I have had a number of caravan blowouts over many years, In each case control was not affected, but the tyre disintegrated completely.
My previous (very) old van had enough clearance to survive this, on more than one occasion.
Nowadays, with coil spring suspension a thing of the past, replaced by low travel rubber torsion devices, things are so tight that a shredded tyre will almost certainly destroy the plastic wheel arch and possibly take out some of the woodwork. All the main services generally run just over the wheel arch, so those would probably get damaged as well. That could seriously spoil your day. :-(
I last replaced the caravan tyres, when they were 7 years old*, even though they were low mileage, there was still lots of tread (The spare had never even been used) and no visible problems. The risk is too great. The upside is that I think modern vans use better rated tyres.
*I think that means that I am due a new set next year. :-(
Colway used to make very decent remoulds. Because they ain't popular, they could be very choosy about the carcass they used. Only real downside was they needed more balancing than a decent new tyre. But they ceased trading.
My brother was a big fan of them. He reckoned a better performance than a budget new tyre for a lot less cost.
I had a set on the SD1. And apart from the balance thingie, no complaints. They were quiet, and gripped well in the wet. I'd happily have bought another set.
The thermodynamic gas laws indicate that for a fixed volume (like a tyre) as the temp rises so does the pressure.
Is the actual running temp of a tyre affected by the ambient temp? I guess it is as the hotter the abmient the less heat the tyre can dissipate so it'll get hotter. Thus maintianing a "fixed" differential (for a given speed/duration) above the ambient temperature.
You're supposed to measure tyre pressures with the tyres "cold" ie not after "driving".
"driving". I can imagine that tyre pressures immediatly after 50 miles at 70 mph down the motorway are somewhat higher than "cold".
How much driving is required to make a difference I don't know, is 5 mins @ 30 mph to a local garage enough?
How long does it take a tyre to become "cold"? I measure mine after the car has been stood for at least 6 hours or so.
Nitrogen 1.7 psi change for every 10C Air 1.9 psi change for every 10C
In F1 the slick tyres can run at at temperature 130C, and when track temperatures may be around 30C.
Typically they run at 20.5 to 22 psi.
On these cars a few mm in ride height caused by tyre pressure change can change the aerodynamic performance. F1 tyres are kept heated before fitting so the temperature change is minimised when a tyre change is made.
On your road car the tyre temperature will be a LOT less than 130C and any variation in temperature due to winter/summer differences should be compensated with regular tyre pressure checks.
On Sun, 5 May 2019 19:21:05 +0100, "Brian Gaff" snipped-for-privacy@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote: <snip>
I don't believe there are any Brian, other than guidance in the Highway Code that your cycle has to be kept (if used on the public highway) in a roadworthy condition.
"Make sure that you feel confident of your ability to ride safely on the road.
Be sure that you choose the right size and type of cycle for comfort and safety
lights and reflectors are kept clean and in good working order
*tyres are in good condition and inflated to the pressure shown on the tyre* [1]
gears are working correctly
the chain is properly adjusted and oiled
the saddle and handlebars are adjusted to the correct height.
It is recommended that you fit a bell to your cycle.
You MUST
ensure your brakes are efficient at night, use lit front and rear lights and have a red rear reflector."
Cheers, T i m
[1] I thought that was the maximum pressure of the tyre, not what you should run them at?
Well, other than they can develop a 'flat spot', I'm not sure.
When I've not driven the kit car for a while I can feel the 'flat spots' (you can sometimes even see the effects of them when driving very slowly) in the tyre but they seem to smooth out after a little time in use.
I think the commonest cause of blowouts is loss of tyre pressure, either through not checking them before you start or through an unnoticed leak whilst driving. It takes a lot to make a tyre completely fail but driving at speed on an under-inflated tyre will do it. ;-)
Only ever had one blowout in 45 years of driving cars, motor homes and towing caravans and it was undoubtably due to youthful ignorance and lack of maintenance.
