# Tyre Pressure



## AlanMo (May 14, 2005)

Hi 

Anyone able to recommend tyre pressure for 195/75R 16C. There are some letters XCA and underneath in smaller figures 107/105N. 

They are on a Talbot with a 6 berth Burstner bady - 22 foot long.

Best wishes

Alan


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## eurajohn (May 9, 2005)

Hi Alanmos

Over the last few months I've done a lot of research into suitable tyres and what pressures they should be run at. It started with 1 of the very good condition Pirelli tyres on my 6 wheel Euramobil becoming deformed.
My original thought was to replace them directly with Michelin XTC Camping tyres, it was only when I was unable to find a stockist with any in stock that I contacted Michelin direct. I was directed to their Technical Dept. I explained my dilema to the extremely helpful and knowledgeable Technician, he was horrified to learn that Euramobil recommend 80psi or 5.5 bar as an inflation figure and went on to suggest that in his opinion the probable reason for the delamination of the carcass of my faulty tyre was the excessive inflation. His recommendation was for a max of 65psi for the fronts and 55psi for the 4 rears. He also confirmed the countrywide non availability of my tyre choice. 

John
After much searching and researching I finally settled for a pair of Kumho tyres which were fitted on the front of the vehicle, inflated to 65psi. I have now covered 3400 miles in the 6 weeks that they have been fitted, a substantial portion of that was whilst on holiday, going to, around and returning from the Med South of France, I have given them a thorough check over and they still look very much like new tyres. Whilst away on a very warm day, sitting under the awning with a glass of red in hand my gaze fell on one of the remaining Pirellis, horror it had distorted in exactly the same way as the front one had. I changed it for the still brand new spare, the others stayed ok for the rest of our holiday and return journey. I am now replacing the remaining Pirellis with Kumho's.

As a final bonus the quoted price for the Michelins was £143 each whilst the Kumho's are only £74 including fitting and balancing etc. This story relates to 215 x75 x16


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## Boff (May 10, 2005)

eurajohn said:


> ...he was horrified to learn that Euramobil recommend 80psi or 5.5 bar as an inflation figure...


Euramobil fits all their motorhomes with Michelin XC Camping tyres ex-factory. So far at least, because I have heard rumours that this tyre model is not produced anymore.

For this tyre the max. recommended pressure is in fact 80 PSI.

We have XC Camping on all wheels and always inflate them to 80 PSI.

My personal recommendation is: As motorhomes have a certain tendency to be loaded ut to (and above) the allowed max., tyres should be inflated to the max. recommended pressure, which is always printed somewhere on the tyre. Keep in mind: In almost all cases tyre bursts are due to a too low pressure, not a too high one. Slow deformation is a different story of course.

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## AlanMo (May 14, 2005)

Whereabouts will the recommendation be on the wheel - I can't see any?. I have the Talbot handbook - should I use the tyre pressures recommended in that?

Alan


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## Bryanor (May 9, 2005)

My Swift 520 with 215/70 16 XC Camping tyres was weighed fully laden with the following results:
Front axle 1220 kgs
Rear axle 1600 kgs 

I e-mailed Michelin with this info and their recommended pressures are as follows:

Front 44 psi
Rear 52 psi


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## eurajohn (May 9, 2005)

boff

My Eura was fitted with the Pirelli's !

I note your comments ref the possibility of the XTC's being ok for 80psi and agree that Michelin confirm this. What I said was, that the Technical dept of Michelin suggested inflation that high was likely to harm the tyre carcass in the long term. As bryanor says when the manufacturers are given the axle load information then the recommendation is somewhat lower than the permitted maximum.

John.


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## eurajohn (May 9, 2005)

Alanmos

Apologies I seem to have got carried away with my own tale and not addressed your original request.

The tyre will not have any recommendations on it only maximum permitted pressures and loads.

My advise would be to go to your local council weighbridge in your fully laden Camper and get it weighed, then contact your tyre manufacturers technical dept for their recommendation.

John.


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## Boff (May 10, 2005)

Hi John!



eurajohn said:


> My Eura was fitted with the Pirelli's !


Was it new? Directly from the dealer? Or second hand?

Maybe somebody in the supply chain has cheated here, because the XC Camping's are really expensive.

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## eurajohn (May 9, 2005)

Hi Gerhard

I purchased it second hand from the person that imported it into England, although the tyres are / were the original fitment.

Yes you are right they are very expensive, when I was looking to buy some the quoted price was £164 each. At the time it was stated by Michelin that there were none available, as the plant that manufactured them was being re-located and the move was behind schedule, because of the delay the stockpile that they made to tide them over had been exhausted.

John.


