(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

Question about tires

kcm.MN

kcm.MN

Well-known Member
Location
NW Minnesota
Just got finished putting new brake shoes on the plow truck. Got the wheels back on and noticed some small cracks along the beads. Is the same on all 4 tires. Bought the tires new about 5 or 6 years ago, but they have less than 1,000 miles on them.

Being a plow truck, the front tires get much more stress. Added a little bit of weight in the back end just last year, so they have had an easy life. Also, tires have never been rotated. Haven't seen the need to with so few miles.

Are these cracks due to age? Anything to worry about?

mvphoto82591.jpg


mvphoto82592.jpg


mvphoto82593.jpg
 
well if it was in the tire shop with those cracks they probably not advise you to run them , i dont either.
 
Kinda looks like a torque stress. The tires might be rated for the load, but not the load and torque combined. Even a small engine can produce a lot of axle torque in low range on the transfer case (2:1 ?) low gear on the transmission (3+:1 ?) and heavy torque rise in the torque converter near stall (3:1 ?) How many plies are in the tire sidewalls, two? Maybe go with more sidewall plies in the future or remove some ballast so the tire spin easier. Five bolt hubs looks like a half ton truck? IMHO, a half ton pickup is built too light for snow plow duty, 3/4 ton or 1 ton would hold up much better and would have stronger tires and wheels as standard equipment too.
 
A half ton might only have load range C tires as stock equipment, check the door sticker for the recommended tires.
 
Found a website where I could type in the DOT # from the tire. It tells age of tire, size, where manufactured, and also whether it has been involved in any recalls. Look here:

http://www.tiresafetygroup.com/

As it turns out, these tires were manufactured 7 years 8 months ago. According to the Tire Safety Group website, any tire over 6 years old should be replaced, and will no longer be valid for any kind of warranty claim or safety issue.

So it would seem these tires had been sitting in the gas station for a couple of years before we bought them. That was another interesting tidbit of info on this website, is the lack of disclosure on the age of a tire when purchased by the consumer. Check this out:

http://www.tiresafetygroup.com/tire-aging/
 
Tires are on a 2001 Ram 1500 4x4. Yes, a bit light-duty, but has easily been up to the task of clearing the driveway. I simply cannot justify buying a 3/4 or 1-ton just to plow a driveway. If we get too much snow for the truck, then break out the tractor - but we haven't had such Winters since before we got the truck.

I normally plow in 4-hi. Rarely get stuck, but when I do, 4-lo gets me out. Level ground without stumps or other obstacles. Pipe on plow blade allows blade to glide along the ground.
 
Technically, it's our backup truck as well as the plow truck. If our main truck is ever down, we would drive this.

I have another set of mounted wheels for the Dodge. They look fantastic. Not quite as much tread, but still plenty tread left.

Just looked up the DOT code for them. Hmm.... seems they are 9 1/2 years old and made in Thailand. Yokohama Geolander A/T-S. Recon I'll throw them on and save the Delta's for backup.
 
Yes old tires,as far as changing them,how much trouble will it be if you blow a tire in a snowstorm?
 
(quoted from post at 19:52:38 10/02/21) Yes old tires,as far as changing them,how much trouble will it be if you blow a tire in a snowstorm?
Click to expand...

That's a VERY good question!!

We were forced to buy these tires after having Goodyear tires that failed on the way to town. These Delta's were the ONLY tires that the tiny little gas station had that would fit the truck. Only tire place for 30+ miles. Paid about $200 per tire (installed, out the door) and probably have less than 1,000 miles on them. That's a high cost per mile.

However, the truck virtually never leaves the property. So if a tire blows, just pull the truck into a clearing and throw on a spare. Not so easy at -30F, but for us, better than spending $800 on tires that just sit. At least now we know to start putting money aside for new tires.
 
Tires dont have much of a lifespan anymore. I have been trying to run only cooper tires made in the USA on my vehicles. I hope they last longer. There is a date code on each tire aswell. Its 4 digits I believe. Month and year but dont quote me on that.
 
Were there any cracks in the tread area? If not fill the cracks with some windshield sealant to keep the water out of the wire that is in the area of the bead.
 
