Heads up on buying Used Escapes!!!!!!!!

[Chasing Trials]

I'm stuck on the side of the road on 40 in Eastern Tenn. With the 2nd flat in 2 days. I POINT BLANK asked the guy I bought my 2013 E19, what WAS the AGE of the tires! No date on them & they "Looked" good. "Oh, 2=3 yrs".


So I'm asking. What were/are the tires sold my ETI in 2013? I'm now thinking they are ORIGINAL!!!!!! And he LIED THROUGH HIS TEETH!!!!! I'm carry no water, but warm, I had older tires fail on my Rialta in warm weather..........WHY I ASKED HIM!!!!!!


Trying to get home after dashing out to Wis. with my Father dying. Not really set up for trips yet.


Ask for Recipts/Proof.

[Donna D.]

All tires since the year 2000 have a date code stamped in the sidewall. Do you know what to look for and how to read the date code?


Sorry for the loss of your father and the problems you are having trying to get home.

[Iowa Dave]

There is an oval raised area on the sidewall of the tire about an inch long and 3/8 inch wide. There will be four numbers stamped in the oval. The first two numbers represent the week of the year when the tire was made and will be between 01 and 52. Say the first two numbers are 14. That
would equate to about the middle of April. The second two numbers are the last two numbers in the year the tires were made. 13 would be 2013.

Back in 2013, Escape basically took whatever tires came with the frame. They varied in manufacturer. Frequently someone would post “When did Escape change tire brands?” In addition Escape would pull those tires off and replace them with the brand of your choice and you could pay the difference. Some tires were made in the USA and some were made in China. When Chinese tires blew out they were referred to as China Bombs. The milage that they would last varied greatly. Some folks had good luck with say Carlyle (sp?) tires and some folks did not. Inflation, roads they were run on, rotation, alignment, load, heat and balance were just some of the factors that came into play.


Sorry to hear you’re having a hard time. There’s an lot of opinions on tires and what is the best way to go. I do my own research and buy what I want and do not question or criticize the choices others make. I’ve had good luck with Goodyear Endurance and before that Goodyear Marathons. Others had poor luck with Marathons and went to Maxiss etc.

I think all this info is correct but would welcome correction if I’m mistaken. I’m not a real good historian. Wish I was closer and could help you.
Iowa Dave

[diannelgraham]

Originally Posted by Chasing Trials

I'm stuck on the side of the road on 40 in Eastern Tenn. With the 2nd flat in 2 days. I POINT BLANK asked the guy I bought my 2013 E19, what WAS the AGE of the tires! No date on them & they "Looked" good. "Oh, 2=3 yrs".


So I'm asking. What were/are the tires sold my ETI in 2013? I'm now thinking they are ORIGINAL!!!!!! And he LIED THROUGH HIS TEETH!!!!! I'm carry no water, but warm, I had older tires fail on my Rialta in warm weather..........WHY I ASKED HIM!!!!!!


Trying to get home after dashing out to Wis. with my Father dying. Not really set up for trips yet.


Ask for Recipts/Proof.

Sorry to see on your post on Facebook your Dad passed, my condolences. On buying anything used I usually don't believe anything the seller says it's called puffing. You need to know how to assess what you are buying and if you can't bring an expert with you. I've bought things used in the past and then kicked myself for a bad buy. Tires are easy to replace and I replace mine every 3 to 4 years cheap insurance on something bad happening. Good luck on moving forward you will be fine and so many adventures coming your way, camp on

[Mike G]

Let us know if you find the date code (as described by Iowa Dave) and what it says; you have aroused our curiosity.

[camp4528]

No one has mentioned that the brake controller/brake systems may cause tire problems by locking up the wheels, but with two blowouts in a short time you should eliminate that as a possible source of the problem.

[Chasing Trials]

Originally Posted by Mike G

Let us know if you find the date code (as described by Iowa Dave) and what it says; you have aroused our curiosity.

Yup, the was put on the inside, but found it on the shredded one put on spare's rack...............which when it was the same as the other 4,when I put it up ......... 12 13. So people can PM me on more info.

