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Is a little bit of weather checking ok?

shady

shady

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I'm looking at a set of swampers that have a little bit of dry rot/weather checking on them. They are bias play, not sure if that makes a difference.

I've always been taught that dry rot means you will blow a tire, crash, and die lol. Just the way dad did things. Is this the norm? It's not really a road rig, but will see 1/2hr runs on the highway here and there getting to, from, and between the dirt roads.

These are my current tires, which is why I don't trust them.... But is a few cracks ok, as long as they don't look like this?

IMG_20170911_161604.jpg

IMG_20170911_161626.jpg
 
Those are roached, I would not run them at highway speeds .

I would not even run them off-road , once you air down and really start using them they will fail quickly.
 
Yeah these are mine. The ones I'm looking at have a little but nothing like that. They are 39.5x15 swampers, for $500. But have a little bit of checking here and there.... Not sure if I should just pony up and buy new or what.

They gotta be better than the ones I got. At least to get me till next year. It may see 1000 miles is all between now and then. When the dude sends me pics tonight I'll post those too.
 
An S10 I bought a few years ago had gumbo mudders on it that looked like that. Left them on for it's first trip to Rousch Creek. They didn't make it 1/2 hour before a sidewall blew. I didn't even get off a main trail onto some rocks.
 
I drove it home from about an HR away on these. Lol. It bothered me but there was no getting around it....

New ones are $$$$ though. And I'd like to drive it some before snowfall. Hopefully the ones I'm going to look at are way better... And Ill probably never go below 25 psi with them so that could help....?
 
I don't know if the jury is still out or not, but I'm becoming more and more of a believer in keeping to the ~8 year replacement that most/all the manufacturers are recommending now, and considering them like oil...replace at the recommended interval. Which sucks when the tires look like they have 20K more miles on them. :( $500 might be cheap for that set of tires, but that's still $500. Would suck to spend that kind of money and have them start failing almost immediately, not to mention any hassle/safety considerations that go along with sidewall blowouts. Just a gamble I suppose.
 
Yeah. I have lines on a few other sets, some new. In the $1000-1500 range though. And I can't come up with that anytime soon. I guess I could hold off on a box and such. Maybe get some take off from trail worth fab or something. Haven't heard a lot of good about those tires, and figured I'd end up with the same boat I'm in. I need tires and exhaust as a definite. And I have 800 left for tires so far if I don't buy this box I found. Don't want to lose the opportunity either though........... Frickin dilemmas suck lol. I'll check the date code on them when I look at em tomorrow. Guy never sent me pics tonight
 
I have run many tires that were cracked. Some ran for a long time some blew out in the first mile.

It's a crap shoot at best.
 
I really wanna get some abuse and shakedown time on this truck before it gets cold.. closest place to do that is 45 or so miles away though. And no tow rig yet. I'm not going to run these for sure now from what you guys have said. So I'm crossing my fingers big-time now.

I did find a brand new set of militarys for a grand. Still have the spikeys on them. Maybe I'll see if I can scrape that up..?
 
I would trust a radial tire with checking more then the same amount of checking on a bias tire. The Military 37" radials are a pretty decent all around tire , especially for the price.
 
All the militarys we're bias I thought..... I'll ha e to check that again
 
I see the Wrangler MT is radial... :thinking:. I think May I'll have to drive a few hrs and pick those up instead.... A grand for a new set is awesome.
 
blazinzuk said:
I have run many tires that were cracked. Some ran for a long time some blew out in the first mile.

It's a crap shoot at best.
Click to expand...

I have had the same experience with dry rotted tires--had some that went years and never lost a pound of air,or lost any hunks of rubber,and others I put on, blew chunks the first time I got the truck over 60 mph...a rear tire blowing out at 60+ mph is a very dangerous thing,especially in a pickup...old cracked tires are often hard in some spots and will thump,and feel like they are oval, and be near impossible to balance too..

I'd run tires like yours if you never drive over 30-40 mph and stay close to home,or on a "yard truck",but forget any high speed long distance rides..

I have found some very good tires at salvage yards that look to have been replaced just before the vehicle was junked due to a crash or a blown engine,transmission,etc...many here also sell brand new spares that never touched the ground for 25-40 bucks each..its been decades since I bought any new tires,I feel they are a waste of money in my case,since I rarely go far or at high speeds in my truck--most of my tires dry rot from sitting ,not go bald..
 
Cracked tires like that shouldn't be run on the street. For a trail, OK, but be prepared to change one (or more!) while you're out there. Tossing swampers with tread can make a grown man want to cry, but unless you DD them you don't use up the tread. Just like trailer or RV tires, it's often the calendar that gets them and not the wear.
 
I was just on my way to go look at those other tires. The wife and me started talking and decided that new was better.

So I'll be ordering a set of these soon. Ill just find a used 37" spare at some point then too.

Screenshot_20170910-035721.png
 
Oh yeah, don't store your swampers in the sun! If you can't park the vehicle inside, find some covers or something to keep the UV off the tires. Just like an RV owner....
 
Blue85 said:
Oh yeah, don't store your swampers in the sun! If you can't park the vehicle inside, find some covers or something to keep the UV off the tires. Just like an RV owner....
Click to expand...

Is there any empirical data on the effectiveness of shielding them? I'm not challenging, I'd really like to know. I can only speak from my own experience, but after right around 8 years, my BFG AT's started losing air slowly through thousands of micro cracks around the tread blocks, and the truck was almost never exposed to direct sunlight. Moss and algae grows on it, if that gives you an idea how little sun it sees.

I never saw any cracking of the sidewall, but the tread area itself was. It may be from running aired down offroad, but even then one would think "good" rubber wouldn't crack like that. I've noticed this set of BFG AT's are starting to exhibit the same cracks, but so far don't seem to be losing air, although they are getting up there in age.

Most of us probably don't pay a lot of attention to the tread area for cracking, but at least on my tires, it's definitely something that happens, and has done so for nearly 16 years(?!). Relying on sidewall cracks, storage method, or use to determine good or bad might not be a reliable method.

Hmm. Sounds like mine have a few problems with the way they are stored that probably limits their life, many of us here may as well: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=37
 
What blue85 said. Covers when not in use. Good thick covers. If you can keep the uv light off em they will last longer
 
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