Since tyres are relatively inexpensive, and we are talking safety here, Id replace them without further ado. However, you are likely to get dozens of opinions and reports of personal experience. Could I suggest that you Google "Life of unused new tyres" and read reports. There are pages of them, but I have screen-shot a couple of pieces of "advice" for your perusal.
Good luck with answers to your question, but for the sake of spending a couple of miserable dollars you could be saving your van, yourself and others from damage. Cheers
-- Edited by yobarr on Monday 12th of June 2023 04:08:45 PM
I totally agree with Yobarr in that, tyres should be replaced for safety's sake after five years.
Unfortunately for most of us, it is not "spending a couple of miserable dollars" depending on how many and what size of tyres are required (remember the spare).
Remember that the tyres on your trailer/van are not driving tyres - they should be replaced with light truck tyres to the specifications on your VIN plate.
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Possum; AKA:- Ali El-Aziz Mohamed Gundawiathan
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I don't totally agree with the article that yobarr posted.
Tyres do go hard as the rubber loses some of the compounds that keep the rubber supple over time.
This is particularly noticeable with the sticky R Spec tyres that I use on my little race car.
A tyre that has been stored on the shelf for a couple of years will not have the same level of grip as one that is newly manufactured, so people like me that dabble in motorsport are constantly checking manufactured dates to find a set of tyres with a very late date on them to maximise our chances of a good lap time.
The heat cycles on race rubber also destroy the tyres flexibility and grip too.
Transferring that to a van, the grip levels are not so important, but the hardening effect can eventually cause cracking of the walls and failure of the tyre even though they look fine in terms of tread depth.
I usually use 6 to 7 years on my vans before changing tyres although they get a visual inspection before each trip and rotated on the van.
It also depends on where I am going too. A tyre nearing what I would consider end of life may well do me for a short trip South but I would change if doing a long trip East just for precautions sake.
That said, my garden trailer has 13 year old tyres on it but it travels are limited to the occasional trip to the tip or to Bunnings so hardly worth changing those every 5 minutes.
As far as I know there is no gazetted law on Tyres but having changed tyres on a boat trailer with infrequent use at 10 years it is a good idea to keep an eye on those that aren't used as much over a longer period of time.
So if your using said Van frequently keep doing so until you or your tyre bloke tells you it's time.
Yobarrs article is just someone else's opinion (which if you read it contradicts itself) just use your common sense.
There is a Tyre Date of Manufacture on most tyres, I'm not sure about the Chinese tyres that are put on most of them these days though with those stupid 15" rims.
I found 6 years to be too old for the off road light truck tyres I had on our Tvan . Bridgestone D697's. I thought I had 2 x 3year old tyres on the single axle, but after a weekend away which involved some very rocky tracks I found one tyre to be in significantly worse shape than the other, very chipped with a lot of tread torn off. Examination showed I had a 3 year old & a 6 year old tyre fitted & that it was the older tyre with all the damage. The younger one had virtually no damage at all. Pushing a fingernail into the tread rubber of each tyre's tread revealed a significant difference in 'hardness'.
-- Edited by Cuppa on Wednesday 14th of June 2023 05:16:51 PM
Father inlaw former wa taxi driver. Owner of taxi purchased tyres in bulk and stored in shed until they went hard. This way they lasted longer on the taxi. Could be why the taxis drive slowly in wet conditions.
Not sure why a spell checker is needed, it appears to me everyone understands the topic. I guess this is why conflict starts. If you need a spell checker don't involve yourself in the discussion.
