Tyre age

[Derp]

Hi there,

I had a full service last spring and an advisory was tyre's are 10 years old, dates are 05/14 on tyres.

It's a 3.5T van, they're Mich Vanco camper tyres, at least 5mm left on each tyre, no cracking on them and to me they look in absolutely fine condition.. A few months after the service we did 2500 miles around France, all fine.

We're looking to do the same trip this year, tyre's now 11 years old and again, visibily they're fine.. no cracks at all on sidewalls and plenty of tread left still..

Should I just suck it up and get these changed or is that a waste of money?

Thanks

 

[Wicketter]

Hi there,

I had a full service last spring and an advisory was tyre's are 10 years old, dates are 05/14 on tyres.

It's a 3.5T van, they're Mich Vanco camper tyres, at least 5mm left on each tyre, no cracking on them and to me they look in absolutely fine condition.. A few months after the service we did 2500 miles around France, all fine.

We're looking to do the same trip this year, tyre's now 11 years old and again, visibily they're fine.. no cracks at all on sidewalls and plenty of tread left still..

Should I just suck it up and get these changed or is that a waste of money?

Thanks

Change them, better then a visit to the morgue

 

[Lenny HB]

Change them now before something nasty happens, a tyre blowout can cause a lot of damage to the van.

If the van is left sitting around for a period like not using it in the winter they should be changed at 5 years, If the van is used regally they are often OK up to 7 years.
Ours only ever last 3 years they are worn out by then.

 

[Stag man]

At 10 yrs old they will probably have the elasticity of Bakelite
They really need changing

 

[PlacidoD]

General advice is change at 7-10 years. I suggest you make a decision now as to what to replace them with and keep your eyes open for good deals on those tyres.

Clocking up a few miles locally at low speed might be viewed as an acceptable risk but I would not want to set out on a 2,500 mile trip wearing those old "boots"!

P.S. Do you carry a spare? If not maybe acquire a rim and keep the best of the 4 as a spare for emergencies.

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[Mikeco]

I changed my Bridgestone Duravis tyres at 7 years old for Duravis All season ones even though they looked okay and had 6mm of tread on them.

 

[Derp]

Thanks for the replies, I'll look at getting them changed in the coming weeks.

P.S. Do you carry a spare? If not maybe acquire a rim and keep the best of the 4 as a spare for emergencies.

Yeah already have a spare, dated 2022 so should have a few years left in it yet

 

[dunnah01]

Nobody will say don't change them at 10 years old but then it's not them paying for new tyres and throwing away perfectly good old tyres. I'd be less concerned than most so long as they look to be un-perished and you have a TPMS of some sort fitted.

 

[Dave372]

Don’t make the mistake I made £1,000 + doing the repairs myself.

 

[EuroTrotters]

100% CHANGE THEM

Put the palm of your hand up in front of you. There are about four+ patches of rubber keeping you in contact with the road surface at any one time, thats it. All those tons on tiny patches of rubber.

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[gus-lopez]

I've fitted 6 tyres in the last 5& a half years.

 

[Chris]

I even change our car tyres every 6 years whatever the mileage.

It just isn’t worth the risk

 

[EuroTrotters]

I even change our car tyres every 6 years whatever the mileage.

It just isn’t worth the risk

And you should always check the inside of the tyre, see here.

This is why I am always banging on about tyres

Outside wall and tread, great. Look at the inside ! Look at the inside wall

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[PxJ]

Change them, forget the damage to the van, think about the “DAMAGE TO YOU” & whoever is in the van with you!!

 

[dunnah01]

Don’t make the mistake I made £1,000 + doing the repairs myself.



View attachment 1014505View attachment 1014506

How old was that tyre?

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[Lenny HB]

General advice is change at 7-10 years.

It's actually 5 years on a Motorhome.

 

[Verteuil Man]

The most sensible thing to do is change them.
The advice of the manufacturers should be heeded as your insurers will turn to that recommendation and use it if there an incident. Recommendations become common practice.

 

[Fdhadi]

By asking the question I think you know the answer yourself.
What’s holding you back.

 

[TheMobileWanderer]

Change them, better then a visit to the morgue

That is the only correct answer.

 

[Grummyb]

It always amazes me when people ask tyre or cam belt replacement questions and moan about tbe cost I'm going to say that everyone on here has a van worth 10grand minimum and moan about spending less than 10 percent of its value on something that's so fundamental to keep it running safely

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[Derp]

It always amazes me when people ask tyre or cam belt replacement questions and moan about tbe cost I'm going to say that everyone on here has a van worth 10grand minimum and moan about spending less than 10 percent of its value on something that's so fundamental to keep it running safely

At no point did I 'moan about the cost' I simply stated that visually they look fine and have plenty of tread left..
The cost isn't an issue I just didn't want to waste money if it wasn't needed but from the replies in this thread it is very much needed so I'm just going to go ahead and get it done.

