I have a 1989 avondale caravan, the tyres i have on at the moment do not look right, they dont look round (have a flat spot at the bottom) I have pumped them up to the max tyre pressure that is indicated on the tyre wall.
Its not an heavy caravan, off the top of my head its 750kg + 150kg , so i am pulling 900kg
Were can i find out what tyres go on the caravan, i do need to sort them out.
Not necessarily. It sounds like they may be the wrong tyres. Check with the manufacturer for type of tyre, and the pressure it will run at. Very few tyres are supposed to run at the maximum pressure shown on the sidewall.
I had my tyres changed recently and they look soft. I'm assured that that's correct - 850 kg unladen caravan, 33 psi in the tyres. The recommended pressure for my tyres is 40 but it was explained to me that if they're too hard they don't grip the road properly.
Definitely get them sorted soon - we had a blow out on the way back from our holiday. Scary stuff. Stayed remarkably stable and we only lost the wheel arch cover. A big reminder of what could happen & why it is worth annoying everyone on the road by driving slowly - I hate to imagine what could have happened if we had been going faster than we were.
Quote: Originally posted by Max-and-Paddy on 26/7/2010
I had my tyres changed recently and they look soft. I'm assured that that's correct - 850 kg unladen caravan, 33 psi in the tyres. The recommended pressure for my tyres is 40 but it was explained to me that if they're too hard they don't grip the road properly.
You don't say what pressure you've put in them.
Nora
nora please do not run under the recommended pressure for your tyres 2 reasons
first you are under inflated thus lowering the weight carrying of the tyre so are then over loaded
second under inflation causes heat build up in the tyre which in turn can turn in to a blow out
please dont any one shoot me down for this as it is my opinion and just passing on a bit of advice
Quote: Originally posted by Max-and-Paddy on 26/7/2010I had my tyres changed recently and they look soft. I'm assured that that's correct - 850 kg unladen caravan, 33 psi in the tyres. The recommended pressure for my tyres is 40 but it was explained to me that if they're too hard they don't grip the road properly.
You don't say what pressure you've put in them.
Nora
nora please do not run under the recommended pressure for your tyres 2 reasons
first you are under inflated thus lowering the weight carrying of the tyre so are then over loaded
second under inflation causes heat build up in the tyre which in turn can turn in to a blow out
please dont any one shoot me down for this as it is my opinion and just passing on a bit of advice
The fitter inflated them to 40psi because that was what the manufacturers recommended for that tyre. Because it was so much higher, I queried it with Swift who told me that I should put in whatever it said in the caravan handbook, which was 33psi.
I don't know anything about tyres and could be wrong, but I would have thought it was more likely to blow out if it was over inflated rather than under, which I would expect to damage the wheel and the tyre rather than actually blow out.
Underinflation will increase the temperature that a tyre runs at and increase the risk of a blowout.
The difference between hot and cold tyre pressures should be around 4psi (try Googling "4psi rule"). If, after running for an hour, the pressure increase is more than that you need to put some more air in. If it is much less, you can let a bit out.
"......The fitter inflated them to 40psi because that was what the manufacturers recommended for that tyre. Because it was so much higher, I queried it with Swift who told me that I should put in whatever it said in the caravan handbook, which was 33psi....."
As previously stated, it is not a good idea to run underinflated, but for a 900kg van, assuming 14 or 15 inch wheels, 33 psi sounds about right.
This diffrence could possibly be as a result of the caravan handbook figure of 33 being applicable to 'normal radial' tyres; which would be suitable for a 900kg max van. However, if it had subsequently been fitted with 'reinforced commercial' tyres, these would need a pressure of around 40psi.
Reinforced commercial tyres are usually quite suitable also.
How to tell the differemce:
If the size info on the sidewall includes the letter "C", (eg 185 70 C 15) it is a 'reinforced commercial' tyre and needs around 40psi. If it (for example) says 185 70 R 15 it is a 'normal radial' type and around 33 would be correct. Radial tyres always look a little flat where they touch the ground.
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Topic: Tyres for caravan
