Seasonal Tire Storage

[cp64]

Question for those with winter/summer tires. I have a tire rack for seasonal tires. Loaded them up last year no problem. New car this year and have wheels/tires for an easier swap. They are damn heavy! How do you all lift these heavy tires on your wall racks???? Mine is 7 feet off the ground to provide space for other stuff.

For now, I've resolved to just stack them on my garage floor. Next year, I may let a tire store keep them for me.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Tire stores here will not keep them for us. I have a rack over my work bench. What a pain to get them so high. Normally I get up on a ladder and put them up that away.

 

[nadogail]

How can you be sure you get your tires returned to you?

 

[Cyberbear]

Use a small rope winch and pull the tires and rims to where you want them. Or, stack them like pan cakes on the floor.

 

[151marker]

How can you be sure you get your tires returned to you?

This skepticism is why the shop I work at quit storing. 9/10 said thier tires had more tread. We wrote thier name on them. Everyone thinks they're getting taken.

 

[James-W]

I have a question on this seasonal tire issue. Tires don't last forever, they become unsafe after so many years even if they are not used due to things like dry rot. How many years can you reasonably expect to get out of "Winter tires" before they become a danger to use? Would you really come close to wearing down the tread before the tires are bad?

 

[JettaGetUpandGo]

I have a question on this seasonal tire issue. Tires don't last forever, they become unsafe after so many years even if they are not used due to things like dry rot. How many years can you reasonably expect to get out of "Winter tires" before they become a danger to use? Would you really come close to wearing down the tread before the tires are bad?

You will not get more than four seasons out of a set of winter tires. I typically will only get three years. Dry rot is not an issue in this time frame.

 

[matt_i]

You need to work out in the offseason.

 

[awdblazer]

 

[Blk88GT]

Mine are 8ft up. I use a ladder.

 

[James-W]

You will not get more than four seasons out of a set of winter tires. I typically will only get three years. Dry rot is not an issue in this time frame.

I would not have thought that to be the case, I figured it would be a lot different. What I mean by that is, around here we get about 3 months of Winter each year where snow tires/Winter tires would be good to have. That means if swap tires for the Winter months, for every 4 years of actual time you would get 1 full year (12 months) of use on the snow tires/Winter tires. So if a set of snow tires/Winter tires were to last for 3 full years in actual time, that would mean you should get 12 years worth or Winter driving with them. That's why I thought dry rot would be an issue, but apparently I would be dead wrong on my thinking. I learned something new again today, and before 9am too. I love this forum!!!

 

[BMW Rider]

My rack is beside my four post lift so I use it to do the heavy lifting. Toss the tires onto the ramp, raise lift, then all I have to do is move them over onto the rack. Of course it does mean having to move my Mustang outside off the lift.

 

[E.rodz]

thought of a great idea i should implement myself. use a sliding polebarn door track fasten it to the ceiling over your tire storage and use a bicycle rope pulley system to hoist and hold them up. then you could just slide the pulley down the rail to the next one when your done with the first one.

 

[Dropspeed]

Forr the last 14 years mine are stored 8 feet overhead. I pick up the 18" Chrysler wheels/tires and then carry them up a latter.....But I leave the 20" Grand Cherokee wheels with 285/50/20 tires on the ground for now as they are much heavier. I will be moving soon and will come up with a solution closer to the floor in the future.

In MI, I usually get about 4 years/seasons from snow tires.

-Matt

 

[jonw9]

A ladder. At some point maybe it will become too much work, so I will switch to all-seasons. Lol.




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[JettaGetUpandGo]

I would not have thought that to be the case, I figured it would be a lot different. What I mean by that is, around here we get about 3 months of Winter each year where snow tires/Winter tires would be good to have. That means if swap tires for the Winter months, for every 4 years of actual time you would get 1 full year (12 months) of use on the snow tires/Winter tires. So if a set of snow tires/Winter tires were to last for 3 full years in actual time, that would mean you should get 12 years worth or Winter driving with them. That's why I thought dry rot would be an issue, but apparently I would be dead wrong on my thinking. I learned something new again today, and before 9am too. I love this forum!!!

I'm from the same area. Usually my snow tires go on around Thanksgiving and come off very late March (4 months). The compound is significantly softer than a typical all season tire and will wear much more quickly. Combined with that, the tires are no longer useful in snow once they reach a certain tread depth (while there is still plenty of tread for normal use remaining). A lot of people will continue to use the tires for the following summer once they reach this point.


On the topic of the thread, I just stack my wheels in the corner of the garage with cardboard underneath and a piece of cardboard between each wheel/tire. I have a hard enough time lifting the 21" wheels for my Touareg from the ground to the hub of the car or onto the stack in the corner, much less 8' above my head!

