Tyre inflator for pvc

[sandalwood]

What tyre inflator was recommended for panel van conversions . Any help gratefully received. Continental vanco tyres with Tyron bands are they best fir van conversions. Mine are 6 yrs old. 16000 miles, are they still ok?

 

Ian

[John52]

sandalwood - 2018-10-14 3:31 PM

 

What tyre inflator was recommended for panel van conversions . Any help gratefully received. Continental vanco tyres with Tyron bands are they best fir van conversions. Mine are 6 yrs old. 16000 miles, are they still ok?

 

Ian

 

Tyre retailers say you should change tyres at 5 years, but then they are in business to sell tyres *-)

My 16" michelin agilis are 10 years old and 70,000 miles - still ok.

As for tyre inflators, you really need something a bit more substantial than the usual car tyre inflators. Lidl had some decent ones in at £14.99 last time I looked - the same model I bought in Spain a few years ago for about 25 Euros IIRC.

 

edit - looks like this one: Link to eBay

[Derek Uzzell]

Ian

 

Some 2018 forum discussions on tyre inflators

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/12-volt-compressor/50002/

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/12v-van-tyre-pump-recomendations-please-/49906/

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Tyre-Compressors/48906/

 

It should not normally matter whether the motorhome is a panel-van conversion or some other type. If it has the sort of tyres usually fitted to motorhomes and these are inflated to (say) at least 60psi, a cheap 12V tyre-pump that may be OK for a car may struggle badly when faced with putting a lot of high-pressure air into a motorhome tyre.

 

This early 2018 thread discussed tyre age

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/When-to-change-motorhome-tyres-and-best-fitter/48825/

 

It would also be worth you checking all of your motorhome’s tyres’ date-of-manufacture (including the spare tyre).

[spirou]

We had Michelin Agilis tyres as OEM and changed them at 4 years both due to being relatively worn out (~70-80000km) and age degradation (sidewall cracking). I would have used them for another year if age was the only factor but I can't imagine a 10 year old tyre being anywhere close to OK.

[Don636]

I had a Halfords 12v inflator for a number of years and it was good. You pre-set the pressure you wanted and it stopped inflating when it reached that pressure. It was very noisy but I think they are all the same. I would go onto the Auto Express webpage as I think they run tests of accessories and rate them.

[Don636]

Just had a look on Auto Express myself and there is a recent 2018 review and the top three are listed below:

 

1. Ring 12v Preset Digital Air Compressor RAC 635

2. Sakura 12v Digital Air compressor SS5332

3. Wolf Glovebox Genie 3 in 1 Digital Tyre Inflator

[John52]

spirou - 2018-10-14 5:35 PM

 

We had Michelin Agilis tyres as OEM and changed them at 4 years both due to being relatively worn out (~70-80000km) and age degradation (sidewall cracking). I would have used them for another year if age was the only factor but I can't imagine a 10 year old tyre being anywhere close to OK.

My van was manufactured early in 2008, and the original tyres are still working perfectly.

Where is your evidence I should have changed them 6 years ago?

The only 'evidence' I have seen is advice from tyre retailers *-)

[spirou]

My evidence are my own Michelin tyres that were made and mounted in 2014 and were used until a few months ago. Like I said, sidewalls had noticeable age degradation after 4 years so I don't know how the same tyre at 10 years could be in good condition. But you do whatever you want.

[John52]

spirou - 2018-10-15 7:40 AM

 

My evidence are my own Michelin tyres that were made and mounted in 2014 and were used until a few months ago. Like I said, sidewalls had noticeable age degradation after 4 years so I don't know how the same tyre at 10 years could be in good condition. But you do whatever you want.

 

Still no evidence for changing tyres at 5 years then :-S

[Derek Uzzell]

Don636 - 2018-10-14 7:42 PM

 

Just had a look on Auto Express myself and there is a recent 2018 review and the top three are listed below:

 

1. Ring 12v Preset Digital Air Compressor RAC 635

2. Sakura 12v Digital Air compressor SS5332

3. Wolf Glovebox Genie 3 in 1 Digital Tyre Inflator

 

This link is to the 2018 AutoExpress review

 

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/89534/best-mini-air-compressors-for-car-tyres-2018-group-test

 

The test criteria should be noted

 

“...we timed our compressors to see how long they took to inflate a 15-inch tyre from 20psi to 30psi, checking for gauge accuracy at the start and finish. “

 

Other reviews here

 

https://www.driving.co.uk/news/products/products-car-tyre-compressor-inflator-reviews/

 

https://www.bestreviewer.co.uk/best-tyre-inflator/

 

I have three 12V-powered tyre pumps. Two of them will cope with inflating an car tyre to a mid-30s psi, but one is completely unable to pump at ‘motorhome’ pressures (say 60psi minimum) while the other, although able to pump at over 60psi, takes an age and gets very hot when doing so. Both pumps have also developed faults, with the On/Off switch on one and the other blowing 12V fuses. Dismantling the two pumps revealed that their engineering is far from rugged and that the compressor itself is small.

