Tyre Types and pressures

[crinklystarfish]

Tracker - 2012-09-30 11:55 AM...although I still can't see what all the fuss is about and why makers go to all that trouble for a motorhome only market segment when a light commercial tyre would seem to do the job very well.

Errr, profit? Tapping into a market of relative affluence whose constitution cheerfully pays through the nose for tat.

...If the sidewalls and construction are stiffer then I don't see how the ride can be the same between the two.

Deflection probably isn't under strict laboratory conditions, but being squidged and bumped along your average pot-holed road with 3.5+ tonnes creating all manner of forces means your a*se will remain happily oblivious.

I reckon the biggest arbiter should be how you use a 'van. If you rarely use it, and when - in summer - you do; you go from site to site down reasonably well maintained roads, and head for the hard-standing when you get there, then CPs are just about adequate.

If you use your 'van year round, take pot-holed back roads, take on the occasional track, or find yourself on softish ground or wet grass very often then CPs will see you expensively unravelled. In these cases you'd benefit from taller sidewalls and a more aggressive tread than can be found on any CP tyre that I believe is available.

The 3.5 tonne horsebox brigade and your average collector of scrap metal are regularly to be seen riding on the bump stops yet don't seem to flock to buy the much heralded CP.

The image shows some wider than 'standard' and 75 section 15" 4x4 tyres I fitted to our last A class. You can visibly see the 'air suspension' effect available and they maintained traction through many an interesting scenario; gave a useful increase in ground clearance too.

You could write CP on them if it made you feel better.

[Derek Uzzell]

JohnK - 2012-10-01 12:11 AM

 

Derek

This thread has covered the 3 tyre aspects of Camper v Light Commercial , 8/10 ply and appropriate pressures. Your responses are brilliant but at the risk of asking the obvious, may I focus on the pressure question and check what pressures you think I should use? I have a Swift Sundance 590RS on Michelin 215/70 R15 CP 109. My ‘van is plated for Front: 1.85kg and Rear: 2.00kg. If I use the graph axis figures in your reply of 30 Sept (did you mean 1860 rather than 1880 typed?) does it mean my tyre pressures should be Front: 59 and Rear: 63?

Brambles mentioned adding 10% to adjust for braking and driving wheels. My ‘van is a Fiat FWD so should I make an adjustment of 10% to the front tyres and a smaller addition to the rear or is such adjustment unnecessary using your figures?

Thanks JohnK

 

The axle-load figures I quoted were just examples - that's why I said "...MIGHT represent..."

 

The questions you ask go right back to Square One and, I believe, are best answered as follows:

 

1. Use the inflation-pressures recommended in your Swift handbook for your motorhome.

 

2. If there are no inflation-pressures recommended for your motorhome in your Swift handbook, use the pressures recommended in your Fiat handbook.

 

3. If you find driving your vehicle is unpleasant/uncomfortable (eg. it has a harsh ride) and you think altering the inflation-pressures recommended in 1 or 2 above might help, then you'll need to weigh your motorhome in the state you normally use it to obtain it's 'real world' axle-loadings.

 

Once those axle-loadings have been established (and if they prove to be significantly different from your plated 1850kg/2000kg figures), it would be wisest to seek advice from the manufacturer of your tyres regarding appropriate inflation-pressures based on the measured axle-loadings.

 

Unfortunately, nowadays, if asked for advice on inflation-pressures to be used for their 'camping-car' tyres, Michelin will advise 80psi for the rear tyres. As you have Michelin CP-marked tyres, you should anticipate Michelin's response.

 

Adding 10% to an inflation-pressure suitable for a 'static' front-axle load to deal with steering/cornering/braking forces is something Michelin have tended to suggest. It makes logical sense.

 

(What tyre pressures are you currently using? I'm tempted to say that, if they match Swift's or Fiat's recommendations, there's no signs of unusual tyre wear, you are happy with your motorhome's on-road behaviour and its ride is not bone-shaking, then continue to use those pressures.)

 

 

[JohnK]

Thanks again Derek.

The Swift handbook refers me to the base vehicle handbook.

