On owning a Caravan, CC'ers experience?

[Fab Foodie]

I have to applaud the business acumen of the Croc people. They take an already overpriced piece of footwear and design a hole in it so you can buy overpriced things to plug the hole. Bravo!

Never underestimate the stupidity of the general public....

 

[Dirk]

@Fab Foodie - just a thought.
Your van is a 2011 model?
It's recommended, by the Caravan Club, that you change your tyres if they are over 5 years old regardless of their apparent condition, and never use them over 7 years.
Mine are due for replacement this year. They are 6 years old, but the van gets moved regularly and doesn't stand in one place for extended periods.
Some might dispute the recommendation, but It's probably worth changing them for the peace of mind, especially on a van of that age that appears to have had very little use.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I was going to reply last night with this, but didn't want to rain on their parade, adding more expense, they could have used it as a bargaining stance on the purchase but too late now I suspect.

 

[Panter]

Congratulations both, lovely looking 'van!

 

[Hill Wimp]

....over my dead body....

I wear them in the garden

 

[Markymark]

Never underestimate the stupidity of the general public....

I know. What sort of idiot pays triple the price for a something that is only half as good as the alternatives?

Sent from my iPhone.

 

[Fab Foodie]

@Dirk @Phaeton Thanks for the advice. I read that too in our bible. I did give the tyres a perfunctory look-over when we purchased and they looked in good condition.
Otherwise a bit late now!
Ta.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Just on the tyres, I must admit I hate officialdom & kick back when I can, but I do believe that trailers over a certain weight ought to have some form of MOT test each year, which tyre age would be a factor. That way the dealer would probably by law have had to have changed them for you, mine need changing this year, but as we're having a extension on the house not even sure we'll get to use it until the back end of the year. We've had it 3 years & I've never looked at the spare, I suspect it may even be an original from 2002.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Tyre age isn't an MOT thing for cars though, is it?

No you are correct they are not, but if they are cracked, bumped, cut, bald they will fail the test, but caravans/trailers are different unless of course the car only moves very little, there is no legal requirement to change the tyres at 5 years, it's just advisory.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

[QUOTE 4774726, member: 259"]In Belgium,any trailer or caravan over 750 Kg needs an MOT every two years, but never needs one if it's under, which seems a bit daft to me.[/QUOTE]I think that's because that will be the weight when brakes have to be fitted

 

[keithmac]

Date code is the week (2 digits) then the year.

I am honestly on the fence with the 5 year "recommendation", I spend most days looking at tyres and the majority over 5 years old are still perfectly servicable. I check my van tyres as I would any bike or car (sidewall condition, tread depth, no craking between treads).

Plus when you buy new ones they could easily be a year old already depending on how long they've been stored.

I looked through out 'vans service history and tallying up when the tyres were ifttwd and the date stamp on the sidewalls they were nearly 2 years old!.

 

[keithmac]

Tyre age isn't an MOT thing for cars though, is it?

Exactly!, it's all down to condition and tread depth..

 

[nickyboy]

Last time I needed a car tyre, I was pressured into replacing the whole lot on the grounds that they were over 10 years old.

I like what you did there

 

[Crackle]

if it's over 5 years old and you want to change it but stop the tyre falling into the hands of the 2nd hand tyre market, you should burn it. Don't worry if it's still attached to the caravan, it'll be fine.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

[QUOTE 4774852, member: 9609"]when ever I'm feeling a bit down I cheer myself up with this[/QUOTE]
It does make you wonder how he/she thought he/she could overtake