How much dry rot is too much?

[ggaabe]

Hi all! I recently bought a skoolie and did some conversion work on it. We’ve been driving across the country from Florida to California and we just stopped at a Love’s in Kansas to get our tires filled. The guys there told me there’s dry rot on the tires and they could explode.

The tires themselves are about 10 years old but we’re hardly ever used. They were only occasionally driven in Florida. It’s got almost full tread. We’re in the middle of Kansas and we were also told that we can’t put retreaded tires on school busses because of DOT laws, meaning we’d have to put 600 dollar tires on, which we don’t have the money for.

My question is how much dry rot is too much? I attached a couple of pictures of the tires here.

Please let me know what you think! Any advise is appreciated in this matter.

[brokedown]

Having blown out both tires on one side of the bus on my first trip, I'd recommend not being on the highway with 10 year old tires. It's a lot more expensive to replace them roadside!

[PNW_Steve]

Two things to consider here...

One: Tires degrade with age even if they have very few miles on them. It manifests as "dry rot" or cracking in the sidewalls. I would make certain that you are dealing with reputable folks.

Two: I have been approached a handful of times by tire shop staff while fueling and they have commented on the dangerous condition of my tires and how I will certainly die if I drive another mile on them. The first time it happened I came awfully close to buying some REALLY expensive tires and other work. I decided to take my chances and continued home and to my favorite local tire shop. Outcome: The tires were fine, shocks were fine, front end was fine except for needing an alignment. $59.00 later I was in great shape.

Old tires CAN be dangerous even with plenty of tread.

Disreputable shops will try and scare you into spending $$ that you may not need to.

If you feel at all uncomfortable with the folks at the shop that is trying to sell you $600 tires then RUN AWAY and find a shop you trust to give you the straight scoop.

You didn't say what size tires that you are running but you should be able to find 11r22.5 or 24.5 for $300-$400 each. The last ones I bought were Yokohama's and I paid a bit over $300 each at a tire shop off of I-40 near Amarillo TX.

Good luck.

S.

[brokedown]

The photos clearly show 22.5 tires. I'd call around and check prices, because those prices can and do vary. Independent tire dealers may have less famous brands that make good tires for half the price of a Goodyear.

[ggaabe]

Originally Posted by brokedown

The photos clearly show 22.5 tires. I'd call around and check prices, because those prices can and do vary. Independent tire dealers may have less famous brands that make good tires for half the price of a Goodyear.

Do you think the dry rot's a lot? The guys weren't really encouraging me to buy new tires but told me not to ride too fast or for too long at a time.

[brokedown]

It's more than I would have on my tires, but I'm driving cross country. It's much easier to mope along neighborhoods at 35mph than to climb mountain passes at highway speeds in 100 degrees air/150 degree pavement.

[PNW_Steve]

For some reason the pictures did not display when I first viewed the thread.

They are definitely 10r22.5's and the sidewalls look pretty bad.

[ggaabe]

Originally Posted by brokedown

It's more than I would have on my tires, but I'm driving cross country. It's much easier to mope along neighborhoods at 35mph than to climb mountain passes at highway speeds in 100 degrees air/150 degree pavement.

We’re driving cross country too :-/

The guy at Love’s told us to just stick a pressure gauge on the tires every time we take a break and if it’s over 120 to just stop for a while. If we’re gonna replace the tires though, should we just replace the steering ones if we only have enough money for a couple?

[PNW_Steve]

A quick Google search yields 10r22.5's for $250-300 each. I saw Firestone @ $296 each.

I run recaps on my drives and new on my stears on my truck and both buses. I just bought a fresh recap to replace a damaged one two months ago. 22.5 Recaps cost me a bit over $200 each.

[ggaabe]

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

A quick Google search yields 10r22.5's for $250-300 each. I saw Firestone @ $296 each.

I run recaps on my drives and new on my stears on my truck and both buses. I just bought a fresh recap to replace a damaged one two months ago. 22.5 Recaps cost me a bit over $200 each.

I'd put recaps on too but the guy at Love's told me that they can't legally put retreaded tires on busses, even if they're for personal use, because of DoT regulations. But if I can get new tires for 250-300, that's feasible for me. 600 isn't.

[brokedown]

The ones that blew on mine were the rears, both tires on one side:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V64zxL4jbwk&t=2s

With that said, blowing a front and losing steering on the highway could be disaster. I'd prioritize the fronts but don't depend on the duallie setup providing redundancy. They're there to spread the load not to be a backup!

