Beware of 'approved' dealership standards.
A word of warning to motorhome or caravan buyers who purchase their vehicles from trusted dealerships. We recently purchased a new motorhome from Marquis Gloucester and during the handover were assured that it had been given a thorough and rigorous pre delivery inspection. One of the many items pointed out to us was the vehicle tyre pressures these being much higher on this type of vehicle. When at home I checked the actual pressures noting that the front should have been 72.5 psi and the rear 78.5 psi (pressures settings taken from supplied literature). The actual pressures found were front 56 psi and rear 58 psi. Considering that the vehicle had undergone a pre delivery inspection and that staff member had high lighted the importance of the tyre pressures to me I was somewhat concerned. This vehicle was released to me in what can only be described as a potentially dangerous state. So buyer beware...... 'trusted dealerships'....but by whom?
Comments
-
You don't say what vehicle it is but 72 & 78 psi sound very high, the ride will be quite firm unless it is a very large vehicle, you may yet end up being tempted to reduce them to nearer what they were......
1 -
Was the tyre pressure in a "handbook" from the motor caravan maker or the base vehicle maker? on the door piller,as that is the Max tyre pressure not that the conversion can run at,as most conversions can run at lower pressures,which then will also stop your teeth being knocked out
our last motor caravan had a tyre pressure of 55 psi front & 58 psi rear and that was stated in the conversion handbook
2 -
Thanks for both of these comments. These are the pressures stated for the conversion (motorhome). However I will dig a deeper and possibly contact the tyre manufacturer for additional information.
0 -
I would be tempted to ring the Workshop Manager at Marquis first and ask for an explanation, there may be a good reason. (Which of course you should have been told). If you google your particular make & model of M/H plus the word tyre pressures you might find stuff written previously....
I know if I type mine "Autotrail blah blah tyre pressures" loads comes back and the expressed wisdom seems to be you need to weigh the van per axle & then use a pressure chart from the tyre manufacturer etc.
It may be that marquis have been through this excercise already......(but they should have explained that).
0 -
It sounds par for the course for Marquis to me.
0 -
As mentioned above and widely elsewhere the only way to establish the correct tyre pressure for your particular vehicle is to load your vehicle (including passengers) water fuel etc as it would be loaded for touring then take it to a weigh bridge and obtain accurate axle weights for each axle. Curiously that exercise for my vehicle showed an almost equal load on front and rear despite perceived wisdom being that the rear should have a higher pressure. Then calculate tyre pressures for your specific tyre size and specification based on these loadings. Your tyre manufacturer may assist for example Bridgestone gave me pressures within an hour of an e-mail request but Michelin apparently just quote maximum pressures. Getting the pressures right makes a considerable difference to comfort handling and safety and over inflation can contribute to valve failure. Any pronouncements not based on axle loading are only general guidance. There are pressure tables available on the Tyresafe website but make sure you match loadings to correct tyre size and type.
0 -
The pressures of 72.5 and 78.5 will probably mean you need to buy stronger adhesive for any false teeth you may have.
Those quoted are, in the real world, bone shaking pressures.
I run mine front tyres 51psi (3.5 bar) and rear tyres at 61psi (4.2bar) after consulting the Continental Tyres pressure guide and weighing both front and rear axles.
You need to go to a weighbridge, probably about £5, and weigh the vehicle in full holiday mode.
Once you know that you can ascertain the correct pressures.
The pressures the dealer sent you away with are not potentially dangerous and, depending on the axle weights, may even be the perfect setting.
0 -
If you have Michelin Agilis Campers on the rear, then Michelin will always quote 80psi for the rear. It was, apparently, agreed by all tyre manufacturers because motorhomers always overload the rear axles. Only Michelin seem to stick with this figure.
If you go to a weighbridge, check the tolerance factor and when it was last calibrated. The one I use is calibrated every 6 months but can be 5% out; the ones used by the DVSA are within 0.5%. It also costs £10.
Your manual should be the starting point for tyre pressures, then you should check the make and rating of tyre to see if they match anything quoted in the handbook [they don't always] and then either wander off down to the weighbridge, get the van and each axle weighed in full touring mode, and then ask the tyre manufacturer or go to a website such as Tyresafe.
Or you could just cut through everything and ask Marquis what they were doing as Tintent says.
Most motorhomers run their tyre pressures below the manufacturers recommended figures because those are for maximum load and the lower the pressure, the better the ride [within sensible parameters!].
0 -
Since my first post of this topic I have received further responses from both Marquis and Michelin. Marquis suggested 72 front and 75 rear and Michelin have quoted 65 land 80 rear. Obviously there will be a range of pressures which is acceptable but what is this range? If for example the maximum rear pressure is 80psi then how much can this be reduced and still remain safe. My basic understanding is that if a pressure is set too low or too high then either can cause excessive wear and ultimately tyre failure. Obviously I want the ride to be comfortable but I want it to remain safe. I genuinely thank those members who have provided advice and guidance on this matter but I feel that advice and guidance should be provided by the manufacturers at the point of sale. Anyway, I'm getting off my soap box and driving to the local weighbridge and then hope I don't miscalculate the pressures!
