My truck is an 03 and these are the original tires. I just turned 40K on the truck and while I was underneath the truck inspecting things getting ready to bring it for a CA smog test I noticed the sidewalls are cracking all around. Anyone had theirs cracked? Is the tires still safe or is it an explosion waiting to happen? I have about 2/3 thread left on these tires. When truck is empty I run roughly 65 -70 psi in them. When fully loaded with a camper 75 psi.

links to the images:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ramrat35...39984253209682
http://picasaweb.google.com/ramrat35...40325563778850

 

I just replaced the 5 year old factory rugged trails on my 2006 because of sidewall cracks. 6 years from date of mfg is the max recommended life for tires these days. I would replace those 7-8 year old ones ASAP, especially if you are hauling a camper. Some may say that 6 years is overcautious and the numbers are pushed by people who want to sell tires, but I've seen tires crack and fail after as little as 4 years here in AZ.

 

I would replace those tires. I just went through a tread separation on my truck. Fortunately, I caught it as the tire was turning egg-shaped and before it blew up when I noticed a slight thumping as I was driving. Otherwise, I would have torn my dually fenders up or worse.

I had decent tread left on this tire. Those cracks on your tire are indications that the rubber is deteriorating and you are taking a chance. 40K out of stock tires isn't bad. I thought I would get another 5K or so out of my tires, and in retrospect it was a stupid idea. I was pulling a loaded gooseneck horse trailer when this happened.

 

That's a lot of age for some tires. Added with sidewall cracking, I would not trust them at all.

 

thanks for all the replies. I will get them replaced asap. Whats interesting is that those cracks were on the inside (back side) of the tires. On the front side I have been putting protectant on and doesn't show any cracking. I would have not noticed the cracks (and in fact I had the tires rotated recently and aligned and the shop didn't notice them either) if I had not crawled underneath the truck. I have enough tread to go at least another 40K which is whats sad...

 

Yep, agreed it's time to replace due to age. And you are correct about the mileage you could have gotten out of those tires. I just replaced my original BFG Rugged Trails with 97k miles on them with a brand new set.

 

I had all 4 replaced under warranty because of cracking. They were only 1 year old and had 30k on them.

 

i had those rugged trails on an 03 and they cracked and the sidewalls broke down had 45000 on truck and and my tire store here called dodge and they were deffective tires,dodge warrentied them cuz they are a 50000mi tire and i got bfgs for free,its worth a try.