Tyron bands

[LMH]

Hi

I know why you fit them. Couple of questions:

If both tyres had them fitted, would you have to have your spare tyre fitted with a tyron band in case you needed to use it?

I normally buy a spare from a tyre place (commercial tyre). If I bought a tyre from them and asked them to fit a tyron band, approximately how much might it cost to buy and to fit? Would they sell tyron bands?

Thanks

Lisa

 

[jacky3]

well i suppose it would be defeating the object to have tyron bands fitted to caravan wheels but not to the spare,but i bet there a lot out there done just the same thing ME INCLUDED

 

[rayc]

Lisa, I think many people look on the spare as a 'get you home' device. Some people who have alloy wheels have a steel spare so drive with extra care if it is fitted.

It is really up to you of course whether you fit a band to the spare but I personally wouldn't. I would keep my speed down in any case if the spare was fitted because it is a bit of an unknown having sat under the van for several years.

As far as cost goes I think that a pair fitted is about

 

[LMH]

Thanks for the replies, very useful.

Lisa

 

[RichardS1]

Its like Klarky says it does really defeat the object not fitting to the spare and I admit I have not done so myself. As Ray says if the spare was a steel wheel you would take care but its amazing the damage a blowout can cause even at 40mph on a caravan.

 

[Lutz]

I often wonder how frequent blowouts are. I've been driving for 40 years and have only had one once (on the car, not towing at the time, and by the time I came to a stop from about 90mph the tyre was in shreds anyway and I was driving on the wheel rim).

I have always thought that such cases were rare and due to defective tyres or incorrect tyre pressures but maybe someone has had other experiences. I'd therefore go along with what Ray (c) says.

 

[emmerson2]

Lutz, that's a good point.We all (well, most of us) carry around about 100kg of spare wheels.When did you last have a puncture? Work out how many thousands of miles since the last one.most of us are in some form of recovery service, so why do we carry spare wheels?

 

[Lutz]

A number of car manufacturers are already deleting spare wheels and supplying cars with temporary repair kits although these, of course, only work for punctures, not blowouts.

 

[emmerson2]

A number of car manufacturers are already deleting spare wheels and supplying cars with temporary repair kits although these, of course, only work for punctures, not blowouts.

I carry one of those aerosol thingies, but haven't the courage to leave my spares at home!

 

[LMH]

I had a puncture on one of my previously very expensive car tyres just before christmas. I also had a puncture on my MG about three years ago (tyre pressures and tread regulary checked). Incidentially, both tyres low profiles.

Lisa

 

[LMH]

Another question chaps:

Is it advisable to remove the tryes when the caravan is not being used, for instance over winter as it's not possible to rotate the tyres.

Is it better to use axle stands or old tyres?

Lisa

 

[LMH]

Sorry I meant 'remove the wheels' over winter and 'rotate the wheels'.

Lisa

 

[rayc]

I for one will always carry a good spare for the car and caravan. Punctures may be rare but they happen. I'm trying to convince myself that I wouldn't care if a puncture happened to me and I didn't have a spare but I can't.{memories of a puncture on the M20 with a hire car}.

If you do have a puncture on the van and don't have a spare do not expect too much from your chosen recovery service.

 

[rayc]

Lisa, there was a posting from somebody on the forum about having removed the wheels for the winter and had the van on axle stands. Apparently the wind got up lifted the van slightly and it was only by luck and a lot of panic that they managed to keep it on the stands.

If I rally wanted to remove the wheels I would use a spare set of tyres and wheels just for that reason. You can pick up wheels cheap on ebay and there are plenty of tyres around. As long as they are the right size then the load / speed rating isn't a problem if your only going to stand the van on them and not take it on the road.

 

[RichardS1]

Leaving the caravan stationary for a long period could potentially weaken the sidewall of the tyre at the point where it meets the ground. You can get round this by moving the van very slightly when it is in storage so different parts of the tyre sidewall take the stress.

 

[Adrian_5094017]

Read the comments here with interest. I'm still new to caravanning, went to KwikFit for new tyres on the van, took just the wheels. They wrecked a tyre (at their expense) trying to fit it and in the end removed the bands from my wheels as they couldn't get the tyres on! Quick fit on a car wheel maybe, not on caravan wheels.

 

[GrahamW]

Lisa

Shame on you not using the caravan in winter, its one of the best times!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tim2]

Hi LMH

I have tyron bands fitted to all 4 of the wheels on my twin-axle van and, also, on the spare wheel. I, also, have tyrons on all 4 wheels + spare of our 4x4 towcar.

I had a puncture of some sort on my previous, single-axle, van whilst it was fitted with tyrons. The first I knew about it was when someone pointed it out to me whilst queing for the Corran ferry. I had driven quickly for a number of miles to catch the last ferry. The tyre was reduced to a mass of shredded rubber and steel reinforcements but the had handled so well that I had not even noticed!!!I had to call out the breakdwown servic to help change the wheel as the tyre was in such a sharp and dangerous mess.

