Tyre Failure

[tim-spam]

Just returned from holiday in France - had a great time despite the weather (the booster heater actually fired up one morning!).

 

On the way home, we stopped over for a few hours on the way to Calais, and upon returning to the car, we noticed that the caravan offside tyre looked a little flat. It had gone down from 45 psi to 35 psi in around 10 hours, so I assumed it had a slow puncture. So, as we were due to sail from Calais to Dover, I pumped up the tyre and headed for the boat.

 

When we arrived at Dover, the tyre had gone down to around 20 psi, so I again pumped it up to get off the boat, and once out of Dover, pulled over and changed the wheel (the spare was an old Michelin). When I removed the wheel, I noticed that part of the tread was peeling away from the carcass.

 

We then continued on our way, but after about an hour, the nearside tyre exploded, leaving bits of tyre, caravan wheelarch and part of the floor behind the wheel on the road - we were doing around 55 - 60mph at the time.

 

So, I had to put the other tyre back on, reflate, and continue the journey - no more than 35 - 40 mph, stopping every hour to reflate and check the tyre.

 

The tyres concerned were Avon Vanmasters 175 x 13, and were 5 years old. They have never been left on the caravan for extended periods, never been overloaded or under inflated, never been kerbed, and never exceeded 80 mph.

 

I was going to replace them next year, and this was to have been their last long trip. On inpecting the better of the two tyres, the rubber between the tread and carcass seems to be sticky and incompletely cured - perhaps this was the cause of the failures.

 

Anyway, if any of you out there has Avon Vanmasters more than 4 years old, take my advice and replace them now. If you are considereing these tyres, don't!

[SEMPTIE]

You are advised by every caravan club, tyre dealer etc that caravan/trailer tyres should be replaced at a max 5 years of age regardless of there appearance, or make! As caravans NEVER wear out their treads but perish in the sunlight etc.

You are extremely lucky that your outfit remained upright when it shred its tread I dread to think what might have happened to you or other road users.

[tim-spam]

As I said, the tyres were just 5 years old, and this was to be their last long outing - they were due for replacement, NOT overdue. In addition, they have been kept out of the sun between camping trips.

 

By the way, tyre manufacturers recommend anywhere between 5 and 10 years for non-wear replacement, and the fire service changes the tyres on fire engines every 6 years (although I guess that this may vary from area to area).

 

As regards the incident, apart from a very loud bang and a slight jolt, there was no drama at all and no snaking - I just put out a left signal and moved over to the hard shoulder in a fully controlled manner.

 

However, my outfit is well matched (1300kg maximum weight against a kerbweight of over 1900kg), and the drawbar weight was 75 kg. I was using a blade type stabiliser, and, most importantly, the caravan has telescopic dampers on the suspension - I believe that theses should be mandatory as it improves stability hugely, especially for high-speed towing in France (where the limit is 130 kph).

 

My belief is that these tyres were not correctly cured during manufacture, and that this was the cause of the failure - one tyre failing could have been 'just one of those things', but both...........

[Guest MATT jr]

shhhh, weve got avons on the car, and im still in france!

 

got dunlops on the caravan tho...

 

MJR

[lazyb5]

I had avons on my van when i first got it, they were about k....ered. Went to the local tyre place to try and get some and he said to put lorry tyres on because they could take the weight. So i have small lorry tyres on the van which are up at 56psi and can take 750kg each tyre (van weighs 1232) the best part is the cost

[Sher]

I had a blow out on my 1600kg Hobby at 60mph and there was no movement, snaking or dramatic movements I presume because of the antisnaking system which clamps the towing ball very effectively and because I did not apply any braking until the speed had fallen off itself. When I did apply pressure to the brakes I did so gently.

 

The caravan and tyres were only 32 months old. It was fitted with 8 ply 185R14 Czech made tyres rated at 850kgs each (102). I had not expected this to happen at this stage. Besides shredding the plastic arch liner and the electrical cables over it, a rather neat hole, 20cm by 12.5cm, was blown in the floor of the caravan to the rear of the tyre. I presume by the reflection of the expanding gases from the road surface as the tyre rotated.

 

That was the worst part of the damage. After tests I protected the underfloor section of both areas using White Polycarbonate Chopping boards ( the larger ones) bought from Tescos. Attached with stainless steel screws.

 

The important change is the Pirelli Citynet Camper tyres which I have now obtained. 8 ply 195/75 R14 rated at 925kgs each (106). Each is in excess of 4kgs heavier than the original tyres fitted because of the extra steel used.

 

Because this extra weight is unsprung I do not consider it to be a problem for the suspension system of the

caravan.

 

I did not find the information easily about these tyres. It took me several hours searching before I found the Camper type which have stiffer side walls and are designed to be stood around for longer periods of time than usual.

I also had to wait about 2 weeks for delivery because of the demand for them at that time.

 

I will be changing them after 5 years at the most. I do not wish to have a repeat episode despite the precautions I have taken.

 

Michelin do now list a similar tyre rated at the same weights but they tend to be more expensive.

 

Hobby now offer an extra 150kgs of mass on this same model of caravan for 250