When to change tyres ?

I have a 2017 Symbol with the original tyres.  I have done 35 years of caravanning and was always told to change tyres after 5 years old and certainly not over 7 years old irrespective on how good the tread looked.

Does the same principal apply to campervans.  Bill.

I carried out a Google search and came up with this.  TyreSafe say it's up to the tyre manufacturer.  Continental say 10 years but for specific applications (like motorhomes) advice should be sought from the vehicle manufacturer.  Peugeot slope shoulders to the converter.  A-S say more care after 5 years and replace between 6 - 10 years depending on how the tyre has been used and maintained.  Michelin say 5 years to reduce possible effects of prolonged periods not being used.  Practical Motorhome say every 5 years, MMM say every 5 or 6 years.  CAMC say 5 years but never more than 7 years.  CCC say a maximum of 7 years.  Safe Guard Insurance say 5 to 7 years.  Just Kamper Insurance and Horton Common say 6 years. Eden Tyres & Servicing say any tyre older than 5-6 years needs replacing.

My tyres will be 6 years old in Nov this year when I plan to upgrade them to a better tyre.  If I wasn't upgrading I might stretch this to 7 years but I do take care of my tyres.  When the van is out of use its on jacks and the wheels covered.  At the start of every trip and long journey I check and adjust the pressures and after every trip I inspect the tyres carefully and remove any stones etc from the tread which is easy to do on jacks.  On the downside I only use my van on average once a month - they say that tyres should be driven on for at least an hour every week to prolong their life - and currently they are summer tyres which I use in winter conditions.

I may keep the spare for a maximum of 10 years but if I use it, reduce my speed as if it's a space saver.

I’ve applied that same recommendation to my car as well as to several MHs and caravans. There are usually cracks to be seen after 5-7 years.

All good stuff but one aspect so far not mentioned.....

Black Circles, to name just one, I asked for a quote for my car tyres. Competitive price wise. Then I told him I wouldn't accept any more than 6 months old.

He, immediately, and quite angrily said they have no control over tyre age and consider anything up to 5 yrs since manufacture to be "new".

Being polite as on here told him thanks but not a hope in hell of getting near my car, or words to that effect.

Went to one of my local ones, got the exact tyres I wanted and less than 16 weeks old.......

If a tyre is in storage for, potentially 5 years you have no knowledge of how stored, exposed to UV light, stacked tens high etc etc, so, beware....

To make my point, Roopert.

I never accept any tyre more than 6 months old...end of. We have no control over storage. I really don't care what/how the manufacturers cope with this, their problem, not mine.

I deal with just one tyre dealer here for all my tyres. They agree with me re tyre build date and always accommodate my needs, when we used Michelin on the Warwick Duo they even contacted Michelin direct and we/I got what not only I wanted but what I was paying for.

The price I pay is more or less exactly the same as comparable online prices, so I am not paying more than anyone else

As an aircraft engineer and more than aware of tyre storage, which for them, is a different case I will agree, but rest assured they are never stacked in a warehouse, indeed most are on wheels and already part inflated. May surprise you to know that many are retreads too!!

As always on here, each to their own but that's my choice as above and that's how it'll always be.

BTW the current van is on normal white van man van tyres, were on there when I go it, less than 1 yr old then, still only 3yrs old and have been totally fine, and that's what I'll replace them with when that time comes.

This tyre was on the Warwick Duo, less than 5 years old and at only 13000miles...
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How can you tell how old tyres are? Is there a date stamp on tyres? 
I have recently purchased a 2014 Duo and the tyres look reasonably new however the vehicle has only covered 7000 miles from new.
They have no visible discolouration or cracking so is there a way of checking when they were manufactured?

Roopert wrote:

Correction Ian: it ends up as our problem.

Because if everyone gets so fussy that they won't accept tyres over 6 months old, then no tyre over 6 months old will get sold - they will have to be thrown away.

Now, let me think... what will that do the price of tyres? Then it won't just be a problem for the manufacturers...

Correction (again) Roopert

This ends up as YOUR problem, not mine.....As your only reason d'etre seems to me to disagree which much of what I post on here, I offer a solution....You ignore my posts/answers, I'll ignore yours............

Tyre price is largely irrelevant to me, this is a luxury hobby, and as long as I can afford it I'll do exactly what I want.....

cibaker - Yes.  Stamped on either the inside or outside wall of the tyre will be 4 numbers.  The last two numbers show the year of manufacture and first two numbers show the week of manufacture 1-52 in that year.  So for example, code 1316 means the tyre was manufactured in week 13 of 2016.

Rocky overlapped me, here's my example....this tyre made in week 47 of 2018!!
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cibaker wrote:How can you tell how old tyres are? Is there a date stamp on tyres? 
I have recently purchased a 2014 Duo and the tyres look reasonably new however the vehicle has only covered 7000 miles from new.
They have no visible discolouration or cracking so is there a way of checking when they were manufactured?

It will be interesting to hear when your tyres were manufactured.  If they are the original tyres they may be over 10 years old and desperately in need of replacing, especially as your van has presumably had long periods of inactivity and infrequent use, which cause tyres to age prematurely

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Especially when you see this one (all 4 were similar, and less than 5 years old and less than 13000 miles from new) Sadly I don't have the manufacture date for the tyres......!

Thank for all the replies, Caraman I will check my tyres when I get home from work(hopefully in time to watch the rugby).

IanH wrote:[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Especially when you see this one (all 4 were similar, and less than 5 years old and less than 13000 miles from new) Sadly I don't have the manufacture date for the tyres......!

Ian - where they C tyres?

Not 100% sure, they were the originals I think, bought the van 2nd hand but was 5 yrs old.
Therefore, probably as fitted by AS?
Soon as I saw this inter tread cracking, binned all 4 and replaced with Michelin Agilis, less than 6 month's old!!!

IanH wrote:Not 100% sure, they were the originals I think, bought the van 2nd hand but was 5 yrs old.
Therefore, probably as fitted by AS?
Soon as I saw this inter tread cracking, binned all 4 and replaced with Michelin Agilis, less than 6 month's old!!!

If your current van is 2002 and this was an older van, it may have been supplied with C tyres like your current van, as CP tyres as far as I am aware weren't introduced until 2003.  

In my earlier post I quoted Michelin as saying tyres should be replaced after 5 years.  This came from a 2021 technical bulletin that Michelin sent me but having looked at it again, I quoted out of context.  Their recommendation applied specifically to C tyres used on motorhomes.  They didn't give a recommendation for CP tyres but one might assume it would be longer.  

The cracks in your photo are similar to cracks on my 5 year 4 month old Continental summer CP tyres which I have been monitoring carefully for the last couple of years.  They are not getting any worse and are not as bad as the ones in your photo or have been shown by other Forum members on their Continental CP tyres.  When I have my MOT done, I may draw it to their attention.  I confident it won't be a fail but maybe an advisory.

No, the Warwick Duo they were on was 2013 build, not older than the Exec....