Tyre Replacement Time

Fozzie
Fozzie Club Member Posts: 550
500 Comments
edited March 2021 in Caravans #1

Hi Its is tyre replacement time now for my Van with time approaching 5 1/2 years and whilst I am not a "Brand Person" it is proving difficult.

Currently I have Kargomax tyres on the Van and I have contacted at least half a dozen mobile tyre companies in my area,they all can supply and recommend tyres "suitable" for my Van.None supply and fit the Kargomax 

But some off the brand names of the tyres I have never heard off i.e. JoyRoad. Kormoran Nankang ect ect

I just feel uneasy about fitting a tyre that I have no idea of the spec, or reputation, what do others do when replacing tyres.

 

Comments

  • mnlatham
    mnlatham Forum Participant Posts: 108
    edited March 2021 #2

    I replaced the Hankooks on my Swift with Nexen using Tyres on The Drive. Had no problems with them over the last 3 years whilst touring UK and Europe.

  • skodaman
    skodaman Forum Participant Posts: 141
    edited March 2021 #3

    I tried to get some quality [ well known brand ] but most tyre suppliers seem only interested in car tyres  I found a local dealer that searched their web site and found me a pair of Hyfly van tyres at a reasonable price [£51.ea fitted and balance ] I checked the date of manufacture and they were just 1month old and seem to be a decent tyre for the c/van 

    Avon van tyres are not recommended for use on c/vans but they do not say  why, but some fitters will will try to sell you them [as I found out to my cost ] 

    All tyres have to be made to Euro standards so they should all be fine whatever brand that they are

  • skodaman
    skodaman Forum Participant Posts: 141
    edited March 2021 #4

    just try contacting an independent  tyre  fitter they have more flexability 

    with the wholesalers to get what you want at a reasonable price 

    best of luck  

     

     

  • JohnM20
    JohnM20 Forum Participant Posts: 1,416
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    edited March 2021 #5

    I recently got Kargomax tyres from AsdaTyres online. The price was OK and fitting was at a local fitter, included in the price.

  • dave the rave
    dave the rave Forum Participant Posts: 806
    500 Comments
    edited March 2021 #6

    Cargomax are usually to be found on Bailey caravans and it seems that each caravan manufacturer does a deal with a different tyre manufacturer.Personally I have always found Hankook tyres to last well.A lot of tyre manufacturers have a range of different brand names and my suspicion would be that they are all made in the same factory although I have no proof of this or indeed if they are all made to the same standards.

  • eribaMotters
    eribaMotters Club Member Posts: 1,193 ✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2021 #7

    I believe this is an issue that is over-egged by many. Yes when a tyre gets to 6 or 7 years old replace it, but you do not need to go premium grade as on your car. The loads on the tyre are far different. You are not asking it to steer or transmit 150 bhp + to the road. 

    I have used mobile fitters on two occasions. One went as far as advising me against the "special" on offer due to the age of the tyre, having realised I wanted as a long life a life as possible. 

    Also beware of going over the top in the load rating. The tyre wall is designed to offer an element of suspension and if you go to high you will loose some of this.

     

    Colin

  • Rufs
    Rufs Club Member Posts: 4,072 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2021 #8

    I used a local fitter and he recommended Nexen, the tyres he took off were in really good condition tread wise, it was just that they had cracked inbetween the tread etc, they were 6 years old, I aways use wheel covers when not in use, it is UHV that causes the tyre to deterioratelaughing, i also have Tyron bands fitted, yes they do work, only had 1 puncture and they did what it says on the tin laughing

  • eribaMotters
    eribaMotters Club Member Posts: 1,193 ✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2021 #9

     I'm fortunate in my tyre care. When not in use I store our caravan at home in a garage, so out of direct sunlight. Over winter it is also on axle stands, except this year when I've tried tyre savers/cradle things.

    When I've changed my tyres at 6/7 years I've inspected closely and seen no cracking or signs of deterioration, so it obviously helps.

    Colin

  • Fozzie
    Fozzie Club Member Posts: 550
    500 Comments
    edited March 2021 #10

    Yesterday,I sent a few e mails off to mobile tyre fitters and a couple of replies back.At least I can get a Maxiss now which is a make I  actually recognise with a mid range price around £70.00 each including fitting and sundry.

    Unfortunately Asda didn't reply so can try to ring them,there was a box to select fitting at £47.00 ouch.

    Thanks for all the replies and I am glad I do not have to act urgently and have another month to keep searching.

