, don't have a problem with that either as I guess the manufacturer buys in bulk.

My question is,,,how NEW should the tyres be when I buy replacements,,1 month?,,6 months?,,1 year ?,,and at what point should say NO, those replacements are too old.

Clearly I need to ask to see them before fitting of course.

 

[Sproket]

Ideally as new as possible ... personally no more than six months .... you can ask to see them and check the date on the side wall before you commit your self to buying them & don't let them take yours off the rims first .....

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

Just been to Screwfix to pick up some LED lights and as there was a tyre place next door I took the opportunity to ask about tyre age. They said a lot of common size tyres would only be a few months old, but less popular sizes even for cars would be at least a year or two old. He showed me a stack of Dunlop tyres of a more unusual size and said they would be at least 2 years old as the manufacturer would only make a batch as and when stocks get low.

Asking for tyres less than 6 months old may not be an option, as even Dunlop tyres are made in China and shipped to a central depot in the UK and then distributed. Everything takes time.

 

[swpostie]

If the tyres you want are so unpopular that they've been sitting around for two years then it might be worth negotiating a 40% discount as you'll possibly be only getting 60% of their use.

Do tyres deteriorate at the same rate when they're in storage and out of sunlight as they do when they're on the caravan?

 

[JonnyG]

sorry double posted

 

[JonnyG]

the manufacturers give tyres a ten year life span and the only other decent advice comes from the ROSPA tyres that have been stored for 6 years unused should not be used.. just because certain advice seems popular and repeated all over the web it doesn't make it correct ....If a tyre shows signs of cracking be it 2 years old or 7 years old it need replacing the 5/6 year jargon about replacing a tyre is hogwash.. just keep an eye on the condition ie cracking

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

Do tyres deteriorate at the same rate when they're in storage and out of sunlight as they do when they're on the caravan?

Tyres in a depot will not deteriorate so rapidly as they are kept out of sunlight and in a smaller temperature excursion range. Also they are not fitted on a wheel rim and therefore are not subjected to the cycle of higher pressure changes.

The fitter did suggest putting a caravan on axle stands and letting the air out of the tyre when in storage but I said to him that I was not going to use a footpump each time to get the tyres back up to nearly 60 psi.

 

[JonnyG]

Do tyres deteriorate at the same rate when they're in storage and out of sunlight as they do when they're on the caravan?

Tyres in a depot will not deteriorate so rapidly as they are kept out of sunlight and in a smaller temperature excursion range. Also they are not fitted on a wheel rim and therefore are not subjected to the cycle of higher pressure changes.

The fitter did suggest putting a caravan on axle stands and letting the air out of the tyre when in storage but I said to him that I was not going to use a footpump each time to get the tyres back up to nearly 60 psi.

and yet the ROSPA advises against using tyres stored for 6 years? so some deterioration must take place even when stored properly

 

[Dustydog]

We caravanners must he getting soft.
A major retailer advertised brand new unused caravans for sale made in 2014 for 25% less than the original price.
Surely that principle should apply to any product that has a shelf life ?

 

[JonnyG]

We caravanners must he getting soft.
A major retailer advertised brand new unused caravans for sale made in 2014 for 25% less than the original price.
Surely that principle should apply to any product that has a shelf life ?

what like tinned food? at what piont do you offer a discount on something with a shelf life? 1 year left 3 years left or 6 years left?still its nice to see a retailer selling caravan tyres for 25% discount but are they really at a true 25% discount because they are 4 years old? or are they just using a so called discount based on their age to move surplus items? and if so called retailer is dearer to start with than another seller by 25% or more are you really getting a deal.. i shop around as i'm sure do others and just by shopping around you can save 25% without any so called special offer ...

 

[Dustydog]

We caravanners must he getting soft.
A major retailer advertised brand new unused caravans for sale made in 2014 for 25% less than the original price.
Surely that principle should apply to any product that has a shelf life ?

what like tinned food? at what piont do you offer a discount on something with a shelf life? 1 year left 3 years left or 6 years left?still its nice to see a retailer selling caravan tyres for 25% discount but are they really at a true 25% discount because they are 4 years old? or are they just using a so called discount based on their age to move surplus items? and if so called retailer is dearer to start with than another seller by 25% or more are you really getting a deal.. i shop around as i'm sure do others and just by shopping around you can save 25% without any so called special offer ...[/quote

Consumables near their best by date get heavily discounted or thrown away by the retailer. If you bought a used caravan you'd check the tyre date stamp and calculate the outstanding life span. How would you know the actual usage time?
I fully appreciate guidelines are just that. However in the caravan world guidelines are important and can influence to purchase or not.
The Pharmaceutical industry puts "use by dates " on their pills. Do they degenerate? I don't know. But if it's a life crucial drug would you take a chance.