The folding caravan tyres have been 'stored' (on the ground, supporting the caravan <g>) in the cool and complete darkness for the last 17 years seem (superficially at least) to still be in pefect condition.
However, a moped, stored in the same garage has perished / split tyres?
A difference could be that the caravan tyres have definitely been kept in the cool / dark *all* their lives (a few days out in the sun then
17 years in storage) whereas I don't know the storage history of the moped tyres.
Other trailer tyres, left exposed to the sun seem to deteriorate (cracks / splits in the sidewalls).
When we went to collect daughters new (to her) 600cc Suzuki Bandit, we fitted new tyres on the trailer because 1) they were looking a bit 'tired' and therefore 2) neither of us wanted to risk chucking her new baby down the road.
Neighbour loaded up his goods trailer to take a load of stuff to the dump and on tyres that I would have taken *straight* to the dump. I even commented on it and whilst he agreed they weren't nice, considered them ok for such a short trip (only a mile or so each way). He only made it about half way and then rang me in a panic, asking if I had a spare wheel handy! I didn't so he had to abandon the trailer at the side of the road, drive some distance to get a complete wheel and by the time he had done so the dump was closed. ;-(
*That* is why I don't take the risk.
The same guy gave away a boat he had for years and not used. I'd arranged to give it to a local sailing club as long as I could have the trailer. So, because the tyres were looking pretty rough, I not only replaced the tyres but also checked the wheel bearings. 'Oh, they will be ok as we towed it home ok ..' (10 years earlier), but on revolving the wheels I instantly felt they were far from 'ok' [1]. So (irrespective), I removed the hubs, removed the bearings, cleaned / painted the hubs and fitted new bearings, all to take the boat about 5 miles.
I did so because 1) I was going to keep the trailer and 2) because I didn't want to be stuck at the side of the road with a 16' dinghy on a crippled trailer.
A good few years ago a mate bought me a pair of new tyres for one of my motorbikes (because I had recently acquired it and generally fit new tyres on any vehicle I obtain). I've not used it much since and the 'new' tyres still sit in the workshop unused. Whilst it's pretty dark with the door closed it can get pretty warm so I'm not sure I would now trust them (which is a terrible shame)?
The Mrs managed to reverse up alongside a Daimler Sovereign in the kitcar and the rear wheel of the kitcar got caught up on the Daimlers rear wheel, bringing our car to a rapid halt.
It was only up the road so she rang me and I walked up and slowly drove it home.
After replacing / repairing the broken bits (and paying for the Daimler repair via our Insurance) I noticed that the rear tyres were starting to wear unevenly, like there was a tracking issue. This was the rear axle off a Mk2 Escort and so like your's not adjustable.
So just to prove my thoughts, I took it into KF to have the tracking fault *measured*.
After some debate they told me they couldn't do the rear of my car and I said 'what if I reverse it in and pretend it's the front'.
Eventually they suggested I did it myself and left me to it! ;-)
So, the 'tracking' on the rear was about 1.5 deg 'toe in' and that had been cause by the forward movement of our rear axle on one side (as it hit the parked car), wrapping the axle round the end of the propshaft / gearbox / engine / chassis and bending the axle tube. ;-(
Once they saw what I had measured, one suggested I drove forward then put the handbrake on hard as a way of bending it back again! I thanked him for his 'advice' and took it home and replaced the axle casing. ;-)
I have also had asymmetric tyres fitted on the wrong way round and watched them jack up the rear of my Uncles Reliant Robin under the diff (till I pointed out there was only one wheel at the front).
And very few places seem to know or bother with the balance / runout dots?
On Mon, 06 May 2019 12:03:37 +0100, T i m snipped-for-privacy@spaced.me.uk> wrote: [snip]>
That seems to be the case. However, I have not noticed the problems we used to get with wheel imbalance (rhythmic bumping at a certain speed that goes away faster or slower). Maybe modern wheels are self balancing?
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