The Fiat handbook recommends pressures for the tyres I have (215/70 R15 CP) as Front: 5.0 bar +/- 0.05 and Rear: 5.5 bar +/- 0.05 (I assume the +/- 0.05 is a bar not a % figure – 5% is quite different!) There is no adjustment quoted for axel loads but the handbook does contain a “load rating (capacity)” schedule with data ranging from 70 = 335 kg to 91 = 615 kg. I do not understand what this schedule means.

I have not weighed my motorhome laden for travel but will do so next week before we travel again. There are only two of us and I travel with minimal fresh water in the tank but often with a couple of bikes on the back. I wouldn’t say the ride is harsh but it is true that it doesn’t like moving on wet grass or very steep inclines.

I note your comments on the anticipated response from Michelin so even if after weighing I find we are under the maximum, I won’t get any help on adjustment to the tyre pressures from them.

Currently I am using Front: 72 psi and Rear: 80 psi which equate to the 5.0 and 5.5 bar in the booklet. Too soon to say how the tyres are wearing but I will keep my eye on them. I guess in the meantime, I will have to keep to the high pressures I am currently using

Thanks JohnK

[Tracker]

We all know that under inflation can cause tyre overheating especially on a hot day at high speed.

 

On a long haul at speed I always apply the well known hand test to all four tyres and I've never felt one much above warm regardless of pressures let alone too hot to touch - so how hot is too hot?

 

As the CP tyre has allegedly stiffer sidewalls than the LC tyre would it be more disposed to overheat due to flexing of the thicker side walls - or less because the side walls deflect less?

 

Who would have thought that tyres could be so complex!

[peacock312]

Hi Tracker,i have honestly,just this minute got home from National tyre service,2 new tyres continental 225/75R16CP fitted,my van says on passenger doorpost,pressure,5.5 bar or 79 PSI.it says on tyre due to special conditions of camper vans inflate to same. i have always stuck to this on rear,but 5psi lower on front, the ride is extremely smooth, except on very rough ground at lower speeds, my van is on Fiat chassis, i paid £290 for 2 tyres,inc balance,[ alloys] & vat.all in.i know now dozens of you will say you could get them cheaper, but i would never put van wheels on my camper,i dont think the small cost saving is worth it. just for your info, Dave

[Keithl]

Hi All,

 

I was just reading JohnK's comments above about his recommended pressures of 5.0 and 5.5 bar for F & R respectively and I thought I would have a look at the Tyresafe website to see what they recommended.

 

And the results where very interesting...

 

According to the Tyresafe MH Tyre guide (download from my link above) the recommended max pressure for 215/70/R15CP 109 tyres of 5.5 bar (80 psi) ONLY applies to Rear axles when they are DRIVING axles.

 

If they are on a NON-DRIVEN axle (ie front wheel drive vehicle) then the Max should be 4.75 bar (69 psi).

 

VERY interesting reading.

 

What are other peoples views on this?

 

Keith.

 

PS Similar differences apply to front wheels for Non-driven pressures.

 

PPS And edited to say this ONLY applies to CP tyres and NOT 'White Van Man' C rated tyres.

[Derek Uzzell]

JohnK - 2012-10-01 4:57 PM

 

Thanks again Derek.

The Swift handbook refers me to the base vehicle handbook.

The Fiat handbook recommends pressures for the tyres I have (215/70 R15 CP) as Front: 5.0 bar +/- 0.05 and Rear: 5.5 bar +/- 0.05 (I assume the +/- 0.05 is a bar not a % figure – 5% is quite different!) There is no adjustment quoted for axel loads but the handbook does contain a “load rating (capacity)” schedule with data ranging from 70 = 335 kg to 91 = 615 kg. I do not understand what this schedule means.

I have not weighed my motorhome laden for travel but will do so next week before we travel again. There are only two of us and I travel with minimal fresh water in the tank but often with a couple of bikes on the back. I wouldn’t say the ride is harsh but it is true that it doesn’t like moving on wet grass or very steep inclines.

I note your comments on the anticipated response from Michelin so even if after weighing I find we are under the maximum, I won’t get any help on adjustment to the tyre pressures from them.

