This year we have seen a lot of RVs with blown tires come into the park.
Now that winter has arrived and you are not using your RV as much, it’s the time to check your tires and make sure you have good rubber on your RV before the spring camping season gets here. Here is a link that will tell you about the age of your tire. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11 I know you just bought them last year…. But just how many years did the tire sit in a warehouse before it was sold to you. Did someone sell you a tire that was made over a decade ago?Tire age codes have been hidden by tire manufacturers for many years. Tires have a date on the tire that translates what month and year the tire was made and tires do have a shelf life.Six years is the number of years that many believe that a tire starts breaking down even if it is brand new and never been put on your car or RV. When it comes to determining the age of a tire, it is easy to identify when a tire was manufactured by reading its Tire Identification Number (often referred to as the tire’s serial number). Tire Identification Numbers are really batch codes that identify the week and year the tire was produced. To determine how old the tire is, we are looking for the DOT #. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires that Tire Identification Code be a combination of eleven or twelve letters and numbers that identify the manufacturing location, tire size, manufacturer's code, and week and year the tire was manufactured. The month and year are usually the last in this set of numbers and is usually in a raised rectangle. You are looking for the last 3 or 4 numbers. If your tire was made since 2000 it will have a 00 for 2000, 01 for 2001, 02 for 2002, etc. all the way to 08 for 2008. The last 4 numbers may be 1805 which would mean the tire was made the 18th week of the year of 2005. If your tire was made prior to 2000 it will have just one number after the week of the year. For instance, it may have 3 numbers (315). This would mean the tire was made the 31st week of the year in 1995. You need to check when you buy brand new tires to make sure you are not buying old tires that have been on display in a tire showroom or sitting in the warehouse for many years.Check the age of the tire! Make sure you are driving on a safe tire and getting your money’s worth. Why pay good money for old tires?Would you pay list price for your RV in 2010 if the RV was 10 years old?Also, it’s never any fun to have to ask your self ……Mmmmmm why is my spare flat?So be careful and check your spare tire. You know the one that you have never looked at and never added any air to it in the last several years. Have fun and see you in the campground soon.