Replace just one tire?

I just checked the date codes on my tires.  1307 (last week in March 2007)

Even though the tires still have great side walls and decent thread, you people have me making sure I get 6 new tires before our next long cross-country trip.  I also want to buy the Alcoa Dura-Bright wheel package when replacing tires.

I am thinking of keeping the original unused spare tire that never sees the light of day.  What do you people think?

Every year for the past few years, I window-shop for RV tires on Tire Rack's website.  I always conclude that the Sumutomo Encounter HT tire is going to be the one.  It has great ratings and also a great price.  I buy all my tires from Tire Rack and as always, I mount and balance them myself.  Over many years, I have bought many different brands of tires including other Sumutomo tires for 3 different performance cars and have always been very pleased with them.

I plan to recoup some cash by selling my original Phoenix-installed steel wheel covers and four E350/E450 steel wheels with old tires mounted.

One thing I still need to research are valve stems.  I don't want any type of valve extension.  I never rotate tires on the PC so each tire position can have unique stems for adequate access.  The Alcoa wheels further complicates this due to them being made of thicker-than-steel, alloy material.

I am not interested in a tire pressure monitoring system.

I am thinking of keeping the original unused spare tire that never sees the light of day.  What do you people think?

Last time I had a flat tire in my previous RV, the guy that came to change the tire didn't want to do it because the spare was more than 10 years old.  He said it was company policy.  I finally convinced him to use my space since I was only a few miles from home.  But beware - unless you change your own tires.

Peg

Rubber deteriates with age, it may look ok when in fact it is not. I have a tandem axle car hauler that I bought new in 2007 used it infrequently and stored it indoors most of the time. Last summer  2 of the 4 tires blew out while it was parked and hadn’t been moved for a year. The blow outs ocurred about 6 weeks apart. I put 4 new tires on it even though I intend to sell it. I didn’t want to put some unsuspecting buyer in danger. A local tire shop here won’t repair, mount, or sell a used tire over 5 years old, the owner told me the liability is too great.

Quote from: Ron Dittmer on December 18, 2018, 11:21:11 pm

I am thinking of keeping the original unused spare tire that never sees the light of day.  What do you people think?

Last time I had a flat tire in my previous RV, the guy that came to change the tire didn't want to do it because the spare was more than 10 years old.  He said it was company policy.  I finally convinced him to use my space since I was only a few miles from home.  But beware - unless you change your own tires.

Peg

Thanks for sharing that.  I do change my own tires, but it is good to know.

Speaking about changing tires.  For the first time, I recently dismounted and remounted the front tires of our PC when replacing the shocks all around.  I was pleasantly surprised how easy-handling they were.  God did not bless me with the strength of my piers, and this year I turned 60 so neither am I a young guy.

If you never changed a tire on your PC, but are comfortable doing it on your other vehicles, I think you will find how uneventful it is.  It is so much faster than sitting around waiting for a service to do it for you.  The most questionable part of the job would be lifting the flat tire up into the storage area in back.  Two seniors could surely do it without a worry, but if you are not comfortable doing so, roll it up into the house to get you going to a tire center.