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tyre blow out!

S

suzzymoss

Hi there, whilst away at the weekend the caravan tyre went. New straight away it had gone. Managed to sort it with the car jack, but not ideal at all, my question is what is the cheapest jack that will do the job! Has any one used the tyrol bands as well?
 
This may not be the cheapest, but it comes with everything you need to lift the van safely Kojacklite

There is one here cheaper Kojack lite
 
Have you ever thought of joining a breakdown service, they will come out and change the wheel and much safer than being on the hard shoulder with your van balancing on a jack. Over the years I have used Green Flag on three occasions with no problems. J.Lo
 
ive just noticed

on that advert for the link above, it says my van has no jacking point

i thought all vans had one? im freaking out now as i cant check until we go away friday and have a bottle jack in the front but stumped if it doesnt have a jacking point?aaaaaa
 
Sue, forget the jack! Join a breakdown service. It won't cost much more than a good quality jack, and could save your life.
 
Join a breakdown service Green flag best bet for caravanning.

Trying to get the jack under the caravan axle is hard enough when the tyre is fully inflated away from any kerbstone, never mind with the tyre flat against the wheel..

Trying to get the spare wheel which is normally slung under the van with only a jack to supprt the van again is b....y dangerious.

As you have to drop the alum frame down and try and withdraw the frame complete with the spare wheel out.

Royston
 
Has I have said earlier,join a breakdown service, but the way to lift a caravan with a flat tyre is to pull the flat tyre on to a block and give yourself some clearance.J.Lo
 
All these bits of advice are picked up with 40 plus years of caravanning and meeting up with friends.Still cant sort my Thetford fridge opperation on gas though. J.Lo
 
Danny

You can also make your own luck, i removed the totally useless alko wheel carrier, and fitted the wheel in the front locker.

Until you have a flat caravan tyre, you don't really appreciate the associated problems.

Only had one flat, don't want another, nightmare.
 
So far I've heard "what a nightmare", get the breakdown service out etc etc.

All this panic could very easily be avoided by being prepared and having a practice run before the million to one chance of a blow out appears.

If you have the following you won't have a nightmare.

1/ Hi viz vest to be seen while fixing the car/van.

2/ Hazard triangle that you can disply 100mtrs towards the flow of traffic from your outfit.

3/ A good wind up torch (you can bet your shirt, batteries will go flat.

4/ A jack that will lift the caravan when the tyre is dead flat, a small 2ton trolley jack or bottle jack are the easiest to operate.

5/ A piece of plywood 20mm thick big enough to put your jack on plus 80mm all round extra, so that you can jack on soft ground.

6/ An extendable wheel wrench to undo those corroded nuts!!!

7/ Your battery drill with suitable socket to drive nuts off and on.

8/ Torque wrench for the final tightening of the nuts.

9/ A clear and practiced plan of actions, as when you get the flat tyre you will undoubtedly be in your sunday best suit and it will be blowing a gale and lashing down with rain at midnight when your the only car on the road.

Seriously though, by planning ahead and practicing a wheel change at home while the van is on the lawn will show up any missing tools required and give you an idea of what is involved.

My brother-in-law drove his jag for 6 months before he found out that there were two sets of wheel locking nuts but only keys for one, when his car had a puncture on the M6 some 140 miles from home. We had to go out with a recovery trailer to get him home. it would of been a simple wheel change had he of done his homework!!!!!!!!

As for tyron bands, we've had several discussions before on them, and I realy fail to see any strong proven evidence that they prevent accidents. You know when a tyre has burst or flat and in any case, no tyre should be re-used after being run flat for any time long or short. Spending your money on good quality correct specification tyre's is a better investment, plus changing your tyres regularly regardless of tread left is also good policy. I change mine every 3 years regardless.

Atb Steve L.
 
So far I've heard "what a nightmare", get the breakdown service out etc etc.

All this panic could very easily be avoided by being prepared and having a practice run before the million to one chance of a blow out appears.

If you have the following you won't have a nightmare.

1/ Hi viz vest to be seen while fixing the car/van.

2/ Hazard triangle that you can disply 100mtrs towards the flow of traffic from your outfit.

3/ A good wind up torch (you can bet your shirt, batteries will go flat.

4/ A jack that will lift the caravan when the tyre is dead flat, a small 2ton trolley jack or bottle jack are the easiest to operate.

5/ A piece of plywood 20mm thick big enough to put your jack on plus 80mm all round extra, so that you can jack on soft ground.

6/ An extendable wheel wrench to undo those corroded nuts!!!

7/ Your battery drill with suitable socket to drive nuts off and on.

