bedro Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 I took all the advice from Motorhome Matters and ordered 4 Hankook RA18 from Merit Tyre at good? price of £76.80 apiece. Now Merit report that Hankook suppliers don't have any in stock and don't know when they'll be in "try again in four weeks". They can offer the RA08, which are more expensive, but would supply them at that same price. This leaves me with a need for information on the RA08. Neither the RA08 nor RA18 is a new replacement, so no suggestion that one is being "faded out". According to Merit, the main difference is in the tread pattern - the RA08 doesn't have those long circumferential grooves of the RA18. Anyone have any knowledge re suitability of the RA08 on an Autosleeper Executive 3.5 ton on a Peugeot Boxer? bedro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 A quick Google raises confusion, on Hankooks main site the RA18 is listed but the RA08 is not but looking at their European site the RA08 is listed as an economy (budget ) tyre, the RA18 is not listed but the LT RA18 is. The LT RA18 is the one that has received good test results by German Pro Mobil magazine, it is an all season tyre it is listed as a summer tyre with M+S rating. If they are offering a RA08 instead of a LT RA18 I would expect it to be a fair bit cheaper if want the M+S rating it is not acceptable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 As Lenny says, the R08 should be cheaper than the R18, unless the R18 was a grey import of the type not usualy seen in UK, and the price you have been given would seem to bear this out. Walk away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedro Posted April 11, 2014 Author Share Posted April 11, 2014 Thanks for speedy response. I think I'll start phoning around and asking other tyre dealers, see how many dealers have these tyres, availability, and pick up any general opinion/reputation on both Hankooks. Travel safely bedro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 bedro The full name of the Hankook RA18 tyre is "Vantra LT RA18". This (as lennyhb says) is the tyre - in 215/70 R15C size - that scored well in a 2013 "pro-mobil" magaxine test. Although M+S-marked, It is NOT an 'all season' tyre (neither is the non-M+S-marked RA08 pattern). For an 'all season' tyre, Hankook offers the M+S-marked RA10, though the size-range is smaller than that of the RA18 or RA08. From this April 2013 thread http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Hints-and-Tips/campervan-tyres/31010/#M363444 it seems you may be looking for 195/70 R15C size tyres. A GOOGLE-search shows that Hankook Vantra LT RA18 tyres in that size are being offered on-line by several companies. For example http://tinyurl.com/oftf2kj (However, it always makes sense to check before ordering tyres on-line whether the tyres are actually in stock and available for immediate delivery.) There appear to be two versions of 195/70 R15C size of Vantra LT RA18, one with a load-index of 104/102 and the other with a lower index of 100/98. MAKE CERTAIN that you obtain the version with the load-index of 104/102. The RA18 is a more recent pattern than the RA08 and (as far as I'm aware) the two patterns have never been comparatively tested. Although there's no particular reason to believe the RA08 pattern might be unsuitable for your motorhome, as the RA18 pattern performed well in the pro-mobil test (and the RA08 is an unknown quantity), you'd be best to opt for the RA18. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike 202 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 My Autosleeper came fitted with RA08 Hankooks and thay lasted very well with 7/8 mm left on the tread at 22k mikes at 6 yrs old. some very small surface cracks and the tyre fitter said they were still ok, but could not get the RA18's locally so had a new set of Continental Vanco 2's fitted. More expensive and maybee not necessary but safety first before money in the bank. £ 540 was the cost for reference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 There's no parrticular reason to believe a Continental tyre will provide better longevity than a Hankook one, and the pro-mobil test demonstrated that (for a 215/70 R15C size) the Hankook RA18 pattern provided superior overall performance to tyres from Michelin and Continental. Having said that, if it's wished to obtain 'premium branded' tyres rather than the Hankooks, it is possible to find them offered relatively inexpensively. Assuming a requirement for the 195/70 R15C size with 104 Load Index, a range of tyres is shown here http://tinyurl.com/opspqv3 that includes three Continental patterns from £66 to £80 per tyre, plus a Michelin product at £77. If it's envisaged that a motorhome will be used regularly on grassed/muddy surfaces, the Continental Vanco Four Season might be a wise choice as it's tread pattern is pretty chunky. (Probably best to avoid the Vredenstein Comtrac tyre though, as its directional tread pattern complicates fitting and carrying a spare.) Also worth checking with the supplier before ordering regarding the age of the tyres being offered. While it's likely that tyres will be no more than a few months old, there is the possibility of old stock being sold off cheaply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmac Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Hi I had a set of Hankook Vantra RA18 215 -75 -16s fitted to my m/h on 5th March by Black Circles. This would be week 9 or 10 2014. One of the tyres was dated 46- 13 the other three 47-13 so pretty new stock. These tyres are 114/116 rated the same as the Michelins that they replaced but have a max tyre pressure of 65psi whereas the Michelins have 80psi max.These pressures are for the max weight, 1250 per tyre,2500 per axle.My m/h weighs 1750 on the front 2150 on the rear when touring so 65psi F 75psi R with the Michelins but 54psi F 60psi R with Hankooks.I have not done a great deal of miles yet with the new tyres but the ride is so much better, no banging or crashing over the potholes, which we have a plague of around here. regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 David Based on an earlier posting, the tyres that the Hankooks replaced were a mixture of 2001 and 2007 Michelin 'camping-car' tyres on the front axle and 2009 Avon tyres on the rear axle. I don't know what carrying-capacity the Avons would have had, but the Michelins (assuming they were 215/75 R16C size) will have been '8-ply rated' with a Load Index of 113 (2300kg axle-load maximum) rather than the '10-ply rated' Hankook tyre's 116 (2500kg axle-load maximum). Although Michelin's 'camping-car' tyres are designed to cope with a maximum inflation pressure of 80psi, this pressure is only recommended by Michelin when the tyres are fitted to the rear axle. Continental's technical data indicate that, for static axle-loads of 1750kg and 2150kg and a 215/75 R16C tyre size, respectively 50psi and 64psi would be appropriate. The inflation-pressure-to-load 'graphs' for a Continental 215/75 R16C tyre with a 113 Load Index and the same size tyre with a Load Index of 116 are very similar up to the 2300kg axle-load maximum of the former tyre. For the latter tyre (as one would expect) from 2300kg to the 2500kg maximum higher pressures would be required to deal with the increased loading, with 76psi being advised for the 2500kg axle-load maximum. Michelin's pressure-to-load graphs for 215/75 R16C tyres with 113 and 116 Load Indexes are a near match to Continental's data. Consequently, it's predictable that using 54psi/60psi with your new tyres, rather than the previous 65psi/75psi, will reduce the jarring effect of potholes. I'd be surprised if the inflation-pressure recommended maximum for your Hankook RA18s were as low as 65psi - I'd expect it to be at least 75psi. (For what it's worth, I believe the 60psi you are using for your rear-axle Hankooks is slightly on the low side. I'd want to go to 65psi.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmac Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Hi Derek dont know where I got the 65psi max on the Hankooks from but just been and had a look, they are in fact 80psi same as Michelins .All of the old tyres were 116 rated, the Avons being Avanza. I will take your advice and up the pressure and see how they go Thanks David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 If your old Michelin tyres had a 116 Load Index they would not have been 'camping-car' type, as the 215/75 R16C size was never marketed with a Load Index (LI) above 113. They might have been the 10-ply rated version of the "Agilis" pattern, which did have a 116 LI but were ordinary 'white van' tyres like the Avon Avanza and Hankook RA18. You are operating your Auto-Sleepers Luxor motorhome with quite heavy axle-loadings, so it would be wise to err on the high side when it comes to tyre pressures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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