MH TYRES

[GPW]

Yes less downforce and therefore less grip.
I had two scooters with identical rear tyres, it was always the smaller one that wore out the rear (driving) tyres faster - I put that down to the smoothness of the takeup (clutch) on the larger one.

ETA: I tend to run tyres on scooters and bikes to the exact specs, but on cars and van I usually run a few PSI higher - which is I expect the end result of Continental advice over Michelin.

I do this because:
1. A slow puncture or neglect in autumn keeps you above a safe pressure for longer. I note that Peugeot Boxers now seem to come with free tyre monitoring alarms - probably driven from the ABS ECU (so free to them and useful to us).
2. It saves fuel
3. More resistant to aquaplaning
4. Keeps the tyre cooler (less derformation)

The cost of over-inflation is slightly less grip in marginal conditions and wear toward the middle of the tyre but in practice running cars ar say 36psi instead of 28psi I haven't noticed any difference.

I always remember the Ford 'Exploder' in the US that had dodgy suspension so they were forced to run the Firestones at a reduced pressure. The recommended pressure ended up so close to the 'too low it will overheat' threashold that many cars had heat related blowouts.

The other side of the coin of course is if you go over the manufacturers max pressure ever (whch I don't!) you may get a spectacular blowout - for instance a Skip lorry tyre sits at around 100psi and it's like an explosion if they let go!

 

[OldAgeTravellers]

After a great deal of agonising and reading I have decided to have four Vanco Campers fitted again on Monday. We live in the South of France but do intend to spend the summer in Scandinavia but as far as I can find out they will be allowed in Summer there.
I really don't understand the low mileages some of you are getting though, our existing Vanco Campers are seven years old have been checked inboard and outboard and Continental have said in an email that as long as no distress can be detected it is fine at seven years. But they are only just down to minimum tread on the front after 74,000 km (46k miles) and we are 4,500kg and run at the maximum on the rears all the time. I run at 75psi rear and 65psi front early on a cold morning before any sun warmth. I use a TyrePal and they run at 83+psi and 73+ depending on the sun they will creep up to just below 90 in full sun on the rear. The ride is a little hard on a bumpy road but the tyres seem to have lasted very well.
Internet searching found that very unusually France was the cheapest at €159 (£137) fitted and balanced (I checked Spain, Portugal & UK) which compares to £146 on promotion at QuickFit the cheapest I could find in the UK. When I asked Continental they would not commit to 4 seasons being better or even acceptable unless we had to go to Germany in the winter then we would have no option.
Steve
EDIT p.s. I meant to say ours are 225/75 R16 CP 116R

 

[gwyntaxi]

I'm looking at buying some new tyres for my Dethleffs MH,, Michelin Agilis Camping 215/70 Q15 (109/)...these are made for MHs but someone said they should have "C" for commercial on them, could anyone tell me more..thank you Paul

Hi there,
I have recently had 4 new

I'm looking at buying some new tyres for my Dethleffs MH,, Michelin Agilis Camping 215/70 Q15 (109/)...these are made for MHs but someone said they should have "C" for commercial on them, could anyone tell me more..thank you Paul

Hi there,
As someone as already said ignore the other someone, the C stands for commercial, which is what you do not want, you want Michelin Agilis CAMPING, It MUST say CAMPING on the sidewall, they are red inforc-
'ed walls to take the weight of a motorhome which is nearly always loaded to it's maximum DON'T be persuaded to accept anything else. I paid £460 for 4 .hope this helps you.

 

[GPW]

the C stands for commercial, which is what you do not want

Is there a reason for this?
How does the tyre 'know' if the van is carrying a campervan or a new kitchen and shower ready to fit?

Re: wear someone was talking about, I think this can be down to tyre diameter, usage and make but I think there may also be a difference between C & CP for wear.

It's interesting Continental and Michelin seem to disagree re the pressures, are there any other brands that are fitted, and has anyone tried all year Commercial Winter tyres - and if so - how did they work out?

