Old Tire Question.

My 1960 cj5 came with four B.F. Goodrich Trailmaker Silvertown tubeless 9.5-14 tires. Before I got it, the Jeep was last registered in 1985 in the state of California. The tire sidewalls have cracks in some areas. All the tires hold air. My question is what do you think about driving on old bias ply tires? Just short slow trips around 30mph. Mostly want to drive it to a truck show a few miles away. I know that the newest they could be is 1985, but they may be older.

 

Ask your Life Insurance carrier, Auto Insurance carrier & State Vehicle Inspector!

I'm in farm country & rural roads--if I ever chose to use questionable tires I'd give them a controlled torture test, which would give some confidence.

Life has its risks--you need to decide the unnecessary. I have old tires on my hay wagons.

 

Personally i would (and did) drive tires like that on local roads with slow speed limits.

Probably not a good idea to get on the freeway.

 

Caution is good. But IMHO older tires were/are far more durable than recent ones.

New tires seem to "sun crack" is no time at all. (However this doesn't mean the cords will rot like they did in Model T days when they were made of cotton!)

I have a number of vehicles/trailers with tires near 50 years old and still holding air. Hell, the spare on my jeep still has the OEM 1956 air in it.

 

From my days 07-11 the roads in the western NY that were not highway had a good wide shoulder. I wouldn't go any faster than hi 2nd. Might even find an old implement to drag there or just poke along with hazards on.

I'm assuming you are looking at something this weekend but you should look for some road wheels.

 

It normally wears radial Super Swampers.....

 

Spray 'Em with Silicone & see if the cracks close up some. The old rubber is cry'n for some oil .

 

That will be mighty slippery when it rains!

 

The ones that i have on my cj5 have a little dry rot. Nothing major. I drive on them quite often and have never had an issue. Just keep an eye on them and for me personally, i keep them coated in tire wet. 1 for the obvious reasons and 2 to help soften the rubber up as much as possible. Mine was sitting for an unknown amount of time before i bought the Jeep. Long enough to grow moss on the entire body. Either way, its your vehicle and you know it better than any of us. I wouldnt go flying down the interstate in it but just around town, i wouldnt be puckered up too bad.

 

You Jeep has 14” rims? Postal wheels?
I wouldn’t drive on public roads with tires as old as you say they are. If you got into an accident, I wouldn’t want the liability of old tires. Also, If roads are wet, old tires have little to no traction due to hard rubber.
-Donny

 

I know this post is old but I just re-read it. My Jeep came with gold colored 14" wheels that probably are 10" to 12" wide. They have faded oval stickers on them and from what I can tell say something about "high flotation". The Jeep has some other off road modifications from I would think the 60's. You can see the tow bar/grill guard in my avatar.

 

Those wide 14” wheels with oval stickers are likely vintage dirt-track racing wheels. If this is the case, some of those can be very lightweight and not very rugged for Jeep use. You may want to look more closely at those rims depending on how you use your Jeep. They are also not likely to be DOT approved for road use and may not have safety beads.
-Donny

 

Ask yourself what your life and the life of your passengers and other people on the road is then let that be your guide. Would you skimp on your brakes or steering? Tires are in the same category.