 

[JonnyG]

We caravanners must he getting soft.
A major retailer advertised brand new unused caravans for sale made in 2014 for 25% less than the original price.
Surely that principle should apply to any product that has a shelf life ?

what like tinned food? at what piont do you offer a discount on something with a shelf life? 1 year left 3 years left or 6 years left?still its nice to see a retailer selling caravan tyres for 25% discount but are they really at a true 25% discount because they are 4 years old? or are they just using a so called discount based on their age to move surplus items? and if so called retailer is dearer to start with than another seller by 25% or more are you really getting a deal.. i shop around as i'm sure do others and just by shopping around you can save 25% without any so called special offer ...[/quote

Consumables near their best by date get heavily discounted or thrown away by the retailer. If you bought a used caravan you'd check the tyre date stamp and calculate the outstanding life span. How would you know the actual usage time?
I fully appreciate guidelines are just that. However in the caravan world guidelines are important and can influence to purchase or not.
The Pharmaceutical industry puts "use by dates " on their pills. Do they degenerate? I don't know. But if it's a life crucial drug would you take a chance.

hi dustydog. my point was and is that a tyre that was manufactured in 2014 is nowhere near its manufacturers shelf life.,which is 10 years, its only 2 years old and you are comparing it to the purchasing of life crucial drug! OK let me put it another way and as an example use your life crucial drug analogy except place the info we have on tyres . so now your life crucial drug is 2 years old and has a shelf life of 4 more years at least . analogy, big fuss about nothing! at this rate we are going to end up with, if something wasn't made yesterday its too old and unfit for purpose .....

 

[Dustydog]

We caravanners must he getting soft.
A major retailer advertised brand new unused caravans for sale made in 2014 for 25% less than the original price.
Surely that principle should apply to any product that has a shelf life ?

what like tinned food? at what piont do you offer a discount on something with a shelf life? 1 year left 3 years left or 6 years left?still its nice to see a retailer selling caravan tyres for 25% discount but are they really at a true 25% discount because they are 4 years old? or are they just using a so called discount based on their age to move surplus items? and if so called retailer is dearer to start with than another seller by 25% or more are you really getting a deal.. i shop around as i'm sure do others and just by shopping around you can save 25% without any so called special offer ...[/quote

Consumables near their best by date get heavily discounted or thrown away by the retailer. If you bought a used caravan you'd check the tyre date stamp and calculate the outstanding life span. How would you know the actual usage time?
I fully appreciate guidelines are just that. However in the caravan world guidelines are important and can influence to purchase or not.
The Pharmaceutical industry puts "use by dates " on their pills. Do they degenerate? I don't know. But if it's a life crucial drug would you take a chance.

hi dustydog. my point was and is that a tyre that was manufactured in 2014 is nowhere near its manufacturers shelf life.,which is 10 years, its only 2 years old and you are comparing it to the purchasing of life crucial drug! OK let me put it another way and as an example use your life crucial drug analogy except place the info we have on tyres . so now your life crucial drug is 2 years old and has a shelf life of 4 more years at least . analogy, big fuss about nothing! at this rate we are going to end up with, if something wasn't made yesterday its too old and unfit for purpose .....

Forget the semantics.
Do you think the caravan industry is wrong telling us to change gas hoses every so many years and recommend tyres at 5/ 6 years old?

 

[JonnyG]

We caravanners must he getting soft.
A major retailer advertised brand new unused caravans for sale made in 2014 for 25% less than the original price.
Surely that principle should apply to any product that has a shelf life ?

what like tinned food? at what piont do you offer a discount on something with a shelf life? 1 year left 3 years left or 6 years left?still its nice to see a retailer selling caravan tyres for 25% discount but are they really at a true 25% discount because they are 4 years old? or are they just using a so called discount based on their age to move surplus items? and if so called retailer is dearer to start with than another seller by 25% or more are you really getting a deal.. i shop around as i'm sure do others and just by shopping around you can save 25% without any so called special offer ...[/quote

Consumables near their best by date get heavily discounted or thrown away by the retailer. If you bought a used caravan you'd check the tyre date stamp and calculate the outstanding life span. How would you know the actual usage time?
I fully appreciate guidelines are just that. However in the caravan world guidelines are important and can influence to purchase or not.
The Pharmaceutical industry puts "use by dates " on their pills. Do they degenerate? I don't know. But if it's a life crucial drug would you take a chance.

hi dustydog. my point was and is that a tyre that was manufactured in 2014 is nowhere near its manufacturers shelf life.,which is 10 years, its only 2 years old and you are comparing it to the purchasing of life crucial drug! OK let me put it another way and as an example use your life crucial drug analogy except place the info we have on tyres . so now your life crucial drug is 2 years old and has a shelf life of 4 more years at least . analogy, big fuss about nothing! at this rate we are going to end up with, if something wasn't made yesterday its too old and unfit for purpose .....

Forget the semantics.
Do you think the caravan industry is wrong telling us to change gas hoses every so many years and recommend tyres at 5/ 6 years old?[/quote

lets stick to tyres ok and not get side tracked that happens far too often... The tyre manufacturers stipulate a tyres lifetime to be 10 years, NOT 5 OR 6 . that assumes the tyre is taken care of has no damage or cracks...who are the caravan industry who don't even do much R&D into the quality of caravan builds to now be the authority on the life span of a tyre! how come alot of time on here is spent on dotting the I's and T's and being meticulous to technically correct details of what is what, and then on some subjects just as important an aspect of caravaning the word "recommend" gets used as almost Law.! anyone can make a recommendation ,it doesn't mean its right or helpfull..