[Iowa Dave]

That code date would equate to the tires being built during the third or fourth week in March in 2013. Depends on the tire companies interpretation of the calendar or work schedule. The upshot is that your tires are well over 9 years old almost 9 1/2. This is considered well past that legitimate usable lifespan of tires. It is my practice to replace all 5 tires on the tandem axle trailers and then rotate the spare in. I like to rotate at about 8.000 miles. That way I get the good out of the spare and can depend on it not aging out because I “forgot” about it.
I had five tires this spring that were new in 2017. They were worn to 5/32 inch tread on the tread depth gauge. I did not pay for tire disposal at $5.00 a tire but instead stopped by the used tire shop in Cedar Rapids I got money for the used trailer tires I think it was $35 for all 5. The guy looked at them and said, “Goodyears, I can sell these easy”. That’s a $60 swing in my favor. These tires all had 32,000+ miles in them.
Just an idea for all.
Good luck on your new tires whatever you decide to go with. If you don’t have a tread depth gauge and a good tire pressure tester I would definitely look into getting them and using them.
Also I went with all new all metal stems on the wheels so I could put my TPMS setup on them without worrying about deflection cracking the rubber stems. YMMV
Iowa Dave

[DT6]

Originally Posted by camp4528

No one has mentioned that the brake controller/brake systems may cause tire problems by locking up the wheels, but with two blowouts in a short time you should eliminate that as a possible source of the problem.

I whole heartedly endorse this recommendation. We got several years out of the stock Ranier tires (don't recommend them as a replacement however) that came with the trailer. But early this year we were turning left off of a small two lane highway and a guy at the stop sign on the road we were turning on started honking his horn.

We stopped and rolled down the window to talk to him and he said there was smoke coming from the tires as we braked to slow down and turn. At the time I had no idea that the brakes were not self adjusting.

I pulled over and sure enough I had several almost bald spots on my tires. So I re-adjusted my brake controller settings and fortunately we were reasonably close to home and were able to get there without incident.

So in addition to new tires we also had the brakes adjusted by a nearby RV dealer with a good reputation.

While your tires were definitely too old, I can't help but speculate that your trailer brakes locking up may be a contributor to the blowouts. So with new tires, you also need to adjust your brakes, and depending on use, do this every year or so and probably a good idea to do that along with an annual wheel bearing repack.

For tires, we went with Caryle. It seems (my guess here) that about a third of Escape owners buy Caryle and about 2/3 seem to prefer Endurance. You can go with the stock tire brand Ranier, but almost everyone on the forum seems to universally dislikes the brand. We were getting ready to list our trailer for sale and I (unlike your seller apparently) could not conscience putting Raniers on the trailer even though it would have saved us $100+ or so. We are switching to a 21C and the last thing I want is to see the buyer of our 19 at the next rally and have them cuss me out for putting cheap tires on it. Even before the brake adjustment issue, the Raniers seemed to wear pretty fast.

The Caryle tires I purchased at Amazon were delivered promptly and the date on the tires was earlier this year, so they were less than 6 months old and had not been sitting in a warehouse somewhere for years dry-rotting. I also used Amazon Prime and verified that these tires had a "free return", which I would have used if they were more than a year old. We had them installed at a local Firestone dealer. I had to remove them myself and it took two trips to Firestone (I could only jack up one side at a time), but they were very accommodating even though it took the better part of a day. If you don't want to remove them yourself, I'd ask the tire dealer if they will do it for you if you tow the trailer in.

Here is the link for the tires I purchased:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Wish you the best on getting new tires, but for your safety please do not ignore having the brakes adjusted.

[Rossue]

Carlisle Tires were Escape's OEM for a long time. Ours lasted about two years. I don't believe in getting down to 2/32 on any tire- especially a trailer tire. Next went to Maxxis and they were a little better; had two sets of those. At least they are made in Thailand- not China. Am now on the second set of Endurance tires and they too wear about the same, yet I do have some confidence in their mfg process- made in USA- and don't worry about a sudden blow out.

Those Amazon Carlisles at $83.69 ea work out to an approximate out the door price of at least $464 with a 9% tax and 20/tire mounting, plus you gotta lug them down to a tire store and look cheap by not buying their tires. If WA is like CA there is at least a $10 disposal fee for the four tires too.