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## camoyboy (May 9, 2005)

Hi Alanmos,
Our Talbot Kontiki had the same size tyres as your van. We ran with the recomended 65 psi all round with no problems for 5 years/ 20,000 miles.
The Michelin XC tyre are a higher load rating (113/111) and are recommended to run at 80 psi. These are fitted as original equipement by Fiat to their current Maxi range and are designed especially for motorhome conversions, hence the high price.
Colin


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## AlanMo (May 14, 2005)

Thanks to everyone for the advice. 
I've found the Talbot handbook and it asy 58 front and 65 rear so guess I should try that and from what you say it will do no harm

Best wishes

Alan


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## Bazbro (May 9, 2005)

One clue to the pressure variation that Eurajohn was quoted by Michelin, is that his 'van has 6 wheels (ie four at the back) and this will greatly reduce the load requirement on each tyre. It follows that with a lower load requirement there would be a lower pressure requirement.

However, those of us with just two wheels at the back should consider a higher pressure. I think John's last advice:



> "My advise would be to go to your local council weighbridge in your fully laden Camper and get it weighed, then contact your tyre manufacturers technical dept for their recommendation."


is the best, and is what I would do if in any doubt. Keep the written reply from the manufacturer safely with the vehicle handbook. Should an unfortunate incident occur where your tyre pressures were suspect, the manufacturers (written) recommendation could prevent your prosecution.


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## RobMD (May 9, 2005)

Also worth noting that (1)tyres should always be of good quality (a lot of cheap imports are badly formed. (2) when buying ensure they are capable of carrying the max weight of the van (3) that new tyres are good moulding (have a good look at them before fitting - reject if not perfect) (4) inflate to correct pressure, and check at least once soon after. (5) the pressure stated on the tyres is the MAX pressure NOT what they should be run at. If the running pressure is close to the max. pressure - you have the wrong tyres.

All my opinion, but mainly common sense. I take a keen interest in my tyres as they are the only thing between my bum and the ground!!,
I visually inspect them frequently, and check the pressures regularly


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## camoyboy (May 9, 2005)

The Michelin XC camping tyre may look like any other Michelin X tyre, but the construction has been altered to allow for the fact that motorhomes spend 95% of the time stationary, usually fully laden, not like white van man who is only stationary at traffic lights (sometimes). Also the higher pressures help in keeping the tyres shape. Bear in mind when buying cheaper standard spec. tyres, that from a load point of view they will be more than adequate, but may suffer from distortion if your motorhome spends much of its time parked up. If possible the motorhome needs to be moved a couple of feet forward or back so that a different area of tread is on the ground. If this is done say every couple of weeks, it will prevent the tyres from losing their shape, and doing long term damage to the side walls.
I can never understand why people spend several thousand pounds on buying their dream, and then try to cut corners on probably the most safety critical aspect of the vehicle. They buy Satellite dishes, Solar panels, GPS and reversing cameras no problem, but are prepared to put thier lives and others at risk to save a few pounds.
Enough said,
Colin


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## eurajohn (May 9, 2005)

Colin

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions I feel, maybe wrongly that you are having a bit of a sideways dig at me, for my comments ref previous posts on the subject.

Do your research before releasing your biased opinion!

You may like to check out http://www.motorcaravanning.co.uk/vehicles/tyre_test.htm as recommended in another thread. If you check it out you will find that one of the better tyres were Hankook, a decidedly "budget" tyre and that the Michelin XTC did not fare very well at all !!!

John.


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

I detect a storm brewing here!

All i can say about the subject is, stick to the base vehicle manufacturers recommended pressures for the relevant tyre and chassis, they are the experts. Our previous 'van had the pressures on the inside of the door pillar (michelin xc's fitted). I thought that 85 psi (if i remember correctly) was awful high, but stuck to it, after 24,000 miles the wear was even across the tread, so it must have been about correct. Our new 'van is also fitted with xc's, so don't think Boff's observation about discontinuing the brand is correct (unless i,ve got a van fitted with old stock!).


pete.


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## Bazbro (May 9, 2005)

We are all entitled to our (differing!) opinions, and are free to express them.

Eurajohn - I don't think that Colin was 'having a dig' at you regarding an earlier post. At least, I didn't read it this way. He obviously has strong views on cheaper tyres, that's all.

Colin - You have a very valid point about our 'vans possibly spending a great deal of time standing in one position, and maybe needing a tyre to take this into consideration. I think that you spoilt your post by taking the extreme view that cheaper (legally sold) tyres are 'putting lives at risk'. This is clearly not true, any more than buying the (more expensive but poorer performing) Michelin rather than the (much better performing) Conti is 'putting lives at risk'. These cheaper tyres are perfectly adequate for the job. Wear rates may be accellerated, they may not ride as comfortably, etc., etc., but they are not dangerous. Pootling (lovley word, that - thanks Twooks) around as we most often do, probably normally doesn't require tyres of the specification of the Michelin or the Conti.

