A tourers nightmare is the 'blow out', and while we should all be aware of the potential causes, can we as a forum compile our own facts? ( I dont mean general punctures)
Have you had a Blow out?
Was it at low or high speed?
What was the cause? (if not known please say so)
How far had you travelled when it occured?
What type of road were you travelling on (Motorway, A or B. etc)
any other relevant info.
Thanks everyone, all responses will be helpful and few will show how rare they are,
Regards.
John
------------- Life is our Holiday enjoy it before its time to go back!
well I for one will be watching this thread with interest, we've only been caravaners for about 5 years now ( came to tin tents from the wobbly walled variety)
and although we've had loads of trouble free trip's ( blow out wise at least) in that time, we've never really towed for more than 2.5 hours at a time and most of that on m'way's really.
however that will be changing next month when we are due to embark on what will be our 1st longish trip, we'll be driving from south Yorkshire to north cornwall , a trip i'm expecting to take about 5.5 hours to complete (though maybe not all in one jump) so blow outs and how to avoid them, are very much on my mind at the moment.
------------- no tin tent outings booked as yet ,just another cruise in Sept' booked so far
A 'blow out' or tyre failure, ie tyre disintergration with flailing tread causing damage to caravan as opposed to a puncture caused by sharp object is mostly avoidable. Only exception is if you get a faulty new tyre which is pretty unheard of nowadays.
Causes can be:-
Failure to select correct tyre in the first place, ie insufficient load rating. No excuse for this, it can be checked by owner.
Degradation of tyre caused by age, most car tyres are worn out & replaced in under 3yrs so it is suggested that caravan tyres should be changed whatever after 5-6yrs, sidewalls need to be regularly examined carefully for cracks caused by perishing & also for damage caused by kerbing etc. It helps to cover tyres from direct sunlight if 'van is parked for long periods & also rotating wheels a bit every month or so but I can't say I've ever bothered.
Obviously tyre pressures should be maintained, difficult to check caravan tyres on garage forecourt so its good to have a pump, a track pump works for me. Imho the problem is overrated, blowouts won't happen if correct tyres are fitted & changed after 5yrs with regular owner checks on pressure & condition & premium or mid range brands fitted.
Anybody buying a s/h caravan needs to check tyres carefully for condition, age(read code on sidewall)& sufficient load rating & change if old/incorrect or in poor condition. All info on tyre load index & age code is available via google. It is often possible to set towing mirrors so caravan tyres can be observed while driving.
Most people don't actually know what a blow out is and cannot tell the difference between a soft tyre, a puncture and a blow out.
Blow outs are very rare. Most so called blow outs are actually caused by the tyre overheating due to underinflation.
Most caravan "blow outs" are actually punctures, but the driver hasn't noticed and continued dragging it along until the tyre disintegrated. Of the few genuine blow outs, these are normally due to low tyre pressures. The number of unprovoked tyre failures on the roads is actually only a tiny figure compared to the tyre failures caused by driver negligence.
I bought a 5 year old caravan last November and after reading on this forum I went off and got brand new tyres put on my caravan and I was chuffed. I used the caravan then on the May Bank holiday weekend, we did about a 240 mile round trip, and I parked up the caravan back beside the house. Then Last weekend we were going way again so I was getting everything ready and I checked the PSI of the tyres. It was down about 3 PSI so I started to blow it up and stopped and the required 42PSI, but then I herd air escaping from the valve and as I moved the valve about the whole valve came off in my hand. So I did not have a blow out but I was very close to getting one.
So a small tip for you all out their. When you are getting your Tyres changed also make sure that the tyre fitter also changes the valve.
Thats true enough, under inflated tyres will degrade more quickly & cracked tyres are more likely to fail if underinflated as they will overheat. It lack of understanding & knowledge that causes all the factors that might lead to a tyre failure at motorway speeds. I don't really believe a modern tyre will simply fail for no reason.
Andrew, you just proved my point. You were not close to a blow out, you had a valve failure. Tyres deflate for all manner of reasons, blow outs being the least common of all.
Quote: Originally posted by roulston on 17/5/2013
but then I herd air escaping from the valve and as I moved the valve about the whole valve came off in my hand. So I did not have a blow out but I was very close to getting one.
So a small tip for you all out their. When you are getting your Tyres changed also make sure that the tyre fitter also changes the valve.
Tbf that would have just caused deflation of the tyre, not a blow out but it raises a valid point that its good to get caravan tyres replaced by the same people you would have change your car tyres, ie where valves are changed & wheels balanced as a matter of course. A caravan workshop changing tyres as part of a service may well change tyres without doing either & fit the cheapest budget tyres available if just asked to change tyres on price alone.
Had a blow out last year. 60mph, bang and a lot of shaking but it didn't make the caravan (single axle) unstable.
Drove to the next layby (1/2 mile) at 10mph with hazard on and took about 30 mins before we were off again. Most of that time was getting the car jack out of the boot (under boot floor, bikes on tailgate and loads of luggage in boot).
I put it down to the tyres age as I checked the pressure before departure so I replaced both tyres and the spare when we returned.
The blowout did damage the floor and inner wheel arch though. Was also surprised to find lots of tyre debris in the floor locker. Repair was easy enough with some ply and glue so not the end of the world.
if i had blowout i would blame myself,just had three new tyres fitted two years ago maybe and that should put me in good stead.the pressures are checked before moving the van because if you do not and the pressure is low the tyre wiil get hot and blow out.the condition of the tyre is also checked because even on a new tyre you can have a problem ie.first trip out brand new tyre when we got home it had a big blister on the side wall.they changed it but as said i had not checked what have happen next time out.im not mr perfect i know but tyres are the most important thing between the caravan and the road,if you want to get there and back.sorry gets off chair.i once had a tyre valve blow out it was missing and that did go down quick,not on the van though.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
Two threads running at the moment re-tyres this one stating that under inflation will cause overheating and lead to a blowout and the other thread re.tyresafe stating that over inflation is the cause of a blowout ., The obvious answer is correct inflation ,but if tyres heat up rapidly and increase there pressure what's the point anyway
The first shortly after I started to tow a caravan, we were on the A30 somewhere in Cornwall. At that time one lane each way, night time as I always travelled at the quiet time. And! BANG and there was a loud rumble from behind. We were travelling at 60mph on a winding road, the caravan stayed inline and I slowed to a halt. The scott stabaliser had done the job and kept the unit straight when the blowout happened. Changed the wheel in the dark on a bend! I don't think I would do that now. We are talking of the late 80's and the caravan was early 70's, tyres were crossply. We got to our destination without further problem The following morning I checked the blown tyre to see what the pproblem was. There was a hole in the centre of the tread about the size of a fist, closer examination showed cracking between the treads. I checked the other tyre and the spare and they were the same. They had been fine before the journey as I had checked them. So all had to be replaced.
The second time I was going around an island, 15 mph max, rush hour, Friday evening, city centre and that bang occured. I managed to pull off onto an exit road. We managed to block the one lane with the warning triangle while I got the spare off the Alko hanger!!!!!!! This time a huge chunk out of the wall of the tyre. Well we changed the wheel and then went to see what had caused the problem. Around the centre of the island one of the kerbstones was out of position and was sticking out about 10" (probably moved by a lorry)well I hadn't seen this and had caught the caravan tyre on it. I watch these kerbs very carefully now.
Neither times was there any damage to the caravan, but on both occasions they were in very difficult positions and I was thankful of the warning triangle. Even though this was put out cars came very close, both had been on the offside.
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Topic: Tyre Blow outs
or am i missing something ?
