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We have a 1996 Avondale Pennine XL. On a trip to York recently we had the worst luck!! On the road to Scotch Corner one of the tyres blew out, my OH got safely into the side of the road and we saw that the floor was shot near the entrance but nothing that couldnt be repaired. He put on the spare and we carried on our journey, (the damage wasnt so bad that the van was unusable) 15 minutes down the road we pulled in to get a sandwich in a laybye and noticed the other wheel had the rim flapping round but hadnt acxtually blew out!! We couldnt believe it. this time the shower floor had a hole in where the waste hole was. We got tyre services to come out and put 2 new tyres on and again looking on the positive side carried on.( Tyres WERE checked the day before and before we set off BTW) On our way home after a lovely few days we pulled into Catterick caravans to see what they thought of the damage (having already contacted our insurer) and they felt the van was unrepairable due to Avondale going into administration and parts not being available. We decided to get another quote as the van was in such good condition surely it couldnt be a write off. We got a local guy to assess things and he said if he could get a shower tray for it he could probably repair it. Unfortunatley he tried to get parts to no avail and also declared it unrepairable. The insurers sent out an assessor and he said basically the same thing. Having heard nothing from the insurers for a while we rang up to be told that we could keep the van and have £2000 towards repair costs. We asked what if we didnt keep the van and were told that they wouldnt write it off as it was repairable. Basically we are stuck, we cant get parts for the van (the shower tray is the problem it fits over the wheel arch) so we cant get it repaired and the insurers said if they took it to get repaired it could take 4,6,8 months or even longer to repair!! This is all because Avondale are Kaput. We rang the assessor for advice and he said the insurers wouldnt likely budge even though  he said it was beyond repair as if it was another make of caravan it would be repairable!! I am raging. Whats the point of having an Avondale if its worthless and why arent insurers telling their customers this? Ill never get another caravan as nice for less than 5K as looking about mine is more modern than some of the new ones!! I dont know what to do next, Im stuck with a knackered caravan that cant be fixed!!

Sorry to hear about your problem as I have an Avondale also, (2006 model) and this has aready entered my mind about possible lack of spares after an accident

About 20 years ago I bought a "new, 5 year old" Marathon 13/5 from my local dealer, which was bancrupt stock, due to the manufacture going bust in the early 80's, and that was perfect for the next 11 years when I sold it. So here's hoping!

In view of the present situation, are Avondales less likely to be stolen due to lack of spares, or more likely and be stripped for spares? What would a good used front or rear panel be worth?

So sorry to hear all this, I do hope you can get something sorted, it's really not fair is it

Or try here http://www.johndoman.co.uk/page_1055282.html or http://www.caravanningnow.co.uk/caravanning/breakers.htm 

Personally I wouldn't give us just yet.  £2,000 is a lot of money - you could probably have a shower tray formed for you by a plastics manufacturer for a lot less than that.  In the meantime you could make do without using the shower by always using sites with a shower block, put a rug in the shower tray to cover the damage - and just get the other side of the van repaired.  It's awful for you to be told it's unrepairable - but I would think it's more than likely you could find a suitable tray somewhere - although it may take a little time.  

There are also a number of writers on this forum who have repaired their shower trays using a variety of methods - is the hole so big that it's not repairable in this way?

I was told by our local caravan centre that manufacturers only produce spares for 10yrs.If yours is a '96 then they wouldn't be available wether the firm had gone bust or not.If the asseser has said its unrepairable then that should be enough for the insurance company.

I would get a price to have one made specially and factor in the cost of your man to fit it,see if it comes to more than the £2000 offered. At least another option for the insurers to consider.

Manufacturers don't keep making spares for ever.If you have a 12 year old washer you would probably not get spares now if it was not in production.Someone somewhere will have one or as others have said it can be made and you will have the money to do it. Put together a price for the repairs and if it comes to more than they are offering they may raise their offer to clear the claim.

Andy

It is only when you read letters like this that yiou realise how easily major damage can be done to your caravan by a simple blowout.

If ever there was an advert for fitting Tyron Bands to your van, this has to be it.

If these bands had been fitted, the damage would have been one blowout and nowt else. A small price to pay for peace of mind.

How would Tyrons have prevented the damage?  They don't prevent blowouts, it was the tyre tread flapping about that caused the damage, and it is not reported that it came off the rim.

A similar thing happened to me years ago, but the tread only wore a hole in the wheel arch, which I repaired with fibreglass. (Again the tyre did not come off the rim!)

Sorry to hear of your problem, its not nice when it happens.

But, and don't shoot me for saying it, I think this was an avoidable problem. Two tyres failing, straight away tells me they were old and / or faulty tyres! Plus its a 12yr old van so the chances of it having old tyres is a lot higher.

Quote: It is only when you read letters like this that yiou realise how easily major damage can be done to your caravan by a simple blowout.

If ever there was an advert for fitting Tyron Bands to your van, this has to be it.

If these bands had been fitted, the damage would have been one blowout and nowt else. A small price to pay for peace of mind.

Forgive my ignorance as I don't have Tyron bands . . . .

But they don't STOP punctures do they? It means you can carry on with a fairly stable outfit giving you time to stop?

With a blow out, isn't it that the tyre has failed due to defect (quite often old age) and the rubber literally explodes and the remains flap about until you stop?

And its bits of the old tyre that actually causes the damage?

That is how I understand it. Now if that is correct, having Tyron bands would not have stopped the damage would they?

Personally I'd rather spend the Tyron band money on new tyres!

A warnig to people checking their tyres:

Just looking at the tyre does not mean it won't fail. If you are going to do a visual inspection, remove the wheel from the caravan so you can check both inner and outer tyre walls and all around the tread. The smallest sign of ANY cracking or perishing of the rubber, no matter how insignificant it appears, is a sign to say "Change Me". You will never wear out a caravan tyres tread, so don't ever use tread depth as an indication of servicability please.

Shop around and a pair of proper tyres for ANY caravan can be had for under £100 fully fitted. Its just not worth the risk.

I would change tyres every 4 years even if the tyres looked to be ok, as the older they get, the less reliable they are.

And if you buy a second hand van, the first thing you want to do is have new tyres fitted. It just could be the best £100 you spend!

All the above is to the best of my knowledge. If in any doubt about your tyres, get the checked out by a pro..

PS.Is it right Tyron bands are in the region of £200 inc fitting?

Chaz - Hoping my post hasn't offended!

Our Tyron Bands came as a standard fitting with the van so I cannot tell you how much they cost.

Tyres that blowout when tyron bands are fitted, do not tend to shred and therefore do not cause secondary damage to the caravan.

Blondieanddi did state that in their opinion their tyres were checked beforehand and that they were in good condition.

In this respect I repeat my claim that had tyron bands been fitted, the damage to their caravan would have been much less than was actually the case.

However, it is horses for courses and if you do not believe the claims by the manufacturers of these Bands, then there is nothing I can say that will make you think otherwise.

I was talking to someone on a site about Tyron bands (which came fitted to our van) and he said that tyre fitters do not like fitting them as they take longer and are a fiddle to change.  Anyone agree?

Carol