     

  • JohnM20
    JohnM20 Forum Participant Posts: 1,416
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    edited March 2021 #11

    Your post puzzles me Fozzie. Less than a month ago I bought two Kargomax C ST 6000 tyres, 185R14C from Asda Tyres Online. These are exactly the same tyres as fitted new to my 2015 Lunar. They cost me £70.54 each including fitting at a tyre place local to me. Asda gave me a choice of fitters including Halfords. You select a fitter and choose a fitting date and time. Asda then delivers the tyres to the fitter. There is nothing more to pay.

    interestingly though I asked if the tyres could be sent to me and I’d get them fitted at my usual supplier who would fit and balance them for £10.00 each. I was told yes and the price would be a bit less but there would be a delivery charge of £80.00. I obviously didn’t go down that route. I don’t know how Asda can justify £80 for delivery.

  • armourer
    armourer Forum Participant Posts: 218
    edited March 2021 #12

    i thought as long as the tyre was for commercial vehicle it would be 

    ok to fit them ??

  • JohnM20
    JohnM20 Forum Participant Posts: 1,416
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    edited March 2021 #13

    This may not be necessarily so. Some years ago I entrusted the NCC approved servicing engineer that I used at the time to get new tyres fitted for me. I can't remember what he got for me but I found that the maximum pressure for the tyres was somewhat below the pressure needed for the caravan. He had to change them for me within the first week after I spotted the mistake. The engineer had actually put in the right pressure for the caravan but it was above the maximum for the tyre and so potentially unsafe. 

  • Fozzie
    Fozzie Club Member Posts: 550
    500 Comments
    edited March 2021 #14

    Sorry John I have just read your post and gone back into Asda tyres and after searching for the Kargomax,nothing was there under K or even (C) but they are there under GT Radial @£72 odd

    Fitting is a reasonable £6 per tyre.

    Rather than e mail them again I will ring them and see what they say,I notice you have to pay up front if you follow the on line forms.

     

  • JohnM20
    JohnM20 Forum Participant Posts: 1,416
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    edited March 2021 #15

    Fozzie, when I initially spoke to Asda Tyres they advised me to order the tyres online. Ordering over the phone, I was told, would incur a £10 additional service charge.

    I didn't have to pay any extra at all for fitting but yes, you do have to pay when you order but that is usual for most things these days. Delivery of the tyres to the fitter in Derby was only about two days. The fitter phoned to say they had received the tyres and so I got them fitted two days before my booked appointment. 

  • Pageantpete07
    Pageantpete07 Forum Participant Posts: 91
    First Comment
    edited March 2021 #16

    My caravan goes in for its annual service in April ,the caravan is six year old and so requires two new tyres ,  I have been quoted £75 plus vat fitted but i dont know the brand of tyre .Does this sound reasonable ?

  • eribaMotters
    eribaMotters Club Member Posts: 1,193 ✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2021 #17

    From above postings you might save £10 a tyre by shopping around. If you are in and a tyre fitter would come to you and a van that is stored at home I'd save the £20. But it's your call if the £20 is worth the trouble.

     Colin

  • eurortraveller
    eurortraveller Club Member Posts: 6,829 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2021 #18

    What do others do ?  I go into the local independent butchers when I need meat, the local independent electrical appliance shop when the fridge died, and into the local independent tyre shop when I need tyres. I talk to them, ask for their suggestions and accept what they recommend. All are knowledgeable professionals running local businesses, all three of them come out to the house,  their prices are fair and I am happy to trade with them. Life in small town Cornwall is simple. 

  • JohnM20
    JohnM20 Forum Participant Posts: 1,416
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    edited March 2021 #19

    Whilst I do appreciate your sentiment about buying local, I do when I possibly can, but there are times when local isn't the necessarily the best or indeed, safest. In the forty years that I've been caravanning I have had to get new caravan tyres on four occasions. On two of these occasions I have been sold, by the local tyre experts, two sets of tyres that were completely wrong and thereby potentially unsafe.

    The first was when I was very new to caravanning and didn't know any better and was sold low profile car tyres by the local tyre place. The second was more recent when, as I related in an earlier post, I was sold tyres via an NCC approved service engineer and from a local tyre supplier that could not be inflated to the required pressure for the caravan. Thankfully, having more knowledge now, I spotted this straight away and got them changed immediately. Because of this I now try to get tyres as fitted by the caravan manufacturer on the assumption that they know best and, should there be an accident an insurance claim couldn't be dismissed because different tyres had been fitted. Hence my need, in this latest purchase, to find a supplier who sold the correct tyres. None of my local tyre specialists did nor were they prepared to try to get them for me.   

    There must be lots of people out there who have taken up caravanning in the last year or so and who probably have the same very limited knowledge that I had forty years ago and could quite easily be sold unsuitable tyres by local tyre dealers who just want to make a sale.

  • Fozzie
    Fozzie Club Member Posts: 550
    500 Comments
    edited March 2021 #20

    Many thanks Eurotraveller for your insight how you shop.

    Thanks to members on here I have now tyres that I want,for a price that I am willing to pay,without extra for fitting.

    This is the opposite to buying a tyre I have never heard of,at a price I was not willing to pay,with extra for fitting.

    But I will say this, I will  still be using a local business.