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by ggaabe

I'd put recaps on too but the guy at Love's told me that they can't legally put retreaded tires on busses, even if they're for personal use, because of DoT regulations. But if I can get new tires for 250-300, that's feasible for me. 600 isn't.

Flats, regardless of position, can leave you sitting on the side of the road. Flats on steer tires are more likely to create a real hazard.

You should be able to find new tires for $300 or less.

I don't know what to say about the supposed DOT regs but tire shops in WA have been putting recaps on my buses and trucks for 20+ years.

What town are you near and where are you headed?

[BowserJournal]

Some great advice here. Does anyone know ball park how much one tire costs installed?

[ggaabe]

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

Flats, regardless of position, can leave you sitting on the side of the road. Flats on steer tires are more likely to create a real hazard.

You should be able to find new tires for $300 or less.

I don't know what to say about the supposed DOT regs but tire shops in WA have been putting recaps on my buses and trucks for 20+ years.

What town are you near and where are you headed?

We're just west of Kansas City, near Lawrence in Kansas. We're on our way to Colorado Springs!

[cadillackid]

I put Uniroyals on my DEV bus... I went up to 11R22.5's. as my rims were wide enough to handle it and offset good enough my duals wouldnt touch... 11R22.5's offer many more sizes than 10R.. they are a bit taller tire so will affect your speedometer reading..

Loves may have a policy against putting Retreads on busses.. I know you cant put them on the Steers but theres been plenty of busses with them on the drives..

definitely shop around and dont be afraid to ask for discounts.. in the commercial world prices are often negotiable esp at all-out tire distributors or local shops..

hionestly my tires on the DEV bvus were worse than that.. I drove it 1100 miles home without an issue.. and that was in Florida summer heat.. once back in ohio i found a local shop and got 6 new Uniroyals.. Uniroyal is a divsiuon of Michelin..
-Christopher

[Njsurf73]

Originally Posted by ggaabe

I'd put recaps on too but the guy at Love's told me that they can't legally put retreaded tires on busses, even if they're for personal use, because of DoT regulations. But if I can get new tires for 250-300, that's feasible for me. 600 isn't.

You can put retreads on busses. Drive tires for sure, steer tires if it's not reg as a bus.
I still won't put recaps on a steer... I just don't trust them... But it's legal. Search the regulations on Google, there are a couple of articles about it.
Supposedly, the "new" retreads are as reliable as new tires, I just don't trust my the safety of my family on them, just my preference. If you do replace them, try and find used... Especially if it's going to sit for a while. Tires need to be replaced every 8-10 years regardless of tread wear.
If you don't replace them, check them often.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[cowlitzcoach]

I think someone at Love's was trying to sell you some tires.

None of the dry rot looks that bad to me. I would be concerned if there was a continual crack all the way around near the bead. The spider web cracks shouldn't be a problem unless you can see cord.

As far as putting retreads on buses, you can't put them on the steer position but you certainly can on the drives.

I too would opt for the 11x22.5 rather than the 10x22.5. Not only will you get more choices but you will also get a little overdrive out of them because they are taller than a 10x22.5, perhaps 3-5 MPH more at the same RPM at the top end. Most school buses have more than enough space to allow for the larger tire. The larger tire will also give you more weight carrying capacity. Normally that isn't an issue with buses but you just never know what you might be picking up along the way of your travels. If you have someone like Lucy in your group who collects rocks along the way...

I would not be using tire pressure to test the tires. Each time you test you will be losing a little bit of air. It wouldn't take very many tests before you lost 5 PSI. Instead, invest in an infrared thermometer. It will tell you immediately if you are having a tire issue. Once you get a base line for what temps your tires run, any time you find one with an elevated temp you need to be concerned. At that point it would be a good time to test the pressure.

Be aware that the tires on the sunny side will run 10*-30* warmer than the ones on the shady side.

I would also be pumping the tires up to the max PSI listed on the sidewalls. Lack of air pressure creates more heat. With the max PSI you will be generating the least amount of heat.

[cowlitzcoach]

In regards to purchasing tires, don't spend lots of $$$ for name brands like Goodyear, Michelin, Continental, etc. Unless you are driving 100K miles or more in a year you will never get your $$$ worth out of them.

Double Coin, Samson, Del Nat, Othsu, and other off-off brands will do the job you need and won't wear out before they die of old age. Which will be about the same age as a name brand.

So save your $$$ and don't pay for premium tires.

[bluebird90]

It may be different in your state but here in Washington you can put caps on the rear. besides It,s no longer classified as a school bus. DOT regs may be different