Covering tyres!

Good post Merve. We always use them even in Winter. 

I was talking to my caravan service chappie not so long ago and as my van is 5 yrs old now, the conversation turned to tyres. He told me that I should really change my tyres after 5 yrs as the UV light will have attackled them. I told him that my tyres are permanently covered when in storage and when on site- one with the awning wheel cover and the other with the bog standard covers available from Protec and Specialised Covers etc. He was surprised as not many if any do that and said that with that history they should be OK for another 2 years when I think they are changed regardless? ( that's what he lead me to believe anyway). So, there is money to be saved by taking the simple step of buying wheel covers and using them. They are not expensive and are usually supplied with covers these days. Looking around my storage facility they seem to be as rare as rocking horse poo as I only saw one other vehicle with them fitted and it's a large storage facility. Tyres for caravans  are not cheap- covers are so use them and save money.

Write your comments here...Excellent habit to get into Merve.we also use tyre covers on our Arto .We see it every day in our tyre depot ,tyres coming off motorhomes and caravans with loads of tread but badly cracked either on the sidewalls or in between the tread lines through either age or ultra violet damage.

Brian & Jo

I've had wheel covers ever since I resumed caravanning and thirty years ago, when I first started, I noticed that continental vanners often propped a bit of board upo against their tyres on site.

It makes sense to me - if the tyres are damaged by sunlight then protect them from the sunlight.

Sorry to burst your bubbles but the amount of UV damage casued to tyres is so minimal that covers are not required. Tyres perish on our M/H and Caravanac due to the lack of use, that is why you find cracking within the tread patterns and hardly any cracking on the tyre wall.. I spent quite a few years in the middle east and we used to brush on brake fluid to save the tyre, however the cracking still appeared within the treads.. Save your money and remember it is only another gadget amongst the many we buy and don't need.. We would be better off buying a tyre pressure monitor system than tyre covers, they may save your life!!

we use winter wheels at the end of each season and put the tyred rims in the garage, this saves the tyres AND puts off would-be thieves - great!

Sorry to burst your bubbles but the amount of UV damage casued to tyres is so minimal that covers are not required. Tyres perish on our M/H and Caravanac due to the lack of use, that is why you find cracking within the tread patterns and hardly any cracking on the tyre wall.. I spent quite a few years in the middle east and we used to brush on brake fluid to save the tyre, however the cracking still appeared within the treads.. Save your money and remember it is only another gadget amongst the many we buy and don't need.. We would be better off buying a tyre pressure monitor system than tyre covers, they may save your life!!

Write your comments here...I disagree! UV light attacks the compounds in the rubber vulcanised or not and dries it out hence the cracking. My point was not that tyres won't crack after a time on the vehicle but that I would rather buy tyres every 7 years than every 4-5 years. My van, as I said is 5 years old. I have in the last week had both wheels off to clean, prepare and paint the hubs as I can't stand rust! Having removed the wheels I found the suspension swing arms were in the same condition and the mover was shedding paint too due to the natural action of water etc. I spent a day cleaning all the components and then painting them with 2-3 coats of Finnigans Hammerite paint and the hubs with a very high temperature paint (for obvious reasons ) and during all this I was able to inspect my tyres very closely! I found very little to no evidence of cracking. I am happy that covering tyres is a good practice against the ravages of the sun. Stopping UV light from damaging components has been a major concern for manufactures of goods for many years now. How many times do we see products that have been 'UV Stabilised' etc. Yes, the lack of use is a factor but the sun blazing down on a black tyre and that tyre absorbing the heat day after day and cooling again at night is the expansion and contraction needed to cause damage. No bubble burst!  I have a tyrepal system fitted too as you can't tell what is happening on the trailer. Worth the money for the peace of mind as a deflated tyre can turn you van over.  Winter wheels are a good idea too. I nip to the van every now and again, stick my trolley jack underneath and spin the wheels to avoid 'flat spots'. 

I block the van off in the winter to save the load on the tyres.

I too was advised at the last service to change my tyres because of their age, but there were no cracks in the walls and I felt a little begrudged at having to shell out when there was so much tread left. Does anyone know - is this a legal requirement?

Sorry to burst your bubbles but the amount of UV damage casued to tyres is so minimal that covers are not required. Tyres perish on our M/H and Caravanac due to the lack of use, that is why you find cracking within the tread patterns and hardly any cracking on the tyre wall.. I spent quite a few years in the middle east and we used to brush on brake fluid to save the tyre, however the cracking still appeared within the treads.. Save your money and remember it is only another gadget amongst the many we buy and don't need.. We would be better off buying a tyre pressure monitor system than tyre covers, they may save your life!!

Write your comments here...I disagree! UV light attacks the compounds in the rubber vulcanised or not and dries it out hence the cracking. My point was not that tyres won't crack after a time on the vehicle but that I would rather buy tyres every 7 years than every 4-5 years. My van, as I said is 5 years old. I have in the last week had both wheels off to clean, prepare and paint the hubs as I can't stand rust! Having removed the wheels I found the suspension swing arms were in the same condition and the mover was shedding paint too due to the natural action of water etc. I spent a day cleaning all the components and then painting them with 2-3 coats of Finnigans Hammerite paint and the hubs with a very high temperature paint (for obvious reasons ) and during all this I was able to inspect my tyres very closely! I found very little to no evidence of cracking. I am happy that covering tyres is a good practice against the ravages of the sun. Stopping UV light from damaging components has been a major concern for manufactures of goods for many years now. How many times do we see products that have been 'UV Stabilised' etc. Yes, the lack of use is a factor but the sun blazing down on a black tyre and that tyre absorbing the heat day after day and cooling again at night is the expansion and contraction needed to cause damage. No bubble burst!  I have a tyrepal system fitted too as you can't tell what is happening on the trailer. Worth the money for the peace of mind as a deflated tyre can turn you van over.  Winter wheels are a good idea too. I nip to the van every now and again, stick my trolley jack underneath and spin the wheels to avoid 'flat spots'. 

If the tyres were not vulcanised, they would be a soft gooey mess. Vulcanisation is the process that cures the rubber compounds the tyre is made of. The curing and protection systems employed give the UV, or more importantly O3 protection. O3 or ozone is what attacks the sidewalls and tread on flexure, otherwise known as flex cracking; a decent protection system will not leach out of the cured compound. A poor protection system where cheap fillers have been used will often show 'blooming' on the tyres. Tyres are black, as Carbon Black is the reinforcing and protecting filler. CB is basically burnt oil or soot of a controlled particle size, so when oil price was at record highs, which is also the feedstock for the non natural rubber parts in the compound it is not coincidence the quality and longevity of tyres reduced. Ozone is created by electric motors, is it not coincidence that fridges, motor movers have electric motors and are positioned near caravan tyres? 

The tyre manufacturers will reccomend changng tyres at time based periods than service use, it's in their interests to do so. The industry of elf and safe tea that has grown exponentially due to poor education of people and the lack of intellectual challenge to marketing and fear mongering has deliverd the state we now have.

If the fear of tyre age is important, you also need to check the date code on a tyre, not assume it is the age of the caravan it is fitted to, or was new when purchased.

Correct tyre inflation is probably a better measure to reduce the likelihood of tyre sidewall and/or tread base cracking as cheaply filled, poor curing and protection system compounds are more prone to flex cracking and ozone attack; than covering up for UV shading.