Tyre Pressure

DON'T LET PRESSURE LET YOU DOWN!

What tyre pressure should I put in my caravan tyres?

It is possible to blow or cut out a tyre on your van and continue travelling for some distance blissfully unaware of the the danger this poses or the damage occurring.

It happened to a club member recently who drove many kilometres on the wheel's steel rim before realising (see photo). Fortunately the only outcome was the complete disintegration of the tyre and damage to the rim.

Generally caravanners do not put sufficient air pressure in their tyres. Unlike your car, caravan tyres tend not to scrub out or wear unevenly. Wheel alignment is usually not a problem and caravans tend to be light on tread wear. Therefore tyres still look OK long after they should be replaced. Old tyres get hard and stiff and therefore are more susceptible to wall damage if the air pressure is too low. Soft tyres work harder requiring the walls to flex more than necessary.

Caravans should be fitted with light truck tyres which have stronger walls and tyre pressure should be 400 to 450 kpa (60 to 65 ppi) for single axle vans and 275 to 300 kpa (40 to 45 ppi) for dual axle models.

This is probably more than you are used to using and will make the caravans ride a little harder but it will protect your tyres and give you better fuel economy as a bonus.

The weight your van is exerting on the tyres also is a factor. If your van is lighter than the average two or four wheel model of a similar size, pressures can be reduced from those recommended.

Check your tyres regularly and also put your hand on the centre of the wheel hub after a long trip to see if it is hot. This could be a sign your bearings need servicing, but that is another topic.