Puncture?, What do I do?

[Johnnynhl]

Ok Newbie here, so after some searching and referencing the manuals I can safely say there is no spare tyre on my camper van. Yes, you may say what was I thinking when I bought it. Doh!. So the question is as basic as what should I do to make preparations in case of a puncture?

 

[The Wino]

We don't have a spare and theres no space underneath for one. We would have to have a bracket fabricated from under the rear bumper and it would probably affect how the bike rack fitted. So we're risking it as must a lot of vans and conversions.

 

[jdk62]

Where was this?
Uk or continental Europe?
Did the £30 include a call out charge?

This was in Abingdon near Oxford and was in November last year on a Saturday morning. That was the total cost. The firm was called Edge Tyres.

I was convinced I would have to pay out for new tyre, but the guy was brilliant and took 30 mins to repair it and check the pressures on the other 3 tyres.

 

[jezport]

I have 4 steel 16" Ducato maxi chassis wheels (without tyres) in the for sale section. Ideal for making a spare.

 

[Decker]

This was in Abingdon near Oxford and was in November last year on a Saturday morning. That was the total cost. The firm was called Edge Tyres.

I was convinced I would have to pay out for new tyre, but the guy was brilliant and took 30 mins to repair it and check the pressures on the other 3 tyres.

Bargain!
There are still some decent people about.
I am still wondering the best plan for touring Europe
1. No spare and pay for repair but may have to buy two new tyres.
2 Spare tyre and wheel but may still have to buy two new tyres ......which I may need to replace when back home.

I rarely get a puncture but cannot see myself travelling without a spare wheel after all these years.

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[Coolcats]

That can get jolly expensive in France or Spain as the breakdown service are unlikely to be able to get a matching tyre so you will have to buy two. And if you don't like the tyres they supply that's another two when you get home. If the rim is damaged even more delays.
Absolute madness not to carry a spare.

Why so, are you suggesting that Michelin (that well known French tyre maker) only supply vehicles in the UK with UK spec tyres?

you need to take up the madness with the vehicle manufacturers most no longer supply spare tyres and for the four vehicles I have without spares are you really suggesting I go out and buy 4 x spare wheels and tyres plus carriers and have them fitted ?
It would be hugely costly and considering tyres should be changed every 6 years that means 5 x tyres and no one does that only 4 get changed and as I say rarely is the pressure in the spare checked. !

statistically a puncture occurres every 5 years the reality appears that for most it’s much longer.

I’m not going to sweat this one and just leave it to the breakdown services.

 

[EzeeRider]

Even if calling the breakdown service its still better to carry a spare.

Why? repair services are fairly prompt and will ask you what your tyre size is and bring a replacement even if not needed.
ezee

 

[Lenny HB]

Why so, are you suggesting that Michelin (that well known French tyre maker) only supply vehicles in the UK with UK spec tyres?

Sorry don't understand what you are getting you van could have any make of tyre mine is fitted with Toyo tyres.

Why? repair services are fairly prompt and will ask you what your tyre size is and bring a replacement even if not needed.
ezee

And in France or Spain if they haven't got one the same you will have to buy two.

 

[busby]

Do you have the tin of "gunge" to put in the tyre before re-inflating?

The idea is that you use the gunge as a temporary fix to get you to the tyre place and a new tyre

The thinking is that most people aren't able to change a light commercial wheel on their own at the side of the road, so why supply a spare

The thinking is that it saves the manufacturer money and allows a bit extra payload on a van that has very little.Would not be without a spare.BUSBY.

 

[footscray188c]

Buy a STOP AND GO KIT.

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[Lenny HB]

Buy a STOP AND GO KIT.

Totally useless on a Motorhome.

 

[Landy lover]

One thing worth remembering with many makes of the goo you should not use the if you have tyre pressure monitors as it stops them working

 

[stevewagner]

This had been on previous threads, think the general opinion was, if you want to carry a tyre and tyre carrier you need to think of the extra weight that would apply.
Also If breakdown cannot come with a tyre, it’s not a bad place to wait until they get a replacement to you is it? Just sit and wait in your full facility van

If it’s on a motorway you have to leave the vehicle

 

[WESTY66]

I had the gunge in one of the harleys I bought, when it was time to change the tyre the fitter found it was rotting the wheel From the inside, never had it put back in!

