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Used Tires


fm2176

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Just a precautionary tale...  Shortly after becoming a Drill Sergeant my truck started having a "death wobble", prompting me to begin replacing the suspension components as I had time.  Two years later, I need only to replace the control arms and ball joints.  The death wobble is long gone, though.

 

Anyway, in need of an alignment, I decided to simply go with used tires until my Drill time was over and I could maintain my truck as I used to.  Upon wearing out the front tires, I began replacing them, with about a 66% success rate until yesterday.  The first tire I bought was fine, the second broke its belt a couple of weeks after getting it, and the third worked well enough until I had it mounted on the spare rim yesterday.  Which leads me to the focus of this thread.

 

My move was a mess, as the rental truck company has a massive shortage of 26' trucks.  I drove over 150 miles to pick up a truck a day late and had two days to load and clean the apartment.  In the meantime, my brother insisted that I get another used tire for the right front, as the used Terra Grappler was nearly down to the secondary rubber.  He did the legwork and found a set of four Wranglers with decent tread for $80, though we lacked the time to have any mounted.  It's a good thing we didn't mount any before the almost 1000 mile drive.  I finally had one mounted on the 4th and had zero issues with road noise or vibrations.  Yesterday found me driving to pay a deposit on a rental house and after about twenty miles at highway the tire I'd just had mounted blew out without warning, breaking the fog light mount, bending the bumper, and taking a little paint from the fender.  It could have been much worse, and honestly, I knew better having been a "tire guy" before enlisting.  Even so, the tire went from riding perfectly to having a complete sidewall failure with no warning whatsoever.

 

I stopped by Walmart and got a couple of new Wranglers for the front on the way back.  I had the money before leaving Georgia but lacked the time and let my brother talk me into getting those four used tires.  Needless to say, the three I didn't use were tossed as they weren't worth the risk.  So, $80 in junk used tires, a need to order to a $65 fog light bracket, and a bit more character to my truck taught me a lesson: used tires simply aren't worth it if you are putting any real demands on them.  The Wrangler that blew out might have lasted indefinitely on city streets, but the speed and heat of the interstate were too much to ask of it.

 

Anyway, consider this a PSA of sorts.  There's no telling what kind of life a tire spent prior to putting your life in its hands, unless that tire is new from a reputable shop.  I, for one, will never buy another used tire.  

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I've done used tires before, I feel that if you have a good shop with a good owner, you'll be fine. I luckily have one, he's the best. I just bought new tires from him not that long ago. Sometimes times are tough and in those times a small business owner that is a straight shooter that won't upsell you is your best friend.

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