tireman9

When I was doing "failed tire inspections" I had a stand with six 4' fluorescent lights plus a work light with 75 watt bulb for checking the interior. You really need "flat" light that few "flashlights can provide. You could try THIS light but as I point out in my post on tire inspection you also need to "feel" the complete tire sidewall and tread area and rotate the tire as covered in my blog post on Tire Inspection.

(Sarcasm) Good to know. Then you can probably develop the fatigue behavior and life predictions for rubber bands including every size and all possible uses of said bands. See how easy a task would be with a single material item. Now do that with a tire that has 15 to 20 different rubber compounds and you would be good to go. Oh ya you also need all the tire companies to share their secret formulas too.. (Sarcasm) I have covered the effects of temperature on rubber properties based on the chemical reaction rate change due to temperature in the posts on tire covers. The problem is we are not talking about the chemical reaction rate in a constant temperature location. Even with a formula how would you go about determining the temperature history of all the different components of a tire when different parts of a tire run at variable speed & load in variable temperature chamber may have over 150F range. Easy question. So is developing the Theory of General Relativity..... not

You have the option of filing a complaint with NHTSA on Superior Tire for not registering your tires or even providing you with the needed paperwork. Did you read the info in my post of Dec 1?

I can't address the Firestone situation other than I recall seeing full-page newspaper advertisements on the recall. Tire registration was not mandatory back in 2000 when the Firestone recall took place. New laws were passed in Dec 2015 making registration mandatory for tires but we all can get our tires registered if we are willing to make a little effort. The law, as I understand it is aimed at new tire sales so when you sell or buy a used vehicle with used tires there is no requirement. Newmar, as a vehicle manufacturer is supposed to have registered your tires when the coach was first sold. Recall notices sent to the original owners many times ask for the name of the current owner if the vehicle has been sold. RE Norcold recall. Refrigerators are not required to be registered so that example doesn't apply. Also, fire extinguishers are not required to be registered so the current Kidde extinguisher recall is not covered. However, your vehicle was registered with your state and the VIN is part of that registration. The RV company apparently had records of vehicle VIN and which contained the refrigerator so that is probably how you were identified after the RV company and Norcold went to the significant expense and effort to match vehicle registrations with VIN number list. For tire recalls, if you have a tire so covered and if you know about the recall (information available on the NHTSA website) you would not get a check for $1.18 but would in all probability receive new tires when you returned the recalled tires. Tires are a special category and to my knowledge are the only component that is to be registered. The problem is that many dealers do not bother and many owners also don't seem to know or care about making the effort to fill out the form and mail it in. Owners are however more than happy to complain even if they can't be bothered to report tire failures to NHTSA.

"What If My Tires Are Not Registered? If you think that your tires were not registered at the time of purchase, your dealer did you and your family a great disservice. In the event of a safety-related recall, you would not be notified, since your tires may not be registered. You may also print out our "Consumer Rights Certificate" (in Adobe PDF format) to take back to your dealer, and request that he give you the required tire registration forms. It is your right to be protected in the event of a safety-related tire recall. It's the law." Source for above from CIMS the industry’s largest tire registration company.

Observation about Cardiologist is reasonable, but my Dr has never offered "every dinner of fish you eat instead of beef will extend your life x days" For tires, one reality that few consider is the large variation in temperature across the US and even across some states. I have covered the effects of temperature on rubber properties and life in my RV Tire blog. This is one effect that does have a formula for the chemical reaction rate and breakdown of the "cross-link density" which is a measure of the elasticity of rubber. So while the amount of time you spend with the tire at 80F vs 90F vs 100F etc etc will change the reaction rate and could theoretically be used to predict tire life. But you can't even make a generalization such as "I spend all my time in Arizona". Does that mean Phoenix or Flagstaff? Remember just parking your RV in the shade in Cleveland, OH will age a tire faster than a year in the shade than Flagstaff AZ. While this can give an indication of the upper limit of the structure what further complicates the prediction of "life" is the fact that the load on each tire means the forces are different and the 'stretch" of each tire is also different As the stretch increases the creation and growth of molecular level cracks also increases. It's these cracks that can lead to a belt separation. Increase the load and two things happen. The tire runs hotter (shorter life) and the rubber stretches more (shorter life) Tire technology is constantly changing with new tires or updated rubber compounds hitting the roads monthly so even if you managed to run a controlled test you would probably be developing out of date information before you finished the first round of testing. But if you want to give it a shot at developing a predictive model, I suggest you start with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and go on to a PHD in organic chemistry. While you are at it raise enough money to build an enclosed test track the size of Indianapolis Speedway. Your testing for tire durability will only cost you about $1 a test mile. I for one would love to see your data. RE taking care of your tires. I can't comment on how much effort you need to give to taking care of your tires as only you know the value you place on having uninterrupted travel or protecting your family from harm. I fear some are looking for some hard and fast numbers but in my experience life seldom provides the level of certainty some would wish for.

