New Law on Tyres?

[Ian_5111861]

Hi, can anyone help or advise please.

I recently had my caravan serviced and was informed that one of my tyres was over 5 years old and should be changed.

I understand both the logic, practical/common sence of having good tyres on a caravan, but I would like to know if this in fact now Law, that tyres over 5 years old must be changed on a caravan. If I keep my perfectly good tyre on the van that is over 5 years old am I breaking any Law, will my insurance become invalid should I have an accident, will the police fine me etc, should I be pulled over for a check.

Regards

Ian Kiddie

 

[rob_jax]

Ian,

The recommendation to replace a caravan tyre after a period of between 5 and 7 years is only a recommendation and not, to the best of my knowledge, a directly enforceable law.

However if tyre failure was the primary cause of an accident / incident and the tyres were discovered to be unfit for use (bulges in sidewall / de-lamination / etc) then you could be in trouble.

So the issue is whether a 5 to 7 year old tyre can still be "perfectly good", particularly when a major cause of failures to tyres this old is hidden damage to the internal structure.

You can visually check the tyres for bulges, splits, cuts, and cracks in the rubber, but what you can't see is the internal degradation of the rubber caused by oxidation nor the cummulative effects of sunlight nor de-lamination from bumping the tyres.

Robert

 

[Lutz]

Rob_jax is right. To the best of my knowledge, only in German is there a legal requirement regarding the age of the tyres. Among other restrictions, a speed limit of 80kph is imposed if they are older than 6 years.

 

[RogerL]

It's not law, it's a recommendation that tyres should be replaced within 7 years of manufacture. As they may have been in storage for part of that time the number of years use is less than 7.

For higher pressure tyres, ie those with maximum pressures over 44psi, these should be internally inspected by a tyre fitter, or replaced within 5 years of manufacture.

 

[vauxhall2]

we have just had an MOT done.the car is 5 years old,it did not fail but we were advised to change the tyres because of age cracks on the side wall and on the tread.this we did for safety reasons 4 new tyres.

 

[Ian_5111861]

Many thanks for all your thoughts and answers to my question. I realise that a tyre degrades over time if not used, especially if left to the elements. Is there any information for those tyres taken off a caravan during the winter months and stored away from the elements?

Regards

Ian

 

[gary]

A tyre has a shelf life of 15 years and therefore can be a few years old when it's fitted, four identical Michelin tyres fitted to my car last week vary by 2 years the youngest being mid 05!

Caravan tyres while not being used much suffer from standing in one place which can distort the tyre internally especially if below pressure, this puts greater strain on it when it is used. Beyond that sunlight hardens and degrades the outer covering, further weakening the tyre.

With this in mind the recommended time to change is 5 on inspection or 7 years maximum regardless of apparent condition. However as the tyre should be stocked in ideal conditions and of course without any load on it, personally I would start from when the tyres fitted if known or if not it's manufacture date.

A further recommendation not widely known while choosing replacements is, "to down grade any given tyres maximum weight carrying capacity by 10%", again to compensate for the 'hard life' the caravan tyre endures.

 

[RogerL]

The recommended replacement timescale is the same whether wheels/tyres are left on the caravan during storage or not.

I remove wheels and store them in the dark during winter. I also paint the sidewalls twice a year with tyre paint as this restores some of the lost carbon which bleaches away in sunlight.

Nevertheless I still replace tyres at 5 years from manufacture as they're high-pressure 8-ply rated, like most caravans.