Tyre change

Have you taken the wheels off and inspected the inner sides as well as the outer? Have you inspected the valves? Are you experienced enough to identify tyre defects? Will your insurance company be happy to pay out if you have a tyre blow out which causes an accident although you say the tyres seemed OK at 6 years old?

If you can answer 'yes' to those questions then carry on using them. Personally, I'd change them regardless.

PS. I hope you don't use the cornersteadies to take the weight of the van when it's stored.

The received wisdom on this is to change after five years, I'm sure you know the reasons why.

I changed mine at five years and yes they looked fine and had the same feelings as you but safety concerns trumped all that and that's the decision you have to make, not only for yourself but for other road users too. Just think about what could happen?

I'm interested to know what you means by on it's legs?

Yes advice is that at 5 yrs they may need changing almost certainly after 7 yrs.  I last changed mine at 6 yrs outside of tyres looked fine but there was slight cracking on the inside.  Why not get your local tyre dealer to check them for you.

Your caravan is 5 years old but how old are the tyres, the original tyres on our van were 12 months older than the caravan and while ours looked OK on the annual service a couple years ago  we were advised by the mobile engineer to get them changed 

I felt exactly the same as you about waste so hung on till this year to change mine which made them 10.5 years old. Asked at tyre depot about old ones and he said no visible sign of wear so am quite happy with my decision. There is a lot of tosh spoken about tyres on Internet from armchair experts but if they were that dangerous at 7 years old they would be made illegal. If like you say you have given yours a good inspection then I see no problem in keeping them on a few more years.

Manufactured week 43 of 2016 so just shy of 6 yrs old.

Have you taken the wheels off and inspected the inner sides as well as the outer? Have you inspected the valves?

Wise words TW. We've just had our caravan serviced and I asked them to inspect the tyres as the unit is 5 years old and not done a great number of miles, just like the OP. They found cracks on the inside and to be honest I wouldn't have noticed them if they hadn't been pointed out. So 2 new tyres. Not worth the risk of giving it another year.

In response:-

I don't consider it a great mystery to identify tyre defects, as motorists we are expected to inspect our vehicle tyres regularly and the 4 on the caravan are the easiest (apart from the spare) of the 15 tyres in the household. I am very critical and work on the basis that if something looks untoward it probably is.

Luckily I can inspect the inside edge of my tyres and the treads from underneath the van and I have done so by feel and visually with a powerful LED torch. I am (more than) happy with their condition which is why it seems such a waste to scrap them.

I have already taken responsibility for the valves because I have TPMS valve caps so the schrader isn't in use, the valve stem could come out of the rim but I feel that is unlikely.

Currently I am of a mind to note the Caravan club advice and will probably carry out their recommendation that they should not be used after seven years.

To change at 5 years or 7 years? Some tyre wall breakdown and cracking you will see, others you will not. If my van was stored outside on it's wheels I'd change at 5. As it has been garage stored when not used and on axle stands most winters, one it was on tyre savers, I'm going to replace for it's 7th year.

If you looked at the financial side, a £70 tyre lasts 7 years, so £10 a year, or £20 as most vans have two when I last looked. We are towing vans that could cost up to £30/35K so is it really worth possibly risking your pride and joy for such a comparatively small outlay? Just think £20 is one night on a CL or definitely less than one night on a main site.

Colin

It’s your choice, Roger, but I can’t help wondering why you asked for our thoughts🤷🏻‍♂️

I have huge difficulty in accepting you can thoroughly examine the inside walls of your tyres from underneath your van with a torch.

However, may your journeys all be safe ones.👍🏻