My local tie store- called The Tire Store sold me my first set of Endurance for $450 OTD. Just bought the new set for $500 OTD. Discount/America's Tire for the same set is $697. I only see list price when searching on the internet for these tires- hmmm. Anyway it pays to know a good tire shop IMO.

[DT6]

Originally Posted by Rossue

... plus you gotta lug them down to a tire store and look cheap by not buying their tires.

Glad you could find a place in your town that had them in stock. I could not, and the brands that were available around town were not what I preferred.

The local Firestone did not have the Caryles in stock, were having trouble getting them, and were glad to work with me since they did not want the trailer towed there.

No disposal fee in OR (or at least at this dealer), so my cost was $425 out the door, plus I tipped the kid who did the tires $20 since they probably don't make much and he even adjusted the PSI to what I requested.

So you can just imagine how "embarrassed" I was bringing tires into a local business who was glad to have me there, and said so.

Now, if I could just manage somehow, some way, to not feel ashamed every time I drive by the place that was glad to have me there....

[Rossue]

Sorry if I offended you- sincerely. I was just trying to point out that supporting local businesses is viewed by many as costing them more at check out. I was a cell phone dealer for 20 years and some people always thought they would get a better deal at the Box stores. It wasn't true.

I have a yelp posting about the SLO America's Tire and what scheming & dishonest tactics they engage in. I worked back in the day with a Firestone Tire alum who said their motto was : "Stick it in & break it off". Sorry too if I sound biased against Box stores- I generally have no use for them, except Costco, however I would NEVER buy tires from them. Too little selection, a major hassle to deal with and the prices aren't any better than The Tire Store.

My tire store did have to order them, as they also did for two sets of Continental tires for my Expedition & Lexus. 2-3 days; no problem.

In Salem I see that Bob's OK Tire Store gets 4.5 stars on Yelp with 333 reviews. Ever check them out: first review; "Always get top notch service and great deals!!! Needed new tires and was in and back on the road in no time flat! Highly recommend stopping in and saying hello." Sounds like my tire store too.

[DT6]

[Iowa Dave]

I posted several times regarding how satisfied I was with a Goodyear tire store in my home town. I had dealt with them for several years when we got the first Escape. Always had good service with no pressure to upgrade/upsell me. A Canadian friend with a TA Escape came the Mississippi Rally. He was in need of new tires. Then would be headed back to Canada. I called my tire guy for him, got an installed price, Made sure he had fresh tires etc. The Friend stopped on his way north, got his tires and headed back to Canada. Rex the tire guy thanked me for the referral. People helping people is what it’s all about with me.
Iowa Dave

[John in Santa Cruz]

Sadly, the formerly great family owned since 1940 tire store in my town sold out to a chain last year, the management mostly retired, and service promptly went to the birds. Thankfully, a number of the employees including the shop manager opened their own place not far away that is getting great reviews. I've not needed tires from them yet, but that's where I'm going next time.

[Mike G]

I tend to change my tow vehicle's tires at 5/32, or 4/32 at the latest, because I want to ensure good traction. I don't feel like the trailer tires are so critical for traction, though, since the tow vehicle is taking care of most of that. So I'll let my cargo trailer tires go until about 2/32. But we don't have much heavy rain and hardly any snow where I am, so that plays into the decision.


Buying anything used is always "caveat emptor," buyer beware. The nicest-seeming people will 'stretch the truth' far beyond recognition, both in their minds and out of their mouths, when it comes to money.

[reetired]

Sorry about your dad and that you’ve had two flats in two days.

Tires may look good and have a lot of tread left but the age is the concern. A lot of precious cargo is riding on them. If you buy something used and can’t locate the date? Change them no matter what! Peace of mind, your safety and the safety of others on the road.

Doesn’t make the situation better for you.

[John in Santa Cruz]

My trailer tires have the date stamps on the INSIDE where you can't readily see them :-/

[Iowa Dave]

I couldn’t for sure remember which side they were on or if it was both sides. I think they have to be on the sidewall by law but I know they are not always easy to see.
Iowa Dave

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

I couldn’t for sure remember which side they were on or if it was both sides. I think they have to be on the sidewall by law but I know they are not always easy to see.
Iowa Dave

its just that all 4 of my tires were mounted with the code side on the inside. dunno why.