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Home/Canvas, lift systems & towing/Tires with tread and a 2017 date code

my pop-up tires have most of their tread and a 2017 date code, is that actually a problem

SETUPOpened by weekend_camper_patNov 18, 2025in Canvas, lift systems & towing6 posts
weekend_camper_patOP Full hookup Kingman, AZ 34 posts, joined Nov 2025 2016 Flagstaff MACLTD, 2014 Toyota Tacoma
#1

Kingman Arizona, and i just crawled under the Flagstaff to check the tires before a winter trip to the desert. they have maybe 90 percent of the tread, look practically new, barely any miles on a camper that mostly sits. then i read the DOT date code on the sidewall and the last four digits are 2617, which means week 26 of 2017. so these are eight year old tires that look brand new. problem, or am i being paranoid.

i know the answer is probably replace them but i want the reasoning, because it feels crazy to throw away tires with full tread. convince me or talk me down.

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lift_cable_fix Seasonal Hannibal, MO 58 posts, joined Nov 2025 2010 Flagstaff 228D, 2013 Chevy Silverado 1500
#2

replace them, and it is not close. trailer tires, the ST type, age out on a calendar, not on tread. the rubber dries and the belts and the sidewall lose their bond whether you drive on them or not, and a camper that sits is actually worse because the tire sits loaded in one spot in the sun. eight years is two to three years past where i would trust one, full tread or not.

the reason it matters more on a pop-up than on your truck: when a trailer tire lets go it usually goes all at once at speed, and the flailing belt tears up the fender, the wiring and sometimes the canvas and the sidewall of the camper above it. i have seen a 40 dollar tire do 1,200 dollars of body damage on a folder. you are not buying tread, you are buying not replacing a fender in a rest area.

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mod_marcy_e Moderator Cody, WY 71 posts, joined Nov 2025 2015 Jayco Jay Series 1007, 2012 Ram 1500
#3

pat you already know the answer and lift_cable_fix gave you the why. the Arizona part makes it worse, not better. sun and heat age tires faster than anything, and a camper parked outside in Kingman is getting cooked. i replace trailer tires at five to six years down here in Wyoming where it is milder, so in your sun i would not run one past five.

when you buy, match the size and load range on the sticker on the camper, not just what is on there now, because people put the wrong ones on. and buy from a shop with fresh stock, check the date code on the new ones too, tires can sit in a warehouse for two years before you buy them.

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minivan_tow_dad Weekender Lancaster, PA 16 posts, joined Nov 2025 2018 Coachmen Clipper 128LS, 2017 Honda Odyssey
#4

carry a real spare and make sure it is not also eight years old, because everybody replaces the two on the ground and forgets the spare is the original from the factory. mine was. found out when i needed it.

also a cheap tire pressure monitor that screws on the valve stems is worth it on a trailer you cannot feel back there. a slow leak on a pop-up tire you do not notice is how you cook the good tire next to it and then lose both.

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weekend_camper_patOP Full hookup Kingman, AZ 34 posts, joined Nov 2025 2016 Flagstaff MACLTD, 2014 Toyota Tacoma
#5

talked into it, bought four, not two. matched the ST175/80D13 load range C off the camper sticker, and the new ones had a 2025 date code so they are actually fresh. did the spare too after minivan_tow_dad's warning, and sure enough the spare was the factory original from when the camper was built, older than the ones i was replacing.

the old ones, once i had them off, had fine cracks starting in the sidewall grooves you could not see until you flexed them. full tread, cracking rubber. glad they are in the scrap pile. added a screw-on pressure monitor while i was at it.

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aframe_over_canvas Full hookup Duluth, MN 31 posts, joined Nov 2025 2019 Aliner Ranger 12, 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee
#6

good outcome. for anyone searching this later who wants the official line and not just us: tire age and recalls and the date code reading are all laid out on the government safety site. the NHTSA pages explain the DOT date code and let you check whether your specific tire has an open recall, which is worth thirty seconds before a long tow. the week-and-year last four digits is the whole trick, 2617 is week 26 of 2017, like pat read it.

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Note tags

  • trailer tires
  • date code
  • ST tires
  • blowout
  • load range