partial tire replacement

[chin_k]

I am thinking about getting some new shoes for the Chinook. The previous owner have the tires with all different dates and brands. From the record, it seems like it went thru a few flats, and the owner brought tires from here and there all over.

If I want to get a set of tires when there is a buy-3-get-1 free discount event, I have the crazy idea of replacing the front tires, and just the inner duallies, and keep the best tires (one 5 yrs old, and one 6 year old) for the outer duallies. I will get the two older tires replaced later in the summer, or early next year.

One alternative is to get all 8 tires (buy 6 get 2 free), and keep one spare on the back, and keep another one unmounted in the garage.

Another alternative is to just get 6 tires (it will be only buy 5 get one free), and keep the best old tire as the spare.

Any suggestion?

[caconcourse]

Due to circumstances, (flats, etc) I have bought tires in sets of two and four, and have an odd assortment at the moment, with three "pairs": matching tires on the front, and different matching pairs on each side. It is mostly due to having to buy tires while on the road, instead of all at once at home. If I were going to buy four, I would put them on the rear and keep the old best tires on the front, and put the third best old tire on the spare, if the spare is older or worn worse. Then you can replace the front with a pair later.

It seems like the tires paired together as duallies should match, so they maintain the same diameter and wear, so they can balance their load evenly between them. Similarly, the front tires should match, for steering and alignment reasons.

Contrary to the maxim that RV tires get old before they wear out, we have actually worn out a few in our four years, driving about 45000 miles.

[Blue~Go]

Given that your two "best" ones are 5 and 6 years old, I'd buy all six (or seven) new and at the same time and just be done with it. It's easier to keep track of and it's not like those "best" ones aren't basically aged out anyway. If you don't want to spring for seven you could keep the best one as your spare.

I know it's not cheap, but tires are important, and such a hassle if you have problems on the road (and "hassle" is if you are lucky - could be worse). I know you could say that about a lot of things, but tires really are key.

Before I bought my Chinook I considered all kinds of RV's, including big Class A's. Just contemplate buying a set of tires for one of those if you want to make a full set of Chinook tires look like a bargain. If I remember correctly it was north of $5,000 for a set of tires on one of those beasts

My thoughts, anyway.

[68camaro]

Given that your two "best" ones are 5 and 6 years old, I'd buy all six (or seven) new and at the same time and just be done with it. It's easier to keep track of and it's not like those "best" ones aren't basically aged out anyway. If you don't want to spring for seven you could keep the best one as your spare.

I know it's not cheap, but tires are important, and such a hassle if you have problems on the road (and "hassle" is if you are lucky - could be worse). I know you could say that about a lot of things, but tires really are key.

I agree with Blue-go, I would not keep tires beyond 5 years so I would replace all and start fresh, also consider TPMS if you don't have one, I did first trip with mine and love it. When I replaced all 7 of my tires I got a $150 rebate from Goodyear, but the tires on mine when I bought rig were ridiculously old and spare was not even a LT tire...ugh!

[Astrodokk]

I recently bought 4 new rears, and kept the two 4 year old matching ones in front. I considered buying all 6 so that they could be the same (OCD), but the tech checked them out and said they looked good, so why not save a few hundred bucks.
Have the tech check your two best ones and consider what they say about still using them.
Be safe out there!

[Blue~Go]

...but the tech checked them out and said they looked good, so why not save a few hundred bucks.

As long as they didn't literally mean look good. I've seen some tires WAY beyond their safe expiration date that "looked" great. No thanks (I hate tire issues).

[Astrodokk]

Meh, they were manufactured in November 2015. Still good age wise, and they looked it too.
Now had they been of the same vintage as the rears, I definitely would have changed them too. Anyway, God is my copilot. I'll change them out in a couple of years, but the way I'm travelling, I'll probably wear them out first!
But Chin, I hear 'ya about keeping them if they don't show signs of age and wear. I'm the king of frugality. But the ages you quote are getting up there buddy.

[chin_k]

Sound advice there, and I hear you, Astroddokk.

I got a few new tires, but not all. I have the old ones check out by the techs, and they said they should be fine. I have TPMS installed, so I am keeping my eyes on them. My current spare was made in 2015, so I don't think I want to change it any time soon. The last spare was a really old tire, 2005??, and it was "brand new" with the rubber nibs/hairs all over it. What a waste, and sad to see it with the pile among bald tires at the tire pile by the shop.

[Astrodokk]

Ha ha, I know exactly what you mean about wasting such a pristine looking tire!

But underneath, the bitch wants to kill 'ya! Let 'er go.

That being said, I still have my original unmolested spare. I know, practice what you preach!

Not sure why I'm hanging on to it.

Maybe bc I don't want a good tire aging in back.

(Rotating makes sense if all 7 are the same. Are yours? I'll bet that quite a few RVers don't rotate that spare in there unless it's the same brand as the other 6. Maybe I'm wrong. When it's time to rotate mine, I'll ask Les Schwab to do that.)

Or perhaps because I know that when I need a good spare, I'll probably just be able to buy it since my style of travel is rugged luxury overnights or wetcamping, lol. Hoping not to need one.

[chin_k]

Mine have 6 Michelin LTX shoes on right now, but the spare is a weird brand that I don't remember. The previous owner have 3 different brands.

It is kind of bad to have a "new" spare, since it will have different diameter than the one right next to it if it is going onto the dually. Ideally, you rotate them (spare and all) so that they all worn evenly. I can get all 7 the same, but with my internal TPMS, it is kind of pain when you do tire rotation. I did not install the sensor on my spare, and I have Borg valves on the rest, so it add another level of complexity to the rotation.

With the mileage that I am driving, I don't think I need to worry about tire wear. They will rot out before the tread is ruined by lack of rotation.

BTW, I have free tire rotation. Kind of make me feel bad for service that I paid for, but never use. Maybe I will schedule two tire rotation on the same day, so that the tire mechanics can rotate the tires, and rotate them back.