Had a blow out on the caravan on the Peage today heading from Angers to Cognac. Caravan not damaged and came to a halt on the hard shoulder amid some smoke. We came to rest about 50m from a motorway emergency telephone. So I used it to call to let them know we'd were stationary on their hard shoulder.
Fine thought I, I'll call my roadside recovery and bob's your uncle.
Not possible. Evidently as French motorways are privately owned the only people who are authorised to do roadside recovery on them is their own contractor. So it matters not if you have insurance and recovery, they can't help you because French Law prevents it.
The operator on the end of the motorway emergency phone only spoke French very very quickly and with the noise of the traffic going past and me being slightly mutton this conversation was leading nowhere.
15 minutes later a Motorway Maintenance type van turned up with amber lights flashing and made us safe until the roadside recovery arrived about 40 minutes later. They put the spare on and we drove to the Tyre factors as recommended by them and had a tyre fitted - luckily the rim wasn't damaged.
As it happens the costs were reasonable and we're now on a site in the Vendeen just for tonight - we'll re-commence our journey to Cognac matins.
Just thought I'd mention this as people may not be aware that roadside recovery cover is useless on the peage.
------------- Best Regards
David
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We had a blow out on the A10 near Poitiers a few years ago I got onto the hard shoulder. I rang the RAC who We were using for breakdown, they refused to come out as they said the Caravan wasn’t covered for breakdown only the car. By the time off of the phone highway maintenance were there and protected us from the traffic. A few minutes later a breakdown service came and changed the wheel and we were on our way. The maintenance van even blocked the traffic to let us return to the main carriageway. When we arrived at our site we spoke to reception and they made some enquiries, they told we would have to replace both tyres. I said no way would I do that as my other tyres were only 2 years old. They eventually found a firm to change just the one tyre, it cost €96.
Bad luck, but the main thing is you're in one piece and the damage isn't preventing you from carrying on with your plans, only being delayed.
Being a bit of a stickler for fine details, I admit that I knew that in case of a breakdown on the autoroutes, only the French breakdown services can get you off the motorway. Once off it, your own breakdown service can be called.
Enjoy Cognac when you get there, although weather forecast doesn't look great anywhere in France at the moment. We're not far from Poitiers and it's a bit wet at the moment
------------- Ina
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Quote: Originally posted by les + june on 03/9/2024
We had a blow out on the A10 near Poitiers a few years ago I got onto the hard shoulder. I rang the RAC who We were using for breakdown, they refused to come out as they said the Caravan wasn’t covered for breakdown only the car. By the time off of the phone highway maintenance were there and protected us from the traffic. A few minutes later a breakdown service came and changed the wheel and we were on our way. The maintenance van even blocked the traffic to let us return to the main carriageway. When we arrived at our site we spoke to reception and they made some enquiries, they told we would have to replace both tyres. I said no way would I do that as my other tyres were only 2 years old. They eventually found a firm to change just the one tyre, it cost €96.
In France I think it is law that the same tyres need to be on the same axle and cannot mix brands. The way around this is to take the wheel only to the depot and request a new one is fitted. It also seems that in France the only tyre available is Michelin!
The autoroute contractor will do the job and if your own breakdown insurance covers caravan as well as car it will repay you when you send in the bill.
Yes it is the law but they could supply the same tyre but said I they have to fit 2 tyres as they weren’t allowed to just fit 1. As my other tyres were only 2 years old.
Unfortunate experience, glad it turned out OK, in fact think you got off lightly, known people who've suffered blowouts leading to body damage from disintegrating tyre!
Yes, I was aware of the French Peage recovery system, perhaps not terribly user friendly having no control and being forced to deal only with French speaking controllers when your French is not fluent, and frustrating when you've paid for private recovery insurance, but no doubt it has a degree of efficiency getting obstructions off the carriageway ASAP from the French point of view.
As far as blowout prevention goes, I feel a lot more confident since I fitted a Tyrepal sensor system on my caravan. Blowouts are usually preceded by overheating due to pressure loss causing excessive flexing of sidewalls, and the Tyrepal system gives warning of both developing pressure loss and overheating before things get dramatic. Without, you're in ignorant bliss until 'bang'!
Quote: Originally posted by david8858 on 02/9/2024
Had a blow out on the caravan on the Peage today heading from Angers to Cognac. Caravan not damaged and came to a halt on the hard shoulder amid some smoke. We came to rest about 50m from a motorway emergency telephone. So I used it to call to let them know we'd were stationary on their hard shoulder.
Fine thought I, I'll call my roadside recovery and bob's your uncle.
Not possible. Evidently as French motorways are privately owned the only people who are authorised to do roadside recovery on them is their own contractor. So it matters not if you have insurance and recovery, they can't help you because French Law prevents it.
The operator on the end of the motorway emergency phone only spoke French very very quickly and with the noise of the traffic going past and me being slightly mutton this conversation was leading nowhere.
15 minutes later a Motorway Maintenance type van turned up with amber lights flashing and made us safe until the roadside recovery arrived about 40 minutes later. They put the spare on and we drove to the Tyre factors as recommended by them and had a tyre fitted - luckily the rim wasn't damaged.
As it happens the costs were reasonable and we're now on a site in the Vendeen just for tonight - we'll re-commenc
e our journey to Cognac matins.