 

[Off-Street Parking]

This skepticism is why the shop I work at quit storing. 9/10 said thier tires had more tread. We wrote thier name on them. Everyone thinks they're getting taken.

It happened to my wife. Her parents gave her their two-season-old snow tires after they changed cars, and we picked them up from the dealership where they were stored. I remember thinking the rubber seemed awfully hard for snow tires... And when we went to have them mounted, the tire shop refused to mount them because the tires were in fact nine years old.

The paperwork we had just had their name, the tire brand/model, and the size... Not serial numbers. So there was no way they could prove that those weren't the same tires they had put into storage.

It's too bad that shady dealerships like those had to ruin it for your shop.

 

[wyo george]

Our winters last 6-8 months so I just run snow tires year round. My truck hardly gets used in the warmer months anyway since I ride my motorcycles whenever possible. Works for me


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[ct03911]

Mine go in the basement in individual heavy leaf bags stacked on a dolly.
It's hard enough lugging them around the house and down there!

 

[workhurts]

12 wheels/tires to change ... bringing them up from the basement was not fun. Gotta wash the summers and take them down into the basement this weekend. I'd rather not keep them in the garage because I think the tires would prefer a climate controlled environment.

What we do for our cars ...

 

[pmiranda]

We don't get winter here, but we do keep several spares up on high storage and I use either a 6 foot step ladder or a tall stepstool to go up and get them, and I avoid walking all the way up and down with each wheel by handing them off to somebody on the ground or setting them on top of the trash bin.

 

[ambenz]

I made a X pallet out of 1x6 board and screwed 1x1 pads on the pallet, with carpet square on the pads. I stack my tires pancake style, on the X pallet in the corner of the shop.

Since the shop is 55F in the winter and temperature controlled, no issues with storing them in the garage.
I have had my winter tires and rims since 2009, they are still like new.

 

[MWitte]

This is how I store my summer tires. Stack them in the living room on a round dolly with casters, and put a glass circle on top!

 

[JettaGetUpandGo]

I'd rather not keep them in the garage because I think the tires would prefer a climate controlled environment.

My logic behind this is the car with wheels/tires mounted is not in a climate controlled environment 365 days a year, so it makes little to no difference if the wheels/tires are stored in the garage or in the basement.

Do you by chance have a Cayenne Turbo S?

 

[JJThrasher]

I have a twelve tire rack in the barn and a loft for the rest. Pretty easy to build a rack yourself out of wood. We also store customer's wheels and tires at work. However we don't offer that service to just anyone. One of the special perks for special people.

 

[tdkkart]

This thread begs the question, "How can the wheel/tire combos we run today, that weigh a TON be a good thing??"

I sold the Dodge Challenger I had this fall, the rear wheels were 20"x10" with 275/40 tires. They weighed an ungodly amount, probably more than the tires on my truck(265/18s). This seems like a LOT of rotating and unsprung weight hanging out there. I realize there are some advantages handling wise etc, but there are also some disadvantages, like the damn thing road like a lumber wagon on anything but the smoothest roads.
Seems like every car on the road is this way now, even our Camry has 17" wheels and they're not light by any means either.

I also see a time coming where the tire manufacturers and dealers are going to slim down the literally HUGE selection of tires they have to keep on hand. It used to be 13,14 or 15", now it's 15,16,16.5,17,18,19,20,22 etc and in a ridiculous variety of widths and profiles. At some point they're gonna put their foot down and say "nope not gonna do it", and if you happen to have a car that doesn't have one of the common sizes, you're gonna be screwed.

 

[pmiranda]

Larger diameter wheels allow larger brakes, but beyond 18" I think it's probably wasted. It's really all about style, because any advantage in stiffness of the tire sidewall below about a 35 series tire is harder than anybody would run their damper/spring stiffness on the street.
I have one car with 19" wheels and the tires are never in stock. I replaced the fronts when they got bent from a pothole and now have spares at home since it takes days to get new ones.

 

[James-W]

I'm from the same area. Usually my snow tires go on around Thanksgiving and come off very late March (4 months). The compound is significantly softer than a typical all season tire and will wear much more quickly. Combined with that, the tires are no longer useful in snow once they reach a certain tread depth (while there is still plenty of tread for normal use remaining). A lot of people will continue to use the tires for the following summer once they reach this point.

I understand what you are saying and it makes sense. But one thing I would like to add, the wife and I do very little driving in the Winter months compared to the Spring, the Summer and the Fall months. In the nicer weather we go visit family and friends, maybe take a trip or two, take a drive to see the leaves when they change color, stuff like that. In the Winter months when we have snow and ice, we tend to stay home and read books, or work on little projects in the garage. We tend to drive only when we really need to, and then it is to go to the store for groceries or to the Post Office, places like that. I bowl Tuesday mornings and Thursday evenings, but that is right in town here. Anyway, long story short, we put very few miles on the cars during the Winter months. But then again, we are both retired so we don't have to go to work every day so that will make a big difference in the number of miles we drive during the Winter.

