Alloy Wheels and a Steel spare

[Pinto]

Our Coachman caravan has alloy wheels and a steel spare. Following a puncture at home, my husband put the spare on with the alloys nuts, torqued it up etc. We went five miles and the wheel came off. We were driving slowly, so luckily the damage was the hub, nuts, new spare wheel and mudguard. The insurers say they will not pay for the hub, wheel or nuts. Coachman have said we were correct to use the nuts we did and they have not had any problems. Has anyone any comments to make ?

 

[RayS]

From memory, the studs for alloys are a different length that for steel wheels - I certainly have a second set supplied with the steel spare on my van.

A the moment cannot suggest where you could get a definitive answer - perhaps look at the lengths of locking wheel studs in a dealer's and see if they offer different studs for steel and alloys ?

Hopefully other contributors will be able to give you chapter and verse.

 

[BrianStAlbans]

All the cars I have sold in the past with steel spares have used the same wheelbolts.If we upgraded from steels to alloys we had to supply new bolts. I would say your insurance company are wrong and just trying to get out of paying you.

Brian

 

[WatsonJohnG]

I was told by N Staffs Caravans that alloy wheel bolts can be used on steel wheels but not steel wheel bolts alloys

 

[Robert_374373903]

We had a sidewall blowout in Rheims and changed to the steel one, as the alloy was ruind the steel one was kept on for futher 800 miles without any problem.We have Coachman 460/2.

 

[ThePlotter]

If you are in either of the big clubs I would be talking to their technical/legal depts thats what you pay your membership for.

 

[vauxhall2]

check out www.al-ko.co.uk see

http://www.al-ko.co.uk/Downloads/CaravanChassisBook.pdf
there is section on wheel nuts

 

[geoffh]

check out www.al-ko.co.uk see

http://www.al-ko.co.uk/Downloads/CaravanChassisBook.pdf
there is section on wheel nuts

when we bought our lunar in 2007 we were supplied with another set of wheel studs and told to use them with the steel spare wheel