 

[Paul and Pippa]

Hi there,
I have recently had 4 new

Hi there,
As someone as already said ignore the other someone, the C stands for commercial, which is what you do not want, you want Michelin Agilis CAMPING, It MUST say CAMPING on the sidewall, they are red inforc-
'ed walls to take the weight of a motorhome which is nearly always loaded to it's maximum DON'T be persuaded to accept anything else. I paid £460 for 4 .hope this helps you.

hi, have you had metallic valves, I have been told the standard valves are not suitable for the high pressure of MH tyres, I will be putting a post on soon to clear up any misunderstanding...

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[OldAgeTravellers]

hi, have you had metallic valves, I have been told the standard valves are not suitable for the high pressure of MH tyres, I will be putting a post on soon to clear up any misunderstanding...

In my opinion metal valves are essential for the pressures we work at. Especially as I live in the South of France and the tyres can get very hot from the sun. Before I knew about metal valves I lost a perfectly good tyre because a valve failed. They are not expensive if you don't have a distressed purchase like me.
Steve

 

[theapples]

Following this thread with interest, driving down the M6 yesterday when there was a horrendous noise, huge vibration and banging. pulled over checked vehicle and all looked ok, looked on roof in case sat dish had come off then saw the rear offside tyre!!! and out in lane 2 was the complete length of tread from my tyre. Tyre was only three years old. Now considering what make to get to replace all 4 tyres just in case. Never heard of this happening to a tyre except for re-treads.

 

[iandsm]

Looks like a Continental vanco camper? I was going to suggest Michelin Agilis camper. I have had them on mine for five years and am just about to change them. I was considering Continental but not any more.

 

[Paul and Pippa]

View attachment 287146 Following this thread with interest, driving down the M6 yesterday when there was a horrendous noise, huge vibration and banging. pulled over checked vehicle and all looked ok, looked on roof in case sat dish had come off then saw the rear offside tyre!!! and out in lane 2 was the complete length of tread from my tyre. Tyre was only three years old. Now considering what make to get to replace all 4 tyres just in case. Never heard of this happening to a tyre except for re-treads.

I'm glad to hear you ended up ok,,I have a Dethleffs and asked them their opinion on tyres they recommended Conti or Michelin stating the Michelin last longest..btw both were camper tyres

 

[Paul and Pippa]

Looks like a Continental vanco camper? I was going to suggest Michelin Agilis camper. I have had them on mine for five years and am just about to change them. I was considering Continental but not any more.

Hello ,read the above thread

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[JockandRita]

Hi there,
I have recently had 4 new

Hi there,
As someone as already said ignore the other someone, the C stands for commercial, which is what you do not want, you want Michelin Agilis CAMPING, It MUST say CAMPING on the sidewall, they are red inforc-
'ed walls to take the weight of a motorhome which is nearly always loaded to it's maximum DON'T be persuaded to accept anything else. I paid £460 for 4 .hope this helps you.

Sorry Gwyn, I'm not altogether sure that I agree with your advice. Certainly, if @Paul and Pippa are specifically looking for Camping Tyres, then "Camping" or "CP" is definitely what they want, but that's not to say that "Quality Commercial Tyres "C" are to be totally disregarded. I have had Commercial tyres fitted, that have had the same specification, ie, reinforced, ply rating, speed rating, and index loading as Camper or "CP" tyres. The very fact that Hymer fitted quality Commercial tyres at the factory, rather than Camper Tyres, is good enough for me. I would never condone compromising the safety and integrity of anyone's MH, by fitting inferior tyres.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[GPW]

out in lane 2 was the complete length of tread from my tyre. Tyre was only three years old. Now considering what make to get to replace all 4 tyres just in case. Never heard of this happening to a tyre except for re-treads.

I would be contacting Continental and get it inspected. It's possible it was a retreat sold as new, or that a slow deflation caused local overheating (look how clean those edges are - possible) which caused it to unroll, or both.