Yup. That's a reasonable practice I would follow.

Ray, you need to careful with data. It is probably true that a majority of FMCA owners have Michelin tires so obviously a majority of the tire failure reports would also probably be Michelin brand. Also are you certain that the analysis of any failures was done by some trained in failed tire analysis and can differentiate between a structural failure and a failure due to low inflation and/or overload?

Maybe a better question might be to ask those companies with R&D budget who are advertising and making claims about the protective nature of the material they are selling, where are the pictures and data from their controlled testing?. There is no question in my mind that protecting tires from direct exposure to Heat, Ozone, and UV is a good thing. I have seen tires completely destroyed by being in an Ozone chamber. Tire companies have test fixtures that can expose samples to UV, and of course, we all know that heat can accelerate the aging and loss of strength of rubber. On my 2008 MH the gel coat on the fiberglass side that was always parked toward the south developed cracks to the point that I needed that side re-painted while the side away from the Sun was OK. I have written in my blog about both white vinyl covers that I use on my Class-C and just last Oct presented the data and showed the advantages of using Mesh material which for large Class-A Motorhomes is probably easier to handle. Maybe you might want to review some of my posts. External cracking I have seen on RV tires even as bad as in this post does not constitute a "failure" of the tire. You can still drive on them. BUT the external cracking can be used as a predictor of probable loss of strength of the internal structural rubber and as such should be considered a warning of increased potential structural failure such as a belt separation. Maybe you can think of sidewall cracking as you might think of high blood pressure reading. Do high readings mean you will have a heart attack in the next 10 minutes? Probably not but high readings do suggest that you may need to take action (surgery or stent or at least some drugs that can control the high pressure) and for tires, they indicate that you need to plan on replacing the subject tire.

I cannot imagine those cracks "healing" themselves. IMO those tires should be or have been replaced. RE The presenter statements about the cracks going away. I think the answer "The cracking is not the tires themselves, but the additive in the tire. " was not completely understood by the folks in the seminar. The protective chemicals built into a tire is a wax-like material when you get it in volume it may look more like candle wax or beeswax in its raw state. Yes, this "wax" migrates to the surface and it helps protect the tire surface rubber from attack by Ozone and UV. Under certain conditions, I can see the wax if thick enough possibly giving the appearance of "cracking" but the depth of those cracks would probably be in the range of 0.01" to 0.03" deep. I have also seen tires turn "brown" as the chemicals move to the surface and interact with UV and Ozone. On a small sidewall passenger tire, you probably do not notice the discoloration or the small surface cracks in the rubber. But when you have a 22.5" tire the "canvas" is larger and there are wide areas of sidewall now presented 2' closer to your eye level as you walk around your vehicle so even small cracks catch your attention. RE "cleaning" of the tire sidewall. While it is a good idea to remove road oils from your tires as you would remove those materials from your paint job, you need to be careful to not do too much scrubbing or rubbing as the abrasion will remove the wax protectants that have moved to the surface. Yes, a shiny "wet" look is something people seem to want to see but I know that I have seen more than one coach at FMCA Conventions just shining with excessive "Tire Shine" material. In one case I ran my fingernail across the sidewall and it came away with a small oily "lump" of material that looked and felt like a mixture of oil and something like brake fluid. You may wash your tire and wipe it down with some "shine" material but that "wipe-down" is probably removing the tire wax. You say the cracking started 5 years before the picture was taken. So how old were the tires? 9 years or more?