 

As I’ve said before I eventually bought a T-Max BA2641 compressor, based as much as anything on positive comments on 4x4 forums where people regularly deflate and reinflate their vehicles’ tyres when driving off road. Details of the BA2641 pump are in this advert

 

https://www.island-4x4.co.uk/tmax-compressor-72lpm-ba2641-p-3922.html

 

There are downsides to this inflator - it costs approaching £60, it needs to be connected directly to a 12V battery, it’s heavy (5kg), the gauge is not wonderfully accurate and the screw-on tyre-valve connector is a pain - but it sure can pump and its construction seems pretty good.

 

There’s a review in this 2015 Practical Caravan test

 

https://www.practicalcaravan.com/reviews/accessory/model/4731-tyre-compressors

 

[Derek Uzzell]

Guidance from the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) about tyre ageing is here

 

https://www.ntda.co.uk/useful-links/tyre-ageing/

 

If it’s accepted that a tyre does have a finite life and that, statistically, the older a tyre is the greater the likelihood it will fail, then the advice on the NTDA webpage must make good sense.

 

If a motorhome tyre aged 10 years or more meets the UK MOT-test requirements and there are no visible external signs of degradation, there’s no compulsion for that tyre to be replaced. The internal surface of a tyre cannot be examined without removal from the wheel and, even if that were done and nothing unusual were found, there’s still the possibility that the tyre’s internal construction has degraded 'iinvisibly’.

 

I’ve no problem with the Caravan Club strongly advising that the types of tyre fitted to motorhomes should be replaced after 5 years, nor have I any problem if anyone decides to ignore that advice - it’s just advice and motorhome owners can please themselves as far as I’m concerned. Safety-wise you replace at 5 years: cost-wise you don’t.

[John52]

Derek Uzzell - 2018-10-15 8:45 AM

 

Guidance from the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) ........

 

........Is funded by those who are in business to sell tyres *-)

[Derek Uzzell]

John52 - 2018-10-15 1:02 PM

 

Derek Uzzell - 2018-10-15 8:45 AM

 

Guidance from the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) ........

 

........Is funded by those who are in business to sell tyres *-)

 

That’s implicit in the organisation's name, but that factor does not automatically make the guidance valueless.

 

On this webpage

 

http://www.continentaltire.com/news/how-long-does-tire-last

 

Continental says

 

"There is no way to tell exactly how long a tire will last but it’s important for consumers to note that tires do, in fact, have a lifespan. That lifespan depends on a combination of factors including a driver’s habits, tire design, climate, road conditions, and service of the tire.”

 

and

 

"Continental recommends that all tires (including spare tires) that were manufactured more than ten (10) years previous be removed from service and be replaced with new tires, even when tires appear to be usable from their external appearance. Even if the tread depth may not have reached the minimum wear-out depth.”

 

This is a recommendation not a diktat and nobody is going to be prevented from driving around on elderly tyres. Spirou’s tyres had covered 70K-80K kilometers, were relatively worn and had sidewall cracking, so it plainly made sense to replace them despite them only being 4 years old. You seem to have taken offence at his suggestion that your 70K-mileage 10-year-old Michelins were unlikelly to be “anywhere close to OK": I would have thought the same as that’s a helluva a mileage for an “Agilis” tyre never mind its age - but neither spirou or I are in a position to inspect your tyres. Please yourself - who cares?

[Don636]

Your tyres are the one component that connects your vehicle to the road surface and their performance is a critical safety consideration so I think it makes sense to err on the side of caution and heed the advice of the tyre manufacturers. They may put a safe lifespan on the tyre based on their knowledge of the product or they may be, in part at least, covering their backside should an old tyre fail. Ten years out of a set of tyres is good going and the cost of replacement is not much compared to the risk of having a failure and running the risk of killing someone. Something to think about.

[John52]

Don636 - 2018-10-16 2:55 PM

 

They may put a safe lifespan on the tyre based on their knowledge of the product

Like Tesco put a date code on the fruit packs. But most of its perfectly OK after the date code has expired. You just need to check it first. Even if the date code hasn't expired because it may or not be damaged, irrespective of the date code. The date code is only a guide.

