How to Keep Tires on Stored Vehicles from Dry Rotting

When you keep a vehicle stored at your vacation home, it often sits for months at a time.

Tires tend to dry rot and develop flat spots from sitting in one place. The flat spots cause bumps and vibrations when driving. Dry rotted tires could blow out at any time.

Bock Auto in The Hamptons, NY provides tire replacement, balancing, and rotation for those who have issues with tires after leaving them to sit for a while.

To prevent damage to tires, you can take steps to minimize tire dry rotting and damage.

Use Tire Covers

If your garage has windows, the sun gets in and will eventually cause dry rot on the tires. Dry rot happens when the oils and resins in the rubber dry out.

You can leave the tires on the vehicle but wrap them with tire covers. The covers will keep the sun’s damaging rays from dry rotting the tires.

Make sure the tires are dry and clean before covering them. If tires are muddy, the mud lifts the oils and resins out during drying, causing dry rot.

Preventing Flat Spots

Motor vehicle tires develop flat spots if they sit with the car or truck’s weight on them. 

If you plan to go away on vacation for 2 or 3 months, leave your vehicle on blocks and remove the wheels. Stack them in a corner and cover them with a tarp to keep the sun off if you have windows in the garage.

Removing the wheels keeps the weight off the tires, making it harder to develop a flat spot. 

Storing the wheels on their sides is best. But if you have to set them side by side on the tread, they won’t likely develop flat spots in a few months since the vehicle’s weight is not on them.

Stored tires are still susceptible to dry rot. The best way to store them is in airtight containers or bags. Keep the environment as airtight as possible since oxygen contributes to dry rot.

While the flat spot will eventually go away, it’s annoying when you take a few trips. You can easily prevent flat spotting by keeping the weight off the tires when not driving the vehicle.

Contact Bock Auto

Contact Bock Auto in The Hamptons, NY for tire service or auto repair for seasonal and European vehicles. Call us at (631) 267-5631 for an appointment.