Long Term Storage

[jmayaa]

I'm finished using my CT for the year.
I just use it for transporting racing karts in the summer.
I would like opinions as to what you all do about the tires.
I put new tires on this summer and I'm wondering if I should get the tires totally off the stones in my parking area, put boards under them, or just take some of the trailer weight off of them?
Thanks all,
Jeff in Hagerstown, MD

[Padilen]

I'd do both. Not all the weight but some of it.

[walkrdg]

Maybe someone will come up with some more technical information and we can both learn something, but, having lived in a fifth-wheel for a few years... here's what I do with my cargo trailer... My parking place is very limited and it's on dirt. I put boards under the tires, and then about every four months, I jack up the wheels, give a few spin rotations, and then drop them down again, making sure the tread on the boards is a different part of the tire. Then I check the tire pressure and keep that normal. I also keep the sun off the tires.

All of this is just my best guess and makes sense to me. Maybe it would be some sort of usefulness to lessen the pressure, but I can't see that helping the cords or the rubber - especially since I'm not putting the whole trailer on jack stands.

If somebody knows more or better, I'd be glad to hear it. I generally don't lose tires to wear-and-tear, I lose them to age.
Dave

[Gonefishin]

I just park mine. My parking area is pea gravel, and on the north side of my garage (outside) a little protected from the sun during the low season. That's it! It will sit for 6 months or so most likely. I haven't had any problems with flat-spotting. Its a cold winter with snow and ice, so maybe that helps? Hinders? Beats me. I've heard to just move it a few feet every few months to rotate the tire and change the flat spot, but I never seem to get around to it.

Not tire related, but I do keep the 12 volt battery charged through the winter and bring in electrical items like flashlights, co detector, water pumps, portable lights, etc.

I think the best solution is just to take a couple of winter camping trips someplace, preferably warm where there's no snow. "Honey, I need to go to Arizona for a week or so to take care of the tires on the trailer!" "I'm going to the west coast for a few days to get rid of the flat spot on the trailer tires."

[McDave]

I think the best solution is just to take a couple of winter camping trips someplace, preferably warm where there's no snow. "Honey, I need to go to Arizona for a week or so to take care of the tires on the trailer!" "I'm going to the west coast for a few days to get rid of the flat spot on the trailer tires." [/quote]

You're a GENIUS. I'm gonna have to use that one.
Thanks, McDave