Owners of cars, motorcycles, boat trailers, trucks and even recreational vehicles must pay close attention to the condition of their tires, as dry rot can erode tires’ structural integrity and cause early failure. While detecting dry rot may seem like an intimidating task, vehicle owners can quickly and easily identify dry rot with only a brief visual inspection. Park the vehicle or trailer on a flat, straight surface. If possible, position the steering wheel so that the tires face straight ahead. Inspect the tire sidewalls. Starting with the front driver’s side tire, or either tire on a motorcycle or trailer, perform a visual inspection of each tire. Look for cracks, especially multiple deep cracks; numerous cracks are common in dry rot situations. If discoloration surrounds the cracks, the tires may have advanced stages of dry rot. If you are inspecting a car or truck, turn the steering wheel all the way to the left or right. Note that some vehicle models may require you to insert the key or start the car to accomplish this step.
Repeat the visual inspection, this time while examining the tire tread. While dry rot is most commonly found on the sidewalls of tires, it can infect any part of the tire’s structure. Look carefully at the tread on the exposed portion of the tires; if any cracks run through the tread, especially at a perpendicular angle, the tire may have dry rot. Replace any tires with dry rot. Dry rot causes extensive cracking in tire surfaces and, if left unchecked, can completely erode the tire’s structural integrity. If tires exhibit any symptoms of dry rot, replace them before attempting to drive the vehicle or use the trailer. According to Tire Care Tips from Bud's Tire and Wheel, dry rot may appear on tires after only three years. If your tires are more than three years old, you should perform routine inspections. Never attempt to drive a car or tow a trailer that has tires with dry rot. Dry rot can cause sudden catastrophic tire failure, possibly resulting in injury or death.
Bud's Tire and Wheel: Tire Care Tips Human Factors and Ergonomics Society: People Do Not Identify Tire Aging as a Safety Hazard How To Travel For Free With Reward Points How to Protect Car Tires From Rotting How to Prevent Tire Dry Rot What Is Dry Rot on Tires? What Causes Dry, Rotted Tires? How to Properly Store Tires How to Prevent Tires From Weather CrackingIf you regularly use more than one set of tires (for example, winter tires vs. all-season tires, or racing tires vs. everyday tires) you may not have given much thought to how or where you store the set you’re not currently using. When it comes to tires, a little TLC can go a long way. So if you’ve been storing tires outside, hauling them around in the trunk of your car, or just tossing them in the garage, check out these ten easy tips that’ll help your tires last longer -- and help you save a little cash. Sounds like advice from Mom, doesn’t it? And as usual, Mom knows best. During normal use, tires accumulate brake dust, dirt, and road grime, and all that gunk can cause tire damage if it sits on your tires for a long time.
Use soap, water, and a tire brush to clean your tires. If the tires are still mounted on the rims, it’s also a good time to clean the wheels (use an approved wheel cleaner). Wipe the tires and wheels down with a towel, then let them dry completely. Do not use tire dressing or tire gloss when storing tires. Once your tires are clean and dry, put them into large, dark, airtight plastic bags like lawn and garden bags. Try to remove as much air from the bags as possible before sealing them securely with tape. This will help prevent the lubricating oil within the tire compounds from evaporating. If you really want to go crazy, you can even use your vacuum cleaner to draw out air before sealing the bags. The best way to store tires is standing upright – it puts less stress on the tires. If you have to stack your tires, try not to stack them too high. If your tire tower gets too tall, it could topple over and damage the tires. However, if your tires are mounted on the rims, you should store them stacked, not upright.
If your tires are mounted on the rims, hanging them from hooks is a great storage option. But unmounted tires should never be hung – the stress can cause distortion and damage. They do – some folks like to use “tire totes” to store and carry tires. While these totes are convenient, tidy, and make carrying tires easier, they’re not airtight, so they don’t necessarily protect tires from the atmosphere. If you want to use tire totes, we recommend putting the tires in plastic bags (as described above) first, then putting them in the totes. Not really -- but they should stay out of the sun. Because tires are black, they soak up the heat of the sun and can easily heat up to over 120 degrees F. This intense heat, coupled with the sun's ultraviolet rays, can cause the rubber to break down. Ozone can damage tires, so it’s best to keep your tires away from machinery that can generate ozone, like electric motors, furnaces, central vacuums, or your basement sump pump. If you have to store a vehicle for long periods of time, the constant weight on the tires can cause tire damage.
If you can, move the vehicle or take it out for a short drive every once in a while – you’ll relieve the stress on the tire and help keep the tire’s rubber compounds lubricated and supple. If your vehicle is stored outside, cover the tires to protect them from direct sunlight. When it’s time to put your tires away, make sure you store them in a cool, dry place like your basement, climate-controlled garage, or workshop. Avoid storing tires outdoors, in a standard garage, or in an attic – basically, any place that could be very hot, wet, humid, or cold (yes, tires can actually freeze). Use caution when storing whitewall or white-lettered tires. If you stack the tires, stack white-to-white and black-to-black (white sides touching each other and black sides touching each other). This will help keep the white parts of the tire pristine and clean. And of course, if you used storage bags as mentioned earlier, this won’t even be a concern. We wish both you and your tires many long years of good health.