Tires And The Sun

[Lew Silverman]

The truth is that ALL tires have a recommended "service life", no matter what they are installed on (or hanging from a garage wall!). The suggested life of a trailer tire is 6-7 years from the date of manufacture, whether or not the tread-depth indicators are showing. Sunlight accelerates the affects of chemicals in the air, mostly Ozone, from decomposing the rubber of the tire, which is why vehicles that don't see much use have their tires covered when not being used. One less chance for the tires to be damaged by natural causes.


Passenger and light truck tires have about a 10 year service life, depending on the manufacturers recommendations. I've replaced tires on vehicles after 10 years that looked like they could've lasted twice as long (based on physical condition), and had to remove others that had noticeable deterioration after only 5 years. That's why proper air-pressure, balancing and periodic tire rotation is so important. Bottom-line is to buy the best tires you can afford and maintain them properly.