Currently I am using Front: 72 psi and Rear: 80 psi which equate to the 5.0 and 5.5 bar in the booklet. Too soon to say how the tyres are wearing but I will keep my eye on them. I guess in the meantime, I will have to keep to the high pressures I am currently using

Thanks JohnK

 

For as long as I've been motorcaravanning (since 1998) 5.0bar/72psi(front tyres) and 5.5bar/80psi(rear tyres) inflation-pressures have been recommended by Fiat for Fiat-based vehicles fitted with 215/70 R15C 'camping-car' tyres, irrespective of the size, wheelbase, Mass In Running Order (etc. etc.) of the vehicle. Similarly, when the camping-car tyres are 215/75 R16 size (as historically fitted to motorhomes based on Fiat's 'Maxi' chassis, Fiat has recommended 5.5bar/80psi(front tyres) and 5.5bar/80psi(rear tyres). When 'white-van' tyres have been fitted instead of the camping-car variety, Fiat's normal recommendations have been one bar (14.5psi) less (eg. for a 215/70 R15C tyre - 4.0bar/58psi(front tyres) and 4.5bar/65psi(rear tyres).

 

Not sure what the thinking is behind Fiat's +/- 0.05 figure, but it's really academic as variations in the ambient temperature (cold weather/hot weather) can easily alter a tyre's pressure by more than 5%. (ie. more than 4psi if the tyre were inflated to 80psi). A tyre's inflation pressure should be measured when the tyre is 'cold' but, when I discussed this with a representative from Continental, I was told that the tyre-industry standard for "cold" was 20°C. I asked whether ambient temperature should be allowed for when inflating tyres (eg. a motorhome tyre inflated to, say, 80psi on a sunny October day in Spain might read 74psi if measured a week later on a miserably cold day in the UK). He said (essentially) "Just inflate the tyre to the appropriate pressure and ignore the weather."

 

The 70=335kg to 91=615kg relates to a segment of a Load Index table. (No idea why your handbook includes it, particularly as most motorhome tyres will fall outside the 70-91 range.) There's a more comprehensive table here

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_code

 

that runs from 60=250kg to 125=1650kg. The 'Code' defines the maximum load that a tyre has been designed to cope with. Your motorhome's tyres are Michelin "Agilis Camping" 215/70 R15CP 109Q, with the 109 Load Index indicating the tyre has been designed to cope with a 'per tyre' load of 1030kg. The "Q" indicates the tyre's Speed Rating (Q=160km/h) that will have been established by the tyre manufacturer during development testing. The Speed Rating codes are listed on the same wikipedia link.

 

The 'camping-car' and 'white van' tyres normally fitted to motorhomes are 'summer' tyres and, as such, should not be expected to provide good grip on wet grass (that has about the same coefficient of friction as black ice!), and should be expected to find it challenging when asked to accelerate a heavy motorhome up a steep slope. (I suggest you accept this as inevitable.) It's likely that your Michelin tyres will provide as much grip as equivalent tyres from other manufacturers, and I'm doubtful that altering the pressures you are currently using would much improve matters. As crinklystarfish points out earlier in this thread, for reliable off-road grip, tyres purpose-designed to perform well off-road will be needed.

 

Although Michelin nowadays seems to have a policy of advising only 80psi for Michelin 'camping-car' tyres fitted to the rear axle(s) of a vehicle, the company seems comfortable with providing front-axle inflation-pressure recommendations based on a measured axle-loading. Consequently, if you weighed your Sundance (fully loaded up), obtained it's axle-loadings and asked Michelin for inflation-pressure recommendations based on those measurements, although it's probable Michelin would tell you 80psi for the rear axle, Michelin would give you a pressure-recommendation based on the actual front-axle measured load.

 

Depending on that measured front-axle loading and Michelin's advice, this might allow your Sundance's front tyres' currently inflated to72si to be run safely at a reduced pressure (say, 60psi). You might find this made driving the vehicle more comfortable, and it might improve grip a bit, but you'd have to suck it and see. Without weighing your motorhome to determine its axle-loadings, seeking to establish safe, suitable inflation-pressures becomes a finger-in-the-wind exercise.

 

I could suggest that you load your Sundance to its normal 'on holiday' state, lower its tyre-pressures to 60psi(F) and 70psi® and see what that feels like. Given a 590RS's specification and how you say you operate it, those pressures seem about right to me, and high enough to be 'safe' for a shortish-term experiment. Me, I'd want to establish the vehicle's axle-loads first, then see what advice I could wheedle out of Michelin, then decide what pressures to use.

