Lessons Learned.

[Moonlighter]

Mate of mine is a tyre expert. He recommends no older than 5 years.

Bridgestone says on their website that

"a number if manufacturers are now advising against the use of tyres that are more than 6 years old due to the effects of ageing."

They go on to say there are 3 main mechanisms of tyre ageing (edited for brevity)

1. Rubber becoming more brittle, the tyre continues to vulcanise due to the effects of heat, light and movement and this ongoing process causes the rubber to become stiffer and more brittle.

2. Oxidisation - ozone from the air compromises the strength and elasticity of the rubber and the integrity of the rubber to steel belt bond.

3. Breakdown of the rubber to steel belts bond due to water permeating thru the tyre.

I would suspect that #3 is probably exacerbated by the exposure to salt water for our boat trailer tyres? I do know that the 2 times I have had trailer tyres blow out, the steel belts were left sticking out and they looked rust stained. Last one was about 8 years ago and I now replace tyres after 5 years. Always.

Like anything, this is about risk management.

Eg a PC expert will tell you that a hard-drive for your computer is reliable for the first 3 years, but after that, the failure rate rapidly escalates. So anyone who needs a reliable machine for work or business and where the consequences of failure can therefore be bad, replace every 3 years. Mr Jones down the road who only uses his for emails twice a week and a bit of web surfing takes the risk and leaves it till problems start, then gets it replaced.

Same with boat trailers. If you only ever go 5 minutes to the local ramp at 50-60 kmph then you could get away with stretching it a bit further.

But if you do any towing at freeway speeds 80kmph or greater, then the risk and consequences rapidly escalate.

Spare tyres need to be watched too, we often forget them. Keeping them covered keeps the light off and helps extend their life too.

[Noelm]

Funny you mentioned the spare, not that long ago I had a flat in my old 100 series 'cruiser, the car was about 11 years old, and the spare was the original that came with the car, brand new, but 11 years old! anyway, I got the spare down, using the shit tools supplied in the tool kit, the tyre looked like new, except it was dirty as hell, and the rim had a million stone chips over it, tyre still inflated, all good! changed the tyre, drove for about 50ks and the tyre just went flat...I got out and had a look, and the tyre was just in bits, all kinds of crap hanging out everywhere, of course, now I was buggered, because I hadn't got the original flat fixed yet!

[Moonlighter]

Yes Noel, it definitely is somethingbto watch for.

Some years ago, a mate of mine bought a Pajero from a deceased estate. The owner had been very old and basically the car had been driven once a week to the local shops in the past 10 years. Tyres basically looked 95% tread. The next weekend he drove to the Gold Coast, or tried to. Tyres just couldnt handle it and half way there one blew, others had bits lifting off etc. Had to get towed home and buy 5 new tyres, spare was shot too.

[MikeyS]

Thanks for posting the lessons Scottar. I now feel better about having shelled out for 2 new sets of trailer tyres (boat and horse float) recently due to age rather then lack of tread.

[scottar]

Thanks for posting the lessons Scottar. I now feel better about having shelled out for 2 new sets of trailer tyres (boat and horse float) recently due to age rather then lack of tread.

No problem Mikey. The rubber industry is going to do alright out of me this week - 5 new ones for the boat trailer and most likely 5 for the cruiser as well (age and just about worn). Those make the trailer ones look somewhat cheap.

[Moonlighter]

No problem Mikey. The rubber industry is going to do alright out of me this week - 5 new ones for the boat trailer and most likely 5 for the cruiser as well (age and just about worn). Those make the trailer ones look somewhat cheap.

Talk to local BJ Tmart. I got a 4 for the price of 3 deal there recently. It was a ridgy didge one too. Both Bridgestone and Continental tyres had theis deal going. I got the Conti LT tyres for my boat trailer, put 2 there and 2 onto my box trailer (they were about 15 years old!) Conti's are very good quality European tyres.

[Fishbait]

I think BJ tyres had 4 plus fifth one free for their LT Yokohmas this month? Unfortunately, I got my 5 last month before the deal.

[ShaneC]

I carry a big workshop jack in the back of the ute for such hassles, as I have tried in the past with blocks of timber under a bottle jack and lifting from the trailer chassis and the load sharing qualities of the trailer would not allow us to change the tyre properly. Can't exactly remember why but we had a fantastic time on the side of the road sorting it out. Workshop jack under the axle is a beautiful thing, quick and easy and safe if done properly.

As someone else said water getting into the tyres degrades them in an accelerated way, also if you like in a tight cul de sac like me and have to do a tight u turn and/or sometimes push your boat into tight places around sharp bends with a forklift this places enormous strain on the sidewalls and roots the tyre to a condition that is much worse than it actually looks.

[FisHard]

Have been there done that with the blowing old tyres on a boat trailer. It was a single axle unit on a trip to Airlie Beach blew one, then got it replaced (running on the spare) then blew the other one!
Ever since then I've replaced tyres on age, not tread. In fact a new old boat I've just acquired, was fitted with new tyres before I drove it out the yard. Not going there again!