carefully Tread T John Wickersham

MOTOR CARAVAN TYRES TECHNICAL
Tyre maintenance is an
important aspect of
motor caravan safety
Tread
carefully
John Wickersham explains how to maintain your motor caravan’s
tyres and what to consider when looking for replacements
T
HE CLUB’S technical leaflet,
Caravan Tyres & Wheels, is an
invaluable document that includes
guidance on tyre care, life, sealants, wear
and so on. Although this is principally
concerned with caravan tyres, its
appendices include information that’s also
applicable to motor caravans. This report
takes the topic further.
GENERAL POINTS
Continental’s VancoCamper tyre is an example of
a purpose-designed motor caravan product
Manufactured in the 23rd week of 2004,
this tyre should now be replaced, even if
its treads look good
Although a few small motor caravans run
on car tyres, most are based on light
commercial vehicles that are fitted with
commercial tyres. In some cases, coachbuilt models have purpose-made motor
caravan tyres. For example, Michelin’s
‘XC Camping’ and ‘Agilis Camping’ are
intentionally designed to carry heavy
loads. Thanks to their reinforced
construction, these products can also
operate with high pressures (up to 80psi).
A ‘CP’ suffix after the tyre size denotes a
purpose-made motor caravan tyre.
NEW VEHICLES
If you’re planning to buy a new motor
caravan, be aware that some are sold
>>
Sealant kits for dealing with unexpected punctures cannot be
used when a tyre has damaged side walls
August 2011 The Caravan Club Magazine 101
TECHNICAL MOTOR CARAVAN TYRES
After long periods in storage,
it’s not unusual to find cracks
developing in a tyre’s sidewalls
Get a tyre service fitter to check
your tyre pressures if you don’t want
to do this yourself
without a spare wheel and don’t have a
wheel carrier either. To deal with roadside
punctures, some manufactures provide an
emergency tyre sealant kit instead.
However, since these can’t repair a tyre
whose sidewalls are damaged, an easily
accessed spare wheel is what many
owners prefer.
PRE-OWNED MODELS
If you’re buying a second-hand motor
caravan, always inspect the tyres. The Club
recommends that tyres are replaced after
five years – and that they should never be
used when more than seven years old.
However, assessing age can be difficult and
marking codes differ. Usually there’s a
four-figure marking giving the week number
and year of manufacture. Please note that
life expectancy is reduced by rapid
acceleration, forceful driving, overloading,
incorrect inflation and kerb damage.
Dial gauges are usually accurate – look for
products with a wide range
You must also avoid under-inflation. If a
tyre’s pressure is 20% lower than it should
be for the load carried, that also reduces its
life by around 26%.
because large manufacturers such as Fiat
sometimes place huge orders, prompted by
seasonal demands. This leaves few tyres
available for retailers.
TAKING PRESSURE READINGS
RETRIEVING/CHECKING A SPARE
Pressure tests must be done when tyres are
cold (some specialists define ‘cold’ as being
no higher than 17˚C). The Caravan Club
also reports that when comparing types of
gauge, dial gauges are “most likely to be
really accurate”, especially if marked with
a relevant standard, such as EN 12645.
There’s also the pressure range itself to
consider; normally the most accurate
readings fall at a scale’s mid-point. For
motor caravan tyres, a dial range from 1psi
to 150psi is fine.
When looking to buy a motor caravan, it is
wise to check if there’s a spare wheel and to
establish if it’s simple to retrieve.
Coachbuilt models with rear garages often
have easily accessible spares. A few models
have wheels mounted on the rear wall – or
right on the front in the case of some VW
campers. Wheels stored in under-floor
cages are usually the hardest to withdraw.
FINDING OUT THE
REQUIRED PRESSURES
Both touring and motor caravans are often
unused for long spells and a lack of
movement places tyre sidewalls under
stress. This eventually leads to damage.
Periodic MOT and owner inspections may
also reveal trapped objects that have
penetrated the casing.
Motor caravan manufacturers should
specify the correct pressure settings in
their owners’ manuals and these are
sometimes displayed on labels on the
vehicles themselves. Unfortunately, some
labels aren’t easy to decipher. Moreover,
any markings on tyres specifying maximum
loads and pressures should be ignored since
these are for North America and are not
applicable in the UK.
CORRECT LOADING AND INFLATION
BUYING REPLACEMENTS
A warning issued by the Michelin technical
staff suggests that if you overload a tyre
20% more than a recommended limit, its
life will be reduced by around 26%.
When planning to buy motor caravanspecific tyres, be aware of a potential
problem. On occasions there are supply
delays of six to eight weeks. Delays arise
SIDEWALL WEAR
Sometimes tyre specialists have to wait a long time
for a delivery of motor caravan tyres
102 The Caravan Club Magazine
Vehicle labels can be confusing and
some motor caravan manufacturers
remove them
The ease of retrieving a spare wheel from a motor
caravan varies a great deal
WHEEL SAFETY BANDS
If there’s an unexpected tyre failure
when you’re driving, a deflated casing
can easily fall into the well of a wheel.
This causes its beading to pull away
from the rim whereupon wheel metal
makes direct contact with the road.
This can be prevented if safety bands
(such as those made by Tyron) are fitted
in the well. If a tyre suddenly deflates,
the band keeps it in place so rubber
remains in contact with the road,
thereby helping stability. n
FURTHER INFORMATION
n The Caravan Club’s Caravan Tyres and
Wheels technical leaflet can be found
at caravanclub.co.uk/practical-advice
n Tyron Safety Bands – call 0845 400
0600 or see tyron.com
Safety bands fitted into the wells of wheels aid stability
if a puncture occurs