White Wall Radial Tyres - Do these fit??

[swillicott]

Hi,

Just finished having a respray on my 1990 T25 1.9petrol hi top autosleeper. I have had the stock wheel sprayed the same colour as the van and bought some white wall radial tures from Just Kampers who told me that these would be ok for the van. However, when having them fitted we noticed that they have a max psi of 35 as opposed to the van which requires 43 on the front and 53 on the back. I have been back in touch with them and they said they are fine a suitable for using on my van but I am not convinced.

The tyres can be viewed here:

http://shop.justkampers.com/product_inf ... s_id/10331

Can anyone tell me if these are ok for my van and if not, can I get any white walled tyres which are strong enough to hold the weight of the van. I was planning on using the van this weekend but m not sure whether to drive it with these tyres on?

Thanks for any help you can give?

Steve

[Grun]

swillicott,
Have a look here........

http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible.html#loads

It is in the wiki.....top of the page.

The minimum recommended load rating for tyres on the T25 is 97. check and see what the JK ones are rated at.
175 R 14 C, 185 R 14 C, 185 SR 14 reinforced, 185 SR 14 C 6PR,
and 205/70 R 14 are all listed as suitable in Haynes. My drivers handbook is in the garage but I can get it and have a look if you need more info.

Mike

[kevtherev]

http://www.northhantstyres.com/

these guys do whitewalls in all sizes and designs

they even give the load ratings

why not e-mail them and ask for advice

[swillicott]

hi Grun amd Kev,

Grun,

The tyres are as follows:

197 / 75 R14 92S

So I guess the load rating is too low and from the ones listed as suitable in Haynes I guess they are no good?? But JK are telling me that they have sold loads to T25 owners without problems and than as long as I have a 14" rim then these will be fine. But as I explained the them, just becuase they fit the rims, doesn't mean they can be inflated to the correct psi? It does say on the JK website that these are 4 ply so i guess the sidewalls are re-enforced?

Kevtherev,

Yeah, funny enough I had already come across northants tyres and they have already given me some advice. The white walled tyres they sell are, I thin, the same ones as JK. They say that fully loaded they do not think that they would be sufficient enough. Although the do not sell white walled tyres that would be.

So if no white walled tyres are suitable how come I have seen these on other T25 vans? and how come JK are telling me that these are OK?

Any help or advice would be greatly received - I really want the white walled tyres but not if they are going to be unsafe?

Thanks

Steve

[andysimpson]

hi Grun amd Kev,

Grun,

The tyres are as follows:

197 / 75 R14 92S

So I guess the load rating is too low and from the ones listed as suitable in Haynes I guess they are no good?? But JK are telling me that they have sold loads to T25 owners without problems and than as long as I have a 14" rim then these will be fine. But as I explained the them, just becuase they fit the rims, doesn't mean they can be inflated to the correct psi? It does say on the JK website that these are 4 ply so i guess the sidewalls are re-enforced?

Kevtherev,

Yeah, funny enough I had already come across northants tyres and they have already given me some advice. The white walled tyres they sell are, I thin, the same ones as JK. They say that fully loaded they do not think that they would be sufficient enough. Although the do not sell white walled tyres that would be.

So if no white walled tyres are suitable how come I have seen these on other T25 vans? and how come JK are telling me that these are OK?

Any help or advice would be greatly received - I really want the white walled tyres but not if they are going to be unsafe?

Thanks

Steve

Send them back 92 is too low, 94 is absolute minimum

[Grun]

swillicott,

Just going by the figures in the VW Instruction manual for the Transporter and Caravelle 1986, which I still have, the max rear axle load is listed as 1300 Kgs. (or 1400 kgs 'higher payload')
At 1300 Kgs that is 650kgs per tyre.
According to the 'carbibles' link in my previous reply, 92 load rating is 630 kgs, 20kgs below the max permissable, or 70kgs below the 'higher payload' figure.

I like many others here on 80 90 have always used LT (Light Truck?) tyres and my current ones are marked 100/102 load rating and the max single wheel load is marked as 850 kgs. They are six ply.

VW instruction manual states ... Steel Wheels 5 1/2 J X 14... tyres 185 R 14 C 6PR/8PR... pressure front (38 psi) rear (47psi)

Your choice.

Mike

[swillicott]

Thanks for your replies and help with this - so what would happen if I kept them on - would they be dangerous? or simply wear out quicker than normal?

[andysimpson]

Thanks for your replies and help with this - so what would happen if I kept them on - would they be dangerous? or simply wear out quicker than normal?

Risk of blowout, your insurance will also be void.

[swillicott]

Thanks for that - I better get them taken off! - Just Kampers are now saying that they will not refund me as the tyres have been on the van!! They are not listening to me and are still saying that they are suitable for a T25!! Despite the fact that I have told them that they can not be inflated to the correct psi, the load rating is too low and the 4 ply walls not good enough!

I have always had great deaalings with JK but they have been a pain in the a*** this time!

[toomanytoys]

Contact trading standards... they are not fit for purpose and even the DOT (Department of transport) might be interested in them selling items that could be dangerous..

In all likely hood they might not give any trouble.. if inflated and checked regularly, but who can tell...
The load rating system was introduced for this very purpose so how anyone can argue "weve sold loads".... wonder if they (or there insurance) would take responsibilty if an accident was attributed to the tyre they recomend and sell......

Your insurance co would be the first to cop out of it if anything did happen...

[kevtherev]

tell them you are seeking legal advice...

[funbus1]

This is interesting, My brother in law bought empi wheels with tyres from JK last year for his Bay, and i checked the tyres, They were retreads at 92 load aswell, I told him they were just "pooh" remoulds for starters, then went on to say the load rateing was no where near what we need. And his reply was the same, Reccomended by JK. Cost. WAIT, 600 bucks. i think this should be looked into.Grun your right im running on 100_102 For saftey and to keep the insurance co from voiding any claim.

[swillicott]

Funbus - That is interesting. Seems they are not really caring about what they are selling to people.

Kev - definitely will.

Toomanytoys - will look into contacting DOT aswell.

I took the van down to my local tyre place yesterday just to get it confirmed that they were wrong for the van. They said exactly the same (risk of blowout and insurance probably void) so tomorrow it will be a phone call back Just Kampers to demand a refund. I can;t believe they are blatantly selling the wring tyres and when called on it they continue to claim that they are OK!!

I will keep you posted

Steve

[toomanytoys]

Maybe ask them to put it in writing that they reckon its perfectly ok.. then they cant back out of any action they may recieve...

[swillicott]

OK... So I spoke to a Manager at Just Kampers who said that the tyres are fine for the van as the tyres VW are telling me to put on and the psi etc is based on a panel van (as the autosleepers are converted panel vans) which is a commercial vehicle and could be filled with rubble etc. Whereas, they are saying that the vehicle is no longer a commercial vehicle and and such does not require a higher rated tyre. These tyres can hold up to 630kgs per tyres and they say that should be ok?

Does anyone know if this is true and roughly how heavy a standard T25 camper van is?

I am completely confused!!!