Should I carry a spare tyre? AND legality of tyres older than 10 years

Nabsim said:
There is a Jack under the cover in passenger footwell, is that where you mean? It isn’t hefty enough to lift the weight I don’t think. I will double check though as I now have doubt on what I saw. I still wouldn’t attempt to change a wheel on the van though
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It is.
Got to think that if it was provided it must spec'ed up to the job? (the potential litigation is it was not would be massive!)

I haven't used it either as I am not a fan of Bottle Jacks anyway :(
 
Pretty sure 3.5 tonne Sprinters come with a 3 tonne Weber bottle jack, been same since T1N days.
No idea if the 4.6 tonne version has a beefier jack. Specs will be on it somewhere I would think.
As always, just make sure you have decent blocks/pads.
 
I am interested as to what causes deterioration of a tyre, apart from road wear. Is it just UV light or does the rubber naturally age and crack even when a spare wheel is stored in the dark?
 
britcoms said:
I am interested as to what causes deterioration of a tyre, apart from road wear. Is it just UV light or does the rubber naturally age and crack even when a spare wheel is stored in the dark?
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Rubber is organic to start , with various additions , but naturally will biodegrade over time . Then the rubber goes thru a vulcanistaion process , this process will also continue over time as the tyre absorbs light heat and friction over years so gets stiffer to the point of cracking , then you have oxidation due oxygen and ozone , leading to break down of polymer bonds etc further enhanced by the tyre being pressurized. HTSH :)
 
They don't make them like they used to When the USA left Cornwall for Normmandy D Day they left a old lorry on a relations farm after many years use it was cut up for scrap the rear wheels and chassie being used for a dump trailer its still in use with the original tyres carrying 10 ton loads regularly 3 layers of canvas showing when I mentioned it I was told not to worry they are 12 ply tyres
 
Just a point worth mentioning.

When I decided to drop the spare wheel from its cradle to check it and clean the area I found the 2 bolts that hold the cradle up were a bit rusted. I could not free them off and so had to drop the whole assembly and pull it clear. Part of the problem is that the 2 bolts have a 14 mm head which is a bit of an odd size and not normally included in many socket sets. So it may be worthwhile checking if you have the correct socket or spanner for this task.

I have a Burstner but other European makes may use the same cradle.
 
maingate said:
Just a point worth mentioning.

When I decided to drop the spare wheel from its cradle to check it and clean the area I found the 2 bolts that hold the cradle up were a bit rusted. I could not free them off and so had to drop the whole assembly and pull it clear. Part of the problem is that the 2 bolts have a 14 mm head which is a bit of an odd size and not normally included in many socket sets. So it may be worthwhile checking if you have the correct socket or spanner for this task.

I have a Burstner but other European makes may use the same cradle.
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It does make things awkward. 14mm spanner is the Japanese industrial standard for a 10mm bolt.
 
I do carry an under slung spare and also a jack which I think is of the scissors type. I doubt I could break the nuts and I will certainly not be trusting the jack, not because I am concerned that it is not capable, clearly it must be as stated earlier about litigation.
It does not much passing for the van to rock, anything substantial causes a major movement, this is why I will wait for assistance.

Had MOT today and it was class 4 (no idea) and passed, I'm over 3500kg and part of the MOT was report on tyre age followed by condition of individual tyres.
I have no idea if I could have failed on age of tyres.
 
Tim120 said:
I do carry an under slung spare and also a jack which I think is of the scissors type. I doubt I could break the nuts and I will certainly not be trusting the jack, not because I am concerned that it is not capable, clearly it must be as stated earlier about litigation.
It does not much passing for the van to rock, anything substantial causes a major movement, this is why I will wait for assistance.

Had MOT today and it was class 4 (no idea) and passed, I'm over 3500kg and part of the MOT was report on tyre age followed by condition of individual tyres.
I have no idea if I could have failed on age of tyres.
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I have a 3/4" Impact socket and breaker bar but I never got round to sourcing a long piece of pipe. :D

I hope I get a puncture next to a steel stockist or a pipeworks.
 
