Beware fitting new(old)Tyres/date code
Before recently buying our new (10 year old) caravan I noticed that the tyres had never been changed since new. I pointed this out to the seller after referring to the date code on the sidewalls of the tyres but he didn't seem to be at all concerned.
It didn't put me off buying it but I did make it a priority to change them as soon as possible.
Well that day was today and after getting 3 separate quotes I took the wheels off the van and went to one of our local tyre dealers who apparently work for nearly all of the local caravan dealerships.
So tyres fitted to the loose wheels I took them home and just before fitting them noticed that they were dated 12/15. This means they were manufactured in week 12 of 2015...! I was a more than a little bit surprised that my new tyres were already nearly 2 years old and in 3 years time my servicing agent would be telling me that they need changing again!, given that the general recommendation is change tyres at 5 years.
Anyway I got on the phone and pointed this out and they were happy for me to take them back and refitted with newer tyres, with a code of 44/16.
The moral of my tale and is to remind everyone to check the date code of tyres when renewing them. It takes the form of a 4 digit number normally embossed onto the sidewall of the tyre, quite small and close to the inside rim/wheel.
Comments
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You are quite right, they will be 2 years old in March. Your supplier isn't concerned about you in a few years time. Although advisory only, the 5 years can extend to 7 years, especially if you swap the tyres round and include the spare as I do. It is a concern how apathetic some owners can be to safety issues. The main caravan clubs can try to educate it's members, but often without success and from my experience I am amazed how few people know about the manufacturing date stamp. Your new tyres being November 16 is very good.
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I have just renewed my tyres, took the wheels to a tyre depot and I checked the date on the sidewall before fitment, 34/16 on mine so acceptable.
What did annoy me and send the fitter back was me asking "have they been balanced"? as I saw no weights. He said "they weren't balanced before so I didn't do them"
I have had the van from new and it seems they were not balanced, but his statement didn't hold. Anyway they are now balanced as should all wheels be.0 -
On our previous caravan at the year 2 service the mobile engineer pointed out that one of the tyres had a repair close to the sidewall and another was cracked on the inside. We never had the tyre repaired so it must have been done prior to purchase. On checking the tyres were over 4 years old according to the date stamp.
We replaced two of the tyres with better quality tyres and a few months later one of the original tyres had a blow out on the motorway. Luckily we have a twin axle so no harm done except the hassle of removing the spare from the ALKO carrier.
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Another "interesting" thing was that when I bought the van the owner told me that the tyres had Tyron bands fitted since new. The tyres were the original tyres.There was evidence of this because the tyron literature and big Allen key thing was in the owners pack and there were stickers by each valve on the wheel to say they were fitted.
I mentioned this to the fitter who said that it was no problem.
He was absolutely right because it turned out the tyres were not fitted with tyron bands at all. So not quite sure what happened there?
Interestingly the owner of the tyre depot who seemed to be very experienced and knowledgeable said that once upon a time Tyron bands were a good idea but with advances of tyres and particularly wheel technology there was now no need to fit them,they didn't offer any further protection. Apparently wheels nowadays have a safety lip and it is virtually impossible to lose a tyre off a wheel even when its flat? He said that nowadays when a new tyre is inflated you here 2 bangs as the pressure increases, one bang as against the rim and one is against the safety rim,so tyron bands do nothing beneficial and are now not necessary? I must admit to listening carefully as my wheels were inflated and heard two distinct bangs as the pressure went in.
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My brand new caravan had tyres on it which were 13 months old and I refused to accept them. The dealer gave me credit for their replacement value and I spent a few quid extra to get some updated premium tyres fitted. On the subject of alloy wheels I agree with flatcoat that all wheels whether steel or alloy have a dish in the middle to permit tyre removal. If there was no dish it would be impossible to mount and de mount them.
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