Tires Parked For Months On Cement? Is There A Problem?

[FreightLinerFever]

Do I need to put rubber or wood between the tire and the cement to keep tires from getting a flat spot or rotting?

[tbutler]

There are a variety of things that can be used as parking pads to protect tires and extend their life.  There are special pads for this purpose, I've used wood and now I use cutting boards, inexpensive ones from Walmart will do.  Whatever you use should be large enough to support the entire footprint of each tire. 

To reduce the flat spot, inflate your tires to the maximum pressure given on the tire and the rim.  Do not exceed the lesser of those two pressures.  An alternate would be to put the jacks down to relieve the weight being supported by the tires.  You could also put the coach up on blocks as another alternative.

If parked outdoors, the tires should be covered to protect them from UV rays of the sun.

[manholt]

Floor on our current garage is gravel, so we both use marine grade plywood.  My past garage was cement and I used cardboard...the rest as Tom mentioned.  The age of life is still 6 - 8 years, depending upon the weight off coach and exposure to UV light. 

[cwswine]

I thought about using the horse trailer pads you can buy at Farm Supply and cut them to the correct size to use under my tires while in storage.  They are made from recycled tires so I won’t think they held any chemicals that would damage the tires.  What do you think?  

[jleamont]

2 hours ago, cwswine said:

horse trailer pads you can buy at Farm Supply

That is what I use at home on the asphalt driveway or parked in gravel (RV pad is gravel).

[tireman9]

The key issue is to prevent moisture from being in contact with the tires. 

If outside protect tires from exposure to UV

If indoors keep tires away from electric motor or any other source of Ozone.

[obedb]

I use wood between tires and gravel and I put jacks down to reduce load on tires. Did it on our first coach and do the same thing with our Phaeton. No problems with jacks on either coach. Done it for years. 

[five]

5 hours ago, obedb said:

I use wood between tires and gravel and I put jacks down to reduce load on tires. Did it on our first coach and do the same thing with our Phaeton. No problems with jacks on either coach. Done it for years. 

Ditto, jacks down, tires on plywood.

[manholt]

There is a reason I live in Texas!  Never met anyone that goes to -39 degrees after retirement.

Remove the battery?  Did not know that Freightliner made a "Smart Car"!