Took the truck in today for State inspection and oil change - got the dreaded call - tires are so dry-rotted that they can see the steel cord in the cracks! And these are not the originals - I had to replace them for the same reason six years ago. I told them to reject it (they put a rejected sticker on it and you can only drive it to be repaired) because even though that place is a tire shop and great general auto shop, they are high on tires. So, I went to Sam's Club and went out the door for $620. The same tires would've been $760 at the tire store.
On the original Hankook tires, one failed after eight years. I think I got a nail in it and didn't see the warning light on the dash due to its location vis-a-vis the steering wheel, the bright sunny day and me wearing shades, and I didn't feel anything. I was on a beltway doing 70 and when I took my exit ramp I knew I had a flat because of the rear end moving around. It was on the left rear and I got on the shoulder with no problem. The tire had a radial split in it - never saw that before - from the rim to the tread - and it never made a sound. So naturally, the first thing I did after getting the spare on was to get a set of tires. So here we go again! I knew they were cracked but I never saw any steel showing. BTW, both sets of tires basically had their full tread on them and looked new - you can't go by that - you have to really look them over and see the cracks.

 

That's how it goes with consumable items. Tires do expire. When has multiple factors including age of the tire when put in use and exposure to the elements. Here's a little tip that might help you get the most time/use out of them, check the sidewall stamp. It'll tell you when the tire was manufactured so you don't buy tires that are already old.

https://danthetireman.com/blog/artic...t-numbers-mean

 

'That's how it goes with consumable items. Tires do expire.'
No ****? I thought maybe it was just my tires.
Tires are attacked mainly by ozone and sunlight. This is my first really long-term vehicle and I never had tires 'dry rot' before the original ones on the truck, so I mistakenly thought maybe the BFGs I put on it after the Hankooks might last longer. I knew they were cracked but I didn't know that they would reject cracked tires that were holding air. Just think, in states that don't have State Inspections, people are driving around on time bombs like these all the time.

 

Oh yes, cracks will fail a safety inspection here too ... often why you see seldom use vehicles parked under sheds and often with the tires covered, even if only covered by home made plywood stand ups. You likely have let those cracked tires go to the landfill by now but would have been interesting to look at the back side.

My '07's original Perellie Scorpions started the cracking in about 2011, just near the bead on the outside. I bought a set of the same exact tires taken off a new '09 (from a poster here as I recall, he had replaced them with some desert tires and stored these) in about 2012 and within a year, put them on. In '19 they had developed sidewall cracking too so I went to Discount Tire and put a new set on .... Those from Kansas City, Mo. still had great tread, but the cracking kiled them.

I bought a new set of Bridgestone Dueler HTs for my '77 in 2004 to use to move a couple loads of family stuff to Georgia. On the way to get a trailer, the right front tire tread seserated. The old Sear's Roadhandlers were cracking bad too. They were 31/10.50-15s. I put the "B-stones" on new wheels, used them here a couple years and then put them in my basement after stumbling on a real deal on brand new tires, still blue on the letters (5 with off a totaled Chevy truck for $300) and put them on some old wheels, In 2019, they too were cracking at 10-12 years ... so before long I pulled those B-stones from 2004 out of the basement and put them back on the '77 as they still look new ... and them others are stacked up behind the shed, all have bad out side wall cracking but hold air and no cracks on the back side. Those "B-stones" still look new.

 

Anyone looking for replacement tires, the Nexen 'Roadian' has surprised the hell out of me. Got them at Sam's Club; 235-70/17, out the door for $585. These are the smoothest and quietest tires I've had on it including the originals. I felt pretty safe in getting the Nexens because I also just put a set on my CUV (different size/design) and they were just as impressive.
I was so happy with the truck I took it through the car wash, then did a 'quickie' detail on the exterior at home. Some 'quickie detail' tips: you need a long-handled soft bristle brush - I use mine a lot. Spray the brush with Lemon Pledge and apply it to your dry, washed wheels - wipe/buff off with a clean cotton or microfiber cloth. Clean the brush by washing or just wiping on a cloth and get out your tire shine spray - spray the brush and tire with it and use the brush to get it all over the tire evenly. After doing the wheels and tires, keep spraying the brush and use it to put the tire shine on all your exterior black plastic. Wipe the tire shine off the paint/glass with a soft cloth and now use glass cleaner to clean the glass inside and out.
The brush is important to me because I hate to spray anything on the wheels other than soap and water because it gets on the brake rotor - definitely don't want silicone and wax on the brake rotors!
Anyway, now the truck looks new and drives new.