laying up your caravan for winter

[irishliam]

in December practicalcaravan they suggested when wintering your caravan to "Chock the wheels and cover them" The advice i was give was always put the caravan on axles stands and remove the wheels to advoid "flat bottoms" on you tires. Who is right??

 

[Damian]

Hi William,

As usual, both are right!!

The best practice is to remove the wheels and store in a ventilated , sunlight free area, laid down and kept at correct pressure.

However, a lot of Insurance companies insist on wheel clamps being fitted, so removing wheels is not an option.

A better solution is to raise the van on axle stands to take the weight off not only the tyres, but also the main suspension units to allow the rubber to regain its shape and rest.

If you cannot do this, then you seriously have to make an efort and go and move the van every month so that the tyres do not sit on the same area for the whole winter, and avoid deformation of the tyre carcass.

Keeping them covered is to stop sunlight deteriorating the sidewalls.

 

[kenneth_374315528]

I don't think there is any need to cover the tyres as the sun is not strong enough in winter to do any harm. Ken

 

[KeithJ]

Putting the van on axle stands sounds a good idea, but I would be a bit cautious about where to put the stands to avoid damage to the chassis etc - which would be a lot more expensive than tyre dammage. I think I would prefer to let the tyres take the weight and just move them occasionally. Not sure that modern radials are that prone to deformation. (??)

Keith

 

[vernon]

Putting the van on axle stands sounds a good idea, but I would be a bit cautious about where to put the stands to avoid damage to the chassis etc - which would be a lot more expensive than tyre dammage. I think I would prefer to let the tyres take the weight and just move them occasionally. Not sure that modern radials are that prone to deformation. (??)

Keith

Keith

Put the axle stands under the axle - not the chassis and everything is OK.

Like Damion says it allows the suspension to "rest".