Tyron Bands, good or bad?

[Saxo Appeal]

I have been reading mixed reviews on Tyron Bands and of course how they can help when a puncture / blow out happens

But I've been reading that a plethera of Garages wont touch them, is this true and why?

Can anyone recommend having these fitted when buying their first caravan, or something that we can really hold off on.

The caravan we may be purchasing has a twin Axle, so at least there is a back up tyre if one does blow (that's my logic)

Thanks

 

[otherclive]

There has been a very mixed debate on the forum wrt Tyrons. You are right that some tyre dealers or recovery companies don’t touch them as they don’t have the tools. So some users carry the tools themselves. I’ve often thought about them for single axles but never seen definitive proof of their performance. On a twin axle I’d see the need as less so. If I were to spend money I’d much prefer to buy a TPMS system which gives early warning of impending problems.

I had a tyre go big time ( single axle) ) doing 60 mph on a downward stretch of dual carriageway and apart from the noise the outfit remained stable. That was in 1999 before TPMS became available.

 

[Saxo Appeal]

Yeh I was thinking it wouldn't be so mush of a big deal on a Twin Axle

At least you have a back up, and of course a TPMS which you can buy fairly cheap, and can alert you

 

[otherclive]

Yeh I was thinking it wouldn't be so mush of a big deal on a Twin Axle

At least you have a back up, and of course a TPMS which you can buy fairly cheap, and can alert you

My blow out was on a single axle not twin axle. But it was a well matched outfit and load iaw the guidelines.

As I see it a tyre is unlikely to just suffer a catastrophic blow out without forewarning. The beauty of TPMS is that as something causes pressure to reduce, tyre temperatures will increase. Both parameters are monitored by a good TPMS. The the driver can take action before catastrophic damage occurs, possibly saving the tyre if it’s a repairable puncture. Tyron only come into play when there’s been irreparable damage to the tyre.

 

[Mr Plodd]

Waste of money. There has never been any repeatable research as to their efficacy.
Tyres don't "go pop" like a balloon, what happens is they fail due to being run at very low pressure due to a puncture so they overheat and the carcase catastrophically fails, which people incorrectly think is blowout, I have witnessed a flat caravan tyre physically smoking due to heat build up caused by it being run flat. The caravan was travelling at 60mph on a dual carriageway (Not my tyre I hasten to add but a vehicle ahead. I stopped it before the tyre finally "let go" )
See here
Over the years I have seen the results many caravan tyre "blowouts" but every one has shown clear evidence of the carcase having being grossly overheated (to the point of charring) That sort of heat takes many miles to build up.

A TPMS system (like Tyrepal) will alert you to pressure loss long before the tyre gets to the point of catastrophic failure. Invest in one of those systems. They also provide peace of mind when on a crowded motorway. I have had TPMS for years and wouldn't dream of not having it on any trailer (or car where its not built in)

 

[Saxo Appeal]

Thanks guys, don't think I'll bother then, if I had a single Axle things may have been different.

I'll spend my money on a TPMS instead, although there are heaps on Amazon at all various prices.

Ranging from £20 to upwards of £100+

 

[otherclive]

Thanks guys, don't think I'll bother then, if I had a single Axle things may have been different.

I'll spend my money on a TPMS instead, although there are heaps on Amazon at all various prices.

Ranging from £20 to upwards of £100+

Go for a good one like Tyrepal not some unknown make that gives no spares availabilty or no in country tech support.

 

[Mr Plodd]

I have had Tyrepal for about 10 years now. It has worked perfectly from day one.

 

[Buckman]

We had Tyrons on our first single axle caravan. Did not see a need to them on the twin axle however on having a blow out on the twin and not being aware of it until flagged down, we purchased a Tyrepal TPMS and have not looked back. One of the best investments we have made for the caravan.

 

[ProfJohnL]

If tyre bands made a significant improvement to vehicle safety, they would have been made compulsory like seatbelts. And there would have been many more manufacturers making them, but you'll be lucky if you found more than one.

Virtually all modern wheel rims include a circular ridges which does a pretty good job of stopping the tyre bead dropping into the well.

There are special cases where tyre bands can make a difference, such as on military vehicles, where the tyres could be vulnerable to gun shot or shrapnel damage, and it would be dangerous to stop to change the wheel in the middle of a combat field.

They'll do no harm, and they might provide a false sense of safety, which some might welcome, but they;

• increase the unsprung weight of the wheel, and the wheel must be balanced after they've been fitted,
• make changing a tyre on normal wheels more difficult and some fitters will refuse to change tyres because of the bands,
• Don't have any proven any safety benefit for ordinary motorists or caravanners
• cost you money which is better in your pocket than the manufacturers

As others have said prevention is far better than cure, so a tyre pressure warning system is a far more effective device, and will give some warning if tyre pressures are down, which is by far the most common cause of blow outs. And Tyre monitoring system is now a requirement on new cars sold in the EU and UK.......not tyre bands!

