# Any recommended tyres?



## Splodge

I need a new set of tyres for a Hymer Campswing - Fiat Ducato 2.8 JTD chassis, 2001 build, as the current ones are getting worn.

They are 215/70 R15 - currently Michelin XC Camping 109Q (for what thats worth!)

My priorities would be safety (eg good road holding), noise, economy and cost, in descending order.

The recent Which report (www.which.co.uk/tyres) doesn't seem to cover this size.

I'd be grateful for any advice regarding the need for specialist tyres and any recomendations.

Apologies if I've posted in the wrong forum


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## Stanner

I've used this place a couple of times

http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m27b0s501p0

they appear to have a good range.

The only makes I've used from that list are Vredestein Avon and Kumho.

Vredesteins are excellent (but a different pattern) Avon were good as well, but Kumho have been variable - first set OK, current set on my son's car a bit skittery in the wet.


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## Damchief

Continental Vancocamper would be my number one choice.
Link http://www.tyre-shopper.co.uk/ts/search/tyredetails.aspx?code=2157516CT8P


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## Yeti

Michelin Agilis Camping M/S is the only choice for me, had a set of five fitted just before leaving UK in April.
They tick ALL the boxes.

rgds
Davey


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## Gixer-Mark

Splodge .......... I had the same dilema last week re our M/H. Asked on here and had varying degrees of advice, obviously the very expensive Michelins etc are good but having talked to many a tyre fitter / company over the phone, as long as you get a mid-range or above tyre that matches your current spec or betters it, then like me you could save a lot of money.

I used these : 
http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m27b0s501p0

and must admit they were excellent. Very helpful on the phone, provided a tracking ref for the tyres and they all ( 6 of them ) arrived next day. They were also 'new' tyres in that they were made in week 13 of 2009 .... important in our needs for M/h due to the 5 year life span.

I chose Hankook's but they were out of stock so had Kuhmos instead by the way.

Cheers 
Mark


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## Splodge

Thanks everyone for all the replies - very helpful! I get the impression that most people seem happy with what they've bought, so presumably not too many duff buys out there. 

I'm in the happy (!) position of replacing all 4 tyres, so matching performance etc is not an issue. Just a financial strain. 

I note the more expensive brands or resellers include fitting - has anyone bought just the tyres, and if so, where did you get them fitted? 

As you may detect, I'm not a petrol head, and have always gone to a garage (or even Kwik Fit) in the past with the car, where it fitting comes as standard. When you are only changing 2 car tyres at a time, theres less incentive to hunt down the cheapest source on the net!


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## Stanner

Phew...............

Seeing the price for 16" Vanco Camps scared me to death, but the 15" ones are a little better.

http://www.tyre-shopper.co.uk/ts/search/tyredetails.aspx?code=2157015CT1R

I'm not an advocate of scrimping on paying for your only points on contact with the road, but over £130 each 8O

M/Homes seem usually to be fitted with "Camp(ing)" tyres, anybody able to enlighten me on how they might differ from regular van tyres of the same load rating?


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## Gixer-Mark

215/75/R16C .... C stands for Commercial!

For 6 ( yes ... 6 ) Kumho 857's with next day delivery was £395.70, all tyres had matching manufacturing dates and were in top quality condition. These are the 10 ply tyres with the 114/116 load.

I asked around at 2 different tyre fitting depots, one quoted £21 PER tyre ........ didn't want the work, so went to Hi Q tyres. Had 7 tyres as I had a brand new spare off the wheel, with fitting & all wheels balanced ......... total £70.00 ! So 6 tyres + a spare totalled £465 approx.

These are middle of the range tyres and have a very good write up especially during wet braking.

Don't be a 'badge-snob' ........... cheaper does NOT mean inferior in any way, shape or form ............. Your choice Splodge !!!!!!!!!

Heres the tyres by the way : http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m27b0s521p8842


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## Gixer-Mark

Stanner ......... the only reason they suggest fitting 'camping tyres' are they have a slightly stronger side wall to allow for the time spent at a stand still on the drive / on site etc.

You pays your money but I can assure you, Kumho's / Hankook's etc cost half the price of the Camping, will last the 5 years the same as the camping and at that time, any set irrespective of what you buy, would require changing. Do the sums, over say a 10 year period, how much you will save .......................... :lol:


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## Stanner

Splodge said:


> I note the more expensive brands or resellers include fitting - has anyone bought just the tyres, and if so, where did you get them fitted?


I bought 4 Vredesteins Quatracs from Camskill for my little camper (best mucky weather grip tyres I've ever had) and had them fitted at a local tyre depot for £13 each all Inc. There was no disposal charge for the old tyres as they were being fitted to a new set of alloys - most tyre depots will fit tyres for you.

Get an online quote, find out who the fitter will be (if it's included) and see if they will beat the online quote - I know several people who've done that successfully.

In my case nowhere local could get anywhere near the online price for the Vredesteins so I bought online and paid to have them fitted.


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## Stanner

Gixer-Mark said:


> Don't be a 'badge-snob' ........... cheaper does NOT mean inferior in any way, shape or form ............. Your choice Splodge !!!!!!!!!


"Don't be a 'badge-snob' ........... cheaper does NOT necessarily mean inferior in any way, shape or form ............. Your choice Splodge !!!!!!!!! "

Not necessarily - but from experience I can assure you it can on occasion mean inferior in several ways.
I have had some pretty awful "cheap" tyres - I've also had some good ones - the trouble is you often don't know which until your life depends on it.

One of the worst sets tyres I ever had were Michelin ZXs - I found that out sliding towards the back of a traffic queue on the A.127.


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## macone48

This is not the latest tyre test, but it gives you an idea:Tyre Test There are some "nasty tyres about and some arn't cheap !!