 

At the end of the day, as your Fiat handbook advises 72psi(F)/80psi®, unless you can obtain authoritative advice (eg. from Michelin, Swift or Fiat) defining different pressures that you may use, you'd need to accept responsibility yourself for diverging from the Fiat recommendations. Even if you decide to leave your 72/80 pressures unaltered, if you get the opportunity I encourage you to obtain weight measurements just to see what the weights are - at least then you could be sure that your motorhome's overall weight (3500kg?) and its plated axle-load maxima are not being exceeded.

[Derek Uzzell]

Tracker - 2012-10-01 5:16 PM

 

...On a long haul at speed I always apply the well known hand test to all four tyres and I've never felt one much above warm regardless of pressures let alone too hot to touch - so how hot is too hot?...

 

As you say, the 'hand on tyre' check is well known. My experience confirms the obvious - that the hotter the ambient temperature (hence the hotter the road surface), the higher the vehicle's constant speed and the longer it's driven at that speed, the hotter a tyre's sidewall is likely to feel. With a motorhome, where the rear tyres are often set well back inside the wheel-arches, there's also the aerodynamic factor to bear in mind, where rear tyres 'masked' from cooling airflow by wheelarches should be expected to run hotter than more exposed tyres.

 

I've never found tyres (on my motorhomes or cars), inflated to a pressure appropriate for the vehicle, reaching an uncomfortably hot 'hand on tyre' temperature. However, when the tyre-valve partially failed on one of my Hobby's rear tyres, and I'd been driving for quite a while on an autoroute with the pressure in that tyre way down (about 30psi rather than 60psi) , the 'hand on tyre' check rapidly confirmed what I already knew from a visual inspection - that the tyre was seriously under-inflated.

 

I believe the 'hand-on-tyre' test, and the 'How flattened is the tyre where it meets the ground?' visual check are useful things to do, but they don't replace a quick check with a tyre gauge if there's any possibility of a tyre being underinflated.

 

I can answer your question "...how hot is too hot?" If you've been accustomed to performing the 'hand on tyre' test, "too hot" will be so evident when you put your hand on the tyre, that you'll immediately know you've got a problem..

 

 

 

[Derek Uzzell]

Keithl - 2012-10-01 6:04 PM

 

Hi All,

 

I was just reading JohnK's comments above about his recommended pressures of 5.0 and 5.5 bar for F & R respectively and I thought I would have a look at the Tyresafe website to see what they recommended.

 

And the results where very interesting...

 

According to the Tyresafe MH Tyre guide (download from my link above) the recommended max pressure for 215/70/R15CP 109 tyres of 5.5 bar (80 psi) ONLY applies to Rear axles when they are DRIVING axles.

 

If they are on a NON-DRIVEN axle (ie front wheel drive vehicle) then the Max should be 4.75 bar (69 psi).

 

VERY interesting reading.

 

What are other peoples views on this?

 

Keith.

 

PS Similar differences apply to front wheels for Non-driven pressures.

 

PPS And edited to say this ONLY applies to CP tyres and NOT 'White Van Man' C rated tyres.

 

 

Historically – when Michelin’s “XC Camping” pattern was the sole ‘camping-car’ tyre being manufactured – the Michelin UK ‘Van Tyres’ technical handbook contained the following advice footnoted to the XC Camping range:

 

“For maximum load conditions when used on mainland Europe it is recommended that the rear tyres are inflated to a pressure of 80psi.”

 

When I discussed this recommendation with Michelin’s technical staff, I was told that roadside-checks in Continental Europe had revealed that many motorcaravanners operated their vehicles with overloaded rear axles and, for such people, inflating their XC Camping tyres to 80psi would provide a useful protective measure. I said it was quite likely no different in the UK but, for motorcaravanners who did not overload their motorhome’s rear axle, an 80psi pressure was likely to result in a harsh ride quality.

 

In those days, if given measured axle-load data, Michelin would provide inflation-pressure advice for ‘camping-car’ tyres relating to a motorhome’s front AND rear axles. However, since the advent of the “CP”-marking ETRTO standard for ‘camping-car’ tyres, Michelin (as far as I’m aware, uniquely among 'camping-car' tyre manufacturers) will only recommend an 80psi pressure for their ‘camping-car’ tyres when the latter are fitted to a motorhome’s rear axle.

