Tyre Maintenance & Replacement Guide

Your tyres are the only thing between your caravan and the road. After 18 months on the road, I’ve learned that proper tyre maintenance isn’t just about safety—it’s about avoiding the stress of a blowout 200km from the nearest town with a screaming toddler in the back seat.

This guide walks you through everything you need to know about maintaining and replacing caravan tyres. You’ll learn how to check your tyres properly, when to replace them, and how to handle the replacement process without getting ripped off.

1. Check Your Tyre Pressure

Check your tyre pressure before every trip and at least weekly during extended travel. Cold tyres (not driven for 3+ hours) give the most accurate reading.

Your caravan’s tyre pressure requirements are on a placard inside the caravan or on the A-frame. Most single-axle caravans run 50-65 PSI, while tandem-axle vans often need 55-75 PSI. Don’t guess—under-inflated tyres cause blowouts, while over-inflated tyres wear unevenly.

Remove the valve cap and press your gauge firmly onto the valve stem. The reading should appear immediately. Add air if needed using a 12V compressor—petrol station compressors often can’t reach caravan pressures.

2. Inspect Tyre Condition

Walk around your caravan before each travel day and look for obvious damage. You’re checking for cuts, bulges, cracks, or embedded objects like nails or stones.

Do a thorough monthly inspection of the tread and sidewalls. Crouch down and examine each tyre systematically:

• Tread depth: Use a 20-cent coin in the main grooves. If you can see the platypus’s bill, your tread is below 1.6mm and legally worn out
• Uneven wear: Check both edges and the centre. Wear on the edges suggests under-inflation, while centre wear indicates over-inflation
• Sidewall cracks: Small surface cracks are normal aging, but deep cracks that you can stick a fingernail into mean replacement time
• Bulges or blisters: These indicate internal damage and require immediate replacement

Check the inside sidewalls too by using a torch or getting down on the ground. Road debris and kerb damage often affect the inner sidewall first.

3. Rotate Your Tyres

Rotate your caravan tyres every 10,000km or 6 months to ensure even wear. This is especially important on tandem-axle caravans where the rear axle typically works harder during braking.

For tandem-axle caravans, swap the tyres straight across—left front to left rear, right front to right rear. Single-axle caravans can swap left to right, though this makes less difference than on dual-axle setups.

Mark each tyre’s position with chalk before starting. Loosen the wheel nuts while the tyre is still on the ground, jack up the caravan, remove the wheel completely, and swap positions. Retighten wheel nuts to the specified torque—typically 140-160 Nm for most caravan wheels.

4. Determine When to Replace Tyres

Replace caravan tyres based on age, not just tread depth. Caravan tyres often age out before they wear out because caravans cover fewer kilometres than daily-driven cars.

The general rule is 5-7 years maximum, regardless of tread depth. Check the manufacture date on the tyre sidewall—it’s a four-digit code in an oval. “2319” means the 23rd week of 2019.

Replace immediately if you find:

• Tread depth below 1.6mm (legal minimum)
• Sidewall cracks deeper than 1mm
• Any bulges, blisters, or visible cords
• Irregular wear patterns that can’t be fixed by pressure adjustment
• Age over 7 years, or 5 years if you’re doing remote area travel

Don’t wait until you have a failure. Replace tyres in pairs on the same axle to maintain even handling characteristics.

5. Buy Replacement Tyres

Buy the exact size and load rating specified on your caravan’s compliance plate. Don’t downgrade the load rating to save money—caravan tyres work much harder than car tyres.

For replacement tyres, you have three main options:

• Original Equipment (OE) tyres: Same brand and model as fitted by the manufacturer. Usually the safest choice but often expensive
• Brand name alternatives: Michelin, Bridgestone, or Continental equivalents. Good quality but research the specific model
• Chinese imports: Cheap options like Westlake or Triangle. Fine for budget builds but don’t expect long life or high-speed capability

Shop around—prices vary wildly. Costco often has competitive prices on major brands. Rural tyre shops sometimes offer better deals than city stores, and many will fit tyres while you wait.

Always buy four tyres at once if your existing ones are near replacement time. You’ll get better pricing and ensure consistent performance.

6. Fit New Tyres

Professional fitting is worth the cost for most travellers. Caravan wheels are heavy, and proper balancing requires equipment most people don’t own.

When having tyres fitted, insist on:

• New valve stems—rubber degrades over time
• Proper wheel balancing—unbalanced wheels cause premature bearing wear
• Torque to specification—over-tightening damages threads, under-tightening causes wheels to come loose
• Pressure check before you leave—many shops set passenger car pressures by habit

If you’re fitting tyres yourself, you’ll need professional equipment to mount and balance them. The only practical DIY approach is carrying a spare set of wheels and swapping complete wheel assemblies.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Don’t check tyre pressure on hot tyres. Pressure increases as tyres heat up from driving, giving you a false reading that’s 5-8 PSI higher than cold pressure.

Never mix radial and bias-ply tyres on the same axle. The different construction types handle differently and can cause stability problems. If you need to replace one damaged tyre, replace both on that axle.

Don’t ignore the spare tyre. Check its pressure monthly and replace it on the same schedule as your main tyres. A 7-year-old spare isn’t much use when you need it.

Avoid buying part-worn tyres from wreckers. You don’t know their history, and the small saving isn’t worth the risk on a caravan that might be travelling remote areas.

Don’t rely on visual inspection alone for pressure. Radial tyres can look properly inflated even when they’re 20% under-pressure. Always use a gauge.