Tyre age limit
Hi, Could anyone please tell me what the rules are regarding age limits for caravan tyres please, I can't find anything in the club insurance terms and conditions.
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It’s not a rule so is unlikely to appear in insurance terms.
It’s generally reckoned that tyres should be replaced when they’re between 5 and 7 years old because the sidewalls deteriorate.
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Suspect it's rare to wear out a tyre on a caravan but they do deteriorate over time due to ultra violet light on them. This is why you can sometimes see caravan tyres being covered over when not in use. Furthermore, if the caravan isn't used over the winter there may be constant pressure on one part of the sidewall causing possible premature failure which I why I use axle stands from Dec to Feb. Change the tyres if in doubt.
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Suspect it's rare to wear out a tyre on a caravan
In 7 years my caravan will do around 25,000 miles and so the tread will be nowhere near low. A good few years ago I realised that the rear tyres on the tow car where over 9 years old from car purchase and so I changed them. No cracks and after I suppose 55,000 miles tread OK as all that rear tyres and caravan tyres tend to do is to roll. Car is normally in FWD and it is front tyres taking most of the strain of cornering and he majority of braking.
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As said there are no rules as such but your tyres must be in a serviceable and legal condition. Their condition should be checked as part of the service. The code on the tyre (3615 means tyre made in 36th week of 2015). gives you the age so you can easily monitor and check the tyre. I suspect most of us check caravan tyres fairly regularly as we do our car tyres
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The one thing you can do to help caravan tyre life is to get wheel covers. I have just changed my tyres after 7 years( the new owner will be very grateful no doubt) and even the service engineer had to admit that the tyres were in excellent condition with no cracks or splits anywhere. Ultra violet rays from the sun will ‘dry’ and destroy plastic and rubber eventually and simple covers are the answer. I even put one on the non awning side on site.
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I have just had my caravan serviced , it is just 4 years old and I was told to expect to change the tyres next year as the will be 5 years old.
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Just a word of warning. I always had it at the back of my mind that caravan tyres were OK for 5 years or so and I have to admit that with a new van and TPMS fitted, I never really checked them - relying on the pressure monitor to let me know everything was OK.
Last year - when the tyres were 3 and a half years old (confirmed by date stamp), I did check them just before setting off for a trip to Devon. I was horrified to find serious cracks in the sidewall of one of the tyres - one of the two that sits on the drive in direct sunlight.
I shan't make that mistake again and needless to say, all four were changed just to be on the safe side. Plus they were a reputable make - Michelins.
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Last year I had a blowout on the drivers side caravan tyre. Quite scary I was doing 50mph but I managed to pull over and change it myself. The tyre had been checked by a service engineer and was in date and good condition 6 months before. So I would always change at 7 years old to reduce the risk of it happening again. And I have a wheel arch to fix now.
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Which all goes to show that a blanket ... 'change your tyres at X yrs' is misleading at best. As above I've changed caravan tyres that were no where near 5 yr old due to side wall crazing & cracks. Check your own tyres & don't assume they're OK cos the 'van was recently serviced.
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I use tyre covers when parked on the drive although I haven't taken them on my trips this year yet on the basis that the sun has been fairly low in the sky if it appeared at all.
I think I'll take them when I go to Germany as we'll be both further south and the sun will be stronger. Probably only use them if stopping for more than a couple of days though. Perhaps a good coat of tyre paint might help.
I used them all the time on the caravan. It certainly does protect the tyres.
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This thread has prompted me to purchase a double wheel cover for our caravan - it was only £13 via eBay, so a good investment if it saves me from my previous experience of having to change the tyres at 3 and a half years old. I'm only covering one side because where the van's stored on our drive, the nearside is shielded by the garage. It's the other side that gets the full blast of the sun and on site, the nearside is covered by the awning / skirt.
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Three weeks ago I arranged for new tyres to be fitted by ETyres. When they arrived the date stamp showed they were exactly a year old so I refused them. ETyres were OK about my decision and made a refund two days later so no complaints there. Would you have done the same?
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They only check the age of the trailer tyres, presumably assuming that the towcar will have done enough miles in six years to require new tyres in the meantime.
My caravan is due for its MOT equivalent here in Germany tomorrow. The tyres are now five years old. I presume that it will pass the test even though tests are performed only every other year over here.
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