Tyre blow out on caravan
Hi,
Has anyone experienced a tyre blow out on their caravan on a busy road and what did you do? It happened to us recently as we were joining the A14 near Newmarket, luckily we were only doing about 40mph and my husband spotted smoke coming from the tyre and saw it blow. He managed to keep control and pull over.
There was no hard shoulder so we managed to pull over onto a grass verge, next to a live lane. We contacted our breakdown company who arranged for the caravan to be loaded onto a pick-up truck and we follow the truck to a safe spot where we could change the tyre. The breakdown company also advised we call 999 as we next to a live lane. When the police arrived they blocked the lane and then said we should change the tyre on the side of the road. They asked us to put the legs down on the caravan to raise the wheel off the floor. The caravan was already leaning badly to one side and we didn't want to put that amount of stress on the legs. However, they continued to remove the nuts on the wheel and then left it balancing on one nut. I should add that we are new to caravanning and we thought we had it under control with the breakdown company on their way. We were not happy with having to change the tyre on the side of a very busy road. However, the police were insistent that we change the wheel there and then as they wanted to get the lane re-opened.
Luckily the breakdown truck arrived and he lifted the van with a hydraulic jack and put the spare wheel on. We were escorted off the A14 by the police and then followed the breakdown van to the nearest Kwik Fit.
As I said we are new to caravanning and I am just curious as to how a more experienced caravanner would have dealt with the situation. Thank you.
Comments
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We had a caravan tyre puncture on the M1. We got out, placed warning triangle up road, OH quickly replaced damaged wheel with spare, while I stood lookout for anything that hadn’t seen us, then at next junction we got off and gave everything a good check over. We were fortunate in that it was the nearside wheel, but we were as prepared for a puncture as we could be. We weren’t prepared to spend hours waiting for help.. we always carry a spare, a jack and have an emergency plan in mind.
That said, that stretch of the M1 had a hard shoulder. If on a smart section, we would get out, get the dog out, and scramble to safety away from vehicle. We live near the section that has HGV’s etc… taking out anything that has to stop. My OH worked in emergency services, I trust his plan.
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I most definitely would not have changed it at the side of the road in a live lane no matter what Plod insisted. And steadies are not designed to be used as a jack to lift a caravan.
The only time a caravan has blown on a caravan of mine was just as we were about to leave the motorway & we were already on the off-slip. I carried on slowly to a nearby housing estate where I changed the wheel.
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I would stand well away while I let the police officers come off the lane and the repair man change the wheel.
Both are more capable of doing their job than I am.
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Install Tyron bands, they do not prevent punctures but they do enable you to travel perhaps to a safe area, I have travelled over 2 miles with a blown tyre using Tyron bands and the tyre was still in good condition. I Always carry a 2 ton trolley jack and 2 pieces of flat hard timber, one to put trolley jack on, and one to put under axle, I also ran the caravan up on the leveling blocks, makes it much easier to access that stupid cradle with the spare locked in
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Typo….Sorry, meant to write coned off the lane.
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I had a tyre blow out on a small boat trailer being towed by a Disco - travelling at 60 mph on the M5. Hadn't got a clue anything had happened until an overtaking motorist (passenger, actually) started waving at me frantically. The tyre was completely shredded and the wheel damaged. Fortunately, I managed to get onto the hard shoulder - high viz jackets on and legged it up the embankment until the recovery truck arrived.
It's the main reason why I, now, wouldn't consider towing without TPMS fitted to the caravan.
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I really don't know how Tyron bands would help. They can't stop the tyre from disintegrating like what the OP experienced when smoke was seen coming from the tyre after the blowout. From my experience after a blowout there really is no reason why it should not be possible to come to a safe stop even after the tyre has been lost altogether and the wheel is already running on the rim so long as no sudden manoeuvres are necessary. I was able to leave the motorway on a slip road at a junction with a completely burnt tyre.
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Having worked at the side of and in the centre of live motorways, I appreciate the speed of the traffic and would never attempt to change any wheel on a hard shoulder. If possible I would continue to drive slowly to the nearest exit, failing that my advice is to get out and wait behind the barrier. Better late and safe than dead.
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Having attempted and failed to remove a wheel on my motorhome on the drive at home, there is no way I would try it on a motorway, with or without a hard shoulder/refuge, even if the seized wheel problem didn't exist.