 

[Fdhadi]

Totally understand where you’re coming from. The tyres on our Motorhome were 7yrs old and looked to be in very good condition with plenty of tread.
It seems a shame to replace what look to be good tyres but always put safety first. What looks ok on the outside might not be the same on the inside.

 

[busby]

Nobody will say don't change them at 10 years old but then it's not them paying for new tyres and throwing away perfectly good old tyres. I'd be less concerned than most so long as they look to be un-perished and you have a TPMS of some sort fitted.

Perfectly good and 10 years old doesn't sound very safe to me...BUSBY.

 

[dunnah01]

Perfectly good and 10 years old doesn't sound very safe to me...BUSBY.

There's lots of critical rubberised parts holding the body off the ground and keeping it pointing where you want it so which other flexible bits should be changed at 10 years

 

[Terry242]

Our van is coming up 8yrs old and 31000 miles. The tread and walls looked fine with lot of use left in them. I'd planned to change them this winter before we travelled to Spain and that plan was reinforced when travelling through northern Spain last September, we stopped on a big decent to check on the wellbeing of a fellow Brit motorhomer. He'd had a blowout which had taken the inner wheel arch with it!
When I replaced mine, I made a point of checking the inner walls, they were all good.
On the face of it, I could easily have gone a couple more years, but what cost peace of mind never mind personal safety.

Terry

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[busby]

There's lots of critical rubberised parts holding the body off the ground and keeping it pointing where you want it so which other flexible bits should be changed at 10 years..BUSBY

The other rubber bits are not in direct sunlight and are not the contact between your vehicle and the road..Sunshine is a killer for rubber..BUSBY.

 

[Montezuma]

Some techy stuff ?

All modern tyres are made of synthetic rubber, which itself is an artificial elastomer, composed of polymers which are composed of isomers.

Over time, you get something called polymer degradation wherein the very long polymer chains break down into much shorter and more stable chains, but which are different than the original material. That causes cracks, and more importantly a significant lowering of the tensile strength of the material.

For rubber used in tyres, there seems to be a cliff at about five years from which point things accelerate downhill rapidly. On that basis, I’d be disinclined to trust a tyre older than five years except for a show or exhibition vehicle where having original rubber matters, and there’s no driving at excessive speeds.

 

[TheMobileWanderer]

Hopefully a useful additional point (two actually)....
1. If a nail or such-like ever penetrates the tyre on the shoulder or side wall, it must be changed. Took a bit of persuasion for my nice until she heard someone else provide a real-life story of a blow-out, where they had previously got a guy to vulcanise the hole.

2. I would never have a tyre vulcanised post-puncture. Always a new tyre for me.

 

[dunnah01]

Some techy stuff ?

All modern tyres are made of synthetic rubber, which itself is an artificial elastomer, composed of polymers which are composed of isomers.

Over time, you get something called polymer degradation wherein the very long polymer chains break down into much shorter and more stable chains, but which are different than the original material. That causes cracks, and more importantly a significant lowering of the tensile strength of the material.

For rubber used in tyres, there seems to be a cliff at about five years from which point things accelerate downhill rapidly. On that basis, I’d be disinclined to trust a tyre older than five years except for a show or exhibition vehicle where having original rubber matters, and there’s no driving at excessive speeds.

So why doesn't everybody have to change their suspension rubbers every 5 years - a failed suspension mounting is just as dangerous as a tyre failing

 

[PlacidoD]

It's actually 5 years on a Motorhome.

I checked them all last year and I just got neck strain taking another look. Two of them are definitely week 40 2020. The other two I struggled to find and it is too bloody cold to get on my hands and knees and check! I will have a proper look this coming weekend when it is warmer.

If all are circa week 40 in 2020 that will suit me for the coming year. I will clock up maybe 6,000 miles by end of September this year and I may SORN the van for most of the winter and put new boots on before a March/April MOT in 2026. If I make much winter use after September I will likely change sooner.

Is there any way/company/fitter I can use that will reliably ensure that my new tyres are e.g circa week 5-8 of 2026 if fitting March 2026? There must be quite a few tyre outfits regularly fitting maybe two year old tyres?

On my car it does not matter I wear them out before they become time expired.

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