How can I extend the life of my tyres?

• Friday, 25 July 2008
• Mike Cazelet
• 0 Comments

Keep your tyres in tiptop condition

I’ve just bought a new Swift Kon-Tiki and I’m determined to keep it as close to new condition as I can because I did that with my old Elddis and got a cracking part exchange value. Only one thing devalued the Elddis, the state of the tyres. Although I kept the tyres covered when I wasn’t using the van, at five years old the tyres had sidewall cracking due to the action of daylight. Except for the cracking, the tyres were like new, but because the dealer would have to replace them to sell my old van, my part-exchange allowance was reduced. How can I extend the life of my tyres?
Alain Moffat, Edinburgh

Mike says 

Since the tyres fitted to our motor caravans are usually designed for high mileage commercial use it isn’t unusual to find that whilst there is plenty of life left in the tread, the sidewalls have degraded and cracked after a few years. This is partly due to the effect of ultra violet light (in daylight) and the only protection is to completely cover the tyre with a light-proof material when the motor caravan is in store. Plastic bin bags are useless because they quickly tear. Heavy duty wheely bin liners would probably be better. Alternatively a number of dealers sell tailored wheel covers which are a neater option.
Cleaning the tyres regularly is essential. The rain on the road surface is actually a mixture of water, acids, diesel oil and, particularly during the winter months, salt. This mix is highly corrosive. Wash the tyres with a solution of car shampoo, and then dry off. Don’t use washing up liquid which contains highly corrosive salt. There are also a number of specialist tyre cleaning products on the market which all seem to work well.
There are three types of treatment you can then use. The silicon type materials seem to primarily make the tyres look shiny new, but are also said to protect from sun aging. Only an extensive research programme will prove this one way or the other.
Secondly there are tyre paints, and they do seem to help protect against sun aging. But unless you are careful applying them they look like you’ve just slapped some black paint on the tyres.
I’m still a great fan of the oldest trick in the book. Applying a thick coat of black shoe polish and then brushing to a shine. This really can extend sidewall life. Which ever treatment you use don’t apply it to the tread area or you’ll lose grip.