 

The Michelin & 80psi conundrum has been discussed repeatedly on this forum and I referred to it again in my 16 September 2012 6:50 PM posting of this recent thread

 

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=28892&posts=19

 

Within my posting I provided the following link to a 2009 forum thread (in which you participated)

 

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=15438&posts=25

 

and it should be apparent from Mike Chapman’s 16 April 2009 12:23 PM posting there that Michelin(UK) themselves were unsure what the ETRTO advice (that was now driving the 80psi recommendation as far as Michelin were concerned) actually meant. Did ETRTO’s 80psi advice apply to all rear axles, or just ‘live’ rear axles? Did it apply to motorhomes with just one rear axle, or also to vehicles with a tandem-axle configuration? To the best of my knowledge such questions have never been satisfactorily resolved, but it does explain why the Tyresafe rear-axle advice is what it is.

 

Personally, I’m not very interested in the Tyresafe data, as I’ve got sufficient background knowledge not to need it and I can spot the inconsistencies (as I could with Michelin’s own handbooks).

 

Regarding your “driven axle”/”non-driven axle” observations, I don’t think the Tyresafe people will be able to provide a definitive explanation about this, and I’m doubtful (based on Mike Chapman’s 2009 efforts) that Michelin(UK) will either. As I think the idea of an 80psi one-pressure-fits-all, rear-axle-only recommendation for ‘camping-car’ tyres verges on the ludicrous, I’m certainly not going to spend time researching the matter further.

 

[JohnK]

Hi Derek

Once again you have provided excellent help on this thorny problem and with such good grace as from the links you gave, this subject has had substantial airings in the past and some in the more recent past (I will claim a long holiday in the ‘van awaiting the birth of our granddaughter for missing the most recent).

Weighing the axles under normal holiday loading seems to be a most important exercise and this will be done. I will also report the findings to Michelin although from their replies to others, I don’t expect a revolutionary response to me. If their reply seems to be relevant, I will report back to the forum.

It does seem almost dangerous for this important subject to be given such vague attention by the tyre manufacturers and statutory bodies, no wonder simpletons like me have trouble!

Thanks again to you and all who have contributed

 

[crinklystarfish]

JohnK - 2012-10-02 3:25 PM...   It does seem almost dangerous for this important subject to be given such vague attention by the tyre manufacturers and statutory bodies...

Just throwing it out there, but I suggest it's highly probable that some consumers are far more hung on this than is strictly necessary. I completely accept that tyres fail and the consequences are often very bad. That said, unless it's a freak, failure is mostly down to the most appalling neglect and tyres have to be severely provoked before they will let go.

I dare say, though I wouldn't publicly advocate it, you could run just about anything in decent condition (given a suitable load rating) at just about any pressure over 40psi or so on your average 3.5 tonner without consequence.

I believe there is far more scope for experimentation with size / pressure than is often industry / academically advocated.

[Derek Uzzell]

crinklystarfish - 2012-10-03 9:33 AM

JohnK - 2012-10-02 3:25 PM...   It does seem almost dangerous for this important subject to be given such vague attention by the tyre manufacturers and statutory bodies...

Just throwing it out there, but I suggest it's highly probable that some consumers are far more hung on this than is strictly necessary. I completely accept that tyres fail and the consequences are often very bad. That said, unless it's a freak, failure is mostly down to the most appalling neglect and tyres have to be severely provoked before they will let go.

I dare say, though I wouldn't publicly advocate it, you could run just about anything in decent condition (given a suitable load rating) at just about any pressure over 40psi or so on your average 3.5 tonner without consequence.

I believe there is far more scope for experimentation with size / pressure than is often industry / academically advocated.

I think a 40psi threshold would be unnecessarily low - I'd go for "any pressure over 55psi". Also, given the amount of tyre-related argument that takes place on motorhome forums, I'd be wary of advocating "experimentation" as a Good Thing. What that really means is, while I'm more than happy to use gut-feeling, educated guesswork, hand-on-tyre, sidewall deformation, etc. as factors when I decide what tyres/inflation-pressures I'm going to use, I'm not normally going to suggest others do likewise.I've always felt that motorhome tyres can be as simple or complicated a subject as motorhome owners choose to make it.

