Franco Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Hi Folks, this is just my second posting so please bear with me. My camper is a 2004 Compass Castaway, and is my third camper. I have ordered 4 Michelin Tyres but I will also get the fifth for safety:- My current tyres are over 7 years old, (only 11,000 miles) and these are size 215/75 R 16 C , 113/111Q and tyres have 'Michelin X' and 'XC Camping' printed on them. I appreciate from previous threads that the Michelin XC is now superceded by the AGILIS Camping. What I have ordered is 215/75 R16C 113/111Q. I stressed I wanted Agilis Camping tyres for campers to fitting garage. The tyres have not yet arrived, but my question is---does the Agilis tyres for campers have the word 'Agilis Camping' printed on them, just as the older ones had 'Michelin XC' printed on them? Should I have ordered 251/75 R 16 CP(Q).??? My concern is that the garage say the tyres never say 'camping' . Am I getting the correct Agilis tyre? Have I ordered the wrong tyres? I have googled the Agilis tyres, but I could not magnify the images to clarify the legends printed on the tyres. I have also noted the discussions/views re the noticeable difference/waste of money between the Camping tyres and ordinary 'C' tyres. Should I be satisfied with the 'ordinary C' tyres? Thank you for your help Franco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merle Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Hi, I ended up with the straight Agilis tyres just under a year ago, I was desperate due to wall degredation and a far few miles ahead of us and a complete drought in camping tyres. Having checked the manufacturers and every supplier I could find I even had to go via two dealers to get a complete set of C's!. As I say, they have been on just under a year,and I can not fault them. They appear to have the same wall strength, load and speed rating. Merle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Comercial van tyres should be plenty good enough, as long as the load rating is o/k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Mine have Agilis Camping on them so answers your 1st question I think. You mention noting people saying camping tyres are a waste etc, possibly also no difference. Camping tyres have a higher loading capability safety margin, reinforced sidewalls, longer life rubber supposedly, special coating inside to make less permeable to air so less air loss ( a lot of tyres have this but not all, and many models do so for supply as original fit but not in aftermarket so they can reduce selling price. Camping tyres always have the coating. The rubber formulation is also less prone to permanent deformation when left parked for long periods (square wheels). Thats just some of the differences from its standard counterpart. I think a lot depends on the overall weight of your vehicle and risk of over overloading the tyres. A guide might be a van conversion or small coachbuilt is fine with standard tyres, but with a large coachbuilt nearing its weight limit then camping tyres are preferable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 Brambles - 2012-04-25 10:50 PM ...but with a large coachbuilt nearing its weight limit - and if all you intend to do is park it on your drive for months on end, and can't be bothered to check the pressures, and on the rare occasions you do take it out you know for certain you will never, ever, encounter any slightly damp grass; and don't mind paying hideously inflated prices, and take the point about longer rubber life with a pinch of salt - then camping tyres are preferable. Sorry Mr B, please take my correction to your sentence in the spirit intended. Being more serious - the very worst tyres I ever had were branded camping car specific Michelins. They were new in 2003 and the sidewalls had perished horribly by 2006. They offered absolutely zero grip on anything even slightly approaching soft ground and offered no particular advantage in road performance. I've also never found permeability a problem on any tyre I've ever had fitted to a road vehicle - ever. I realise some people like to have their ducks in a row and are complete when their tyres say 'camping' on them - and that's just fine. They remind me of 'Hunter' wellies. Ridiculously overpriced esoteric goods aimed at an affluent market who absolutely refuse to believe, let alone admit, that they could have possibly paid through the nose for something quite so ordinary. Hope the OP gets sorted and the tyres meet his expectations but realise others might be reading so dutifully churn out the opposing view. I have no access to the R&D departments of the big manufacturers so don't pretend to be able to rigorously question their claims but, strangely, in my diminutive position as a reasonably observant consumer, don't feel particularly disadvantaged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 crinklystarfish - 2012-04-26 8:47 AMBrambles - 2012-04-25 10:50 PM ...but with a large coachbuilt nearing its weight limit - and if all you intend to do is park it on your drive for months on end, and can't be bothered to check the pressures, and on the rare occasions you do take it out you know for certain you will never, ever, encounter any slightly damp grass; and don't mind paying hideously inflated prices, and take the point about longer rubber life with a pinch of salt - then camping tyres are preferable. Sorry Mr B, please take my correction to your sentence in the spirit intended.QUOTE]Corrections? Its a bloomin complete rewrite!!!!!!!! >:-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 A friend of ours was recently told that if you did not have camping tyres on your van then your insurance was invalid. I think this is incorrect am I right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 No disrespect intended Mr B - indeed quite the contrary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 Franco - 2012-04-25 6:50 PM ...my question is---does the Agilis tyres for campers have the word 'Agilis Camping' printed on them, just as the older ones had 'Michelin XC' printed on them?... In a word "Yes". The current range of Michelin 'camping-car' tyres has "Agilis Camping" on the tyres' sidewall. An Agilis Camping tyre in the size you need would be designated 215/75 R16CP with a load index of 113 and a speed code of Q. Besides having a "CP" suffix (eg. 215/75 R16CP) to identify it as a "Camping-car Pneu", rather than the ordinary Agilis's "C" suffix (eg. 215/75 R16C) to identify it as a "Camionette" tyre, the tread pattern of Agilis Camping differs from that of Agilis. Agilis Camping is M+S-marked (Mud + Snow), whereas Agilis is not. I'll leave others to discuss the relative merits of camping-car tyres versus 'white van' tyres - sufficient to say that there should be no difficulty distinguishing visually between an "Agilis Camping" tyre and an "Agilis" tyre. If it doesn't have "Agilis Camping" on the sidewall, then it is NOT an "Agilis Camping" tyre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franco Posted April 26, 2012 Author Share Posted April 26, 2012 Hi Folks, Thank you very much for the very interesting info., all of which I need to absorb. I think Derek sums up the fact that I might have ordered the 'ordinary' tyres rather than the 'CP' I need to re-visit the garage and discuss it armed with the relevant details!. As I said I only recently registered for the forum, but I have been an avid reader for some time and the experience and advice available online is very very helpful Thanks to all again for your imput. Franco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 crinklystarfish - 2012-04-26 9:36 AM No disrespect intended Mr B - indeed quite the contrary. No worries, read as intended Mr C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 Another point do you go to the continent between November & April? If so worth having M+S marked tyres, Germany Austria & Switzerland are a few of the countries where you must have M+S tyres if there is snow on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 Franco - 2012-04-26 10:13 AM Hi Folks, Thank you very much for the very interesting info., all of which I need to absorb. I think Derek sums up the fact that I might have ordered the 'ordinary' tyres rather than the 'CP' I need to re-visit the garage and discuss it armed with the relevant details!. As I said I only recently registered for the forum, but I have been an avid reader for some time and the experience and advice available online is very very helpful Thanks to all again for your imput. Franco For a suitable Michelin 217/75 profile and 16" whee tyrel, I believe these are the present designation options and what would be shown on the tyre sidewal): Agilis 215/75 R16C 113/111 R Agilis 215/75 R16C 116/114 R Agilis Camping 215/75 R16CP 113 Q You'll note that there are nowadays two versions of the 215/75 R16C Agilis tyre, one with a load-index (single wheel) of 113 (maximum1150kg per tyre) and a heavier-duty product with a load-index (single wheel) of 116 (maximum 1250kg per tyre). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franco Posted April 27, 2012 Author Share Posted April 27, 2012 Thanks all, Leenyhb and Derek for help. I have ordered 5 Agilis Camping tyres (at €175 each)!. I am told they will be available next Monday- delivery sounds too good to be true!. Keep up the good work. Franco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franco Posted May 4, 2012 Author Share Posted May 4, 2012 Hi Foks Just an update:- I got the 5 new Agilis Camping tyres on schedule. I was surprised at the promptness of delivery as there was a suggestion that these tyres are hard to get. I can confirm the tyres are manufactured in 2012. Regards Fraco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 I think there may have been a temporary shortage recently of the more common 215/70 R15 size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leake Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 They make them in batches so some times they are available and sometimes you have to wait for the next batch. They do seem to be getting a better handle on it of late. Mind you it could be worse. Mate of mine had to wait 16 months for a pair of unique rear tyres for his Lambo. Eventually got a nearly new ones from a car that had been written off. For some reason he seems to have gone off track days since then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franco Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 Hi, Folks. In finality:-, I got 5 michelin X Camping tyres (Agilis) fitted a lot quicker than I thought- so now I at least have peace of mind. Thanks for help to all. Franco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.