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If you are travelling on Alberta roads this summer, you are almost guaranteed to come across a holiday trailer on the side of the road with a tire problem?   RV tires are often overlooked because they typically still have lots of tread and they barely get used compared to the tires on your vehicle. This lack of use however is deceiving and perhaps one of the main factors in their degradation. 

When a tire spends most of its life sitting, there are several things working against it. They typically sit outside exposed to the elements when not in use where they’re  exposed to weather conditions which can range in temperature from +30’s to the lower -30’s, a temperature fluctuation of 70 degrees over the course of a year. That range in temperature along with variations in weather and sunlight makes them susceptible to flat spots, tire bubbles and decay or “dry rot” over time.

When a tire sits for a prolonged period of time, the part that is in contact with the ground is slightly flattened due to the weight of vehicle.  With fluctuations in temperature and weather, the tire will work slightly through expansion and contraction but at different rates due to differences in ground and air surface temperatures. These factors are negligible when the tire is moving periodically but when they sit for a prolonged period of time, working on the same area over and over again can take its toll. These variations work the tire in the same spot eventually weakening the tire structure leading to weak spots which can lead to layer separation and permanent flat spots. From all outward appearances they can look good but working them through the rigors of

Bubbles can also form on the sidewall of the tire leading to an unsafe condition and primed for failure. These are most often sparked by hitting a curb or running over something leading to sidewall damage. Sometimes the damage might not immediately appear but can worsen over time. The sidewall is the weakest part of the tire and if spotted, the tire is not safe and needs to be replaced as soon as possible.

The age of a trailer tire is probably the biggest factor in its trustworthiness. The combination of sunlight, particularly UV rays, along with a tires age will lead to components in the rubber compound being lost and will break down over time. This is especially true tires that spend a lot of time sitting as the oils and components of a tire don’t get worked to keep them supple. Small cracks will begin to form which enlarge over time. This is commonly known as. “dry rot” and will eventually spread throughout the tire. These cracks cause weak spots and as they are exposed to typical operational conditions and will eventually lead to tire failure. 

We’ve seen tires situations where the old trailer tires look ok but as soon as they are worked, cracks begin to open exposing the decay in the tire. This is perhaps the worst case scenario as everything looks good on the surface during the initial inspection hiding the true danger of the tire. To counteract this, we would recommend replacing any RV tires over 7 years. The date of manufacture of a tire can be found stamped on the sidewall of the tire (see picture below). The first two digits denote the week that the tire was made and the last two digits denote the year.

Every year millions of miles that are put on RV’s in Alberta, it is inevitable that you are going to see someone on the side of the road experiencing tire problems. Most of them result in a simple inconvenience but occasionally some are the cause of something more serious. Every time you see an RV sitting on the side of the road with a flat tire, there is someone whose holiday was impacted by something that might have been easily prevented by a quick tire inspection before they hit the road. Make sure, that’s not you. Safe travels.