Tim120 said:
I do carry an under slung spare and also a jack which I think is of the scissors type. I doubt I could break the nuts and I will certainly not be trusting the jack, not because I am concerned that it is not capable, clearly it must be as stated earlier about litigation.
It does not much passing for the van to rock, anything substantial causes a major movement, this is why I will wait for assistance.

Had MOT today and it was class 4 (no idea) and passed, I'm over 3500kg and part of the MOT was report on tyre age followed by condition of individual tyres.
I have no idea if I could have failed on age of tyres.
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All motorcaravans are class 4 mot . even over 3500kg , unless you have more than 9 seats tyre age is not relevant part of inspection . S5 mot manual on line Gov UK . see post *20
 
maingate said:
I have a 3/4" Impact socket and breaker bar but I never got round to sourcing a long piece of pipe. :D

I hope I get a puncture next to a steel stockist or a pipeworks.
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Simple, place the bar towards the back and reverse, the nut will be slackened, go round them all and bingo job sorted, did I ever tell you when I was in the desert with Monty. 😂
 
Fazerloz said:
IF you do not have 8 passenger seats the your MOT station is wrong. I would not use them what else could they be wrong about.

Taken from the latest Mot manual.

Tyre age​

The check of tyre age applies to all vehicles with more than 8 passenger seats, other than vehicles of historical interest.

Tyre age is determined by the date code on the sidewall and will be a three or four-digit code. Tyres with a three-digit code will be more than 10 years old.

The code is usually located in a ‘window’ on the sidewall and may or may not be located at the end of the DOT number (see image below).

example image of a date code on a tyre sidewall


The first two digits of the code represent the week of manufacture of the tyre and the second two digits represent the year of manufacture. In the example above, the tyre was manufactured in week 35 of 2016.

Tyres over ten years old at the time of test must be failed if they are on:

  • any front steered axle
  • any rear axle of a minibus with a single wheel fitment.
Tyres not displaying a date code must also be failed. However, date codes are only required to be marked on one side of the tyre so it may not be possible to see the date code on twin wheel fitments. Under these circumstances you should advise the presenter and assume the date code is present and the tyre age is acceptable.

On tyres where the date code is illegible, for example, due to kerbing or deliberate tampering, a major or minor defect must be recorded, depending on the location of the tyre.
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Just checked mine and the 4 rear tyres are 07 showing signs of cracking around the sidewall so now £700 lighter, booked in for Tuesday.
 
All my boat trailer wheels now require tyres, do it when I use it next me thinks.
 
wildebus said:
It is.
Got to think that if it was provided it must spec'ed up to the job? (the potential litigation is it was not would be massive!)

I haven't used it either as I am not a fan of Bottle Jacks anyway :(
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mark61 said:
Pretty sure 3.5 tonne Sprinters come with a 3 tonne Weber bottle jack, been same since T1N days.
No idea if the 4.6 tonne version has a beefier jack. Specs will be on it somewhere I would think.
As always, just make sure you have decent blocks/pads.
Click to expand...
It does have a bottle Jack in the compartment in passenger footwell but I haven’t double checked it yet. Originally the van came at 3800kgs but was uprated to 4000kgs, it may be the Jack wasn’t suitable after upgrade or I may have misread what it has on it. If I remember I will have a look today 👍

There were no blocks or pads in the van though so I am fairly sure it’s couldn’t lift the van as it is but again I need to check
 
Usually have to buy blocks or pads, or scavenge bits of scaffold board, can be a bit dodgy, and not the scavenging bit.
 
Burt Munro
20180131_033349.jpg
painted his tyres with black boot polish to hide the cracks in them when breaking the land speed record on his Indian a few years back.....he didn't worry and the scrutineers turned away ....
 
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