A dime into a dollar

[ohiofarmer 3,276]

Well,it seems that everything in the last year and a half has doubled in price. Not our beloved tractors so much, .  but the stuff of life that you need to live like food ,clothing , and shelter.

 My electric doubled overnight as well as just about any hardware item or plumbing fitting.. I thought i found a real bargain in a bar of Zote soap at 75 cents a 14.1 ounce bar. That was  about a year and a half ago. I found the best price now at 1.38 and since i use it anyway, I am gonna go for a hundred bars.The rapidly shrinking size of soap is approaching hotel size stuff for 50 cents anyway.

    So I will give an example of a dime turned into a dollar. My sister gave me her late husband's truck for all the help I gave her. I call it my half hour trip truck because if you push the truck too hard, the transmission heats up and won't go into the right gear.. The tires were just plain rotten and finally I had an instant deflation to scare me into action. I looked online and anything that was a bargain came with scams attached,I started to shop retail and the best deal I could find was about eight hundred.That included the income tax and self employment social security as well as mounting fees and tire disposal requirements.  After all, when a price inflates, most people do not figure the extra sales tax and possibly your own inflation adjusted wages having more taxes to pay. Sales tax and fees alone on four tires a hundred forty.

   I called around to tire shops with the tire size specified on the truck, and was willing to get anything reasonably close, but it was call back later or I don't have four or some such thing.Finally, I decided to try a nearby parts yard that I had seen mounted sets of tires from people buying custom wheels and all the trade ins that result. Instant results over the phone and closer to factory spec than the old rotten tires I had.. I picked up four Cooper tires that came off an F-150. They were very nice indeed with no signs of edge feathering and at least 80% tread. $132.00 including sales tax.

I used the forks on the Bobcat to break the old tires loose and buffed away any rough spots from the inside of the wheels. Mounting tires by hand was not too bad, but did maybe cause muscle pain. The care I took mounting the tires have them holding air just fine . Gonna use balance beads to make them last as I have had good results from them. . So for less than a tire store and the government want from you in fees, I have a set of tires that will last that old farm truck and maybe me the rest of our lives. That's a dime into a dollar any day of the week.

[Achto 27,577]

It sounds like you don't drive this truck long distances. I would like to add a word of caution though. I put a used set of tires on my truck about 6yrs ago. Good/Year all terrain's, tread 80% or better, age unknown, prior rotation direction unknown. After about 10k miles the bands started to break inside one of the tires causing it to get large bulge spots. Put the spare tire on, with in the next 500 miles two of the other tires started to do the same thing. Since this experience I have decided not to buy used tires. 

[ebinmaine 67,516]

For a long time in my life I couldn't afford to buy new tires so used is what I got.

I had the advantage of working at car dealerships and I had techs that were friends who would install them for next to nothing or I was allowed to use the tire machines myself.

If it wasn't for that advantage and cost savings it wouldn't have been worth the time and trouble in my area.

I kept a half an eye on them all the time, used a careful selection process and believed what trusted sources told me about the tires I was getting and I had pretty good luck.

I only had one failure, a broken band, that I can honestly say was not influenced by my vehicle or environment.

 

 

Nowadays I drive too many miles to make a used tire worth the effort... But I can absolutely see the value for the right person in the right situation.

 

 

 

[ri702bill 8,324]

I got a pair of half worn take-offs for free from my wife's uncle once - put them on the front of my old Jeep pickup. Plowed thru the winter with no issues. I went to see my Mom one hot day in the summer - got off the highway ramp, onto the surface street and POW - the left front blows out. Got a new pair the next day....

[953 nut 55,248]

If a tire is ten or more years old get rid of it! Our street rod 1948 Ford was driven about 3,000 miles a year so tire ware was minimal. One fine day I was driving down an interstate and kept on seeing little things like marbles rolling down the road in my rear view mirror, looked ahead; nothing on the road, looked in the mirror and more marbles. Exited the highway and discovered that little chunks of tire tread were falling off. The tires were twelve years old but had plenty of tread (where it hadn't fallen off) so I went slowly down a secondary road until I found a tire shop. Couple hours later we were back on the highway with a new set of BFGs. 

[Kenneth R Cluley 515]

Always check the date code and if over 5 years expect problems!

[lynnmor 7,307]

36 minutes ago, Kenneth R Cluley said:

Always check the date code and if over 5 years expect problems!

Yes, do check the date code even if you buy "new" tires.  The 5 years can be highly variable depending on exposure to sun or abuse.

[ohiofarmer 3,276]

43 minutes ago, lynnmor said:

Yes, do check the date code even if you buy "new" tires.  The 5 years can be highly variable depending on exposure to sun or abuse.

The date code on the old tires that came on the truck is the sixth week of ,08. The ones I just bought are the 35th week of 2020. Thanks for the info that everyone can benefit from. 

    I believe what finally did the old ones in was hauling a few loads of wood heating pellets s ton at a time. 

 

[ohiofarmer 3,276]

Here are the old tires. Sidewalls are cracked some but the tread looks great. The second picture says it all.

   

[Stormin 9,981]

  That looks like a re-tread or re-mould to me.

  Getting two new tyres for my Hyundia Sata Fe tomorrow. £230 for the pair. Yep! Everything  thing is shooting up. Just had to have a new clutch fitted. That set me back £1500. It was the original one and 138,500 miles under it's belt. Also at the end of the month the road tax is due. Another £320 for the year.

  Government putting out a new budget soon. What's the betting fuel and road tax will go up? Think I'll start looking for a horse and trap. 

[ebinmaine 67,516]

14 minutes ago, Stormin said:

re-tread or re-mould

Not very likely over here Norm. That's a nearly non-existent business for anything other than a commercial tire. I can't speak for the laws on lighter vehicles but I do know on the heavy trucks I drive you can't use a retread unless it is in a dual setup. No single tires.

[Stormin 9,981]

It's the same here, Eric.