Tire Questions

[ThaddeusW]

My drive tires have cracks in them on the side wall. I assume these tires are shot and need to be replaced or am I wrong? And has anyone ever looked into used tires? I imagine truck owners will run them till nearly bald so used would be a tough find. The tires on the lift axle are also cracked but are 9R20's and I believe these tires are obsolete. They are almost the same size as the 22.5's but are about a inch or so smaller in diameter. Is there a modern replacement for the 9R20?

[mowerman]

your best bet is to try and find take offs,somebody didnt want for some reason or another,,,1000x20,s are pretty common,,used alott on container chassis,,,i think thier just a little wider,,i would run a wanted ad right here to start with,,,im sure somebody here has them.most tire shops,,will carry them,,but of coarse will charge a little more,than private party..good luck,,,bob

[Superdog]

10R22.5 is the tubeless equivelent of the 9:00R20,but unless you are going to be hauling loads with this truck or running up and down the highway everyday,I sure wouldn't worry about those weather checked tires unless they were on the steer axle,but that's just my cheap ass opinion.I've wore tires out on trailers that looked worse than yours.

[Rob]

I agree with Mike. Run em as is till flat on the bottom side, or shredded.

Rob

[Lmackattack]

if you dont run heavy your fine. if you run legal loads. you may want to change them out. If these are vergin tires look for the mfg date stamped in them. even if they are caps I think they may also have a date in them?

I have some small cracks in my tires on my company truck and we run them to the end of the year then replace. just keep an eye on them and keep them up to proper air press ..

[MidniteMechanic]

It's hard to tell from the picture how severe and deep the cracks are. Depending on the pressure and how much there run they might be ok. But be cautious they could also zipper on you. That could cause serious injury.

[ThaddeusW]

Thanks for the replies. I figure I can keep them on unless they are a huge problem.

10R22.5 is the tubeless equivelent of the 9:00R20,but unless you are going to be hauling loads with this truck or running up and down the highway everyday,I sure wouldn't worry about those weather checked tires unless they were on the steer axle,but that's just my cheap ass opinion.I've wore tires out on trailers that looked worse than yours.

If for some crazy reason I get pulled over, will the bears have a field day with these tires?

[David]

Worst case is an out of service and a ticket.

[Rob]

How are you going to license the truck? Antique? Commercial?

Rob

[b61fred]

I would have to think about this kinda hard. On one hand I am in the tight-wad camp with Mike, but on the other hand if this tire would blow out will it take out some other stuff like fuel tanks, quarter fenders, steps, back cab windows, ect. If this was on a trailer I would use it, If it was on a truck that you use on occasion or sits around then keep it on. If you plan to drive several miles to a show find better.

Morgan

[Bollweevil]

I can't remember the fellow's business, or name for that matter, that Trent has been buying used parts from. He probably has 8 matching wheels and tires that you could buy or trade for, at a decent price. Keep in mind that you are looking at 8 to 10 bucks or more for a disposal fee, for each casing. My personal experience has just about always been, that any tire that you can buy on the road, that is just good enough to get home with, won't get you home. I sure wouldn't leave home without the confidence of getting back. It really doesn't matter how the truck is registered, or how you plan to use it, you are responsible for it's safe operation and ultimately for the safety of others that you are sharing the road with. If you get caught up in a roadside check, with a hard ass DOT officer, you could run out of options very quickly.

[RowdyRebel]

if you dont run heavy your fine. if you run legal loads. you may want to change them out. If these are vergin tires look for the mfg date stamped in them. even if they are caps I think they may also have a date in them?

I have some small cracks in my tires on my company truck and we run them to the end of the year then replace. just keep an eye on them and keep them up to proper air press ..

The date code will be near the DOT code, and that is going to be on the case whether it is a virgin or a cap. Caps will generally have another date stamped in the sidewall indicating when it was capped. Cases that have been capped multiple times will have multiple additional date stampings.

It is recommended that you don't use tires (cases) that are more than 6-8 years old, no matter how good they appear to be on the outside. The rubber deteriorates over time, and 6-8 years from the date of the original manufacture is when they say the tire starts getting "iffy".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBMkswl8VQw

[41chevy]

My personal experences are that you never skimp on tires or brakes. Lives depend on them. Paul

[mowerman]

I can't remember the fellow's business, or name for that matter, that Trent has been buying used parts from. He probably has 8 matching wheels and tires that you could buy or trade for, at a decent price. Keep in mind that you are looking at 8 to 10 bucks or more for a disposal fee, for each casing. My personal experience has just about always been, that any tire that you can buy on the road, that is just good enough to get home with, won't get you home. I sure wouldn't leave home without the confidence of getting back. It really doesn't matter how the truck is registered, or how you plan to use it, you are responsible for it's safe operation and ultimately for the safety of others that you are sharing the road with. If you get caught up in a roadside check, with a hard ass DOT officer, you could run out of options very quickly.

that was pretty well put,,i wouldnt use them,,but ya,,they would probably hold up,,,if nothing else,,they look like hell,,and i dont think a truck check,would let you go with those..bob

[41chevy]

NYS DMV state inspection for commercial and historic tagged commercial heavy vehicles are as follows.

