Truck tire problem

I have a 02 F 150 with the FX 4 package so it has the 17″ rims etc…

Anyway it only has 48,000 miles and the tires are origanal, they are the Goodyear RT S’s.

I noticed they are developing a crack in the rubber just outside the rim.

Anyone else see this?

Am I looking at tires failing in the near future?

All four have this “crack”? Does the crack spoke out from the rim or is it circular like the tire itself? What pound air-pressure are you running in them? Right off, it sounds like a tire-pressure thing to me, but I’m no expert. I’m sure there are some tire experts around here though!

Dry rot. It can happen to any tire, considering they’re a minimum of 7 years old and how many years in a warehouse before that? Not many miles so the tires have had their fair share of being parked in the sun/environment. Dry rot will come prematurely to tires that aren’t “treated” regularly, but how many of us do that?

Sunlight, environment, age, parked alot, heat and not to mention they’re a Goodyear RTS, man were mine garbage will all contribute to dry rot. You can still treat them to soften the rubber, it can help the appearance of the cracking but at this point would be cosmetic.

How many more miles are in the tires?? They can go along time with dry rot. But with dry rot around the bead and the fact it’s probably a tow vehicle which is extra tough on tires, sounds like time for a new set.

Good luck.

BIRDDOG

Sounds like dry rot to me too.. and I completely agree with the previous poster that the RTS tires are junk. They are round and they roll, thats about it.

If your getting dry rot, your tire is getting aged badly. You might be dealing with more serious problems soon like tread separation, etc. If you haul any weight at all, or trailer anything, I would change them out sooner than later. A new set of tires will treat you better this winter anyhow.

I run and check them regular for air pressure, factory rec., it spends most of its time in the garage.

I hear yah on the RTS , I a my budget for a new set, thinking of Firestone’s or Perreli’s

If it spends most of the time in the garage, I wouldnt put a high dollar set of tires on it unless its your primary tow, or hunting vehical. If its just taking a road trip here and there and not going through abuse.. Just about any passenger tire will take care of 50,000 miles in 5 years.

Everyone has their favorite tires. I like Bridgestone Revo’s the best. They are superior in traction to just about everything off road, and are great onroad with exceptional winter braking ability(big plus). The downfall of these tires are they tend to wear quickly with more agressive drivers, or on very heavy vehicles. Right now I am running BFG AT’s and they have good traction overall, but they are a little squirrley off-road(especially sand), but they keep on pushing the truck. The wet road traction sucks when they are new, but stick pretty good after a couple weeks of use. These tires also ride very rough compared to others, but the tread life is excellent overall on heavy trucks. The road noise isnt bad, but you will have a little more compared to passenger tires.

If your truck is a 1/2 ton and you do any trailering, or just want more miles out of your tires, I suggest going up to a D load range tire vs the C. They trailer much better, perform better, and dont give up too much ride quality.

I dont know which way to point you for road/passenger tires. I had a set of perelli’s on a chevy pickup in the past. They performed well on the road, ok for trailering… but I could get stuck in wet grass with 4wd if I wasnt careful.

Your better off with too much tire than not enough.

I do alot of towing and hauling stuff.

Don’t give up on Goodyear. The silent armours are awsome. Pretty quiet on highway and great traction off road. I’ve heard they outperform bfg’s in mud.
I’ve also witnessed these tires on red lake going thru snow and couldn’t believe it. I had conti’s on at the time and was stuck every 100 yards.

I second the Revos. Excellent tire. I am on my second set.

Everything David Scott says, I have experienced myself.

If you decide to get Revos, pm me and I can tell you the place to get the best deal by far.

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I run and check them regular for air pressure, factory rec., it spends most of its time in the garage.

I hear yah on the RTS , I a my budget for a new set, thinking of Firestone’s or Perreli’s

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Tires can crack from being stored near an electric motor. (air compressor, fan motor) The electric motor creates ozone, witch destroys rubber.