Tyres

[Colin_374427430]

Hi all,

We just wanted to pass on our recent experience

It is the time of year when our caravan gets it's annual service, this year being it's fourth from new.

Before our main holiday back in July we had the need, due to a cut, to replace the offside tyre. The near side tyre was checked over for anything similar, nothing found and it was ok. Visits to France and then later up to Cumbria were undertaken will no problems.

Therefore we were a little concerned when we got a call during our caravans service asking us to come down and look at the nearside tyre.

Basically a 20 inches strip of tread was missing over three quarters of the width of the wheel. This strip of missing tread can only of come off on the delivery drive for the service a short distance of approx. 4 miles

We, like we suspect, 99.9% of you out there check their tyres on a very regular basis. Therefore following this event we can only stress how important it is to check and recheck your tyres for every journey and during every journey. We do not wish to think or be part of the problems it would have caused on a nice long motorway run had the tread gone on one of those journeys.

Kind regards

Colin & Joyce

 

[Sproket]

Hi Colin

Would you care to let the forum know what size & make of tyre the problem was with ?

Thanks.

Sproket

 

[Colin_374427430]

The size was 175R14, as for the make of tyre it was a Matador. Came fitted to the alloy wheel rims as fitted to our Sterling Eccles Onyx when the caravan was bought new.

The other problem we found was that if we had had a problem down route somewhere and needed to use the spare from the carrier slung under the chassis would have been the wheel bolts.

The caravan came fitted with alloy wheels, the spare is a steel rim wheel, the attachment bolts for an alloy are different to a steel rim wheel and a set had not been supplied. Something to watch out for on a future purchase.

Cheers

Colin & Joyce

 

[gary]

I think quite a few readers may well have guessed the size and make of tyre you have the problem with, it having been a common cause for concern over several years.

Main problem was/is sidewall cracks but I've heard of at least one other incidence of tread coming adrift

The reason for it though and therefore any comeback on the suppliers is debatable, it could easily be argued you 'kerbed' the tyre and weakened it, whether or not you did is immaterial!

I would though still contact the suppliers, Tyreline.co.uk, and report the matter, you will need to include the age/date stamped on the tyre wall

The alloy wheel bolts are perfectly OK to use with steel wheels, the other way round using steel wheel nuts with alloy wheels is the very strict no no!

 

[TimM]

I have 195/70 R14 Tyres fitted to my Abbey. In May we arrived on a CL site in the Gower to find the offside tyre deflating. We changed the wheel and I took the offending wheel and tyre to our local tyre fitter when we returned home. They took a look at the tyre and very quickly realised that the tread was comming off in the region where the hole was. It was possible to push a screwdriver around between the tread and the rest of the tyre over quite an area. The tyres were Matador. I had excellent service from Tyreline who supply Swift Group. They agreed to replace both my road tyres and the spare with another make. I think we were very lucky not to have a blow out or to have lost the tread off the tyre.

We had very little cracking on the sidewalls and the tyres manufacturing dates were outside those recalled by Swift. Tread delamination is obviously another concern with these tyres and it certainly isn't obvious until it has started to fail. The only thing that might have shown us there was a problem coming was that the tread blocks close to the failure were worn in a strange patern but the failure was close to the inside edge of the tyre and virtually impossible to see without removing the wheel.

 

[Tim_374530685]

Hi,

Just to let you know I have a Sterling Eccles Sapphire 2006 which also has fitted Matador tyres from new. I too had a similar problem recently with a large section of the tread delaminating from the rest of the tyre. The tyre size is 175R14 with a load rating code 99 and were manufactured during mid 2005.

I am currently in consultation with Tyre-line to reclaim some of the replacement costs as I feel they have failed due to either a fault in manufacturing or inadequate materials.

I would urge anyone with this make of tyre to be particularly vigilant and replace them if there are any signs of crazing or cracking on either the side walls or in the tread or are of similar age.

I shudder to think what may have happened if they had completely failed while on the motorway etc.

Tim