Caravan Tyre Blowout

Take a look at the picture. The owner of this caravan had only purchased it second hand just a few hours previously. He carried out a brief check of the vehicle to make sure it was safe to tow home. The tyres had lots of tread on them and appeared good. He had only gone a few miles when one tyre simply disintegrated. luckily he hadn't reached the motorway yet and was close to an area where he could pull over and park up. There was no spare wheel with the caravan so he was stuck. He gave us a call. Could we help?

An hour or so later I arrived with two replacement tyres (in case there were issues with the second) and investigated. the tyres were over ten years old and apparently the caravan had been standing for some time (as caravans do). The unexpected journey was obviously too much of a shock for the poor tyre. After being awoken from months or possibly years of peaceful rest and having endured a number of freezing winters and UV rays in what passes for our summers the tyres were in no condition to undertake any kind of journey. the depth of tread was irrelevant. the real problems were invisible to the eye.

Anyway, I replaced both tyres (the second tyre was of the same age) and the customer went on his way with his purchase.

So, you can see why the caravan club recommends that you should never run tyres that are over seven years old and suggest changing them after five years old. This owner was lucky in the circumstances. It could have been a lot worse.