 

[Minxy]

I should add that even if people have a spare it’s normally under the van which is even less likely to have its pressure checked by an owner that the one than the one that used to be in the boot of a Car !

You can get extension hoses to fit to the tyre so you can check the pressure without having to remove the tyre from it's cradle, we have one so no excuse not to do it.

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[Minxy]

Would never go anywhere without a spare wheel & tyre, not a chance! When we bought the Carthago it was the FIRST thing we insisted on as part of the deal ... just a shame the originally gave us the wrong one - a Maxi heavy version instead of the light which has different stud spacing but they soon sorted it.

So my advice would be if you can possibly take a spare wheel & tyre then do so but make sure you get the right one!

 

[Rapidoman 2011]

Why not check out these people.
www.puncturecontrol.co.uk.
I had all 4 brand new tyres fitted with this "gel" at the Lincoln Show just gone, and it is supposed to reseal a puncture if created within the tread area.
It would obviously not work on a full blowout, so for that I carry a full spare underslung in its own carrier, but for a slow puncture it should work.
The brand of gel used is OKO, and I believe was developed originally for the military.
The ride back home from the show to Nottinghamshire did seem much smoother also.
Just a thought, and the fitting is done through the tyre valve with the wheels in situ, and I believe they fit UK wide via a mobile fitting service.

OKO is used in the farming community, it’s good for atvs, tractors and alike but it will throw the balance of the wheel or wheels out as it stays as a liquid and seals if you go over a nail or something. But the fact it stays as a liquid it what throws the balance out. I use it all the time on my compact tractor,mowers and so on. Would not recommend it for Motorhome tyres.

 

[GWAYGWAY]

We would never go anywhere without a spare it a weight & space penalty you have to suffer. Some say just carry a tyre but if the rim gets damaged you are .

Always worth making sure the spare is the same as your other tyres as in France & Spain if its not the breakdown services won't fit it and insist on selling you two new tyres. This is because they have to be the same on the same axle.

Same with me, and I have hydraulic self levelling legs which makes it a breeze to change a wheel, the downside is the extra weight which stop the near the 3500 kg limit vans having a spare.

 

[Coolcats]

Sorry don't understand what you are getting you van could have any make of tyre mine is fitted with Toyo tyres.

And in France or Spain if they haven't got one the same you will have to buy two.

Ah OK many new Motorhomes do come with Michelin Tyres, depending on age a tread pattern may no longer be available and understand that two may have to be changed at the same time, most manufacturers if not all that are available in the EU are available in the UK (although this could change) why would you want one tread at 5mm and another around 8mm, and to be honest once tread is down to 4 mm or the state of the edges of the tyres look iffy I would just change all 4 at the same time. But each to thier own I guess.

Regarding Toyo again they are a Global brand, This is the French distributer which includes thier phone number in case you need it, you can also select other countries you may be in hope it helps.

 

[Coolcats]

You can get extension hoses to fit to the tyre so you can check the pressure without having to remove the tyre from it's cradle, we have one so no excuse not to do it.

Thank you but most do not do not check their spare tyre pressure, punctures are infrequent and it is not unheard of for spares to be flat or unusable, given amongst the fleet I have four vehicles without spares and the breakdown services across europe being geared up for this I really cannot worry about a puncture or tyre change.

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[Coolcats]

If it’s on a motorway you have to leave the vehicle

And really not a place for an amateur to start trying to change a wheel !

 

[EuroTrotters]

My car in Spain only has an emergency spare. After ATS in Spain trying to rip me off, I carry just a tyre in the boot. Not ideal, but at least I can get mobile in the event of a serious tyre failure. Then get the spare tyre fitted.

I always carry a full size spare wheel with fitted tyre In my motorhome and Van.

 

[Ditcha]

I had the gunge in one of the harleys I bought, when it was time to change the tyre the fitter found it was rotting the wheel From the inside, never had it put back in!

