Tire purchase

[PC Red]

We have a 2018 Micro Minnie 1808fbs. Purchased new in August, 2018. We probably have about 10-12000 miles on it. Mostly trips in the Texas Hill Country and East Texas state parks.

Approaching 4years on the tires and though they seem to be in good condition, I’m thinking, from some articles I’ve read, we should be looking to replace them.

I just wanted to get some input on which tires to go with. Not in a rush. We don’t have any trips planned till the fall.
Thanks
PCRed

[creativepart]

The tire replacement in X-years that you read about are mostly for Class A motorhomes. ST "trailer tires" are not generally in that category of concern.

Assuming that your tires are in good shape, not driven too fast, not curb cut or other similar sidewall damage and most importantly both not over loaded and kept at max pressure listed on the side wall you are pretty safe.

Travel Trailer tires fail all the time - generally due to over heating due to overloading and under inflating. Trailer manufacturers use cheap tires to save money and are not always known for putting adequate or well made tires on their trailers. Though there are exceptions.

On a motorhome a front tire blowout can cause a massive wreck with loss of life - hence the very real concern with tire age on Class As. A blown tire on a TT is never fun and can cause body damage around the blowout but it doesn't lead to a wreck just a bad day changing a tire by the side of the road.

So, it's good to worry about your tires. But not all the much about their age. You may want to replace them with better tires (generally Goodyear brand ST tires are the gold standard) and even move up a load rating one or two levels - especially if your current tires are Load Rated "C" tires.

Be sure to keep an eye on your tire wear, make sure it's even - front to back and side to side. Keep them aired up to max cold psi before pulling out and watch for any telltale signs of problems with sidewall scuffs/cuts, etc.

Also, keep your axle bearings well packed and make sure your brakes are properly adjusted and working. These two things can effect the tires and their safety, too.

[Ray,IN]

ST tires almost always run at maximum load. Therefore the mfgr. recommends running sidewall pressure. Carlisle tire recommends replacement every 3 years due to severe duty use.

It's harder on trailer(actually any tire) tires to sit parked than using them. etrailer.com says to replace ST tires every 6 years max.
Side-story; I put new tires on a cargo trailer 8 years ago, parked the trailer and forgot about it. Last week I needed the trailer, went to air up the tires and one burst before I got 20psi in it, now I'm buying 4 new ST tires this week.

[Truckman]

I towed 12-15000 miles a year on my 5th wheel and tried to replace the tires at 5 years if there had been no problems. I check tires for any signs of ply separation on a regular basis and maintained the sidewall pressures using a TPMS. It is more important to replace tires on a trailer than other vehicles on a time basis due to the twisting on the tires since there is no "steering" on them

[BobC]

A TPMS is as good an idea on a trailer as it is on a motorhome.

[royt911]

I blew the front drivers side tire the first camping trip going 70 MPH. My wife, my 7 year old granddaughter, and dog with me. I didn't know what happened at first. Loud bang that I felt and then my front-end dropped. I thought I lost the entire wheel. I made the mistake of locking up the brakes and went into a fish tail. Ended up scraping against the guardrail. Then got control it it. Only damage was the tire and a scrape down the side. It could of been a lot worst. A ditch was on the other end of the guard rail. The cops said we were lucky. I know the good LORD had his mighty arm on our Class A motorhome that night. The tire shop they towed us too said the tire was old. It was just over 5 years old. The rest of the tires were replaced just before we bought it. Only that one tire wasn't. Now I use a tire monitoring system that I screw to the valve stems. It warned us of low tire pressure a couple times now. I also learned later that I had too much weight in the vehicle when I went to the scales. I thank God for sparing our lives.