(quoted from post at 20:55:35 10/02/21) Tires dont have much of a lifespan anymore. I have been trying to run only cooper tires made in the USA on my vehicles. I hope they last longer. There is a date code on each tire aswell. Its 4 digits I believe. Month and year but dont quote me on that.
Click to expand...

Never knew it before, but these Delta tires are apparently made by Cooper.

I believe you're correct about a 4-digit date code, but there should also be a 10-12 digit DOT code that will give you the year/month made, size, if there have been any recalls, and where made. Here's more info:
http://www.tiresafetygroup.com/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2013/05/How-to-Locate-DOT-Number-1.0.pdf

I found the 2nd paragraph to be interesting. And sure enough, the DOT code was on the inside of the Yokohama tires, but not the outside.
 
The DOT code should be 4 numbers. First two numbers is the week of the year, last two numbers is the year. The best I could tell from the pic is "0514" that would be the 5th week of 2014. If you see a 3 digit number they are real old (for a tire) or older than 2000.

UV & ozone exposure are a big killer on tires, one of the main symptoms is sidewall cracks, sometimes called weather checking. Tires that sit for long periods or see minimal use are more prone to these damages.
 
In shopping for tires once I came across a dissertation from a tire mfgr. explaining how his tires were made. In the text he
mentioned plasticizers that are included in the chemical compound which, when the tire is exercised....put in motion on the
highway type thing, the plasticizers move through the rubber compound and keep it soft and pliable.

Tires that sit and especially in the sun, dry out and the rubber compound separates back to it's elements getting hard and
brittle....my guess as I always protect my tires and keep them out of the sun, especially on things like trailers that sit unused for
long periods of time. I have trailer tries over 10 years old with no weather cracking.

Cracking leads to loss of tread when placed under load and run at highway speeds. For general farm use it shouldn't be a
problem. My 2c
 
(quoted from post at 14:36:28 10/03/21) Snow plow truck with 2 wheel drive? Only 5 lug bolts, not 6??
Whats the deal?
Click to expand...

(quoted from post at 18:44:09 10/02/21) Tires are on a 2001 Ram 1500 4x4. Yes, a bit light-duty, but has easily been up to the task of clearing the driveway. I simply cannot justify buying a 3/4 or 1-ton just to plow a driveway. If we get too much snow for the truck, then break out the tractor - but we haven't had such Winters since before we got the truck.

I normally plow in 4-hi. Rarely get stuck, but when I do, 4-lo gets me out. Level ground without stumps or other obstacles. Pipe on plow blade allows blade to glide along the ground.
Click to expand...
 
Air them up and run them, those cracks look like they were run underinflated. Keep them out of the sun as best you can. I'm running tires
on a trailer that are over 25 years old, but I follow my rules and haven't had a flat since I started carrying 2 spares!
 
(quoted from post at 18:33:25 10/03/21) Air them up and run them, those cracks look like they were run underinflated.
Click to expand...

That's a possibility. You posting this reminded me of an incident that happened last Winter. Tires all looked good before I started plowing, but shortly after I got going, the right-side tires were both in need of air. They didn't get totally flat, but was much lower than should have been -- I think one tire read 15 PSI. Only thing I can figure is that the cold weather kept the tires 'looking' aired up, and as soon as I started rolling, they warmed up and the rubber softened. Don't remember that happening before.

Also, got to looking in the sunlight today, and only the right-side tires have the cracks. Left side looks perfect.
 
It sounds pretty obvious to me, you park it out in the sun all summer, so the sun deteriorates the tires on one side, and then you didn't
check the air before you started plowing. You need a vehicle with tire pressure monitors and a garage to keep it in!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

kcm.MN
Question about skid loader tires
Replies
17
Views
769
kcm.MN
kcm.MN
E
Wider Rims/Tires for Ford 2000
Replies
19
Views
792
sotxbill
S
D
School me on Truck Tires 10.00 20
Replies
12
Views
1K
john in la
J
J
Truck brakes
Replies
17
Views
899
john in la
J
C
Ford 8N question
Replies
12
Views
628
Fixingfarmer
Fixingfarmer
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top