Looks like a trip to the tire store today

[gsganzer]

Looks like I need to get all my tire ills sorted today. In no particular order:

The spare on my 2008 4runner is giving me a low air, I suspect the battery in the TPMS is just bad. Recently bought a new set of Yokohama's for it and Discount Tire said they wouldn't touch the spare, because it was 6 years old. They said they'd sell me a new tire though. What a crock. It makes me want to make this the last set of tires I buy from Discount, because of said policy. The only thing that keeps me going back to them is I travel a lot, so when I get a road hazard failure, it's easy to find one of their shops and get it repaired or to get my free tire rotations.

The Kubota L3800 has a leak on the left front. It's just a small hole and can be easily patched.

I got a flat on the Load Trail trailer the other week and replaced it with the spare. Got it home and just noticed it has another flat tire. So, 2 tires to get repaired. What is it with trailer tires? These are all load E quality tires. Just seems like trailer tires are always looking for an excuse to fail. (same with trailer lights!)

I'll throw them all in the truck and run them up to the small tire shop up the road. They always do a good job with repairs, but they don't do much in new tire sales.

 

[KennyG]

I think this is standard practice today, due to liability. Someone has decided that tires can self destruct after 6 years so shops won't work on them. Same with a puncture that is a fraction of an inch into the sidewall. This is what drove me to pick up a cheap tire changer I can use at home.

 

[riptides]

You have a spare in your vehicle? That's old school.

 

[CaptPat]

Someone has decided that tires can self destruct after 6 years so

Pretty much the rule of thumb for RVs. Most folks with MH will replace their tires, regardless of mileage at about the 5-6 year point. In my case, I lost 3 out of 8 tires (Goodyear) on my MH within 4 months of aging past 5 years. A steer tire blowout at 65 mph can be a life-altering experience. In each case, the TPMS was of no help in alerting us to a problem prior to the blowout. The replacement tires (Michelin) started to show sidewall cracks in just under 6 years. I didn't have any issues finding a place that would remove old tires and install new ones.

 

[ruffdog]

The spare on my 2008 4runner is giving me a low air, I suspect the battery in the TPMS is just bad.

I got a flat on the Load Trail trailer the other week and replaced it with the spare. Got it home and just noticed it has another flat tire. So, 2 tires to get repaired. What is it with trailer tires? These are all load E quality tires. Just seems like trailer tires are always looking for an excuse to fail. (same with trailer lights!)

Did you physically check the air pressure in the spare tire before assuming the sensor is bad?

How old is the trailer tires? Most people I know would replace those every 6 years to be on the safe side.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I think this is standard practice today, due to liability. Someone has decided that tires can self destruct after 6 years so shops won't work on them. Same with a puncture that is a fraction of an inch into the sidewall. This is what drove me to pick up a cheap tire changer I can use at home.

I have thought about going the cheap tire changer route as well. Always seems like such a hassle to get to the tire place, then you have to wait in line, then sometimes it is free sometimes not. I do have a somewhat local guy that will do patches for me. But he charges $25 and it takes him like 5 minutes. I mean I get it, you gotta feed the family. But I think this might be another thing I add to my self-sufficiency portfolio.

 

[EddieWalker]

I need new tires for one of my trailers. I keep putting it off. I'm gonna get in trouble if I don't do something soon, but it's one of those things that I just don't want to deal with.

 

[gsganzer]

Did you physically check the air pressure in the spare tire before assuming the sensor is bad?

How old is the trailer tires? Most people I know would replace those every 6 years to be on the safe side.

Yes, checked them all. The 4 installed tires were replaced less than 1 year ago with Yokohama Geolanders (great tires BTW) and all of those sensors were updated and verified. The spare is also a Yokohama Geolander, but just over 6 years old, so Discount wouldn't touch it. Even though it's also an unused Yokohama Geolander that's never seen the road and it still has the nubs on the tread. You'd think that for a spare, that's up under the vehicle and never exposed to sunlight, they'd take that into consideration.

The trailer tires are 1 year old.

 

[gsganzer]

I need new tires for one of my trailers. I keep putting it off. I'm gonna get in trouble if I don't do something soon, but it's one of those things that I just don't want to deal with.

Eddie,
I don't have any first-hand experience, but my BIL does a lot of trailering, and he swears by the Goodyear Endurance trailer tires.

On my trucks, I've always liked Michelin tires. They've always been a top-tier brand that probably makes a decent trailer tire too.

 

[Snobdds]

I think this is standard practice today, due to liability. Someone has decided that tires can self destruct after 6 years so shops won't work on them. Same with a puncture that is a fraction of an inch into the sidewall. This is what drove me to pick up a cheap tire changer I can use at home.

I hate these chain tire shops. I got a carter pin stuck through the outside tire lug, it was still in the contact patch. The tire monkey at my previous favorite tire shop would not fix it. I told him, fine, I agree the tire is shot, I'll but a new one. However, they did not have the same tire in stock to replace it. I said just fix it and when the new tire comes in we'll switch it out. He would not do it. I asked him what his solution was as he was telling me to leave with a hole in the tire. He said take a compressor with you. I wanted to rip this little monkey a new one, but I quickly saw he was the product of failed training. His training told him to reject any questionable tire, his training never told him what to do next.

I had a talk with his manager, not to tell on him, but to sarcastically shame the manager about their failure to train their workers on how to solve a problem for a customer. I asked if it was their cooperate policy carry low stock, to advise people to leave with a hole in the tire and advise of carrying a air compressor around.

I now go to an independent shop that did fix that tire and put it as a spare for me. It was fine the whole time.

I go through a lot of tires. That manager I thought was ok, but he tool was a cooperate tool on pressed to the fire.