Continental are a giant firm who generally don't make dud tyres so I'd ask them to diagnose what went wrong with that tyre. No tyre will last if run underinflated - maybe also look for signs of a puncture if you have enough bits. My bet is on a slow puncture leading to overheating.
You may even get a free replacement out of it!

What do the other ones look like?

 

[Barclaybasher]

I would never condone compromising the safety and integrity of anyone's MH, by fitting inferior tyres.

In view of what happened to the Vanco tyre how can anyone judge what is or isn't an 'inferior' tyre............

I'm sure the millions of commercial vehicles out there are running quite safely on 'ordinary' tyres, taking far more abuse (kerbing for one) than MHs.............

 

[theapples]

I would be contacting Continental and get it inspected. It's possible it was a retreat sold as new, or that a slow deflation caused local overheating (look how clean those edges are - possible) which caused it to unroll, or both.

Continental are a giant firm who generally don't make dud tyres so I'd ask them to diagnose what went wrong with that tyre. No tyre will last if run underinflated - maybe also look for signs of a puncture if you have enough bits. My bet is on a slow puncture leading to overheating.
You may even get a free replacement out of it!

What do the other ones look like?

Tyre was still inflated at the end of this AA man even released some of the air pressure to stop a possible burst. Other tyres look ok but will take van to garage to get them all checked but for my peace of mind I will change them all. The last tyres were also conti vanco I changed them at 5 years old when side walls started showing signs of cracking.

 

[JockandRita]

I'm sure the millions of commercial vehicles out there are running quite safely on 'ordinary' tyres, taking far more abuse (kerbing for one) than MHs.............

"Commercial" tyres aren't ordinary tyres Vic, albeit with lower and upper ends of the market.....................but I know where you are coming from.

Cheers,

Jock.

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[GPW]

I'd contact Continental directly, a tyre garage may not be able to explain what happened but whatever you do it would be useful to know why that tyre decided to give up.

Do any of the other tyres look perished or a bit funny?

 

[theapples]

I'd contact Continental directly, a tyre garage may not be able to explain what happened but whatever you do it would be useful to know why that tyre decided to give up.

Do any of the other tyres look perished or a bit funny?

I will try emailing conti, to my eyes no obvious perishing to the other tyres. Just had a better look at the damaged tyre and previous members comments on it looking under inflated could be right where there is still tread at the side it does appear worn

 

[Barclaybasher]

I buy my tyres from a local family firm I have trusted for over 30 years. They fit tyres to plant, trucks and their own vans. I never specify a type of tyre, just take their advice and trust them to know what is suitable..

 

[GPW]

Just had a better look at the damaged tyre and previous members comments on it looking under inflated could be right where there is still tread at the side it does appear worn

I noticed that the sidewall is quite grey but with fresh black rubber from the tread meeting it rather close to the edge and at a definite line. That's what made me think underinflation - that clean bit at the edge shouldn't even be touching the road.
Also disintegrating tyres is a classic symptom of overheating and travelling at speed with a soft tyre will always cause overheating.

While Wikipedia is rather unreliable this shows the results of the Firestone's overheating - that tyre (Figure 10) looks remarkably similar to yours:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firestone_and_Ford_tire_controversy#Tread_Separation

 

[soreeyes]

What was the weather temperature as I wonder summer tyres like the Vanco camper are best at +7 degrees as it effects the tyre compound ?

https://www.michelin.co.uk/winter/difference-between-winter-tyres-summer-tyres

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[Hilewaychile]

This may be too déclasée for the august MH fraterinty but down here in the self-build bargain-basement I have had superb results from this van tyre - Nexen Roadian CT8 - on my Vauxhall Movano [aka Renault Master] LWB.

I can assert that this tyre effectively prevented me getting into serious trouble on 4 specific occasions. Three of them under emergency-level braking and one successfully gathering up a rear-end break-away. I am happy to say that I don't 'passively' trust my life to these tyres, as most people driving any kind of vehicle do, I know that they are good under extreme conditions.

