tyres

Welcome to All ABOUT Tyres

In the early days when caravans were not as heavy as the more modern unit the manufacturers put normal car tyres on the axles and tyre pressures rarely exceeded 35psi . These days the more modern caravan is much heavier and carries a lot more weight so the tyre pressures crept up and now they can exceed 50psi on certain models. A normal car tyre could not carry this extra weight or pressure so manufacturers started to fit reinforced tyres to the caravans that where 6 or 8 ply tyres instead of the normal 4ply.

When checking your tyres you need to;

Check the tyre tread is not worn below 1.6mm over the face of the tread
Check the tyre walls for cracks, splits or bulges on both the inner and outer walls

Its very rare that a caravan tyre will loose its tread due to wear, most of the time its the tyre wall that lets the tyre down. The main reasons for this are;

The tyre walls flex more than a car tyre and it holds all its weight on two wheels not four.
The caravan sits in one position for long periods of time without movement.

It is recommended that you take the wheels off your caravan when storing it for the winter and store the wheels out of sunlight and horizontal so no weight is on the tyre walls, also if the caravan is left parked for long periods during the season , you should move it slightly so that the tyre does not rest on the one area of tyre wall causing a weak spot in the wall.

Changing Tyres

I have heard it said that the life expectancy of a tyre is no more than 5 years and at that age its best to replace them whether or not they show signs of wear.

1. Make sure you fit the correct size for the caravan
2. Fit the correct type for the caravan and ensure it exceeds the specified MTPLM

Load Index Table
Load Index	KG	Load Index	KG	Load Index	KG	Load Index	KG
60	250	71	345	82	475	93	650
61	257	72	355	83	487	94	670
62	265	73	365	84	500	95	690
63	272	74	375	85	515	96	710
64	280	75	387	86	530	97	730
65	290	76	400	87	545	98	750
66	300	77	412	88	560	99	775
67	307	78	425	89	580	100	800
68	315	79	437	90	600	101	825
69	325	80	450	91	615	102	850
70	335	81	462	92	630	103	875

3. Make sure the tyre carries the appropriate speed rating,

Tyre Speed Rating Chart
J	62mph	100kmh	P	94mph	150kmh
K	68mph	110kmh	Q	100mph	160kmh
L	75mph	120kmh	R	105mph	170kmh
M	81mph	130kmh	S	113mph	180kmh
N	88mph	140kmh	T	118mph	190kmh

If you only intend to tour in the UK the speed rating only needs to comply with the legal towing speed limit of 60mph which gives a rating of a J rating, however it must be pointed out that in France it is illegal to have a tyre on the caravan ( including the spare) that is a lower rating than the maximum speed limit of their country which is 81mph so an M rated tyre is needed. most people opt for the M rated tyre.

If you have the normal car type tyres on your caravan and you wish to change them for a 6 or 8 ply reinforced walled type then their are a few things you must consider first.

1. Tyre pressures; If you increase the tyre pressure your caravan my start to bounce and wander around when towing.
2. Make sure the tyre size will fit in the wheel arch and not foul the inner body

I sought the advice of our local tyre company to ensure I had the correct information

The markings are on the drawing below show you where you can find the relevant information on the tyre.

Tyron Bands

Most wheels have a a deep well inside them and this can cause great problems if the tyre deflates , the tyre could slip on the rim and fall into the well and allow the rim to run on the road , this in turn can cause the caravan to snake violently and in extreme cases cause it to roll over. It can also cause damage to the side of the caravan as shown here

Many people have fitted a device called a tyron band to the wheels on the caravan and research shows that it is well worth the money.

These bands fit over the well in the wheel rim as seen in the photo's.

The principle is quite simple yet works very well, it stops the tyre from collapsing into the well and keeps it sitting on the rim giving more stability whilst your stopping the vehicle. The Tyron Bands can be purchased from most caravan agents.

If you do fit theseTyron Bands you must remember to carry the fitting key with you as the tyre repair centre will need it to remove the tyre from the rim and you must inform that they are fitted before they start to remove the tyre so they know what they are dealing with.

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