8/ Torque wrench for the final tightening of the nuts.

9/ A clear and practiced plan of actions, as when you get the flat tyre you will undoubtedly be in your sunday best suit and it will be blowing a gale and lashing down with rain at midnight when your the only car on the road.

Seriously though, by planning ahead and practicing a wheel change at home while the van is on the lawn will show up any missing tools required and give you an idea of what is involved.

My brother-in-law drove his jag for 6 months before he found out that there were two sets of wheel locking nuts but only keys for one, when his car had a puncture on the M6 some 140 miles from home. We had to go out with a recovery trailer to get him home. it would of been a simple wheel change had he of done his homework!!!!!!!!

As for tyron bands, we've had several discussions before on them, and I realy fail to see any strong proven evidence that they prevent accidents. You know when a tyre has burst or flat and in any case, no tyre should be re-used after being run flat for any time long or short. Spending your money on good quality correct specification tyre's is a better investment, plus changing your tyres regularly regardless of tread left is also good policy. I change mine every 3 years regardless.

Atb Steve L.
Click to expand...
Wind up or what?J.Lo
 
Have to agree with "steve in Leo"

Seems to me that there are far too many drama queens out there.

A caravan flat is no different than a car flat....

A 2-ton trolley jack and a bit of common sense is all that is required.

If on a hard shoulder.... get the OH to put on a Hi-Vis vest and wave the other traffic out a lane while you change the wheel...either side.

When fixed, drive off...simple

Getting a breakdown service out in such a scenario is tempting fate...you might wait 1 hour or more...do you really fancy waiting on the hard shoulder of a motorway for one hour...eh, NO

Not to mention that while you wait for the breakdown guy, some other, more deserving / in danger motorist, is put at risk....

Put it another way....

Dear sir.... we are sorry to inform you that due to someone not being unable / unwilling to change a wheel, we were unable to get to your loved one quicker and as result, they were struck and killed...........

If you drive and / or tow.... you should NOT have to call on help for a basic repair...

Just to confirm, that I have 15+ yrs as a Traffic cop and have seen the above tragic scenario too may times....

As for Tyron bands...I have had personal experience of the benefits of these, but leave you to decide for yourselves...
 
A caravan flat is no different to a car flat!

Well when i worked, on average i would get two flats a year with my car, due to the amount of scrap metal on the road.

So over 25 years, i am or was a expert on flat car tyres, repair methods, when a tyre can be repaired, etc.

I have only had one caravan flat tyre, it happened on the A1, there was a extremmly strong side wind, a nightmare for normal towing.

I had no choice but to pull over to change the tyre, the next exit was miles away, i can't remember if i was in the AA at that time, but i decided to change the wheel anyway.

The hard shoulder is very narrow on this strecth of the A1. The flat was on the off side, the side wind was from the hard shoulder. I only had the scissor jack at that stage, so the jack whent under easy enough, very little height,unlike a car.
 
sorry pressed wrong button.

So the scary bit, try changing a tyre, with gale force winds, with bloody great lorries passing only feet away, sucking you towards them, until that day i had not appreciated the dangers involved, the jack struggled, so i used the two corner steadies, also i HAD to unhitch the ball from the car, the back of the car was holding the van back, along with the side wind.

I was in fear for my safety, so all i can say is, be a drama queen, phone some one out, unless you can pull into a SAFE area.

Because the side of the motorway is not a safe place.
 
I had tyron bands fitted by Hometyre, they come and do the job whereever your van is kept. They also fitted new tyres for me. The guy said that the recommended age for changing caravan tyres is between 5 to 7 years, under normal pressures, and 3 to 5 years if over 50 PSI. It also depends on how you store your van over winter, and if you cover the tyres / rotate the wheels frequently.

Caravans don't have shock absorbers, to the loading / cornering forces are different to cars when driving.
 
I had tyron bands fitted by Hometyre, they come and do the job whereever your van is kept. They also fitted new tyres for me. The guy said that the recommended age for changing caravan tyres is between 5 to 7 years, under normal pressures, and 3 to 5 years if over 50 PSI. It also depends on how you store your van over winter, and if you cover the tyres / rotate the wheels frequently.

Caravans don't have shock absorbers, to the loading / cornering forces are different to cars when driving.
Click to expand...
Thanks for all of those answers, we managed to change the tyre on the side of the road with a scissor jack and was not a problem except where to put the jack. Thinking of getting a different jack and will look at those suggested. We are with the AA for the car but not sure it would cover the caravan? Plus it will have taken ages to get to us. Thanks for all yr replies.
 
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