Is it advisable to move the tires from the left side to the right side when rotating? Or should they be moved front to back, back to front on the same side of the vehicle?

I was told that if you but the left side to the right, it would cause belt damage to the tires. Is there any truth to this?

Tires are BFG AT Radials.

 

I believe that the owners manual says to rotate the rear tires to the front, and switch sides (right rear goes to left front, left rear goes to right front). Then move the front tires to the rear, do not switch sides (right front goes to right rear, left front goes to left rear).

 

My manual says the same as Jackson!

 

Ok I don't know about you guys but I've always been told that switching sides with a radial tire is a huge no-no. Doing so will cause the belt to separate from the tire, which you definitely do not want. Radials are happiest left on the side that they came on. Just rotate front to back and back to front.

 

For what it's worth, at the shop I work at doing the summer, the owner told me that the "accepted" way of rotating was this:

-the drive wheels move straight forward to backward (so on our rig, the rear move straight forward without switching sides)
-the non-drive wheels switch sides when moving forward or backward (so on our rigs, the front move backward and switch sides)

Haha, I wish there was a real definite answer to this!

 

Check this out. According to tirerack, front to back and back to front without switching sides applies only to directional wheels or tires. I know my wheels (stock 2002 SE) are not directional. What about the tires?

 

I am sure you don't have directional tires. You usually find them on sports cars with lower profile tires.

 

So that would mean that "switching radials from one side to the other is bad" is BS?

 

Yes it is. This only applies to directional tires.

 

I guess sometimes you can get away with doing this.

All I know is that I ruined a set of Bridgestone Dueler A/T's a while back by cross-rotating them. The belt separated on one of the tires, and the damn thing made the truck shake like crazy. I don't think the Duelers are directional tires either. Since then I've been rotating w/o crossing and I've been getting pretty even wear not to mention a much better ride.

 

I have always done front to back and back to front same side. Never cross them, every 5000 miles.

 

Cebby, the local Mr. Tire here where I live and work does all tire maint. on our ambulance fleet. They WILL NOT rotate our rig tires side to side.
When we take delivery of new rigs, they come w/ goodyear summer treads. Those are always saved for the summer runs, and we buy Courser A/T's for the fall & winter. They always mark the tires when they come off.
As you can guess, we are pretty tough on tires.... but we've never had a belt separation on a tire. (yet.... knock on wood )

 

Sounds like its coming down to a preference thing. I have always cross rotated my tires, and just now started going front back, etc (for convenience reasons).

Discount tire said its ok, and my dad, who worked for Costco tire also said it was ok.

So, whatever is easier for you. That's my vote.

 

I'm not trying to be arguementative here, but...

So you had it happen once, to one set of tires, right? That's enough to say that cross rotating is bad for radial tires?

Some off-road tires are directional as well. Mickey Thompson Baja Claws and Procomp Xterrains come to mind.

 

so if you cross rotate and the treads eventually come apart before the expected life of the tire, will the manufacturer replace them. i dont think so, but it could be a strong argument to try to get tire company and car company to divide the line. i would love to get a definitive answer on this, not just "its up to personal preference." theyre tires, the only thing on your rig touching the ground, i think its pretty important to have a sure answer. this couldve already been debated.

 

It is for me, cuz all it takes is for one tire to blow out. Belt separation can cause this. Plus the company I work for buys their tires from a well respected dealership called Hesselbien's, and I've bought a set of tires from them too (company discount ) and they specifically told me that cross rotating radial tires is BAD and that they would not be held responsible for a tire's performance that had been cross rotated. The company I work for is Budweiser, and our fleet of trucks and vans all get their tires from Hesselbien's, so you gotta figure that as much time as we spend driving the trucks/vans that we'd have to go with a company who knows their stuff. I can't remember a single time that anybody at work has ever had a blowout, nor can I remember driving a van that had vibration problems due to bad tires. Actually, now that I think about it, they're the people who diagnosed that bad tire. They showed me on the balancer how it had a wobble to it when one specific part of the tire came around, as it couldn't be balanced.

I've had pretty good wear rotating front to back and vice versa, so cross-rotating isn't worth the risk to me.

It has been debated. I don't think on this board but definitely on the 4x4Wire board but do a search here and there and see what you come up with.

 

Discount and Costco will cross rotate.

 

Found this link Tire Rotation to help everyone out. I checked BFG's website since that's what Cebby was asking about, but all they had to say was 'Yes, rotate.' They did mention, however, that Krawlers are available to the general public as of yesterday.

 

Great link, thanks!

 

This has been discussed on YotaTech before too, under Maintenance (which is where I'm moving this thread incidentally).

Two reputable tire shops here, that I asked, agree that on 4 wheel drive vehicles w/radials, they only rotate front to back but never side-to-side due to tread/tire separation or something like that.

One of these places rotate my tires for me & they are under BFG warranty so I'll just keep letting them do front to back, I guess.