My head is reeling from google searches and way too much information! My husband says we need to get new tires for our 16' Casita or at least ask someone else (not a tire dealer) if we need new tires. I am armed with tire info from Trailer Life magazine, the casita forums and
www.lovemycasita.com as I hunker down in the driveway looking for the tire birthdate. Surely this is not it?
Yes, this means that these tires were "born" on the 52nd week of 2007. So what does that mean to us?
The tires look good to my uninformed eye. There is good tread and no evidence of cracking on the sides but we know that we have owned this 2002 trailer for two years and it has been on two big trips. One to the top of Maine from Tennessee and another trip to Arizona and back, possibly 8,000 to 10,000 total miles. This is not counting many weekend escapes and our annual July excursion to the Blue Ridge Parkway. We have no idea how many miles were put on the tires by the previous owners, but 2007 sounds like a long time ago and I am pretty sure they are going to get replaced before our next long trip.
Note for the future. We need to do a better job of keeping up with the miles traveled, work completed and recommendations for work to be done in the future.
We were told last winter that our trailer brakes would need work in about a year. I have no idea what that means but a trip to our local Trucks and Trailers is needed.
Our little baby is sitting patiently in the back drive waiting for her next adventure. We have named her the Chatta-Egg to reflect our pride in Chattanooga's renaissance. She is enduring a cover I found discarded in a rainstorm on the parkway. Someday, after a polyglow redo, we will invest in a real cover.
Hold on, little Chatta-Egg, your mom and dad plan to take you out soon!
www.lovemycasita.com as I hunker down in the driveway looking for the tire birthdate. Surely this is not it?
Yes, this means that these tires were "born" on the 52nd week of 2007. So what does that mean to us?
The tires look good to my uninformed eye. There is good tread and no evidence of cracking on the sides but we know that we have owned this 2002 trailer for two years and it has been on two big trips. One to the top of Maine from Tennessee and another trip to Arizona and back, possibly 8,000 to 10,000 total miles. This is not counting many weekend escapes and our annual July excursion to the Blue Ridge Parkway. We have no idea how many miles were put on the tires by the previous owners, but 2007 sounds like a long time ago and I am pretty sure they are going to get replaced before our next long trip.
Note for the future. We need to do a better job of keeping up with the miles traveled, work completed and recommendations for work to be done in the future.
We were told last winter that our trailer brakes would need work in about a year. I have no idea what that means but a trip to our local Trucks and Trailers is needed.
Our little baby is sitting patiently in the back drive waiting for her next adventure. We have named her the Chatta-Egg to reflect our pride in Chattanooga's renaissance. She is enduring a cover I found discarded in a rainstorm on the parkway. Someday, after a polyglow redo, we will invest in a real cover.
Hold on, little Chatta-Egg, your mom and dad plan to take you out soon!
Your little Chatta-Egg is so sweet!
ReplyDeleteAbout tires, I've read way too much about them, too, probably. But the soundest-seeming advice to me is to replace them at 5 years. Even though they look great on the outside, they are probably dry rotting on the inside. Some people say 3 years, some say you can go 7, but I'm convinced 5 years is the magic number. I really worry about potential blowouts.
And don't forget to have the bearings repacked. :)
Someone else will have to advise you on the brakes because I don't know anything about maintaining them.
And you aren't the only one who doesn't track mileage. We've done several trips to Florida, one to Texas, and several shorter trips since we got ours, but I have no idea how many miles we've put on it--or how many miles previous owners put on it. It would matter on an RV; not so much on a trailer, I don't think.
Looking forward to reading about your next trip whenever it is! :)
We also worry about blowouts and try extra hard to keep the tires inflated to the proper pressure and not drive too fast. The bearings got repacked last winter before we went to Arizona and they told us to get the brakes adjusted(?)in about a year. The trailer is truly another "little house" to keep up!
ReplyDeleteI intend to keep writing about our adventures; we hope to attend several rallies in the next few months.
The current cooler weather is prompting the camping itch! Hope you get to take yours out soon!
Got the Hercules Tires on mine also and the grip on them is just amazing. I can go with them at least 5 years but as tinycamper said, at least 3 years is fine.
ReplyDelete