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Tyre pressure on a small Motorhome


Kevin1946

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Hi all,

my van is an Elddis 400 RL on a medium wheelbase boxer 290 X,with 99,000 miles, I have removed the over cab bed and use it to store bedding,seats,sunshade,etc

I run with 1/2 tank of diesel & 20 LTR'S of water & one gas bottle,I have the tyre pressure at 58 psi front & back is thie enough ? I don't have a pull out awning or a bike rack,I do have 2 flexi solar panels.

It has a race tuning chip fitted and is doing 28 to 36 mpg with this tyre pressure,it runs at 50 to 70 mph in 5th without having to change gear on hills.is this tyre pressure safe.

 

( A note of thanks to all of you who give your time to help us with your years of experience )

I log in all the time and enjoy every bit of it.

 

Many Thanks

Kevin

 

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Put 79 psi into mine the other day. I dont think this is safe but i had an uneventfull journey. A man came over and questioned the amount and after much deliberation i carried on. It says 5.5 bar on the tyres and on the plate so i went ahead. Ive a ducatto short wb. Was going to ask on here so glad you did.
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You can't really get any idea of the pressure needed until you get it weighed when fully loaded for holidays.

About £7 locally for each axle and overall weight.

It also depends on what type of tyre you have fitted, camping tyres, CP on the side, will go to 80psi, usually on the rear which carries most weight. White van tyres should max at about 65psi,( but get high pressure valves anyway)

When you have the figures you can try the forum again for more informed answers.

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An example of a 2004 Elddis Autoquest 400RL (like Kevin’s) is shown in this advert

 

https://www.becksmotorhomes.com/vehicle/2004-elddis-autoquest-400-r

 

I’d expect the tyre size to be 215/70 R15 and it’s likely that Elddis would have recommended tyre pressures of 5.0bar/72.5psi (front axle) and 5.5bar/80psi (rear axle) for the specialised ('camping-car’) tyres that would (probably) have been fitted as original equipment.

 

As Billggski has advised, if Kevin’s motorhome does not have have specialised camping-car tyres (which is likely to mean does not have Continental’s “Vanco Camper” tyres or Michelin’s “Agilis Camping” or “XC Camping” tyres) then the 5.0bar/5.5bar pressures would be inappropriate as the recommended maximum pressure for an ordinary ‘white van' 215/70 R15 tyre will be around 4.5bar/65psi.

 

As Billggski has also said, for better feedback it will be necessary for Kevin to have the motorhome weighed and to accurately identify the make, model, size and specification of its tyres.

 

Without that information (and assuming a 215/70 R15 tyre sze and based on how Kevin says he runs the motorhome) I’d be looking at pressures of 60psi (front axle) and 65psi (rear axle) irrespective of whether the tyres are ‘camping-car’ or ‘white van’ type.

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Nexen is a South Korean company, so presumably that’s where your Elddis motorhome’s tyres were made. (The country of manufacture will be shown on the tyres’ sidewall.)

 

Details of the “Roadian CT8” range are given here

 

https://www.nexentire.com/international/product/ltr/roadian-ct8.php

 

The Nexen website indicates that the Roadian CT8 tyre in 215/70R15C 109/107S size is fitted as original equipment (OE) to Fiat Ducato vehicles, but I’m not sure if that’s so for Ducatos marketed in Europe. On-line asking-price for the 215/70R15C size is around £60.

 

As the Roadian CT8 is a ‘white van’ tyre, rather than a ‘camping-car’ tyre, as has been said above its maximum inflation pressure should not exceed 65psi.

 

I believe that continuing to use 58psi (4.0bar) for the front and rear tyres should not be problematical. If you wanted to consider lowering that pressure in order to seek a softer ride (though better handling would not necessarily result) you’d need to have the motorhome weighed as Billggski advised.

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Derek, thanks,I just want to be safe and not be the cause of an accident due to not having good tyres or wrong tyre pressure.I will get it weighed this week and I will put it up here and if you could give me your opinion I would appreciate it ,the van feels ok at 55 to 65 mph and I would drive at 60 mph normally .The tyres feel ok at 50psi front & 55 back but I decided to go for 58 as I load over the cab with seats bedding etc.

 

Kevin

 

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The advice generally given is that, after a motorhome’s axle-loadings have been ascertained by weighing the vehicle in its normally loaded condition, the manufacturer of the motorhome’s tyres should be contacted for guidance on what inflation pressures may safely be used.

 

It would remain to be seen whether contacting Nexen would obtain such guidance, but as tyres having the same specification and size will have very similar inflation-pressure-to-axle-loading values, data from another tyre manufacturer may be used.

 

Continental Tires publishes on-line a comprehensive Technical Databook and the 2017-2018 version can be viewed here

 

https://blobs.continental-tires.com/www8/servlet/blob/85806/e0854f2c7866c64da551474b998ef8b3/download-technical-databook-data.pdf

 

The data for a 215/70 R15C 109/107S tyre are on Pages 82 and 83 and the axle-loading (kg) to inflation-pressure (bar/psi) values for ‘single-wheel’ axles (ie an axle with a single wheel at each end) are given as follows:

 

kg ..... bar/psi

 

1490 - 3.0/43

1590 - 3.25/47

1685 - 3.5/51

1780 - 3.75/54

1875 - 4.0/58

1970 - 4.25/62

2060 - 4.5/65

 

There’s also a loading-to-pressure guidance calculator here

 

https://www.tyresafe.org/check-your-pressures/motorhomes/

 

(I notice that (for a 215/70 R15C 109/107 tyre) the TyreSafe pressure-usage recommendations are higher than the equivalent values in the Continental file by around 6psi.)

 

Motorhomes are not Formula 1 racing cars and ultra-exactly matching pressure to loading won’t be relevant. Your tyre-pressure gauge needs to be accurate (many are not) and the weather temperature when the pressure-reading is taken can make a significant difference. If in doubt err on the higher side, as under-inflation increases fuel consumption and tyre wear and, if under-inflation is severe, overheating can cause the tyre to fail. Over-inflation ain’t good either, but it’s definitely preferable to over-inflate a little than under-inflate a lot.

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