My caravan spare is unused but 6 yrs old, it will,pain me to do it but it will have to be ditched for a new one.
I rotate the spare on my car, because it is easy to do on my drive, but the caravan spare is under the caravan and not enough room on my drive.
Don't think is is cost effective to have it done at service or take it to aTyre Fitter.
What do other people do?
Because the spare tyre is out of the sunlight with no pressure on it to cause any flat spots or cracks it doesn't need replacing every 5 years. As long as the tyre has no visual defects and the minimum pressure in it to act as a spare then that is all is required. It's an item that you hope you never have to use so it could be a waste of money replacing something that has had no use. The service engineer should advise respectively if the spare tyre needs replacing or not.
Next time your tyres are checked, don’t forget to get the spare inspected. The NTDA recommends that spare tyres over 6 years old should only be used as a ‘get you home’ emergency measure and then changed at the earliest opportunity.
However, motorists should also be aware that many new cars may not have a spare tyre!
“As a general rule, it is advised that caravan tyres should ideally be replaced when 5 years old, and should never be used when more than 7 years old. This advice is borne out by the Club’s own research into caravan tyre failures, which confirms that the likelihood of a tyre problem increases after such age. Our research further suggests that tyres which need a high inflation pressure (say 50psi or more) require greater care still. Such tyres should be closely examined for signs of deterioration from 3 years old, and it would be strongly advised not to use them beyond 5 years old. It is not the case that all tyres over these ages will rapidly fail. However, the statistical likelihood of a problem occurring increases noticeably with age. Given the disruption to your holiday that a tyre failure could cause (let alone the risk involved), it is strongly recommended that you follow this guidance.”
I always find this subject interesting with the time recommendation. My neighbour,she bought a new citron Saxo in 1997 and it still passes MOT each year with the original tyres, which will be 20 years old in a few months,and this permanently stands outside and not garaged.
Provided tyres have sufficient tread & no cracks they will pass mot. There is no set age for tyre life but obviously vast majority of road tyres are changed after 2-4yrs. 5-6yrs for caravan tyre is reasonable for changing though as tyres perish with age.
Why caravans have alloy wheels I do not know they are just boxes for sleeping in. If caravan has 3 steel wheels then wheels can be swapped around so all tyres would get used.
If you do need to fit spare then it could be run down a motorway all day & if it is old & perished it may fail.
I would get the tyre out and check it, if its been sat in a underslung spare wheel carrier for 6 years I'm betting there will be wear groves in the tyre side wall.
My tyre lives in the caravan and is around 8 years old, it will only be used to get me to a garage.
The caravan had annual service last week by Catterick Caravans, the tyre was mentioned in the Service Report. It was removed, tyre pressure checked, and tyre inspected.
Quote: Originally posted by Paul_B on 07/2/2017
I would get the tyre out and check it, if its been sat in a underslung spare wheel carrier for 6 years I'm betting there will be wear groves in the tyre side wall.
My tyre lives in the caravan and is around 8 years old, it will only be used to get me to a garage.
Agreed - seen this on my van with a spare only 4 years old - such a poor design of the spare wheel carrier.
When i fit a new set of tyres the old ones go for the spares/winter wheels. If i ever needed to use one i would restrict the distance and speed to ensure it doesnt overheat etc.
My only real concern on tyre age besides the obvious possible degradation is the insurance cover, in this day and age where insurance companies look for any reason not to pay out tyre age could be a get out clause for them
Quote: Originally posted by romany on 08/2/2017
My only real concern on tyre age besides the obvious possible degradation is the insurance cover, in this day and age where insurance companies look for any reason not to pay out tyre age could be a get out clause for them
I believe that "any excuse" should be substituted for "any reason".
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Topic: Spare tyre 6 yrs old and never used.
