What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

New versus retreads

rv7guy2

Active Member
Hi gang
Seems I may be in the need for new rubber for my RV-7. Friend of mine has retreads and he seems to be happy with them so far. What do you think? New tires and tubes or retread tires?
Thnx
Dave
 
Search the site for Desser retreads. Many are happy with them; I know I was. Clearance in the wheelpants may be an issue.
 
Retreads

We used Desser retreads exclusively on all of our flight school training aircraft. We found that they last almost twice as long as the new name brands, and are a fraction of the price.

They are a bit larger than a new tire, so if your pants are tight on a new tire you may have a clearance issue...
 
tires

Desser was excellent. Got double the life out of retreads over new tires and they they are really meaty. We love hitting all the islands in the bahamas. Runways on small islands are made of what seems like crushed shells. Very sharp. Always worried about killing a tire on holidays. Dessers have never let me down. Adds some weight but figure its worth it. Do check with them as they are sometimes out of cores so there is a delay, should be fine this time of year would think.
 
Hi gang
Seems I may be in the need for new rubber for my RV-7. Friend of mine has retreads and he seems to be happy with them so far. What do you think? New tires and tubes or retread tires?
Thnx
Dave

It's a matter of personal preference Dave. I've had them all brands on my RV during almost 5K stint. Retreads of known brand lasted longer but they are harder and weigh more. Their customer service need improvements as well. In my opinion it's hard to beat Michelin. Just my opinion I wouldn't buy the retreads second time.
 
I have no experience yet with Desser monster retreads, but I just installed a pair during the condition inspection. They are retreaded Goodyear Flight Specials. Look very durable and came highly recommended by local RVers. I anticipate a good experience
 
in 1400 hrs. over 13 years in my -7A, I got my best longevity with Vans OEM Airhawks, about 700 hrs. Then I tried Desser Monster retreads and came away disappointed in the tires (about 500 hours usage) and Desser's customer service. I did have to open up the wheel fairings to give the Monsters enough room.

So far, I'm happy with the Goodyear Flight Special II tires and Michelin tubes that I installed 200 hours ago. No more retreads for me.

My flying is almost exclusively 1 to 3 hour cross-country legs with no touch and go traffic pattern work.
 
Been using Wilkerson Aircraft Tire retreads almost exclusively since I discovered them. Have had one set of Dresser Monster Retreads and new Goodyear Flight Custom II since I first discovered the Wilkerson retreads.

I get more service out of the Wilkerson retreads than any other tire I have found and the Wilkerson have always been the least expensive.

The only downside about Wilkerson retreads is that you must PHONE them to order as their website does not accept orders. I paid $55 each delivered for two tires two years ago.
 
Last edited:
I bought two retreads from Desser. Four months and not many hours after installing them, one of the tires showed very bad side wall cracking. The cracks were not there when I bought them. I returned the bad one, in person, to Desser. They offered to sell me another retread for full price. They finally gave me a 15% discount on another of their retreads. So much for their customer service. If you have trouble with your retread from Desser...good luck.
 
Tires

One thing to consider is weight. Some makes of tires are several pounds heavier than others.

This is a repost from the Grumman Gang “More important then the price or longevity is the weight. Getting a set of
Flight Custom 2s retread will cost you about 1.5 gallons of useful load over
a set of aero trainers”

I have not verified this.
 
Last edited:
when ordering retreads from desser, you may want to request the same manufacture of the retreaded tire. otherwise they may just toss 2 of the same size tires for shipping, but not necessary be the same manufacture. That has happened to me. I prefer the same manufacture on both sides of my landing gear, some may not care.
 
One thing to consider is weight. Some makes of tires are several pounds heavier than others.

This is a repost from the Grumman Gang ?More important then the price or longevity is the weight. Getting a set of
Flight Custom 2s retread will cost you about 1.5 gallons of useful load over
a set of aero trainers?

I have not verified this.

Does anyone really re-weigh their plane and update weight & balance info after they change their tires?
 
Retreads

I had a flat tire on landing coming home from Florida. An A&P had a new Desser retread my size so I bought it put it on and flew the rest away home what luck I thought. I went to Sun ?n fun gave the Desser sales crew a picture of my retread, they said it was definitely their tire and all of the sales crew said they had a match for it. But it?s the same Flight custom carcas with a different tread. I don?t know if they get their retreads from China or if they make them themselves. But her staff doesn?t know one from another.
 
Has anyone weighed their tires? I'd like to get an idea of what the weight differences are between brands and between retreads vs. originals. Some have said the retreads are heavier, but I'd like to know by how much. If it's like a pound more per tire, but lasts longer, I won't mind. But if it's something significant like 5lbs/ tire, that's too much.

Also, do tubes make a difference or any brand is ok? Is it ok to reuse old tubes or they have to always be replaced with the tires?
 
--- snip ---

Also, do tubes make a difference or any brand is ok? Is it ok to reuse old tubes or they have to always be replaced with the tires?


The AirStop tubes are the best. Mine only require air once per year.

Best practice is to replace the tubes every time the tire is replaced.
With that said, the AirStop tubes on my airplane have been in use since 22 May 2005. That is 1,717.8 hours on the Hobbs meter or almost 14-years.
 
One data point

I have two 500-5, 6 ply rating, Desser Elite 2 groove retreads that I have not mounted. They weigh 6.372 lbs and 7.346 lbs.
 
Personally, I'm still using the Dresser Retreads... But, have a flying buddy that recently had a tire from them with a large void under the tread. Didn't have the best experience with the customer service about a replacement. He wound up switching to Michelins. I may wind up doing the same.

Just another data point... Otherwise, they've been decent.
 
Been using Wilkerson Aircraft Tire retreads almost exclusively since I discovered them. <snip>

I get more service out of the Wilkerson retreads than any other tire I have found and the Wilkerson have always been the least expensive.

I've had the same experience. From what I've seen on my plane and on others, Wilkerson retreads last much longer than factory new tires. I've never had a wheel fairing fit issue with Wilkersons, and I fit my fairings pretty tight.
 
FYI, I tried to place an order and Desser is completely out of 500-5 retreads! They said they were out of cases and didn't anticipate any in the near future!
 
I am on my second set of Desser retreads and haven't had an issue with them.

However, I did try their version of the Air Stopper inner tubes and would not recommend them in the strongest way possible!

I had the valve stem come apart and drop in the tube. Dresser wouldn't send a replacement until they got the tube back. I was not pleased!
 
However, I did try their version of the Air Stopper inner tubes and would not recommend them in the strongest way possible!

+1

Valve didn't come apart, but I had to add air air every 2 weeks or so to keep one of their Leakguard tubes from going flat. The one on the opposite side would lose 10 to 20 psi over a 4 week time period depending on the temperature.

Michelins for me now!
 
Back
Top