Tyres with higher aspect ratio 195/80 vs 195/70 on my caravan

[Lars]

Hi Everyone,

I have an Abbey GTS vogue 217 which needs a new tyre and is supposed to run on 195/70/R14 with a minimum of 95 load rating.

But I live and work in Thailand, where my caravan is as well, and I just cannot find anything but 91 load rated in this size over here. Tried any single shop/online order etc. Currently one of the tyres on the Abbey is in fact a 91 as an emergency fix and I want this replaced asap.

I have tried various alternative combinations (eg a 185/75 or something else getting me to the same tyre diameter) but no chance. The only thing I can find are commercial, reinforced, light truck tires, rated for 106. But these are 195/80/R14. So that would be 31mm larger diameter tyres.

They would fit. I have a quattro mover which I think I can move back a bit to still work as well hopefully.

But I am concerned about driving safety.

Any thoughts on this?

If not, I need to try to find some company shipping a pair over from the Uk on a container but not too keen to have it on the 91 for too long.

Any ideas apricated,

Lars

 

[otherclive]

I fitted slightly higher aspect ratio tyres to a Bailey S5 Bordeaux as when it was payload upgraded the OEM tyres were 1420 kg versus 1400 kg caravan new max weight. The mover was adjusted slightly and I took careful measurements of wheel arch clearance. The outcome was okay despite a dealer saying the higher LI would shake the caravan to bits. But mine only went from 75 to 80 so perhaps importing some might be better especially if your suspension may have sagged a bit with age.

 

[Ern]

If the increased diameter tyre is fitted it probably won't make much difference to the ride height as the rolling radius may not increase by so much (maybe 10mm or so), however the radius at the top will be 15mm more and therefore the wheel box clearance will be reduced by that. If the suspension is tired and has sagged a bit, that could spell trouble. The simple answer is to measure the clearance as it is at the moment, then decide. Many caravans are built with higher load on one side (our Swift was produced with the kitchen side wheel loading almost up to the limit with the caravan empty) and the wheel box clearance may be much less on one side, so take care when measuring.

Further thoughts. Going from 195x70 to 195x80 would increase the aspect ration by 10%.
195x80%=156. 195x70%=136.5. 156-136=20mm increased radius at the top.

 

[Buckman]

The caravan is a single axle so you would be fitting commercial tyres and not normal car tyres. Commercial tyres are standard for single axle caravans in the UK.

 

[otherclive]

The caravan is a single axle so you would be fitting commercial tyres and not normal car tyres. Commercial tyres are standard for single axle caravans in the UK.

Can you get a 195/70/14 “ commercial” tyre? Bear in mind the caravan in question is elderly. My 2005 Bailey didn’t come with “commercial” tyres.

 

[RogerL]

Can you get a 195/70/14 “ commercial” tyre? Bear in mind the caravan in question is elderly. My 2005 Bailey didn’t come with “commercial” tyres.

195/70 R14C is a readily available (in the UK) commercial tyre - Load Index is 101 or 104 so suitable for a 1500kg single axle caravan.

 

[otherclive]

195/70 R14C is a readily available (in the UK) commercial tyre - Load Index is 101 or 104 so suitable for a 1500kg single axle caravan.

Of course silly me the GT Radial ST 6000 Kargomax I had some and they were good. They are trailer specific too.

 

[Jcloughie]

From a towing point of view I don’t think slightly larger tyres would make much of any difference.

However. They would need to accommodate the extra width and height. The width would probable be easy to assess but the height less so. Over recent years, some UK caravans have tyres which damaged the tyre box simply due to the suspension getting a little tired. (Sorry that almost a pun).

The size of the tyre box will vary from van to van. So perhaps measurements could be taken. If you could research the vans suspension and find the maximum deflection, you may be able to calculate the room you have.

John

 

[Lars]

195/70 R14C is a readily available (in the UK) commercial tyre - Load Index is 101 or 104 so suitable for a 1500kg single axle caravan.

The tyres which I was referring to and which I can buy here, are R14C commercial tyres. I said Light Truck but these are proper commercial ones. Sadly though only available are 80 and not 70 aspect ratio. And absolutely no luck getting the one I need.

Thanks for all the feedback. I am back with the caravan on the weekend, will check how much deflection the suspension still has to check if an 80 would potentially be possible. But I think the answers here have convinced me to try to get the right size from abroad.

Most likely I will try to get 195/70/R14C from a UK Dealer and have them shipped to Thailand.

 

[Buckman]

Most likely I will try to get 195/70/R14C from a UK Dealer and have them shipped to Thailand.

More than likely the UK dealer will have sourced the tyres from China.

 

[otherclive]

More than likely the UK dealer will have sourced the tyres from China.

There must be somethings not sourced from China. 🤓

 

[Buckman]

There must be somethings not sourced from China. 🤓

China is a lot closer to Thailand than the UK. Just a thought.

 

[Lars]

I have tried China but Chinese Homepages are a nightmare as I don't read mandarin (google translate is awesome but only gets you so far) and through the normal channels (Alibaba etc) I also cannot find what I need. I decided Uk is easier, because I can pick up the phone and call.