Is it advisable to lift the wheels off the ground over winter when not using your caravan, or will they be ok left on the ground, advice please. thank you,
The more you do to look after your tyres the better so yes. Lift them off the ground or jack up & reposition wheel every month. Also you can cover them to protect from uv rays. As sensibly you will be changing them every 5yrs anyway I’ve no idea whether any of the above will make the slightest difference over just checking tyre pressures & wheelnuts before a trip.
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Thank you anyway, some say it dont matter, some say lift them off the ground, some say turn them every so often, also some peaple say dont leave the hand brake on your caravan, What do you do for the best.
I don't use winter wheels and didn't do when the caravan wasn't used in winter. I now use the van in winter, before then I used to roll the caravan every couple of weeks a few feet up and down my drive. Never had a problem with my tyres apart from a recent faulty valve seating. If your vans in storage they may have rules about using winter wheels. As far as the handbrake is concerned my preference has always been to leave the handbrake off with the wheels chocked to help prevent the brake from seizing. As you have said some do and some don't. Winter wheels are advertised on UKCS Winter Wheels others will be available but I don't know the prices.
Most caravan dealers stock wheel chocks - think I got mine years ago from Towsure - if you google "wheel chocks" you see a variety of types and prices - you just want those that will stop the tyres moving. I started using chocks on my drive years ago when I realised that even with the steadies down the van was being moved by a gale. I bought them to stop movement and prevent damage to the steadies.
I left my handbrake on a car once for four months, it seized. The RAC guy took a big hammer and belted the wheel hub to free it off, learnt the lesson and applied it to my caravan, I never leave the handbrake on. On site I chock the wheels, let the handbrake off and then put the legs down, it works for me
When we had a caravan initially I put the van up on axle stands over winter. Where we worked going away November to January was not possible anyway. Anyway as our caravans got bigger I was not so comfortable trying to balance it on the stands so purchased a couple of wheel rims and put old tyres on them and put the proper wheels in the garage. Another advantage of doing that was that I could always move the carav if I needed to. If you are tempted to use Winter Wheels, always check with your insurance company as some don't like them.
See the cacc datasheet re winter wheels Winter wheels can't say I necessarily agree with the insurance companies but if you want their product you need to abide by their conditions. I can see that storage facilities may not be too keen if they have to move vans quickly.
ahh yes...the fire risk issue...being able to move in an emergency etc ..
I have mine indoors so take the wheels off and put it on axle stands with a bit of wood to support the stub axles/hubs ( so they aren't dangling )
I have some fIAMMA moulded tyre savers...I use these on site to stop it sinking into wet grass but I think they are intended for long term storage to stop your tyres getting a flat spot over time.
The easy solution is to use the caravan regularly all year. Our caravan is as warm as our house, possibly warmer and the heating is included in the site fee so it makes economic sense to use a caravan all year.
------------- We camped for years. In 2019 we bought an Elddis Avante 454. We like it as it is short (6.9m) and fits in our driveway and has a fixed bed.
We had 127 nights away in the caravan in 2023.
Had Caravans for over 40 years. I just move the caravan a few inches every few weeks. I never leave the handbrake on in storage. Never had any problems.
Quote: Originally posted by John4703 on 14/1/2018
The easy solution is to use the caravan regularly all year. Our caravan is as warm as our house, possibly warmer and the heating is included in the site fee so it makes economic sense to use a caravan all year.