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"From my experience after a blowout there really is no reason why it should not be possible to come to a safe stop even after the tyre has been lost altogether and the wheel is already running on the rim so long as no sudden manoeuvres are necessary."
and Tyron bands make this manaoeuvre so much easier as they help to stop the tyre coming off the rim, so with a normal puncture, such as the one i had, in fact i was not aware i had a puncture, was sat in traffic when a guy knocked on the window and told me i had a puncture, was then able to travel to the nearest lay-by with the tyre still on the rim and then change the wheel, sure if you have a full blown blow out and the tyre disintigrates then Tyron bands will be of no use.
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Years ago I had a blowout about 160 miles from Calais. Changes the wheel for the spare at the side of the Autoroute, all OK so carried on. Problems came when the other tyre blew out a further 120 miles down the road. No spare any more so had to call recovery which was when the problems really began as you couldn't get reinforced 13" tyres, as used on caravans then, in France so to cut a long story short we ended continuing to site and returning to UK on two car tyres, not a good idea really.
One point though, NEVER jack the caravan up on the corner steadies which can cause heavy floor damage in the corners, clues in their name. Always use a jack
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"and Tyron bands make this manaoeuvre so much easier as they help to stop the tyre coming off the rim, "
I don't know how stopping the tyre coming off the rim makes the manoeuvre any easier. A flat tyre doesn't provide any lateral control whether it's still on the wheel rim or not. Only the wheel on the other side of the caravan ensures continued lateral stability. Under otherwise identical conditions no-one has ever proved that one is any worse off without Tyron bands.
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I have once changed a car wheel on the hard shoulder. It was an offside wheel but I was able to put most of the car onto the verge at the other side of the hardshoulder giving max distance from lane 1. It was a huge relief when it was all sorted & I was on my way. In more recent years I've laid down on the hard shoulder fixing my A frame to the front of Emily's car when it packed in again ... didn't seem as bad because it was 'rush hour' & average speed on the motorway was about 10mph
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Have you thought about tyre pal T.P.M.S.
a blowout happens when you get a puncture, as you lose pressure the tyre heats up until the sidewall can't cope anymore and the tyre blows,
the T.P.M.S. will display the temp and pressure of each wheel in turn, so you will know long before it blows, so you can stop and change the wheel
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I have witnessed the event of tyre blowout on a caravanner, ahead of me on the road, that is one reason why, to reduce the risk, we should be aware of the caravan's tyre age, sidewall condition and air pressures.
The mess that ensued ,for the poor chap, was horrendous but fortunately he and his passenger were physically OK.
Take care everyone.
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I doubt that the police have any right to insist that you change a wheel yourself. Also the officer present obviously had no understanding of the correct procedure. The steadies should never be used as jacks. What you did was downright dangerous and you were very lucky to get away with it. I believe that a letter of complaint to the chief constable would be quite in order.
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Caravan Club advice :-
"After a puncture, have the opposite side (non-punctured) tyre removed from its wheel and checked inside and out for signs of damage. Failure to take this precaution may result in an increased risk of a second tyre deflation within as little as 100-200 miles. For this same reason, we strongly advise to get a punctured tyre repaired or replaced as soon as possible."
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I don't see the logic of that advice. The non-punctured tyre is not more vulnerable to damage following a blowout on the other side, unless you are talking about the adjacent tyre of a twin axle. It's not expected to carry the full weight of the caravan even if the tyre on the other side has disintegrated completely. The blown side will still be supported by the wheel rim.
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A few years ago, I had a 'tread separation' on the offside tyre...in the middle lane as I was joining the M1 south of Leeds...quite scary as the tyre flayed and destroyed some panelling above and behind the wheel arch...plus taking out all the electrics, wheel arch, some flooring etc inside...fortunately as I was manoeuvring to join the inside lane from another motorway I was able to control the swerving...
Recovery was by Green Flag..who incidentally gave the wrong info to the local recovery firm..as a tyre change job..not a full recovery.
Later, at the main dealership....the insurance assessor discovered that the tyres on the caravan had been recalled ( I think it was something to do with the integrity of the tyre walls) and should have been replaced under warranty. As the dealer failed to notify me and the caravan had only just had its first year service....after a slightly heated discussion, a new caravan was forthcoming a couple of weeks later..
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It may not be logical, but it actually happened to me.I was about 2 miles from a cl in North Yorkshire when a motorcycle overtook me and pointed towards the caravan. by the time I'd stopped the tyre was smoking. It was a minor road and quiet enough for me to change the wheel. As it was a Sunday and we were moving on the next day to Atherstone in the midlands I sourced a new tyre in Atherstone. On the way back home a week later I had a blowout on the A1 in North Yorkshire on the other side. Fortunately there was a slip road from a farm and It was the nearside it was easy and relatively safe to change. Maybe coincidence, who knows?
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