If I had not had the bands I think I might well have had a serious accident. If I had not had a spare wheel I would not have been able to change the wheel.

On the basis of this I highly recommned Tyrons. I got mine fitted by the local HiQ tyre dealer. He had to measure wheels before ordering Tyrons but his prices were about half that quoted by local caravan dealers. Sorry to hear that Kwik fit could not handle Tyrons they come with a fitting kit (really just a VERY and instructions

 

[Tim2]

Sorry I hit the wrong button accidentally. I was just going to finish by saying the Tyron fitting kit is just a VERY LONG Allen key and instructions on how to fit/remove tyres with Tyrons fitted.

I would STRONGLY RECOMMEND Tyrons but phone around your local tyre dealers for the best price - less than that quoted by caravan dealers in my experience. One local caravan dealer said that he would just take my 'van to a local tyre workshop anyway and add a substantial mark-up for the price.

Regards

Tim

Tyrons are much cheaper than a high speed accident would be my final comment.

Regards

Tim

 

[Lutz]

Tyron bands have some justification for fitment on a caravan, especially a single axle but I do not share Tim's conviction about having them on the towcar, too. If the puncture is slow, one has adequate warning due to changes in the way the car is handling. If it's a blowout, the wheel and tyre are ruined anyway. Only if the blowout occurs at the same time as a swerve (the main reason for the use of Tyron bands on emergency service vehicles) is there any danger of an accident and one does not normally do very much swerving when towing a caravan. Under normal conditions, the cars of today (especially those fitted with ESP) will remain stable enough to come to a stop safely so long as you keep your wits about you.

 

[NorfolkMike]

As said by Lutz. I have been caravaning for hundreds of years and have never had a need for a spare yet have carried one in the van and another for the car for thousands of miles. I have Tyron bands fitted to both van wheels but not the spare.

I did see something new, currently on E.bay under spare wheel carriers which I have never seen. It is an ally plate with various bolt holes in it designed to fit over your car spare to convert it to fit the caravan. If seems a good idea. I would love comments on it paticularly a view from Lutz would be great.

ttfn

 

[Lutz]

If I understand you correctly, someone is offering a sort of adapter to allow one to use the car's spare wheel on the caravan. That sounds positively dangerous to me. Firstly, any adapter requires space and would therefore increase the wheel offset and consequently wheel bearing loads. Secondly, even if the size of the two tyres is the same, it is unlikely that the load rating of the car's tyre is adequate for the caravan. Finally, any additional fasteners (and an adapter necessarily involves additional fastener) increases risk of something getting loose, with possible dire consequences.

 

[LMH]

Thanks for the replies.

I was making the enquiry as my new van has tyrons fitted.

Lisa

 

[NorfolkMike]

If I understand you correctly, someone is offering a sort of adapter to allow one to use the car's spare wheel on the caravan. That sounds positively dangerous to me. Firstly, any adapter requires space and would therefore increase the wheel offset and consequently wheel bearing loads. Secondly, even if the size of the two tyres is the same, it is unlikely that the load rating of the car's tyre is adequate for the caravan. Finally, any additional fasteners (and an adapter necessarily involves additional fastener) increases risk of something getting loose, with possible dire consequences.

Thanks for that Lutz.

Just shows that nothing is as simple as it seems. It did however occure to me that if it was such a good idea how come it was not more well known. (it was not new)

ttfn

 

[Rich]

Tyron Bands are almost redundent on modern wheel and tyre combinations. Blowouts occure in extreme conditions now that we use tubeless radial tyres. ( They are still a good security measure but not needed on the car,In my opinion). Blowouts were common when wheels used tubes in either radial or crossply tyres, also crossply tyres were prone to blowouts due to their constuction. Tyres now usually go down slowly over a number of miles or days.In this case tyron bands stop very low pressure or flat tyres being pulled off the bead, So if you do not carry a tyron band on a spare wheel it is not too big an issue if you put the wheel with the band back on after repair or a new tyre is fitted.

So one of the best things you can use to prevent damage to wheels and vehicles due to flat tyres when towing is a radio controlled pressure sensing device. This will warn you when a tyre is lower on pressure than it should be and will warn you. This is good both for car and van. In the car you can usually feel a puncture unless you are not used to the vehicle. Pressure sensors will make you more secure as you cannot "FEEL" a tyre going down on the van and you should never have a tyre pulled off the bead because of low pressure tyres and punctures as the unit will let you know as soon as the tyre has any pressure drop below the pre set point. http://www.thetyrepressuremonitor.com/digital-pressure-pro.asp here is a link to one manufacturer. I use this type of system in racing, BUT I have a custom made unit which although very expensive has saved our rider from injury and a lot more money than it cost by allowing the rider to pull off he track and come in to safety. I think a radio controlled sensor system is the way forward in terms of driver safety.I would still have tyron bands until the system proved to be 100% but I think it would make them totally redundant in a couple of years time. They are more preventitive than Tyron as this is more of a sticking plaster approach because the tyres would be flat and ruined when the bands go to work!!