First trip this year lesson learnt! (1 Viewer)

[Jim Dowd]

This is our second year owning a motorhome it's an old ford transit based motorhome 1991 but reliable and in good condition did the usual jobs for overwintering drain down the systems gave it a run every fortnight etc. After preparing the van for this season we went on our first trip this year for an overnight in Dumfries we just passed Moffat when overtaking a lorry had a rear blowout managed to pull over to the hard shoulder and assess the damage.

First thought was I hope the wheel nuts are not stuck ( should have checked as part of preparations for new season) fortunately they were ok, I also had a 3.5t trolley jack which coped anything smaller would struggle, now for the spare should have no issues getting it off as I had it off several times, wrong, the nut was solid didn't have a long reach socket so after half an hour and a few bare knuckles I got it off. All I had to do was change the wheels over no problem went on ok lowered the jack and guess what the tyre was just about flat no problem I have a tyre air compressor took for ever to put some air in the tyre struggled to cope but managed to put enough to get me moving again credit to all the lorry drivers passing me when I was changing tyres they all moved to the outside lane.

I do not like driving without a spare for any distance so called into Lockerbie to have the tyre replaced first one didn't have any commercial tyres in stock second garage closed as we arrived so decided to go straight to Dumfries also tried three tyre suppliers none had commercial tyres in stock eventually found one who fitted the tyre. Pressure off drove into the centre of Dumfries and parked up in Halfords car park for the night after asking permission, we were going to park in the Dock car park but it was full (Festival Week) next morning we headed back home via Moffat beautiful scenery and a pleasant drive the last little mishap was the loo wouldn't flush now know it was the pump impeller had seized easy fix.
So lessons learned
1. Ensure all your wheel nuts are not seized including your spare.
2. Check your jack is suitable.
3. Check all your tyres air pressure,cracks etc.
4. Air compressor/tyre inflater are up for the job standard car compressors will struggle to inflate the tyre.
5. Check cooker, fridge, toilet etc are all working as well as your standard engine checks.
6. Be aware than not all garages/ tyre fitters carry commercial tyres
I am still very new to Motorhomes so no doubt have missed a number of things.
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[Rob and Val]

Glad all turned out well in the end. What age was the tyre that blew?

Unless a lot of touring miles are covered it is unlikely that your motorhome tyres will wear out. However, like all tyres, they will deteriorate with age and can become distorted if they are left unused in the same position. If that happens then a blow-out becomes more likely.

Leisure vehicle organisations recommend that motorhome tyres should be replaced when they reach five years old and they certainly should not be used beyond seven years.

You can identify the age of your tyres by the date code printed on the tyre sidewall. Basically, a three digit code means the tyre was made before 1999, which was replaced by a four digit code in 2000. After 2000, the code stands for the week and the year in which the tyre was made, i.e. 0310 would mean the tyre was made in the third week of 2010.

Glad the mishap didn't spoil your trip too much. Our mo-ho is not much younger than yours (1994) and we had a lovely holiday in the West Highlands in 2015 and stayed at Moffat on the way. As you say, beautiful scenery.

 

[Jim Dowd]

Not sure of the age of the tyre that had the blow out the spare was new so two new on the rear will check the front probably change to be one the safe side.

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