Just thought I'd mention this as people may not be aware that roadside recovery cover is useless on the peage.
If you have decent breakdown insurance they will reimburse the amount you paid to the autoroute roadside recovery company. It's been common knowledge to most people I know that autoroute breakdowns have to be dealt with by the company authorised to do so on that autoroute. (We broke down 21 years ago and I was aware of it then).
Once the recovery company had attended and set us up on their trailer we informed our own breakdown company (at the time the AA) and from then on they liaised with the recovery, and then with the garage we were taken to, and it was all sorted out by them from there on. We were supplied with a replacement vehicle, on loan for the three weeks of our holiday, and took it back on our return journey when we picked up our car. We thought the service received was excellent.
So I think you have cause to complain about your own breakdown company, if they refused to help once you had left the autoroute.
Thanks for the information, and I am glad you were able to get your caravan fixed for your trip to be continued.
DK
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Van is just coming up 7 and tyres were both changed 3 years ago. The spare is original.
The French Motorway recovery, at least on the motorway we were using use Pnue. The spare got fitted by the recovery man and then we towed the caravan to the nearest Pnue branch where they changed just the offending tyre. I asked if they could change the other one as it was the same age and was greeted with puzzlement as they had inspected it and declared it OK.
First thing back in UK I'll have the tyres on the spare and the other side replaced hopefully with the same brand the French fitted.
I don't have tyrepal but we were meaning to get Tyron Bands fitted when we changed the tyres last time but for some reason they weren't availabe. I'll have them fitted to all 3 wheels when we get home!!
I suppose we could claim it back from the insurance but as the excess is more than the total cost I don't think we'll bother.
Quote: Originally posted by david8858 on 04/9/2024
.......
I don't have tyrepal but we were meaning to get Tyron Bands fitted when we changed the tyres last time but for some reason they weren't availabe. I'll have them fitted to all 3 wheels when we get home!!
.......
I had Tyron bands on my van, presumably fitted from new, but certainly on it when I bought s/h at around 2 years old. I got rid of them and replaced with the Tyrepal monitoring system couple of years back when I had new tyres fitted (due for replacement on age alone) because I couldn't find a tyre fitter who would put on new tyres if Tyrons were fitted! I'm in NW London/Hertfordshire area, and tried dozens of tyre fitters, big chains and small independents, ALL said NO, won't touch them! Even when CAMC had member's discount offer with one of the big tyre chains, the smallprint said they wouldn't deal with Tyrons!
I ended up having to remove the Tyrons MYSELF, BEFORE I could get new tyres - bit of a PITA breaking tyre bead to access bands without proper tyre fitting equip, but just about doable. First words from the tyre fitter when I took wheels in and they spotted they were caravan wheels was " ... they haven't got Tyrons on, have they!".
TBH, the experience scared me, thinking that if at my leisure when I had the choice of dozens of tyre fitters in a highly competitive area and none would touch them, what would happen out on the road or in the sticks, or even worse, abroad, in an emergency, where I'd be forced to use whichever fitter was available - reckoned I'd be in trouble!
The other aspect is, I won't skimp on tyres, I only use premium brand/quality tyres, many fitters only stock/fit obscure brand budget tyres for caravans, or charge outrageous prices if they get in especially the brand you want, so if you do find a fitter who'll deal with Tyrons, you may end up with undesirable tyres or pay very dearly for choice. Without Tyrons I could shop around for MY choice of tyre at a good price - I ended up with Premium tyres for LESS than many obscure brand budget tyres were available at!
I had confidence in the worth of Tyron bands up to the point that I needed new tyres, then I realised they were a liability as much as an asset!
The Tyrepal system gives early warning of most of the circumstances that lead to blowouts (low pressure leading to overheating - BOTH trigger alarms), so can give you time to pull over safely and at relative leisure to deal with the problem BEFORE it goes bang and becomes an emergency! Tyrons do nothing to prevent blowouts or slow punctures for that matter, only keep the wrecked tyre on the rim, and maybe limit consequential damage if you are quick enough to notice your tyre is flat before it flails itself to pieces and/or catches fire!
Of the two, for my money, Tyrepal is a better choice, as more able to prevent disaster rather than manage an already occurred disaster to a limited degree. For what it's worth, I don't think Tyron bands are anywhere near as popular now as they were say 10 or more years back, partly perhaps because TPMS like Tyrepal have appeared on the market.
If you are thinking of buying a TPMS Tyrepal type system, beware the budget Tyrepal clones widely available on ebay and the like, MOST of their sensors can't cope with the high pressures of caravan tyres, you need around an EXTRA 15psi capability ON TOP of normal cold pressure to cope with rise in pressure of a tyre in use, mine tyres are set to recommended 59psi cold, but hit near 70psi when running on a hot day, and alarm trigger set at 75psi!
Quote: Originally posted by david8858 on 04/9/2024
I suppose we could claim it back from the insurance but as the excess is more than the total cost I don't think we'll bother.
You claim it off your car breakdown cover provided it covers your caravan as well. A blowout with no other damage is a breakdown not an insurance claim. On any other road you would call your breakdown cover but as you cannot do this on a French autoroute you pay for recovery & claim the cost back. It should be in the t&c’s of your breakdown cover.
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Topic: Blowout on Peage
via mobile 02/9/2024 at 9:44pm
