Tyre shortage?

[Brock]

Tried to have a new set of camping tyres on my van but non of the suppliers to the local garages, including the big chains, have any in stock. They are all waiting for the next batch from the manufacturers, Continental in up to 5 weeks, Michelin may be 8 weeks.

 

Fortunately, although my tyres are 7 years old and thus ready for replacement, they have been inspected by two separate tyre fitters and found to be good for at least another 12 months.

[berreta]

Hi Brock

My tyres were the same as yours ie looked in good condition,7yrs old on replacing these the fitter pressed them from the inside with his fist all the sidewalls then showed small crackes.Have now had Hankook tyres fitted at the moment they seem fine.

[Brian Kirby]

Have you tried looking for Pirelli Chrono Camper tyres, if you feel you really want/need the camper tyre? Otherwise, any suitably rated van tyre will suffice, and should offer far wider, and more readily available, choices.

 

If ride is not a concern, but you are worried the standard van tyre may not be up to the job, if your existing tyres' load index etc is matched by an 8pr tyre, you could possibly consider going to a 10pr tyre, where the same speed rating and size is available (not guaranteed.). As ever, it would be wise to check with the manufacturer whether they have any reservations regarding this before buying. Michelin used to say (off the record! :-)) that their Camping tyre was, in effect, a 10pr tyre sold (and marked) as an 8pr, and that was where its claimed reserve strength came from.

[zeddykay]

I have also had the same issue with availability to replace my 5 year old tyres. I thought they might be OK for another year , but a puncture (coincidence or not ) made me act immediately. My local service and tyre agent looked for Vanco Continental and Michelin without success so he fitted Firestone Van hawk at a cost of £370 for four. Don't know if they are any good or not , but he has never let me down in the past. Vehicle is a Peugeot Boxer lwb Devon conversion reg in 2006.

Another thing which may be of interest is that the small compressor I bought for emergency to reinflate damaged tyres did not have a long enough lead from the cigarette lighter to reach the rear wheels. An extension lead from Maplins hopefully will do the trick.

[euroserv]

Hello Gang,

 

Thought you might like to know that the supply of all van tyres is somewhat restricted and has been so for over a year now. Some would have you believe that there is a world shortage of rubber raw product, and this may be true but I think it has more to do with the far east not getting their empty containers back quickly enough!

 

The exception is Avon, who make their entire van tyre range in the UK and just have a 'we will make some when we feel like it' attitude; so I for one would not mourn the loss if they went belly up.

 

Hankook is experiencing very strong demand and they have always found it difficult to keep up supply. I guess that after 7 years you should not be in too much of a rush though so wait patiently for what you want and make sure you have a serviceable spare; You may find it harder to get an 'odd one' of what you want in an emergency. Here or in Europe.

 

Nick

[yeti]

Try the Costco at Chester supply and fit.

[Brock]

Finally had the tyres fitted. They arrived the day after we went on holiday. It took ATS Euromaster 5 weeks to source the Michelin Agilas Camping tyres. Very happy with the local service from ATS who I have used for cars for well over 20 years. They also destroyed my old tyres so there was no risk of them getting back into the tyre market at 7 years old.

 

The potential delay in getting camping tyres is worth bearing in mind if you are renewing or don't carry a spare.