Same happened to our last van the rim was black and rotting inside after adding puncture goo, could never get the wheel balance right.

I carry a spare albeit not the same brand as what is on the new van but we have jacks and would be changed myself in 10mins.

 

[makems]

Why did it happen, any ideas? How old was the tyre? When had you last checked the pressure?

No idea why it happened. I Always checked tyre pressures before a long journey and the tyres were about 4 years old.
We were returning from a 3 month tour round Morocco which is pretty tough on tyres.

 

[Sid52]

I t doesn't matter if the spare is under inflated as assistance vehicles always have a compressor.

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[grumps147]

Anyone Europe based know how much a, say 16”, Michelin camper tyre is to fit the other side of the channel - France preferably?
The reason why I am asking is I have no spare, but for here and Europe I do have breakdown cover, and could get myself recovered to a nearby tyre fitters If the breakdown couldn’t actually arrange for the tyre fitter to come to me.
I am not mad.
I happen to be over 70 now and had one heck of a wait pre Covid for my medical class C approval (thanks to both the GP and optician getting the forms wrong first time round), and did not want that debacle next time. So I dropped my vehicle to a 3.5 ton, accepting payload was going to be an issue which it is (when weighed with everything in for an extended trip, full fuel, full gas and 20 litres of water I had 35 Kg left). Next DL renewal it will be for the standard 3.5 ton, as I can even with my conditions that DVLA are aware of, just do a tick box renewal next time.
Some of the choices I have made are personal ones, but it means I can now carry on motorhoming for a few more years having weighed up a lot of risks in doing so, one of which was not carrying a spare.
That risk was greatly influenced when in a former job I had to drive a large van carrying technical equipment. For familiarisation we tried changing its fitted spare in the garage. What a nightmare, the vehicle wobbled all over the place on its scissor jack. We could just imagine the disaster of trying that on a motorway hard shoulder. A quick visit to the fleet manager and we had a tyre fitters contract number very quickly which was written in to our operating instructions.

 

[pappajohn]

in France & Spain if its not the breakdown services won't fit it and insist on selling you two new tyres. This is because they have to be the same on the same axle.

I wonder if the minister who thought that one up had shares in numerous tyre manufacturers like the minister in charge of breathalysers allegedly had a brother making them.

 

[Puddleduck]

We carry a spare tyre but no wheel. If we were to have a puncture there is no way either of us could change the tyre so it would be a call to the breakdown service letting them know we had a tyre that would need to be fitted to the wheel after the shredded tyre was removed. We did check with the breakdown service that would be acceptable and was told that so long as the recovery people were aware they could send a truck with a tyre fitting machine.

 

[Steve and Soz]

The company I use is Puncture Control, based around the Swindon area but does mobile service. Gary's the man, often attends big shows. Phone 03335770505. Had it in my tyres for 3 years and no rotting and have not noticed any adverse effect on the performance of the tyres re balancing.

 

[Two Owl Ones]

Ok Newbie here, so after some searching and referencing the manuals I can safely say there is no spare tyre on my camper van. Yes, you may say what was I thinking when I bought it. Doh!. So the question is as basic as what should I do to make preparations in case of a puncture?

hi we do have a spare wheel in our MH but we do also carry a similar repair/plug kit (and a tyre inflator pump) that the AA/RAC would use if you don't have a spare tyre. I would use it if we were off grid or no phone signal and I have used it on my landrover and it works well. It is for an emergency repair and after using this kit, the RAC recommend that you take your vehicle to a tyre shop to have the tyre repaired/replaced.

For the price, it is worth having it in your toolbox, I would add that i did buy a large tin of good quality REMA vulcanising glue, because only a small tube is in the kit. Link below for a similar kit, although there are others to choose from.

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338547443&icep_item=223603111164

I hope this info is of some use you, this is what I would do in an emergency, but I'm sure you will do whatever works best for yourself. Good luck.

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[Decker]

Do the breakdown policies for Europe generally all cover attendance and labour for wheelchanging as the result of tyre damage?