Car tire question

[Alpo]

Will a pneumatic tire deteriorate sooner if the vehicle is parked in the grass, than if it was parked on a concrete driveway?

 

Yesterday I pulled my utility trailer forward so I could cut the grass underneath it. It had been sitting in that spot for about 3 weeks.

 

 

As you can see, it sank down pretty far.

 

When I put it back I pushed it farther back into the yard so it was not sitting in the same ruts. But it got me to wondering if sinking down into the sod like that, where the wet grass was pushed up on the sidewall, would cause a rubber to fall apart sooner.

[Go West]

I would bet that the portion of the tire exposed to the sun would be deteriorated more than that sunk into the ground, but 3 weeks wouldn't be enough to matter. You may have seen covers for RV tires to protect from the sun exposure. 

[Captain Bill Burt]

Sunlight will degrade your tires, how much depends upon the intensity of the light and the tires.  Leaving a car parked for too long will screw up the tires too.  I don't know whether the surface you're parked on impacts that or not.  My guess would be the harder the surface, the more severe the degradation.  My tires don't last long enough to worry about things like that.  I bought a new set last June and am due for another set this week.

[John Kloehr]

The wetter a tire is, the faster it will deteriorate The damage is to the core. And UV will damage the outer casing also allowing moisture into the core.

 

But a basic rule for non-commercial tires is a five-year life. Anything beyond that is borrowed time.

 

Another way to shorten a tire's life is to let it sit rarely used. The oils in the rubber need to be worked to prevent drying.

 

I just go by date codes on the tires, and will not repair a flat beyond 5 years. If I see deep cracks or wear out the tread before then, still need to replace them.

 

But I would not worry about sitting in grass versus on concrete. Concrete is generally "wet" even when it looks dry.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

Yes, due to the chemicals in the soil 'attacking' the rubber.

OLG 

[Sixgun Seamus]

It might not be the answer to your question but I also park my trailer in the back yard. I have a couple of 2X12 boards cut to park the tires on. Did it mostly to prevent ruts like you talked about. If I park it for very long, I will put tire covers on.

[Alpo]

I have a couple foot square concrete stepping stones, and thought about putting them under the wheels, to prevent ruts.

 

I've also thought about putting them under the axle, and then a couple of concrete blocks on top of them, so the axle is sitting on the concrete blocks and no weight is on the wheel. I've heard that that will help your tires last longer.

[irish ike, SASS #43615]

So you're saying my 35 year old tires on my 55 Chevy shouldn't be holding air?

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

53 minutes ago, irish ike, SASS #43615 said:

So you're saying my 35 year old tires on my 55 Chevy shouldn't be holding air?

They will hold air until the most inconvenient moment.

[Utah Bob #35998]

Tires on my Mazda are 14 years old. But it hasn’t moved in about 8 years. 

[Chili Ron]

Howdy,

After an extended stay in hospital and recovery I was in great need of a trip.

After about 400 miles a thump developed.

I stopped and checked all the tires and continued driving.

Another thump and another stop and check, Nothing.

I started driving again and another thump. 

Check this time revealed a bulge in the driver front tire.

As I was in unfamiliar area, I drove around looking for a replacement.

My trunk was full to the top and no way I was digging down to the spare.

I was still recovering, remember?

I found a Fleete and Farm, looked over the tire selection, took a deep breath

and had all four replaced with brand new radials.

Thanks for credit cards.  The next morning the tires were all holding air

and the trip continued.  No way I was going to replace one tire at a time.

And I was headed west, way west and towns get much further apart.

And Bridgestone did not allow me one penny for replacing four half worn radials.

The shop that sold em to me not one penny.

If you let tires sit best keep an eye on em.

My Dad replaced many trailer tires on the edge of the highway to his

favorite fishing spot.  Those tires need to be off the ground.

Best

CR

 

[irish ike, SASS #43615]

My 35 year old tires have no cracks, checks,  dings, splits or ........so I'm good driving them around.

[South-Eye Ned]

What to do now, is to take a tape measure and measure the depth of the divot.  Using that and the length of time the trailer sat there, and you calculate how long it will take for the trailer to sink completely below the surface.  ( or not)

[Go West]

"My 35 year old tires have no cracks, checks,  dings, splits or ........so I'm good driving them around."

I wouldn't trust them at 80 mph though.

 

[Assassin]

We have and old EZ Spread fertilizer spreader built in the late 40's tires are original, complete with tubes, and they still hold air. 

I'm thinking older tires were made of a more UV resistant compound. 

Never understood why they made those butt ugly white wall tires, especially when they were mounted on custom wheels. Must be an old man thing.

 

[Pat Riot]

On 6/15/2020 at 7:07 AM, Sixgun Seamus said:

It might not be the answer to your question but I also park my trailer in the back yard. I have a couple of 2X12 boards cut to park the tires on. Did it mostly to prevent ruts like you talked about. If I park it for very long, I will put tire covers on.

I used to do this ^^^^^

[Sedalia Dave]

Those old tires will work fine at low speeds with light loads. Put them out on the interstate on a hot day and you'll find that they will fail in the most spectacular fashion. 

[Alpo]

I was tooling down 85, between 185 and Atlanta. All of a sudden the wheel starts shaking I'm all over the lane. I take my foot off the gas and when it gets down to about 40 it stops. I start accelerating again and when it gets up to about 55 it's shaking. So I hit the emergency flashers, and drive 40 on that 75 mile an hour road, and take the first exit I come to. I pull into a convenience store and crawl underneath and look at the front end. I don't see anything wrong. I asked a man at the gas pumps if there is a good front end shop anywhere near, and he gives me directions.

 

So I tell the guy at the shop that my front end has gone Waka Waka, and he puts it up on the rack. Comes back in and tells me he does not think it's the front end. I need new tires.

 

I tell him those tires don't have 10,000 miles on them. He asks how old they are. I think a bit, then tell him I believe I bought them in 2000. This was 2012.

 

He slowly spun the right front wheel and if it rolled past in front of my eyes I suddenly see a large lump in the tread. He tells me that tire has thrown a belt, and is about to come apart. He asked how old the left tire was. I tell him I bought them the same day. He says I need to replace both of them.

 

I was expecting $1,000 worth of front-end work so $200 worth of tires was no problem at all.

 

Apparently tires don't last forever, no matter how much tread is left on them.

[Chili Ron]

Howdy,

The tire life starts the day it is made, not the day its mounted.

If I remember correctly there is a code stamped somewhere on the tire.

The code indicates year made and WEEK of the year.

So 1950 doesn't mean they were made 70 years ago.

It means they were made in the 50th week of year 2019.

If I remember correctly.

Why they don't mark 6/16/2020 is a mystery to me.

Tires can sit for years unmounted.  And four matching tires

can be made in four different batches and years apart.

And a general rule is that rubber starts to break down right away.

After seven years or so, its getting old. More than 10 look out.

And yes slow driving will help but who drives slow??

Everyone should know the age of their car battery and tires.

And maybe even the last time brake fluid was changed.

Best

CR