[crinklystarfish]

40psi would be (is) unnecessarily low, just making the point that it wouldn't end in the disaster that some seem to perceive. I know it's slightly provocative to advocate an experimental approach, especially on this subject, but have made some significant improvements by eschewing conventional wisdom and going outside the box. Done the same with other things too. Have to admit our use of 'vans has probably been outside of the normal distribution curve though.

[Tracker]

The email response from Continental following my phone call to them is as below.

They don't have a CP tyre in the size and load index that I will need but are happy to recommend their Vanco 4 Seasons LC tyre as totally suitable and safe.

I am amazed at the low pressures suggested by Continental and it does seem from this that most of us may indeed be running our tyres far too hard?

The tyre manufacturer should know far better than anyone what their tyres are designed to do and, just when I had decided to opt for CP rated tyres, this makes me question once again the justification for CP rated tyres other than the brain washing of motorhome owners by the base vehicle makers, converters and the media?

These pressures, extrapolated for different weights, are more or less in line with what we have been using for years and many thousands of miles without incident on both Michelin and Continental tyres both LC and CP.

Derek is right - tyres shouldn't be complicated and confusing - but they are!

 

 

Thank you for your enquiry.

Available in light commercial tyres is an 225/75 R15 VancoFourSeason 112/110 R ( 115N )

 

Also please see Axle pressures : Front Axle @ 1600 kg = 3.00 bar = 43.5 psi

Rear Axle @ 2100 kg = 4.25 bar = 61.5 psi

 

Regards

Bernie

Technical Administrator

 

[Robinhood]

.....wasn't aware that there was a 225/75R15 version of this tyre.

 

There is a 225/70/R15 with the quoted load index(es), and the recommended pressures are entirely in line with Continental's Technical Data (relatively easily downloadable if you know where to look ;-) ) for this tyre. (in fact, it quotes 1620kg and 2140kg respectively against those pressures).

[Tracker]

Wonderful!

 

I never thought to check Conti's website - I just assumed the advice they gave me was correct - silly me!!

 

I think I better think it out again!

[Steve928]

Robinhood - 2012-10-04 1:27 PM

(relatively easily downloadable if you know where to look ;-)

 

For those not wanting a guessing game :-D

http://www.conticontact.co.uk/uploads/downloads/Conti_Tech_Databook_2010-11.pdf

Page 91.

[Robinhood]

Steve928 - 2012-10-04 2:08 PM

 

Robinhood - 2012-10-04 1:27 PM

(relatively easily downloadable if you know where to look ;-)

 

For those not wanting a guessing game :-D

http://www.conticontact.co.uk/uploads/downloads/Conti_Tech_Databook_2010-11.pdf

Page 91.

 

.....spoilsport >:-(

 

(though I've got the 2011-12 version B-) )

[Derek Uzzell]

Brian Kirby has fitted VancoFourSeasons to the front wheels of his Hobby Van to help address concerns about the vehicle's grip-level, so he may be able to advise on their effectiveness. In principle, on a tread-pattern basis, VancoFourSeasons should be more suitable for motorhome usage than, say, Vanco, but I've no idea if it would be better than Michelin's Agilis.

 

It perhaps needs saying that VancoFourSeasons may be even more difficult to source (or at least source quickly in an emergency) than Michelin's Agilis Camping. VancoFourSeasons (although advertised on-line for sale in the UK) is not listed in the UK section of Continental's website.

 

VancoFourSeasons is essentially an ordinary 'white-van' tyre, with a tread pattern that might provide a degree more off-road grip than a more 'summery' pattern like Vanco-2's, and the inflation-to-load data for a 225/70 R15C 112 VancoFourSeasons tyre will be little different to those of an equivalent 'white van' tyre from any other manufacturer.

[Tracker]

Robinhood - 2012-10-04 2:22 PM

 

 

I've got the 2011-12 version

 

Does it differ from the 2010/11 version in so far as the availability of types and sizes of motorhome suitable 15" tyres are concerned?

