Pneumatic tyre for jockey wheel

[David.R]

Part of our driveway is gravel and the solid jockey wheel tends to dig in particularly when using the motormover.Do pneumatic tyres work any better and are they worth the investment?

 

[Robtel]

A pneumatic jockey wheel will help a bit under the circumstances you describe. On the downside they tend to have a larger diameter than the solid type and may lead to "grounding" problems when hitched going over the likes of speed humps.

 

[VonRyan]

Hi David,

Yes they are worth the investment, but shop around to get the best price.We have one on a BPW jockey wheel fitted to a Bailey and it helps on grass or gravel and even thick mud in France a year last July/ Aug,where the weather was awful, but the jockey tyre helped the motor mover(heart attack 22 months ago) cope due to the spread of the frontal nose load. The one thing the installer of the Rhyno said was to buy some clear hall mat as it stopped the wheel digging in and we bought 2 x 2 meter lengths which we can feed under the tyre as required and it stops digging in, in really bad conditions.

Hope this helps

Rob

 

[Guest]

Yes, they are good but the downside is that they can get punctured quite easily. Always carry a spare inner tube, or even a spare tyre combination as it is likely to go flat just when you need it most. You can often pull the wheel up inside the A frame side piece so the projection is not too much, however, if you have a 'nose down' outfit then take care on ramps etc.

 

[RayS]

Pneumatic tyres really to help on gravel surfaces but as others have said are prone to deflation quick quickly when standing in the sun. Most I've seen are difficult if not impossible to connect to an airline or pump connector, as the valve stem is obstructed by the side arms of the mounting whereever the wheel is revolved. Changing an inner tube is not easy either. I found a supplier of solid tyres for sack trucks and had one fitted; this is better but is not a good fit on the rim.

I have been trying to find where i can get the tyre filled and convered to solid. this was popular for lawn mower tyres some years ago, but I have tried garden machinery dealers, tyre dealers etc. without any luck so far.

I carry the old - flat rim - wheel as a "spare" but if you do this, check the axle lengths etc first, and have a spare split pin too.

 

[David.R]

Thanks for all the replies. It would appear that there is a need for a better type of solid tyre for the jockey wheel and with so many modern materials like silicon you would think someone will come up with an inexpensive but better solution to the cheap standard jockey wheel as fitted to all new caravans.

 

[Guest]

A lot depends on the type of wheel you buy. I have 2, one is as described and a bit of a b....r to replace, the other has the wheel in 2 halves held by 2 nuts and washers so changing the tube is a 5, ok 10 minute job. The air inlet has an extension so again is easy to connect to the battery powered compressor I keep in the boot. Mine seem to have phases, one year I can have 3 punctures in a season, other years none, however, I would not change it to a solid tyre because the 'bouncing', ok pneumatic effect helps the mover a lot.

 

[vernon]

Why not put some bicycle puncture proof solution in the tube?

 

[Guest]

That may be an answer but I have never tried it. I know a number of motorhomes nowadays do not have spare tyres, but an aerosol can which you are supposed to use to reflate a tyre. I assume it works as long as the tyre is still in one piece, but I have heard stories that it is a one way trip, and a new tyre is the next step.

 

[xtrailman]

Had one on my last van, it didn't stay on long, the size of it was the main problem, reduced ground clearance.

Found it no help pushing the van either.

 

[Guest]

I agree with the pushing the van complaint. I forgot the battery for the motor mover one trip out and decided to just push the van. One hernia later and after only 4 feet of movement I gave up, and took the car battery out just to get the b....y van out of its parking slot. I am no match for 1300 kg even with big tyres.

However, i do know that the big tyre does allow the machine to move easier over gravel etc.

 

[Gumbo]

Found the al-ko wheel the one with the nose weight gauge, bigger than the plastic one fitted to the van as standard. It certainly works better on gravel

 

[mickk]

Hi David

Bit late in reply but I have a large pneumatic tyre on my van makes it much easier for moving with motor mover I then release the complete jockey wheel then put it back when I unhitch only takes a couple of minutes & no grounding on any humps or bumps

 

[John_Boy]

Someone said about deflation when sat in the sun, my local tyre fitter will put Nitrogen in your car tyres for an additional

 

[MikeJE]

Nitrogen being an inert gas why would the tyre go ka-boom if normal air was added ? The air surrounding us is some 80% nitrogen any way.