Caravan tyres
Our 2016 Sprite Alpine 4 van has just been in for its second service I have been advised to change the tyres as they are both cracked around 1cm away from the rim. The date code on the tyres is October 2015, the van is used quite often and has not been left for more than 2 months and the pressures are checked every time it moves. I would have thought they would have lasted more than 2 years or is this normal. Does anyone know whether its best to go back to the dealer to get them changed or take it to someone like ATS.
Comments
-
Definitely go to a tyre depot rather than a dealer and just take the wheels if you can.
That is a very short life for yours. There’s no target but mostly they’re good for 5 years or so. However, if they’re cracked, there’s nothing else you can do.
0 -
I had Max Miler tyres on a previous caravan and one of those tyres cracked in under two years. I think the reason was hitting a kerb in a service station.
I have used E-Tyres in recent years for caravan,motorhome and car tyres. They have quite an informative page on their website about tyres suitable for caravan. Even if you don't buy from them it will give you an idea of what is available in your size.
David
0 -
Hi EasyT I think if you were in that situation the dealer would not be very forthcoming because tyres do not come under the warranty,(even though it would be the decent thing to do).
The best way to approach that situation would be to purchase two more tyres from a local tyre dealer and ask them to send the cracked tyres back to the tyre manufacturer under complaint and get a full report ,and hopefully a credit for the cracked tyres.I suspect the result would be date related because the tyres could have been 2or3 yrs old before the caravan was sold .
Brian & Jo
0 -
The tyres are made by Durun I have never heard of them before . I just wonder if Swift put these on all their vans & if anyone else has had the same problem. As it happens the outside tyre is worse than the inside one so it's not down to kerbing.
0 -
Durun are a budget tyre manufactured in China.Obviously the quality is not the same as a branded tyre but the cost should reflect that.They are perfectly ok to fit as long as the load rating is correct but there is a good chance they will start to show signs of fatigue after maybe 3/4 yrs.
just as a footnote the government is trying to stop the importation of Chinese commercial tyre,and so the prices have been hiked up in the last 4 months or so .
Wether it will start to happen with car and light commercial tyres who knows I personally think not .I know in the last 3/4 yrs Pirelli have built a massive plant in China so if it was gonna happen you would assume that they wouldn’t have invested that sort of money,But who knows.
Brian & Jo
0 -
I put wheel covers on my (original) tyres at all times- even on site— well on one anyway as the awning covers the other. Ultra violet light is the killer of caravans with an ally in rain! My tyres are 7 yrs old and are in perfect condition- no cracks and no wall damage. I defy anyone to find any cracks however small. The service engineer at the last service mentioned the 7 year change but then admitted that the tyres were in excellent condition! The suns heat and light attacks tyres so keep it off- use covers- they pay you back 20 fold!
0 -
I've been looking at this quite a bit recently because we had our caravan serviced by the mobile engineer from our dealer at the storage site a few weeks ago. Both tyres were cracked and needed replacing. Our caravan is a Swift Challenger Se 480, 2015 model. We bought it from our dealer in 2016 in a virtually unused state, as the original owner had downsized, then realised the van didn't suit him. Anyway, I digress. Apparently because the manufacturers bulk buy tyres, they can already be over a year old by the time they're fitted to a new caravan. Even if they're not fitted, they can still deteriorate, and can be expected to last between 3-5 years depending on the conditions they're exposed to. I arranged for a local tyre fitting firm (as recommended by the service engineer) to do mobile fitting at our storage site. The tyres had to be ordered 48 hours in advance, but were fitted within a few hours. The only issue was the Tyron bands fitted by the original owner of the caravan. As a result, the van had to be left on axle stands whilst the wheels were taken back to the workshop for the tyres to be fitted. All was done with no problems.
0 -
That’s why it pays to check the date code on tyres, BG, and even if you cover them, as Merve does, the cords can still deteriorate and there’s no way of checking that.
1 -
Indeed when I took my van in for a service the check in engineer actually looked at the date code and it was 2012 - the van was bought 2013, so both getting changed.
0 -
There have been several (many?) complaints about these tyres on SwiftTalk and it may be worth making a warranty claim as these specific tyre appear to be rubbish as regards aging.
Kwik Fit Mobile had van tyres at a good price, can cope with Tyrons, balanced them and service was excellent.
0 -
Just back from France and had to replace one of my Durun tyres because of side wall cracks. My van is a 2 year old Swift and it was the offside tyre that is no good. Luckily I spotted the cracks whilst in a service area. Changing a wheel in heavy rain is no fun. My dealer can expect a visit next week!!!!!!!!!!!!!
0 -
It's not just budget tyres that can be affected. Michelins were fitted to our Barcelona when we bought it new in 2015 and the tyres were dated just a month before the van was built. After just over three years, I noticed serious cracks in the sidewall of one of them. The others appeared to be fine but I changed all four just in case. Just not worth the risk.
0 -
If you use a tyre fitter make sure they use the correct pressure, we had our changed this summer and they looked a bit soft, when I asked they insisted 35,psi was correct, I insisted as well and they took them up to the recommended 60psi.
0 -
hello,
we have a Swift and have had exactly the same problem. Two years old lots of cracks around the rims. They use poor quality tyres and there's little you can do only replace with a better brand. Wish I had tried the dealer for replacements - but I probably wouldn't have got anywhere as I bought from Kimberley caravans from new. So many faults, so many excuses.
The tyre covers are a good idea, but you are better rid of those poor quality tyres, and you should still replace tyres every 5 years as it's not just the rubber that degrades. Safety first.
0 -
I have just found this post .
we have just taken our swift conqueror in to have it’s 3rd year service . I was told we need two new tyres due to cracking . In all our almost 30 years caravanning we have never needed to replace tyres after just 3 years . I was shocked.
also I asked how much we would need to find if we wanted to part ex our van .
they estimated a £9000 reduction on price from when we first bought it .
I have been using our local dealer for many any years I think they have just become too big too busy and just don’t need the business anymore .
0 -
All good points i use 6 ply taxi tyres ,good load ,also if over 50 psi should have steel valves not rubber
0 -
Aso sun damage
0