1 -
Marquis aren't the only so called approved that have failed dismally. I have had my caravan back from a so called approved case with a serious gas leak because they didn't attached the gas pigtail correctly - it was less than finger tight at the bulkhead end! So it seems best not to be entirely trusting even though they have all the right credentials.
0 -
The tyre pressure issue was just one of a very long list, most of which should have been identified during the pre delivery inspection. I didn't want to list them all as it would have taken far too long. Ultimately we are very pleased with the motorhome but exceedingly disappointed with the company and their customer service.
0 -
Not good to hear you had issues, and hope everyhting gets sorted out for you. What I think people need to remember that not every sale is like this and not to be put off certain places.
Personally I bought my motorhome from Marquis Durham last year and the service during the sale process and the after sale service has been exceptional. The MH was perfect when collected, there was even a small amount of some substance on it found after the handover before i drove off and they had the valets out to get it cleaned before i drove away.
Being a complete novice i was not sure on a couple things whilst i was on a site called them and they were more than happy to assist and talk me through my queries.
Again not taking anything away from from your issue, but feel it should be said so as not to put people off certain places.
0 -
We bought one of our Motor Caravans from Marquis and I think as you are finding a "pre delivery" inspection was skimped to say the least ,I think it is in their case of if anything is wrong the customer will bring it back, then we can get more money from the makers for "warranty" work,
ps the same can be said for some other companies also
1 -
The Michelin Agilis Camper tyre will not wear excessively at 80psi if my current experience of the tyres are common; 22,000 miles with less than 3mm reduction in tread depth on the rear, the fronts which I run lower and are the driving wheels have worn by 5mm. Ideally, the manufacturers and dealer will give proper advice but in reality they give advice that avoids a potential compensation claim [assuming they do know what they are doing!]. Motorhomers tend to explore the built in tolerances. If in doubt, follow the manufacturers tyre pressures or those provided by the tyre manufacturer.
As for pdis, my dealer told them they do not do them other than a quick check that anyone would do before going on a journey. The manufacturer does the pdi when it leaves the factory. Hah, I thought. Yet there were no faults on delivery of my current van.
0 -
This is a post on another forum of a reply from Continental Tyres.
The rear and front axle weights are of a Motorhome of a Forum Member -
Rear axle 1900kg (max 2000)
Front axle 1540kg (max 1850)
Gross 3440 kg (max 3500)The following is the reply from Craig, the Product Support Engineer of Continental Automobil. He has consented to having his reply published:
The pressures you require are as follows:
Front: 3.25bar - 47psi pressure applicable to a maximum permissible load of1590kg. 1850kg Max loading at 4bar - 58psi (1875kg maximum at this pressure)
Rear: 4.25bar - 61psi pressure applicable to a maximum permissible load of1970kg. 2000kg Max loading at 4.5bar - 65psi (2060kg maximum at this pressure)
As a general rule for pressures on this tyre, every 100kg added from the base figure of 1490kg at 3bar (43.5psi) will require an increase of 0.25bar(3.6psi) in pressure up to a maximum of 2060kg at 4.5bar (65psi)
We do get a substantial amount of queries regarding pressures. Unfortunately, there is a distinct lack of understanding on the subject which isn't helped by the apparent reluctance of coach-builders to specify the pressures required. Naturally, all pressures are dependent on load so providing any queries received contain the information requested, we can advise accordingly. I've helped a few other organisers of motorhome/camping clubs and associations in the past so we are all working to educating the consumers as to what is required. Hopefully this will provide a greater understanding for them.
0 -
davetommo, Motorhomes will have tyre pressures quoted, usually for maximum loads. The base vehicle manufacturer may also quote tyre pressures if the the van is designed for commercial purposes. The problem for some motorhomes, including me with my current van, is that the tyre pressures quoted give too firm a ride so we ask the tyre manufacturer what is a safe and comfortable pressure for our axle weights.
I don't know whether you can be fined over tyre pressures, but it can be an issue if it is deemed the vehicle is not in a roadworthy condition. Hence the development of tyre pressure monitoring systems which I think are now required in all new commercial vans.
0 -
Interesting when I picked up mine I came away with a wiper blade missing, no spare wheel and the wrong registration plates on it and as I later discovered a non functioning solar panel. Which after 4 months they still haven't fixed because they don't understand the technology
0 -
The first thing to say is that Marquis themselves have different opinions depending who you speak to. This includes the main Autosleepers workshop at Broadway.
For example, on the Peugeot coachbuilt motorhomes the recommended pressures are on the plate inside the nearside front door BUT this really applies to the Boxer and not the Autosleepers conversion.
For Continental, the Continental technical support group will give you the exact tyre pressures for a campervan which depend on axle load so you will need a weighbridge visit.
You will find that the base vehicle manufacturers recommended pressures are much higher than the tyre manufacturer for a motorhome. When you reduce the pressure to give a comfortable ride you will get a tyre low pressure warning which you will have to live with because it cannot be recalibrated. I believe this is because coachbuilt manufacturers are reluctant to touch the base vehicle cab as these are mass produced.
0
