I recently saw a post from an RV owner who discovered something on the upper sidewall of a tire when doing a visual inspection.
He was calling this a “crack” and was looking for input from readers of that RV forum.
A number of readers chimed in with opinions ranging from “Time for NEW SHOES” and “That one is ready to throw some chunks” to a discussion on what was an acceptable spray tire protectant.
What is “curbing”?
The good news was that many recognized this damage as “curbing,” which can occur when trying to go over a curb at a low angle.
I have outlined the area I looked at which extends well past the obvious deeper damage, especially off to the right side where the tire just shows signs of surface scrubbing
If I could physically inspect this tire, I would take a close look at the right end (faint arrow) and confirm the suspect surface abrasion which would confirm there was no problem internal to the rubber.
Not all tire damage is from a tire “defect”
The owner did the right thing and had the tire inspected by a Michelin truck tire dealer. They confirmed there was no tire defect but that it was just curbing.
My advice to help prevent tire damage
When confronted with the need to “climb” a curb…
- Keep it as slow as possible, and
- Keep it as close to right angle as possible.
Roger Marble
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If you have tire questions, check out Roger’s Blog as well as his posts on RVtravel.com. There are hundreds of posts covering everything to do with tires.
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RVT1233
My problem is that the curbs jump out at the tires as I am making a turn. 😂
Thank you Roger. Everyone wants to blame the tire, when in fact 99% of the time it is the owner.