Tyre query.

Obanboy666

Obanboy666

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The tyres on my Renault Master base vehicle pvc will need changing before winter and I'm curious to know should I buy motorhome specific tyres or van type.
At present the rear tyres are Conti 215/65/R16C 109/107 type which i understand are motorhome specific tyres, the front are some obscure type I've never heard of.
Vehicle Max weight is 3300 kg. Fully loaded i run at 2950 kg which is basically 90% of the time. I believe motorhome tyres have strengthened side walls etc due to motorhomes running at max weight most of the time so that tells me I should get the motorhome specific tyres but any advise is most appreciated.
Not looking to save money as I'm a firm believer in buying the best most suitable type of tyre be it for my car or pvc.
 
There was a stage lots of people fitting continental vancos with a degree of success.... I drove for DHL and on the sprinters were standard. Never had any hassle with them albeit MHomers I sure I read thought they were a bit noisier.

On the basis the only contact between me and the road I would probably go dedicated camping tyres, Also a thought , in the event of an accident would an insurer drag their heels that vancos are inappropriate ? no idea tbh but worth thinking about

Channa
 
channa said:
Also a thought , in the event of an accident would an insurer drag their heels that vancos are inappropriate ?
Click to expand...

Unlikely. In my view, provided the size and load rating are correct the vehicle will comply with the relevant legislation.
 
Nothing against MH specific tyres, but I've never really believed the strengthened side walls bit. There are plenty of commercials that run loaded pretty much all the time, builders vans etc. What about ambulances?

If you currently have Conto MH tyres, I'm sure they will have " VancoCamper" in big letters on the side. Vanco and Vanco2 or ContiVanContact are the commercial Continental tyres.

If you use the van a lot in winter, the Vanco Winter 2 may be worth looking at. M+S & 3 peaks rated.

If going the Michelin Agilis route, their MH tyre does have the advantage over their standard van range being M+S. There is also the Agilis Alpin range for all season.
 
I just fit the cheapest available. Noise is not a problem with all the rattles etc in our van and as most of the budget tyres are made by subsidiaries of the major manufacturers ( and they must conform to EU reg.s) it seems a bit daft to pay twice as much just to have a recognised 'Brand' name. There will always be application specific tyres, but as a general rule a generic commercial tyre, albeit a tad noisier, will do for this tight owd codger.
 
As the only contact your truck has with the road is 4 small footprint sized pieces, I'd go for proper motorhome tyres, more or less irrespective of cost.

Various reasons:-

They are designed for a 3.5 tonne vehicle actually weighing that or near it, 3 tonnes in your case
Their design will take account of the fact that most of the time the thing is stationary
At your age, and I'm sure you must be about the same as me, the very last thing you need on a holiday, or, indeed, on any other trip is to be trying to change a tyre on a French motorway, in rain, in the the dark!
Motorhomes are not cheap so any tendency to fit the cheapest, as someone else said should be ignored, get the best, they'll last you, perhaps, 10yrs or so?:fun:
 
Any 109/107 tyre is fine. If you go less than that loadbearing rate, may cause insurance problems. You can tell the age of your tyres by looking for the 4 digit code on the sidewall, eg 4514 is week 45 in 2014. You do see new branded tyres going cheap, mainly due to their age. Always worth asking the age if you buy them over the internet. My son's (private) Transit Custom van came standard with 107s but he has stuck on new alloys (20"!) and we could only get 103's. We've notified insurance and they are quite happy. Bob.
 
Here's how I choose tyres.
Go to a website such as Blackcircles, enter size and load index, choose the tyres with best wet grip rating.
 
Thanks to all.
Decision made, when the time comes I'm going for either Continental or Michelin motorhome/camper tyres and will look to get all season if possible as i probably travel more in winter than any other time of year.
No rush but will do the deed before winter.
 
Myself I will never buy budget tyres:
Driving trucks for a living as a driver I had no say what was fitted ,on two occasions have had front tyres blow terrifying experience + probably in excess of 30 blowouts rest of vehicle this was low loader work.
Worked for myself hauling logs only fitted michelin front +michelin retreads rest of vehicle purely from damage point of view nill blowouts never fitted budgets on anything since.
Friend fitted chinese budgets onto Autotrail for trip to cornwall told him he was mad informed me 8 ply is 8 ply blow out on way home no I did not rub salt on his wound he decided to changed them .
Myself I would fit quality make maybe increase load rating 111- 113 index?
 