I have them on the fronts. I do not agree with the comment above that you want your best tyres on the rears 'because the rear breaks away first'. You want your best tyres on the fronts, where the weight transfers significantly under heavy braking - a much more likely event than rear-end break-away - and the direction change under steering.

They are EU cat B/B/70db. One of the incidents I mentioned was under wet braking and in my view an A rating would be fair. The reduction in tyre noise from my previous tyres - can't recall what - was remarkable. Although classed as summer tyres, user ratings give 5/5 for grip in snow.

5 stars Grip in snow
4.5 stars Grip in wet conditions. Tyre wear
4 stars Grip in dry conditions. Braking in dry conditions. Braking in wet conditions. Driving comfort. Internal noise level. Fuel consumption.

I got them on line from mytyres.com. I paid £20 for them to be delivered to a 'participating partner' - a local Ford main dealer - which fitted them. Total £168.00/pr

When the front treads look down a bit - they're wearing very well - they will go on the rear and new Roadian 8s will replace them.

 

[Hotcrossman]

I agree with Andy. Having had Michelins (Agilis) on the MO - and others on Lexus cars etc I just don't understand the noise and wear observations. Must have been very old tyres.
I have heard the classic "go with van tyres" argument many times - CP are specific for MO's that stand idle for a large part of their lives.
'Cheap' is rarely the best choice !!!

 

[Barclaybasher]

I agree with Andy. Having had Michelins (Agilis) on the MO - and others on Lexus cars etc I just don't understand the noise and wear observations. Must have been very old tyres.
I have heard the classic "go with van tyres" argument many times - CP are specific for MO's that stand idle for a large part of their lives.
'Cheap' is rarely the best choice !!!

Out of interest do manufacturers of MHs supply new vehicles with 'camper' tyres or 'van' tyres.

Never having bought a new MH I don't know -

- could others who have purchased new comment?

 

[gerry mcg]

Out of interest do manufacturers of MHs supply new vehicles with 'camper' tyres or 'van' tyres.

Never having bought a new MH I don't know -

- could others who have purchased new comment?

my Globecar PVC came new with Michelin Agilis Camping (CP) tyres fitted

 

[Barclaybasher]

my Globecar PVC came new with Michelin Agilis Camping (CP) tyres fitted

Did you specify or were they 'standard'..........

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[gerry mcg]

Did you specify or were they 'standard'..........

I didn't specify. They were what was on the van when I collected it. Possibly the van converters specify that the Base vehicle is going to be converted when they order it from Fiat and fiat fit the tyres according to the customer (converters) spec?

 

[Burgo]

Our Dethleffs came with Agilis Camping from new.

 

[JockandRita]

'Cheap' is rarely the best choice !!!

Quality commercial tyres are NOT CHEAP, and very often are the same spec as Camper Tyres.

Bridgestone.

Continental Camper.

Goodyear.

Jock.

 

[GPW]

Like I observed earlier, the tyres don't 'know' if there's a camper or a builders van with a flat pack kitchen onboard.

Being able to withstand resting in one position for a long time implied very hard sidewalls and an unforgiving ride, probably best to get more supple tyres and move it slightly every month or 2.

I still reckon that blown tyre was the victim of a slow puncture though, kits to monitor tyres pressures are regularly advertised in the camper magazines and would appear to be well worth fitting.

 

[Paul and Val]

I would never fit 'budget' tyres. Remember that the only thing sticking your vehicle to the road is four small patches of rubber about twice the size of a hand print.

A budget tyre may last longer (or not) and will certainly cost far less. There are very good reasons for that.

About three years ago I read a road test (I think in Auto Express but it may have been a similar publication) which showed wet weather braking on a budget tyre to be three and a half car lengths longer than on a premium tyre. The extra distance you travel before hitting the back of the car in front (or child) will give plenty of time to realise that just maybe tyres are not something to skimp on.

You get what you pay for. I use Michelin Pilot Sport 4's on all our cars and our camping car is on the original Michelin tyres which we have found more than adequate with good mileage.

Would you use a heart surgeon who was cheap but only ok at his job?

You get what you pay for baby!

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