 

[Hutch]

I have had two new caravans and both were fitted with Tyron bands, the last time I had the tyres replaced,single axle, by Kwik fit mobile, they had to come over 50 miles as that was the closest mechanic that had the course on the band's. It turned out he did not have the correct long reach Allen key. Thankfully I have the portable kit and basically I replaced the band's myself and then the fitter done the rest.
I also have TyrePal TMPS which I would recommend fitting rather than fit the Tyron bands.

 

[Jcloughie]

I agree with all of the above. Never actually had bands myself as when I have looked into them I came to the same conclusions.

Also, as OC has said. a flat does necessarily lead to dangerous out of control situation.

Once when traveling back from France at about 1am we reached Cirencester. a good straight dual carriageway, going at 60 mph. I heard and felt a rumbling. So guessed I had strayed onto the rumble strip, I move out but the rumble did not go away.

A large grass verge allowed me to pull over and off the road. It was then I discovered the offside tyre was shattered.

I imagine it happened in the manner Mr Plodd described. Had TPMS been avaailabe then, I would likely have had a warning.

John

 

[Gralay]

I am another one in favour of Tyrepal, you know what your tyres are doing without seeing them.,if you are a member of the caravan and motorhome club you can get 20% off Tyrepal through member offers.

Gra

 

[Lutz]

Tyron bands have never been proved to be of any benefit. All the so-called evidence that I've seen, even from the manufacturer himself, shows how a vehicle behaved when Tyron bands were fitted, but not how the same would have behaved without them. Without a true comparison one cannot assess any degree of improvement.

 

[Mr Plodd]

If you already have TPMS on your car and onky want something for your caravan then the solar powered Tyrepal monitor is much smaller than the (rechargeable) LCD display. The solar powered one can only "see" 4 sensors so isn't much use for 4 car plus 4 caravan wheels. The LCD monitor can see up to something like 22 sensors! But it is pretty big.
One solar unit for the car and 1 for the caravan perhaps??

The solar one still has an alarm function to alert you to any possible issue.

 

[Hutch]

My rechargable Tyre pal, bought through the the CC . gave me a 10% discount. The unit can handle up to 12 wheels, but only came with two transponders. Works great, I think best bit of safety kit for a caravan.

 

[Saxo Appeal]

Thanks all, general concensious... get Tyrepal

 

[Beachball]

The previous owner had put Tyron bands on our Abbey caravan we owned her for three years never had a mishap but was worried if i did how i would manage to change them with my mobility issues

 

[otherclive]

The previous owner had put Tyron bands on our Abbey caravan we owned her for three years never had a mishap but was worried if i did how i would manage to change them with my mobility issues

But even without Tyron bands you would not be changing a tyre as surely your mobility issues would have limited your ability to change a wheel. Tyrons make no difference to changing a wheel they only affect the task of removing the damaged tyre from the wheel and replacing a tyre on the wheel.

 

[Buckman]

The previous owner had put Tyron bands on our Abbey caravan we owned her for three years never had a mishap but was worried if i did how i would manage to change them with my mobility issues

Surely you would have been subscribed to a breakdown servoce like AA, RAC or Mayday who would have been able to change the tyre for you?

 

[Robert_374373903]

Had new tyres fitted last week due to the age problem 4/6 years. when ringing around no company replied they do not fit Tyre bands which I have got , but they do charge around £25/30 extra it seems.

 

[Saxo Appeal]

Maybe it’s more common now for garages to have experienced fitters due to this?

 

[GrimPol]

I have been reading mixed reviews on Tyron Bands and of course how they can help when a puncture / blow out happens

But I've been reading that a plethera of Garages wont touch them, is this true and why?

Can anyone recommend having these fitted when buying their first caravan, or something that we can really hold off on.

The caravan we may be purchasing has a twin Axle, so at least there is a back up tyre if one does blow (that's my logic)

Thanks

I've never heard of Tyron Bands, so looked them up. On their website, this came up

"We regret that we have ceased the Tyron Assist service from 1st February 2023. The decision to cease Tyron Assist was not an easy decision to make but due to increasing costs associated with the service offered, it was not financially viable to continue. Any existing membership of Tyron Assist will still be honoured until the expiry date of your policy.

No new membership applications or renewals will be processed from the 1st February 2023. "

Not sure what it means but doesn't sound good.

I have been reading mixed reviews on Tyron Bands and of course how they can help when a puncture / blow out happens

But I've been reading that a plethera of Garages wont touch them, is this true and why?

Can anyone recommend having these fitted when buying their first caravan, or something that we can really hold off on.

The caravan we may be purchasing has a twin Axle, so at least there is a back up tyre if one does blow (that's my logic)

Thanks

 

[Buckman]

I think it means that you can continue to buy Tyron bands, but there will no longer be any backup service.

 

[Hutch]

Maybe it’s more common now for garages to have experienced fitters due to this?

I don't think so, they are very fiddley and at times you need to work blind to get the band into the wheel well and sit square.
They were a good idea earlier but wheel and tyre technology has progressed so the tyre will not come away from the wheel during a deflation.
I would not go for them now and prefer the TyrePal TMPS .
The pressures and temp increase to frightening scales. On my single axle at 1645. Kg the pressures this week increased from 65psi to 72 psi and an increase from ambient to 9c above.