 

[cp64]

Thanks for all the feedback on the post. I have 245/18's. I could probably get them up on the rack with some effort and creative lifting. But I'm past 50 and not getting any younger. At some point I'll just say the heck with it and drive all seasons.


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[zmotorsports]

My last truck (1986 Suburban) I had a summer set of tires/wheels and a winter set of tires/wheels. The wheels were my main concern. I had polished aluminum wheels that I ran in the summer and did NOT want to run them in the winter due to the salt, sand and brine **** they run on our streets and how they will destroy a nice set of aluminum wheels. I ran factory wheels with similar tires on them in the winter and stored them in a rack about 10' off the ground in my shop. I did that for the 14 years I had my Suburban and although it was a PITA, I sold it with the same wheels that I put on it when I originally built the truck. Usually ran the winter tires/wheels between mid-November thru about late March, then switch over to my nice polished aluminum ones.

When I purchased my 2006 Duramax in 2008 I was going to do the same thing but I went up in lift and tire/wheel size and I am not comfortable putting a 100+ pound tire and wheel up on a rack 10' off the floor.

My solution is I don't drive my truck in foul weather.

Mike.

 

[JettaGetUpandGo]

I understand what you are saying and it makes sense. But one thing I would like to add, the wife and I do very little driving in the Winter months compared to the Spring, the Summer and the Fall months. In the nicer weather we go visit family and friends, maybe take a trip or two, take a drive to see the leaves when they change color, stuff like that. In the Winter months when we have snow and ice, we tend to stay home and read books, or work on little projects in the garage. We tend to drive only when we really need to, and then it is to go to the store for groceries or to the Post Office, places like that. I bowl Tuesday mornings and Thursday evenings, but that is right in town here. Anyway, long story short, we put very few miles on the cars during the Winter months. But then again, we are both retired so we don't have to go to work every day so that will make a big difference in the number of miles we drive during the Winter.

In this case, it sounds like you may be better off with all season tires or possibly putting winter tires on just one vehicle and taking that one if there is a chance for snow or road conditions call for it. Realistically the roads are dry around here the majority of winter. When there is measurable snow though or road conditions are poor, winter tires make a night and day difference.

Personally I had a very difficult time getting up my snow covered driveway with decent all season tires, even with awd. The driveway is pretty steep, but I can stop half way up and start again with winter tires. I have performance tires now for spring/summer/fall. I also typically work until 11/12 at night when plowing roads isn't a big priority. Winter tires are a must for me.

 

[Rod N]

Most of my wheels I just stack 8 high in my storage garage.
The ones I have on a wall rack I use scaffolding on wheels. I just put them on the scaffolding and then climb up to put them on the rack. Easy peasy.

 

[ChevyEFI]

I also see a time coming where the tire manufacturers and dealers are going to slim down the literally HUGE selection of tires they have to keep on hand. It used to be 13,14 or 15", now it's 15,16,16.5,17,18,19,20,22 etc and in a ridiculous variety of widths and profiles. At some point they're gonna put their foot down and say "nope not gonna do it", and if you happen to have a car that doesn't have one of the common sizes, you're gonna be screwed.

Don't worry; the market is working. In my experience, the sizes previously common on new cars (in 15" and 16" range) have already experienced this for several years.

I've even felt 18" wheels would make better sense for my DD because tires available on special from Tire Rack have a lot more variety and lower sale prices vs. the 16" sizes I could run. Commonly available replacement parts are always a better situation for a DD. Special orders ****.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

12 wheels/tires to change ... I'd rather not keep them in the garage because I think the tires would prefer a climate controlled environment.

Yes, because the climate outside when they're on the vehicle is SOO steady....

Tommy

 

[JTG]

What about using one of the ceiling mounted pulley bike lifts above the rack to get the tires up there? I just bought a set of winter rims and tires but haven't put them on the car yet. I'm hoping I can get them up with a ladder but if not I was thinking about this.

 

[JJThrasher]

What about using one of the ceiling mounted pulley bike lifts above the rack to get the tires up there? I just bought a set of winter rims and tires but haven't put them on the car yet. I'm hoping I can get them up with a ladder but if not I was thinking about this.

Better make sure that lift is rated for the weight of wheels and tires. Most bikes don't weight much.


Another thing, people have mentioned stacking their wheels and tires. Please realize that wheels and tires stacked more than 5-6 high become a safety concern if the stack were to tip over it could cause serious injury or property damage. This is why you'll see shops ricking tires instead of stacking them, also takes up less space in bulk.