towing with old tires? help needed

Risk and Reward only you can decide.
If it were me; I would not think twice about replacing early, especially given the circumstance. I do the same with batteries, I see no point in taking the risk, so I replace early.

 

Life costs money. Some things cannot be put off until they actually break, like running out of eggs on Sunday morning.

 

When I was in my 20's I took a chance on everything. Now I'm in 70's and "smarter" lol.
I don't chance and if thinking about replacing the important things like brakes, tires and battery.
Saving a buck isn't always worth it especially if loved ones are with you and depending on you.

 

"Smarter", also called "too many bruises and lost teeth". Do not ask me how I know ...

 

Probably in a minority, but I would just use these tires to make the tow, then replace upon arrival. This is if they're under 7 years old, and over 4/32nd tread depth. I do tires for a living- generally if you're under that 7 years/ over 4/32nd, youll be fine.

 

I have to agree.

 

Like Dirty Harry said; you feel lucky punk?

 

Just put Michelin Defender LTX MS tires on this past weekend. Best riding truck tire I've ever had (on my personal vehicle or the near hundred fleet vehicles I have maintained). Got 25.4 MPG on my first trip which was around 70 miles at 60mph including the mountains in NH.

 

I'm not one to use tires right down to the legal minimum. I always replace mine when they still have some legal tread left. Once tires get down to about 1/2 of the tread they started with performance on wet pavement is compromised. I can't afford to replace them at the half way point every time.

It also depends on the season and other factors. Any tires that are borderline get replaced in October for me. If they are borderline in Spring or summer I may push things a little longer. But before a long trip like this I'd replace them.

 

I'll try to squeeze all the life I can out of tires. However, all terrains are different than highway tires - by the time they're down to the bars they are way overdue.

By standard the bars sit at 2/32, which is the legal minimum. Most ATs have lost significant stopping performance by the time they reach 4/32, sometimes even 5/32. If an AT is even with the bars, they were toast a couple thousand miles ago.

Nevermind even. If you can even see the wear bars (without really having to search for them), start pulling prices, and start checking weekly with ye olde quarter test. My definition of last minute is when one out of four tires starts kissing the top of George's head. I don't wait for there to be daylight above his noggin.

If you're asking, you know. You've already noticed the subtle change in traction.

If it were me, I'd buy before the move.

 

you don’t say how old your tires are. You are not at the ware limit yet, but you’re getting close.

I’ll look at it this way, you asked the question so you have a doubt about the tires you currently have. If I were in your situation, I would get the new tires before the move. that’s a pretty long distance to tow a trailer with tires that I have doubts about

 

Want an adventure? Run well worn tires during a move. It is right up there with running out of gas.

 

Splurge, get a nice set and enjoy the drive.

 

It will give you a reason to post pictures!

 

This, exactly. For me, if winter is looming large and the tread depth is dwindling, time for new skins.

 

That was my logic living in Ohio. Even NC can have not-nice seasons. And Arizona has monsoon season late summer ... no place is safe from "here comes the shit-weather".

 

I don’t think you have given enough information for anyone to give you a decent recommendation. Give us more info on the tire specs, tire condition, trailer tongue weight, expected weather conditions, and the amount of towing experience you have.

My hunch is that you are worrying about nothing. Assuming you do not encounter snow with bald tires, what’s the worse thing that could happen? Tire blowouts are quite rare. The worse thing I can think of is a flat. If you have a good spare, that’s not an emergency situation. It might be annoying though.

 

hahaha

im going to get them now. prob go with the ridge grapplers again.

 

prob find a 17" rim to put an old tire on for the spare. then they be same size.

 

You don't actually need to have the wheel of the spare to be the same diameter as the main wheels, jut have a tire with the same outside diameter will suffice. As for buying a wheel, you have lots of options there, if you are planning on using it only as a spare, I see you can buy a 17" steel wheel from fleabay for $84.