Recapped tires

[bread519]

So I've come to learn that all four of my rear tires are recaps. They look to be in excellent shape. Can I drive on these for a year or two before replacing?

[2kool4skool]

IMO caps are Russian Roulette. YMMV.

[BusFiend]

Retreads on the rear are usually not an issue. As "used" tries, the sidewalls are likely to age out before you lose or wear the treads. Just monitor the tires closely, especially in your pre-trip checks. You should be just fine. I would start sacking some cash away for the inevitable tire replacement though.

[Tango]

I agree with BF...recaps are used by the millions on heavy commercial trucks, but ONLY on the rear. Never as steer tires. In fact, DOT prohibits their use on the front.

See items "d." & "e.". Good rules to go by.

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulation...section/393.75

[bread519]

Awesome good to hear. They look to be brand new condition basically.

[gbstewart]

thing I don't like about recaps, is when the come apart they can do thousands of dollars worth of damage, taking out holding tanks, wire, plumbing pipes, etc.
gbstewart

[Tango]

Carry a "tire thumper" and use it regularly. If a tread is just beginning to separate...you will hear/feel it. Also used to check tire pressure equality. Comes in mighty handy in bar fights too.

[Brad_SwiftFur]

Originally Posted by gbstewart

thing I don't like about recaps, is when the come apart they can do thousands of dollars worth of damage, taking out holding tanks, wire, plumbing pipes, etc.
gbstewart

"Virgin" tires can do this too. A tire's main enemy is heat. Tires are designed to be able to carry a certain amount of load at certain pressures safely. Underinflation causes the tires to flex, and in turn, build up heat. Too much flexing will cause the tires to overheat, up to the point of melting the rubber inside the sidewalls and causing a blowout. This is true no matter if it's a virgin tire or recap.

Recaps can separate, but if it's properly inflated and not overloaded, this is pretty rare. The DOT would prohibit them if they were too unsafe.

Those items some call "tire thumpers", I call "Panhandler Malfunction Adjusters".

[retiredChemist]

Recapped/retreaded on the steer will be annoying to drive. Makes the thing handle like a barge, because the sidewalls are already a tread life old.

I recently changed the caps for clean skins on mine and it's night v day different, it goes where it's pointed.

You won't notice the lack of tire wall stiffness on the duals though. Most of the fuel saving tires are designed around soft sidewalls to reduce rolling resistance. So the urgency isn't there to worry about.

I'd suggest saving up and putting the rubber you want on your bus, retreads on the steer need to go, rears you can just wait till you've worn them out.

[slaughridge85]

Originally Posted by retiredChemist

Recapped/retreaded on the steer will be annoying to drive.

As mentioned before this is a HUGE no no if you ever get stopped by the DOT guys... Recaps on steer tires are NOT LEGAL in any state per DOT guidelines not to mention extremely unsafe.