Mine are starting to show some chord in a few spots. I've rotated them and am wondering how far I can push them. I'm landing on dirt 95% of the time. Anyone have some experience they'd care to share? I'm trying to hold off for as long as possible. Not looking forward to shelling out $3600 for a new pair!

Sounds like a good time to bust out a gallon of truck bed liner and roll it on.... worry about a new set of tires later

Just curious... What is the calendar time? I have a pair that are (6) years old (31136.Rs). I would estimate I have about (200) cycles.

I've been using Herculiner bedliner on my Airstreaks for some years now, a coat (2 coats a couple days apart), about every 100 to 200 hours. Or, whenever I start seeing the orginal rubber. About $40.00, so far so good, no drawbacks that I can see. Kind of like a cheap pair of rubber boots over a nice pair of dress shoes. Some of the cert guys are concerned about it being non standard and maybe an insurance issue if a claim, I don't worry about that.

courierguy wrote:I've been using Herculiner bedliner on my Airstreaks for some years now, a coat (2 coats a couple days apart), about every 100 to 200 hours. Or, whenever I start seeing the orginal rubber. About $40.00, so far so good, no drawbacks that I can see. Kind of like a cheap pair of rubber boots over a nice pair of dress shoes. Some of the cert guys are concerned about it being non standard and maybe an insurance issue if a claim, I don't worry about that.

Thanks for the info. Do you just put it on the spots showing chord, or a complete coat over the entire tire?

8GCBC wrote:Just curious... What is the calendar time? I have a pair that are (6) years old (31136.Rs). I would estimate I have about (200) cycles.

They're 7 years old and have 560 hours on them, so I really can't complain. I've certainly gotten good use out of them, but geez they're expensive to replace

scottnt wrote:

8GCBC wrote:Just curious... What is the calendar time? I have a pair that are (6) years old (31136.Rs). I would estimate I have about (200) cycles.

They're 7 years old and have 560 hours on them, so I really can't complain. I've certainly gotten good use out of them, but geez they're expensive to replace

I know the feeling. Definitely "sticker shock" I never read anything about an "approved" retread as of yet too. Running out $3800 of rubber (plus shipping and installation) is tough on any budget.

Easy.... replace them when they come out with a bigger set! ;-P

scottnt wrote:

courierguy wrote:I've been using Herculiner bedliner on my Airstreaks for some years now, a coat (2 coats a couple days apart), about every 100 to 200 hours. Or, whenever I start seeing the orginal rubber. About $40.00, so far so good, no drawbacks that I can see. Kind of like a cheap pair of rubber boots over a nice pair of dress shoes. Some of the cert guys are concerned about it being non standard and maybe an insurance issue if a claim, I don't worry about that.

Thanks for the info. Do you just put it on the spots showing chord, or a complete coat over the entire tire?

I do the entire tire. 1 qt, or one can anyway, is good for one light and a second heavy coat on my 29's. I just jack the plane up and rotate the tire while brushing it on, making a little effort to apply it evenly but not getting all anal about it. Over 1,000 hrs on my tires and no visible further wear since I started doing this.

courierguy wrote:

scottnt wrote:

courierguy wrote:I've been using Herculiner bedliner on my Airstreaks for some years now, a coat (2 coats a couple days apart), about every 100 to 200 hours. Or, whenever I start seeing the orginal rubber. About $40.00, so far so good, no drawbacks that I can see. Kind of like a cheap pair of rubber boots over a nice pair of dress shoes. Some of the cert guys are concerned about it being non standard and maybe an insurance issue if a claim, I don't worry about that.

Thanks for the info. Do you just put it on the spots showing chord, or a complete coat over the entire tire?

I do the entire tire. 1 qt, or one can anyway, is good for one light and a second heavy coat on my 29's. I just jack the plane up and rotate the tire while brushing it on, making a little effort to apply it evenly but not getting all anal about it. Over 1,000 hrs on my tires and no visible further wear since I started doing this.

Does the bedliner bond really well to rubber? I guess that tires that are worn on pavement are surface prepped nicely, but if there is any oil on the tire, seems like the bedliner might fly off at speed. I will consider doing this when my 31s start showing serious wear.

Or: http://alaskaslist.com/1/posts/10_Trans ... eels_.html

Seems like a good price if they aren't too used up. Need new wheels too.

The first time I cleaned them with a stiff brush and soap and water. Then I wiped them down with Xylene (Ace Hardware). After that, subsequent coats over the last few years, I just soap and water clean. The stuff sticks great to anything, but especially to itself. I cannot imagine any scenario where it would all fly off and cause a problem. I don't mess with the sidewalls at all.

It leaves a somewhat roughened surface, but not enough to hold mud or anything. I like the way it looks, most don't even notice any difference unless I point it out. My take after some time now is that it is a pretty benign experiment, doesn't seem to hurt anything and seems to put the wear factor on the liner coats rather then on the virgin rubber. I'll probably trash a tire with a puncture or slash before I wear one out.