I used blackcircles for Conti Vanco-2's and used a local garage @ £10 per tyre to change/balance & fit.

Good luck.

Trev


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## Stanner

macone48 said:


> There are some "nasty tyres about and some arn't cheap !!


My very point..........thanks.

The problem is identifying them before it's too late.


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## Gixer-Mark

The Kumho's I mentioned sit next to and are as good as the Hankook RA 08 named in the test you have added Stanner ............. and guess which tyre sits up top or in the middle ............... Where are the Conti's, Michelin's, Bridgestones........... Point made !LOL ! :lol:


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## Stanner

Gixer-Mark said:


> The Kumho's I mentioned sit next to and are as good as the Hankook RA 08 named in the test you have added Stanner ............. and guess which tyre sits up top or in the middle ............... Where are the Conti's, Michelin's, Bridgestones........... Point made !LOL ! :lol:


macone48 added the test not me.

PS I thought the Contis came top?

PPS and I haven't bought Michelins for decades.

They've been on vehicles when I acquired them, but I've never subsequently replaced them like for like later.


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## teemyob

*tyres*

Hello,

Should be able to get some Matadors for £60 each. Toyo's for under £80 or Continentals but you may be pushing £90-£100.

As suggested tyretest is a good review centre.

Try ebay! Yes ebay.

Many local tyre fitters are starting to list on ebay and whilst some only have budget brands listed almost all will have access to most brands at a good price. Everyone wants your business. Some smaller dealers may not be able to balance your wheels mind, due to size limitations.

Where are you based?

Trev


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## sweetie

www.tyretraders.com gave us the best quote give them a try. You can get an all inclusive price inc fitting & balance .

Steve


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## Yeti

With respect to all the previous posters they all have very valid points, but also taken into consideration should be the proposed use of your M/H.

I personally chose the Michelin Agilis when replacing mine for two main reasons.

a) Mud and snow rating , due to the fact that we travel all year round in Europe and obviously meet all conditions, hot Autostrada in Italy,snow and ice in Switzerland and potholes in Poland !

b) The ability to run at a higher tyre pressure with the 10 ply side walls to give greater stabilty as we invariably run at max load (3850 kg) and tow a Smart on a trailer.

Incidentally I paid 110 per tyre on tinternet and 10 per tyre fitting by my local tyre dealer.

regards


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## 113016

We also have Michelin Agilis, the second generation and a nearer to car ride and car tread than the previous Michelin Camping tyres.
So quiet that I rang the dealer to give him feed back for other customers and a test was done that stated that they roll further meaning better mpg.
A Tip!
Insist that the tyres that you buy have a very recent date stamp (they are all date stamped) as the 5 year life cycle is from that date and NOT the date when they are fitted!
They may have been in stock somewhere for many months and even possibly more and may be offered cheap for that reason!

I think it is worth having good tyres, however it is a waste of money if you don't look after them and do silly things such as kerbing


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## Splodge

Thanks everyone - all good stuff! 

I hadn't been made aware of the "change tyres after 5 years" advice before (although that would fit with when we bought the M/H and the advice from the chap doing the recent habitation check). 

Does that extend to changing the (so far unused) spare as well? My wallet hopes not!


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## BJT

Can I throw in my two pennyworth?
Good thread with some interesting points. At the end of the day I think it comes down to a few major factors:-
1/ Speeds for MHs are fairly low outside of UK, and well within the tyre rating throughout Europe. So why buy performance tyres?
2/ How big is your bank balance?
3/ Do you full time, or is it stored for periods with the tyres protected from the sun? (If they are not screened, get some bits of external ply a bit sharpish)
4/ Do you inspect your tyres regularly for signs of damage, undue wear, due wear, degradation? I think this is a wise precaution.
So -
Full timing, especially in southern europe with the stronger sun, means more tyre wear in less time; so buy the best you can get. ( although there are obvious personal preferences)
Part time use, go for more economical tyres.
Skinflint, what you are prepared to pay.

My MH has done 23000 miles in 5 years, and I will fit a reasonable tyre when replacement is due. My local dealer, Micheldever Tyres, stocks Kumho which I have used in the past and found quite satisfactory.
One problem is that the size of tyre on some MH's are not easy to find in some makes or brands and a compromise may be needed.

At the end of the day, all tyres sold in the UK must comply with EU standards (although dodgy ones do creep in from time to time, so only buy from reputable sales outlets). So it comes down to personal choice, and once you've made it, thats it until the next tyre change is due.


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## CliveMott

Our last camper came from new with Michelins. Lasted 11 years and only changed one due to the start of sidewall cracks on the tyre that caught the sun when parked up in our drive. The New Tardis has come again with Michelins. I am so pleased. I have made some tyre covers to keep the sun off.

C.


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## 113016

Splodge said:


> Thanks everyone - all good stuff!
> 
> I hadn't been made aware of the "change tyres after 5 years" advice before (although that would fit with when we bought the M/H and the advice from the chap doing the recent habitation check).
> 
> Does that extend to changing the (so far unused) spare as well? My wallet hopes not!


 To be completely correct you should also change the spare, however I have not and have no intentions of doing so. It is out of the sun and therefore should be ok. I would only use it as a get me home tyre at low speeds.


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## Bethune

The German motorhome magazine ProMobil carries out regular comparison tests on both summer and winter tyres. The May 2008 edition had a comprehensive look at a variety of 215/70 R15 CP/C summer tyres available for motorhomes covering such topics as braking distance (in the wet and dry), handling, aquaplaning (both longitudinal and crossways), rolling resistance, weight and noise. 1st Continental Vanco Camper 2nd Michelin Agilis Camping 3rd Michelin Agilis 4th Continental Vanco 2 5th Pirelli Chrono.
If I can find a more recent test I will let you know.
Philip


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