[Robinhood]

Tracker - 2012-10-04 2:31 PM

 

Robinhood - 2012-10-04 2:22 PM

 

 

I've got the 2011-12 version

 

Does it differ from the 2010/11 version in so far as the availability of types and sizes of motorhome suitable 15" tyres are concerned?

 

I have absolutely no idea, as I haven't compared them!.

 

To spoil my own sport, however, the item can be downloaded here:

 

http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/automobile/general/download-area/technische_literatur/ov_technische_literatur_en.html

 

(English version, and link courtesy of Brian Kirby)

 

I think the advice from Conti is simply a typo - the 215/70 version has the load index quoted by them, and should be sufficient for your needs.

 

The "Fourseasons" may, for the reasons Derek states, be difficult to source, but if you are considering non-camping tyres, and are looking at similar items (the snowflake symbol may be useful for Germany off season) then there are other makes available with those characteristics.

 

I find the Camskill site useful, as it will give you a decent selection of tyres at a given size and rating from which to select: e.g.

 

http://www.camskill.co.uk/m27b0s524p0/Van_Tyres_-_Trailer_Tyres_-_Caravan_Tyres_-_Motorhome_Tyres_-_Minibus_Tyres_-_15_inch_R15_inch_-_225_70_15_225_70R15

 

....and there are at least two avaialble "all season" tyres on there.

 

FWIW, I can't get too hung up on having "camping" tyres. My current 'van is on standard Vancos, as supplied from new, and they are fine (and the door jamb quoted pressures are correct, and in line with Conti's recommendations). They are wearing slowly, and the grip is (subjectively) slightly better on wet grass than previous 'vans with camping tyres.

 

Not only that, but I travel without a spare ( 8-) ) and a replacement standard 'van tyre is going to be much more easy to source should I ever need one.

[Tracker]

Thanks for the help RH.

 

The tyre size is less important than the load index and 215 section 15" are LI 109 and 225 section 15" are LI 112 which is what I need for the upgrade.

 

Both Vanco2 and FourSeasons appear to be available in theory in 225/70R15C 8PR LI 112/110 according to the 2011/12 blurb although whether they are readily available is another matter?

 

SVTech don't care what tyres I use as long as they have a load carrying capacity to match the uprated rear axle of 2240 kgs needed to give me the payload where it can be used - over the rear axle not the front!

 

 

[Robinhood]

Tracker - 2012-10-04 3:46 PM

 

Thanks for the help RH.

 

The tyre size is less important than the load index and 215 section 15" are LI 109 and 225 section 15" are LI 112 which is what I need for the upgrade.

 

Both Vanco2 and FourSeasons appear to be available in theory in 225/70R15C 8PR LI 112/110 according to the 2011/12 blurb although whether they are readily available is another matter?

 

SVTech don't care what tyres I use as long as they have a load carrying capacity to match the uprated rear axle of 2240 kgs needed to give me the payload where it can be used - over the rear axle not the front!

 

 

....indeed, and (after accusing Conti of a typo) in my follw-up post I committed a sin as well - I meant to highlight 225/70 (not 215/70) as against your quote from Conti of 225/75. (and this is what I mentioned originally and quoted the load/pressure ratings for).

 

At least I posted the correct and intended (225/70) link from Camskill - which shows Vredestein and Pirelli all-season equivalents as being in-stock.

 

I'd be very surprised if the standard 225/70 Vanco2 weren't widely available.

[Keithl]

Robinhood - 2012-10-04 4:18 PM

 

I'd be very surprised if the standard 225/70 Vanco2 weren't widely available.

 

They where readily available a couple of weeks ago as I bought a new set of 5 from my local independent tyre dealer and they had no problems getting them.

The good news also was that the new tyres where less than 3 months old when fitted.

 

Tracker, get some prices on-line then ask your local tyre dealer if they will match the price, mine did!

 

Keith.

 

Edit, If you get a chance to keep the old tyres do as they'll fetch a good price on eBay if they have any mileage left on them.

[George Collings]

Goodyear are introducing a range of HGV tyres with AMT( Air Maintenance Technology) that keeps the tyre at its correct pressure without any external pump, electronics or driver involvement.

 

I have no information how this is achieved but it will survive the tyre being retreaded!

 

I wonder if this will ever spread into the LGV market.