Fuel System

Leaks

Securely-Mounted Tanks

Filler Caps

Brakes

Service and Parking Brakes

Drums and Rotors

Hoses and Tubing

Low Air Warning Device

Tractor Protection Valve

Coupling Devices

Fifth Wheels

Pintle Hooks

Tow Bars

Safety Devices

Lighting Devices

Stop Lights

Turn Signals

Headlights

Clearance Lights

Marker Lights

Steering Mechanism

Suspension

Frame Members and Body Components

Tires and Wheels

Windshield and Wipers

Rearview Mirrors

Horn

Exhaust System

[jaysm35a2]

I need to toss up a pic for you guys of my steer tires, I dont think they are bad, ive put 2k miles on them in the last week but they have a little weather checking but are Nice tires, Jay

P.S. Try ebay. I found almost brand new virgin Goodyear tubeless tires on the rim for 120 each came off a wrecked new fire truck.

[ThaddeusW]

So I was looking at the tires the other day and I noticed something. The cracked tire is on the passenger side, both of those tires are re-caps. I didn't notice it until I moved the truck the other day and noticed the tire had a joint running across the tread. I then noticed that where the tread meets the sidewall, it looks like glue. You can see the smeared glue in the picture. The tread is in great shape but the sidewalls are bad. I couldn't understand why the side walls would deteriorate when the treads looked so new, now I know why. The drivers side axle has non recapped tires. Odd mix if you ask me. The steer tires sor not recaps and look pretty good.

I know this question has been asked a thousand times but what is the general opinion of retreads? I know that you should never put them on the steer axle but other then that they should be fine. How much cheaper are they, is the saving significant? I might throw a new set of 4 matched decent used tires on the drive and forget about the whole problem.

[41chevy]

Recaps from a main stream company are as good as new tires. I get mine from Max Finkelstein. He's a distributor for Good Year, Michelin and Hankook. He has 2 or 3 facilities in the N.Y. area. They have to meet DOT standards. Most casings can be safely recapped 2 or 3 times and are designed with that in mind. Savings are about a third less than new up here. There is an interesting side note, most of the road gators you see here are not from recaps failing, but from new tires being run low on air. Paul

[41chevy]

Here is a salvage yard in Freehold N.J. on ebay with some good deals on rubber.Browse his listings he appears to have a ton of stuff and gives his phone number too Paul

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/4-315-80R22-5-tires-good-year-/160638051623?pt=Other_Vehicle_Parts&hash=item2566c62527

[ThaddeusW]

Thanks Paul!

[RowdyRebel]

A recap is only as good as the case that was capped and the process used to attach the new tread.

An abused case is an abused case. An old case is an old case. Either of which is prone to failure, whether the case is a virgin or it has been recapped.

Even the best case in the world, if recapped by a sub-standard facility, is going to be prone to failure.

HOWEVER...

A quality case, that has been taken care of (proper air pressure maintained, not curbed, etc.), and sent to a quality facility to be recapped....it'll come back as good as any virgin tire.

I will only run new virgin tires or recapped cases that I bought as new virgin tires. I buy Michelin tires, send them to a Michelin retread facility, and have Michelin treads wrapped around 'em.

I've had 2 cases get rejected in the 3.5+ years I've had the truck. So, on the drives I've got 2 virgin tires, 3 tires that have been capped once, and 3 tires that have been capped twice. I've also got 4 tires that have been capped once at 50% to rotate in. My truck tends to eat inside tires faster than outside tires...so when these insides are ready to come off, the 4 in the shed should match up with the outside tires. I'm HOPING to get all new tires next time around, and send the 2 steers and the 2 virgin drives in to be capped so I'll have 4 drive tires to rotate in when I get ready to cap 'em the next time.

[other dog]

.

[RowdyRebel]

.

My parents had kids to get things done around the house they didn't feel like doing. Our first job? Changing the channel on the TV so dad didn't have to get up and walk across the room to do it himself (pre-remote control days). It's how I learned my numbers.

Can't wait to have kids myself....put 'em to work and make 'em earn their keep.