[Ocsid]

Can anyone really assess the age hardening of the tyre's structure and tread materials by any external visual means?

All so important in the duty we ask of them, given that I tend towards believing the makers guidance life as a maximum and my inspection to see if they are otherwise fit enough in reaching that life.

[John52]

Ocsid - 2018-10-16 4:38 PM

 

Can anyone really assess the age hardening of the tyre's structure .

 

The tyres structure is steel / man made fibre which does not 'age harden'.

[spirou]

There's something black around those steel & aramid fibres and that indeed does age quite noticeably. But like I said, do whatever you want. Also welcome to eat expired fruits, vegetables or yogurt whenever you want.

[machra]

Getting back to the question raised - I tried the Fiat tyre inflator that comes with the van the other day (making sure I used it on the tyre inflation setting and not pumping the tyre repair goo into the tyre). It worked for a couple of minute and then blew the van cigarette lighter fuse. After fixing the fuse I decided it would be safer to use my cycle pump, it is a Topeak-joe-blow-sport, and to my surprise this worked extremely well.

[Derek Uzzell]

Before deciding what pump to buy, the objectives need to be defined.

 

If you just want to put a couple of psi into a motorhome's tyres every 2 or 3 months, then a good quality 'track' cycle-pump should be OK. If you want to be able to put a lot of psi into a motorhome's tyres (say you find the vehicle has a slow puncture and you need to re-inflate the tyre to allow you to drive the vehicle to a garage, or you are swapping different-pressure tyres around the vehicle), then a cycle-pump is unlikely to prove suitable for such tasks. If you envisage only using the pump when a mains electriicity supply is available, then a mains-powered pump would be the obvious choice. But, if you want an electric pump that you can use anywhere, then you'll need either a pump to be powered from your motorhome's battery, or a pump with its own rechargeable battery.

 

This May 2018 AutoExpress article reviewed car foot pumps

 

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/86069/best-car-foot-pumps-2018

 

The test criteria involved deflating a 205R16 tyre to 25psi and rechecking the pressure after 20 pumps. The largest increase was 4.1psi, but don't forget that the tyre being inflated during the test was an ordinary car tyre and that only relatively low pressures were involved. It would be unrealistic to expect to use any of these foot pumps to inflate a motorhome's tyres from (say) 20psi to 70psi.

 

In June 2010 MMM published a tyre-pump article that, besides reporting on various 12V pumps, included testing of a track-bicycle pump and a twin-barrel foot-pump.

 

The comment for the former was "The pump itself was fast and it did work... I did turn purple with the effort, though...it will work in an emergency, but you may have a heart attack in the process."

 

Comments on the foot-pump included "...As it approached the 60psi mark, it got quite tricky to pump and your humble tester thought he might pass out..."

[RTL452]

My 2014 Ducato van (PVC in progress) came with the Official Fiat tyre inflater pump, but as others have found it tends to blow the fuse to the cig lighter socket after a couple of minutes. I then received a Ring Digital Air Compressor (RAC 635) as an Xmas pressy last year, this inflates the tyres quickly but also blows the same fuse after around 3 minutes use.

 

My personal solution is to carry around a small portable 12v battery pack (the type with jump leads attached) that has built in cig lighter type sockets. This goes for weeks if not months before needing a charge and I can inflate the tyres anywhere with no wires trailing and without fear of a fuse blowing.

[Ocsid]

machra - 2018-10-17 12:04 AM

 

Getting back to the question raised - I decided it would be safer to use my cycle pump, it is a Topeak-joe-blow-sport, and to my surprise this worked extremely well.

 

I also carry primarily for our road bikes a Topeak-Joe-Blow Sport-2 track pump. As this is aimed at up to 160 psi use I find no real issue adding the odd 3 or 4 psi to get my van tyres back up to 65psi. It is no great sweat for doing this and I am in the wrong side of my seventies.

 

Its modern incarnation:

Link to Joe Blow

 

At home I have a RING RAC 900 12 VDC inflator, this is not a toy as it can pull up to 30 Amps so way off suitable for use via automotive 12 volt sockets. It comes with croc clips for connection directly to a battery's posts. I have a portable small battery I use rather than delve into the vehicle to access its batteries. I see no need to carry this when touring given I have the track pump.

 

Link to Amazon

 

Both these inflator solutions I have found excellent over the years, not something I could say about the modest car market 12 VDC inflators I have had before when asked for any time to work at 65 psi. These earlier units worked initially but quickly wear took its toll and they would sit running unable to get those last few psi up to my required 65psi, simply knackered by that duty.