Newbie questions

James

The warranty question is a bit difficult. Obviously this is a second hand caravan. Having the warranty for the first year will give some peace of mind although I would want to know that it was comprehensive and no  wriggle room! The major enemy of caravans is damp but you can still have expensive problems with chassis, water heater and fridge. So if it covers those items it might be worthwhile. 

With regard to Tyron Bands this is often a subject of discussion both for and against. Some will argue that since the design of caravan wheels have changed to be inline with car wheel rims they are not so necessary. I had them fitted to several caravans. The major problem with them is if you have an issue where a tyre needs changing is the tyre company knowledgeable about changing them and do they have the equipment. Most of the major tyre chains and the likes of E-Tyres do but some of the smaller independent retailers might not have. If you do decide on them make sure you always carry the special key and instructions with you in the caravan at all times. If you make sure that your tyres have the right right rating and are reinforced for the weight they carry and within the right age (5-7 years recommended) having Tyron Bands might just be a bit belt and braces! An alternative might be to fit a tyre pressure system like Tyrepal as that would give you advanced warning of a reduction in pressure.

David

Hi James, first off I would recommend Tyron tyre bands as to Davids comment, the advantage of Tyron bands are that the tyre is prevented from entering the space in the rim, this prevents loosing control.  Tyron will send you a PDF file on fitting instructions Tony Glazebrook is the guy you need email address is Tony@tyron.com Whith regard to warranty if you need confirmation of what the dealer says regarding the caravan then prehaps you could get an approved mobile service engineer to do a private inspection for you the dealer should not object to this if they do walk away

The NCC email address is Reece.w@thencc.org.uk ( Reece Wigmore ) Hope this helps

Paul

This is a difficult subject to advise on as it's a very personal choice and you don't say whether the van you're buying is new, but I assume it isn't if it comes with only 3 months warranty.  You need to think how likely it is that you will have a £300 plus issue with the van that the warranty will cover in full within the first 2 years and check the small print to see how many 'get out' clauses there are in the policy.  If the dealer has done a full service/damp test/gas check etc you would be very unlucky not to get 2 years trouble free use from a caravan, but there are horror stories are out there...

Tyron bands really are 'marmite' on here, but at least know what you're buying: They don't make a puncture less likely or warn you if your tyre pressure is low, but do prevent the tyre becoming unseated if you get a total deflation, hopefully allowing you to keep the van under control and preventing damage from a flailing tyre. Again, they are only any use if the worse happens.

A tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) will warn you if your tyre pressures are wrong (eg a nail in the tyre, leaky bead/valve etc) before the tyre becomes dangerously under-inflated.  I believe basic ones are available at around the price you've been quoted for Tyrons, so might be worth looking at instead?

The answer to the warranty question is a personal one.  As DavidK points out, you would been to be sure that the terms of the warranty meets your expectations.  It would certainly be worthwhile an independant engineer looking over the caravan and giving a report.  Within the knowledge that a fair number of folk have had damp issues, personally  if the warranty looked good and 'wriggle free', I would probably go for one of the options.

With regard to Tyron Bands v a TPMS, personally I would go for a TPMS such as Tyrepal.  Certainly a personal choice.  I had a blowout recently (without Tyron Bands) and I didn't even realise my tyre had gone.  I think Tyrepal would have alerted me sooner.

It also might be worth contacting the Club with regard to Caravan Insurance.  There are other companies too, but I have found the Club have been sensitive, fair and quick at responding to claims.  They were excellent when a previous caravan of ours was stolen from a storeage sit - not the one I recommended to you in an earlier post - we moved to the new storeage after out theft and the security is very good indeed.

David