An RV parked for months develops flat spots before it develops tread wear — the weight resting on one contact patch sets a flat that thumps at speed even once the tire's warmed up. Oklahoma City Tire Shop looks at flat-spotting, age, and load rating before a trip, since these tires fail from sitting still, not from miles.
A motorhome doesn't put many miles on its tires in a year, and that's exactly the problem. One that sits in a driveway or storage lot from fall through spring is resting its full weight on the same four contact patches the whole time, and rubber compressed in one spot for months sets a flat spot that doesn't fully round back out — it shows up as a thump every rotation for the first several miles of the next trip, sometimes longer if the flat spot's set deep.
Load rating matters here more than it does on a car. The tire has to match the weight rating stamped on the vehicle's certification tag, not just the wheel size, and a tire that's technically the right diameter but the wrong load range will run hot and wear unevenly under a fully loaded rig long before it would on a lighter vehicle.
Why do parked RV tires need attention if the RV isn't being driven?
Two things work on a tire whether or not it ever turns a mile: sun and static weight. UV exposure breaks down sidewall rubber the same way it does on any tire left outdoors, and a motorhome's weight sitting on one contact patch for an entire off-season sets the flat spot described above. Both show up the same way — fine on a walk-around, then obvious the moment the RV gets back on the highway.
- Sidewall checked for UV cracking after months parked outdoors
- Contact patch checked for flat-spotting from static weight
- Load rating cross-checked against the vehicle's certification tag
- Inner and outer dual tires checked for matched pressure so the load actually splits evenly
When should tires get checked before a trip?
Sunday: Closed, so a departure planned for early Monday needs its tire check finished by Saturday's 7:00 PM close — not the morning of. Booking that Saturday slot a few days ahead, rather than the day before leaving, leaves room to actually source a tire if the load rating doesn't match instead of delaying the trip.
Can I still drive on tires with flat spots?
Usually, for a short distance — most flat spots from parking round back out after a few miles of driving as the rubber warms and flexes. A flat spot that doesn't round out after normal driving, or that's paired with visible cracking, means the tire needs replacing rather than just a warm-up drive.
Do all the tires on an RV need replacing at the same time?
Not necessarily, but on dual rear wheels the inner and outer tire need to be close in size and pressure so they share the load evenly — mismatched duals scrub against each other and wear faster than either would alone.
How far ahead of a trip should tires get checked?
A few days, not the morning of departure. That leaves time to source the right tire if the load rating doesn't match the vehicle's certification tag, especially heading into a Sunday when the shop is closed.