To my knowledge, all tire companies put chemicals in their tires to prevent attack by Ozone and UV. Different levels of different chemicals are used for a variety of reasons so it is almost impossible to confirm any claim of 'We use more". without knowing more than what? What is also true is that many times the RV owner themselves can cause an increase in cracking. This can result from the use of chemicals or cleaners that actually remove the protectants on the tire outer surface so the very act of "shining up" or "Cleaning" the tire so it looks better can result in more cracking due to rubber degradation as time goes on. In addition to Ozone and UV, heat can also degrade the rubber and I have never seen ANY tire treatment that can lower a tire's temperature other than maybe spraying it with white latex paint (I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS) White cover or a mesh screen will keep the tire cooler which will increase tire life. I have posted the test results on my blog. Keeping the temperature down will also extend belt life and there is no tire treatment that can do that.

You should be keeping the warranty paperwork for the tires with the coach. If you sell the coach and the buyer asks about the tires you would then show the warranty info and the dated sales receipt.

I am following up directly with NHTSA on my oversight. Hope to have an answer early this week. I will update my blog and post the info on registration here. UPDATE 11/22 Thanksgiving week and many folks are out so am not getting answers to my questions. I did confirm that for many brand tires you only need the DOT serial and not the tire design name - Except with Michelin. Soooo I am going to ask Michelin about why they need people to select the design AND supply the DOT.

A yes inflate the tires to the sidewall max if parking for more than a couple weeks. This will decrease "flat spotting (tire gets a permanent or semipermanent set. In order of priority to avoid for what to park on 1. Oil based stuff 2 Stuff that holds or transfers moisture (dirt and sand fall in this category) 3 Concrete that was poured os set directly on wet sand/dirt and is not well drained. Then much further down the list (not such a big deal) everything else like wood and such. My 'SHED" is open and the ground under it was wet sand. I had 4" or crushed concrete placed on top of the sand and I have 6 pieces of treated 2x8x12 boards that fully support the tires on my Class-C. I have never seen the boards appear wet so I am satisfied all is OK We really do not need to make this such a big deal if we use some common sense.

I watched the videos and discovered the problem was the motors were "out of sync". This is something I should have been told about by dealer - General RV, and the manuals should have been included with the Forest River purchase but no manuals and no instruction were the cause of the problem. Luckily the error was fixable without a trip to the dealer and $70 - $100 /hr labor to fix the problem they caused.

Good info. I note they are including the proper "Patch' type repair that requires dismount and mount. If "roadside" service would tell you they "plug" tires you might point out that by doing that un-approved method they are accepting responsibility for any subsequent failure or loss of warranty from the tire Mfg for the use of "improper" repair. Those that have attended my seminars know why plugs are not considered a proper repair.

Ya this is way early but I will be at Gillette. Am planning on giving my two different Tire seminars and 3 or 4 on Genealogy. Hope some of you stop by and say Hi. Also, hope to be able to again offer my pressure gauge accuracy check.

I will be at Perry. Am planning on giving my two different Tire seminars and 3 or 4 on Genealogy. Hope some of you stop by and say Hi. Also, hope to be able to again offer my pressure gauge accuracy check.

If you have a Kidde brand or fire extinguisher made by them and sold under another label you should check the info on THIS web page. I discovered I have one model so it is being replaced.

While I haven't used roadside assistance my self, changing a "truck tire" on the side of the road should be a relatively easy task for a properly trained service person. Your plan to carry your own un-mounted spare is a good one. While you already have your tire others may want to consider getting a used tire to carry around. Less expensive, a little lighter and you won't be aging a "new" tire. You really only need the spare to get you home so you can review your tire situation and shop for a good deal.

Will admit I don't work with Class-A air brake systems but I assumed they have an air dryer system. Do they?

You need to know that identifying the minimum CIP in trailer application is different than how you identify the minimum for MH. I have a number of posts specific to trailer application. Rather than take up space and go off topic I suggest a visit to my blog and use the list of topics on the left side.

x2 to Brett's comment A few more blog posts that may provide answers to some questions Ambient Cold Inflation and part 2

There are a number of Youtube videos on the various systems from Lippert such as Schwintek. These include how to check the error codes, how to get to the slide motor so you can push the slide back in. My Schwintech slide failed this weekend. (less than 20 uses but of course out of warranty.) Luckily ? it failed when closed so we could return home with no real problems. Weather is supposed to be better tomorrow so will be digging into the system myself.

I have a number of posts on my RV Tire Blog that mention TPMS including one titled "Best TPMS". There are many reasons for the best system for me is not the best system for you just as there is no "best" tire or "Best" RV or even "best" pizza. I do suggest that no matter which brand of TPMS you or anyone else ends up with you at least review THIS post on how I suggest you adjust the settings on your system.