Having said all that, when my tyres come up for renewal, I will be closely looking at the merits of, specifically the Conti against some of the budget brands, including the Kumhos and Hancooks. Michelin, Conti, Pirelli etc., have enormous advertising, labour, etc., budgets that YOU have to pay for, whereas Hancooks, Kumhos, etc., are made in the Far East, have much lower operating costs, and don't sponsor, advertise, etc., to the same extent that Western brands do. But they DO test and develop, and they also have to pass stringent Government tests, both in Europe and the USA.

Let's keep these 'exchanges of ideas and opinions' friendly, folks, and not take umbrage too quickly, nor propose extreme ideas that provoke anger.

In short, kiss and make up, lads, and be free to make your own, informed decisions. 

Barry


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## dodger148 (May 9, 2005)

Well said Sir, (Barry)

A very good make you dont hear so much about now, used to be made in Dumfries - Uniroyal, (Gates Tyres & Rubber ????) They used to be good hard wearing tyres that didnt need second mortgages IMO


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## eurajohn (May 9, 2005)

No umbrage taken, the point I was trying to get across was that we are all entitled to our own differing opinions, as everyone will interpret the "facts" in their own individual way.

My choice of purchase and the content of my posts was done after an extended and very intense amount of research, from many sources, much of it from within the tyre manufacturing and retail trade but also from personal experience over an extended amount of years with various campers (and vans) being used for a variety of purposes. 

Whenever I offer "advice" I will try to point out that it is my opinion and not necessarily fact (unless I know it to be fact).

If I was out of order I apologise totally.

I consider this an excellent site, with a warm and friendly manner, the fact that it deals with one of the passions in my life is a bonus.

John.


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## camoyboy (May 9, 2005)

Oh dear, as usual I have managed to upset people with my blunt and to the point statments. Sorry to eurajohn and anyone esle who took my comments personnally.
The main point I was trying to put across was the tyre wall issue on vans that are stationary for long periods. No, there is nothing wrong with any of the tyres mentioned, it is just the fact that they are general purpose, not motorhome specific. I used Kumhos on my Kontiki for three years and I am sure I wil not use the XC Michelin when they are due for change on my current one.
The risking lives comment was a bit harsh perhaps, but I have seen two motorhome tyre failures,both on the first run out after the winter stand up, where the tyres had lost their shape and caused the walls to fail. Fortunatly nobody was injured but a fair bit of damage occured to one of the motorhomes and frightened the life out of the owner.
I have worked in the motor trade all my life ,most of it involved in the development, ride and handling and building of vehicles. I have owned and maintained motorhomes for several years, I would like to think I can pass on any of the knowledge I have gained to my fellow motorhomers. It is not my intention to get their backs up!!!
Sorry once again, but hope you will view my comments as constructive, not dis-structive and purely my opinion only.
Colin


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## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

This has a lot to do with it



camoyboy said:


> .....I have seen two motorhome tyre failures, both on the first run out after the winter stand up, where the tyres had lost their shape and caused the walls to fail.


It never ceases to amaze me the number of 'vans parked up for months on end and then for a few days here and there they go out and have problems.

Yes tyres are different but leave any vehicle stationary long enough and you will have problems. Jacking the thing up off the ground will help but all the other bits are designed to be used reasonably often as well.

Anyone remember the late 80's, I think, with all those airfields full of 'new' cars going rusty!



eurajohn said:


> I consider this an excellent site, with a warm and friendly manner, the fact that it deals with one of the passions in my life is a bonus.
> 
> John.


Trust the passion is motorhomes and not tyres!!! :wink:


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## eurajohn (May 9, 2005)

Maverick

I'll admit to being a bit of an "anorak" (and have been called that by some of my mates) when it comes to motorhomes but definitely have no more than a "need to know" interest in tyres.

Love you all.!!!!!!!!

John.


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## 88790 (May 9, 2005)

Tyres and tyre pressures seem to be a 'black' art and there is no definitive answer.

I believe the police can act if you are more than a certain % outside the correct pressures.

Since we find it difficult to know the correct ones and the manufacturers give different values to those on our door frames, which were for another use any way, what is the solution - Is Solomon on the site, perhaps we could use some of his wisdom!

:wink: :wink: :wink:


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## eurajohn (May 9, 2005)

Jabber 

"A" class campers don't have any details posted on the door frames (the ones I've owned don't)

John.


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## 88790 (May 9, 2005)

Yes, that's a good point John, perhaps we should peel ours off!!!!!

John

:wink:


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