If I was running near maximum on my present tyres, I'd just go a load
rating up on new bog standard van tyres. If you buy specialised tyres
and have to replace one, it may be a problem getting an exact replacement
in say Euroland, or even in the UK having to wait days, weeks, mo.....for a
delivery may be a PIA.
And not good practise to mix tyre types on an axle.
 
tyre query

Hi had new Tyres fitted to the Hymer back in march size 215/75/R16. 116/114R B-FUEL B WET 70DB.Up to 75PSI 10 PLY TYRES,Spot on price £76.74p FITTED.
peter.GT radial maxmiler pro check reviews you will not be disappointed.
 
petermotorhome said:
Hi had new Tyres fitted to the Hymer back in march size 215/75/R16. 116/114R B-FUEL B WET 70DB.Up to 75PSI 10 PLY TYRES,Spot on price £76.74p FITTED.
peter.GT radial maxmiler pro check reviews you will not be disappointed.
Click to expand...

hi, got the same tyres on my truck. good grip on and off road ,quiet and seem to be lasting well.
have other chinese tyre on my trailer federal ecovan again seem to be lasting wqell had the fedrals fitted in 2008 .
if you want quality these days buy chinese .
forget any eu things just paying alot for less .
oh i only payed 75 quid fitted for mine but it was 2 years ago.
and balanced all in .
nice looking tyre as well.
 
IanH said:
As the only contact your truck has with the road is 4 small footprint sized pieces, I'd go for proper motorhome tyres, more or less irrespective of cost.

Various reasons:-

They are designed for a 3.5 tonne vehicle actually weighing that or near it, 3 tonnes in your case
Their design will take account of the fact that most of the time the thing is stationary
At your age, and I'm sure you must be about the same as me, the very last thing you need on a holiday, or, indeed, on any other trip is to be trying to change a tyre on a French motorway, in rain, in the the dark!
Motorhomes are not cheap so any tendency to fit the cheapest, as someone else said should be ignored, get the best, they'll last you, perhaps, 10yrs or so?:fun:
Click to expand...

Tyres now have a simple rating system for comparisons to be made and all have to be made to a minimum safety standard. A grip rating of B is the same for both dear and cheap tyres. The economy rating isn't worth talking about in the amount of fuel saved over the life of a tyre. I personally over a 10 year period would rather pay for 3 sets of new cheap tyres than 1 set of expensive tyres in the belief new tyres are better than old and tyres get better every year. Even cheap ones. What was the best compound and build 10 years ago could well be lacking now compared to the compound and build on a modern cheap tyre.
One thing is for sure the major tyre manufacturers like to play on peoples fears.
 
I had a slow puncture which couldn't be repaired for reasons which are too involved to discuss now. ATS quoted me a like for like on a Michelin camping tyre which came out at £185. Considering that ATS is owned by Michelin I thought that the price was excessive.
I then got an Avon Cooper tyre which is rated for MH,s for £95 , no contest.
I was a bit put out as the original had only done 9500 miles.
 
Merely qualifying my previous post, the why's.

Call me a cynic if you like. But I've a suspicion that Camping Tyres
are just in themselves a cynical marketing ploy. No proof. Just that
I've never seen anything over the years that convinces me that they are
markedly better than the quality bog standard van tyre made by the
same manufacturer. Certainly not so that the average driver in a moderately
driven motorhome would notice. Does anyone drive them ten/tenths or
anywhere near? A white van man is much more likely to drive his van in anger,
and frankly what's good enough for him is ok for me with a load rating upgrade
as appropriate.
Some might say Camping Tyres are a bit quieter, or grip a bit better but
no really convincing evidence, I suspect it might be wishful thinking
to justify the premium price.
 
I'll be sticking with getting news ones for the time being. If I ever find a budget tyre, thats good for 110MPH + strong enough to be aired down to 15 psi when needed, has a 3 peaks rating and I can sell them for £15/£20 a piece when they're around 3/4 years old with 65000 mile on the, I may then consider budget ones. :p
 
Obanboy666 said:
Thanks to all.
Decision made, when the time comes I'm going for either Continental or Michelin motorhome/camper tyres and will look to get all season if possible as i probably travel more in winter than any other time of year.
No rush but will do the deed before winter.
Click to expand...

Just remember all winter tyres carry M+S markings but not all tyres that carry M+S markings are winter tyres.

Winter tyres ? don?t rely on the M+S mark! » Oponeo.co.uk
 
Started off with Continental Vanco Campers on my PVC,but ride was harsh and grip not great but they did last well.

When these wore out I had Michelin Camping, better ride, better grip but not so long lived as Contis.,softer compound I suppose.

Now running Hankook Vantras and will not change for anything else. Much nicer ride and grip and much cheaper but not a budget tyre.

I think Camping tyres are the invention of snake oil salesmen. I've bought them once in ignorance but not again.

Korky.
 
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