Switzerland just got expensive !

jagmanx said:
UPDATE from Comfort Breakdown policy documentation

The following is EXCLUDED

replacing a wheel if your vehicle does not have a serviceable spare wheel !

So no way we will move until all is 100%
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I've had that same approach from Brit Insurance (Underwriter) - I told them; as coming off Pride of Bilbao in Portsmouth, I change a Puncture some miles later at Shell Petrol on their CCTV and they said you shouldn't have changed it without their consent because I now don't have Proof. Then some miles further on when I got to the RAC Tower M6 North, same again now this time my Spare was used = £300 Highways Agency tow to JTN 9 Wendsbury exit and walk to Kwik Fit next morn on a Bank Holiday. I took it to the Ombudsman and won against Brit Insurance.
 
Nightwalker said:
But note that this is for rear drive vehicles, and most motorhomes are front wheel drive. New tyres on the front for me.....I like to drive out of trouble anD have the grip and steering on the front.
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Nightwalker said:
But note that this is for rear drive vehicles, and most motorhomes are front wheel drive. New tyres on the front for me.....I like to drive out of trouble anD have the grip and steering on the front.
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If I was just replacing one or two I would probably go front for same reason as mine is rear wheel drive. Not saying that’s right or wrong just something I have grown up with
 
If you have a front tyre blowout it is a lot easier to control than a rear tyre blowout, I will be replacing my front tyres soon but the new ones will be put on the rear and the old rears swopped to the front
 
I don’t think there is one ‘best’ for a blowout. I had a front blowout on a Saab 900 doing over 90 on a motorway years ago. Didn’t know it was a blowout just started to get a mild hammering through the steering wheel and suspected a wheel bearing til I stopped to find tyre almost in half.

Had a tyre delaminates suddenly and burst on the back on my XS1100 that ripped the stainless braided brake lines and rear wiring loom out travelling a bit over a ton. That would have been nasty but I had a sidecar so again was okay.

Last blowout I remember was last year with the van, doing 70 on the way to Norfolk and a tremendous bang and I brought it to a stop. Some folks at Henley saw the big hole where a big chunk of sidewalk had gone. That did no damage and was no problem getting to a halt.

Must be down to vehicle you are in/on, road conditions and weather I think because all of mine were thankfully easily controllable. I much prefer to lose the back end than steering if anything goes wrong though with the exception of some situations on a solo motorbike.
 
I`ve always put new tyres on the front.

It`s easier to maintain control when losing the rear end that it is losing the front end.
 
I think on balance new tyres are best on the front. The advice re new tyres on the rear seems to be focused on driving at speed in extremely wet conditions. The rear wheels also carry more weight than the front which improves grip. The no 1 scenario for me is driving down steep hills with hairpin bends at less than 30 or even 20 mph.
Newer tyres on the front is surely best ?
Also grip when going uphill given front wheel drive. !
 
Yes expensive.
A 5 nights camping 193 Francs = £155

B 2 new tyres and associated costs 550 Francs = £440.
Very smart Garage and the owner swapped the Wheels round as requested.
New tyres on the front. And a good spare.
 
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Nightwalker said:
But note that this is for rear drive vehicles, and most motorhomes are front wheel drive. New tyres on the front for me.....I like to drive out of trouble anD have the grip and steering on the front.
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Raddy said:
Suppose it works both ways as if any Tyre is going to Fail at 50mph>> I'd rather that Tyre blow-out on the rear - I've had two front blow-outs in my time, doesn't give time to get lane 1 from lane 2! So; I tend to keep New to the front and aged to the rear.
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As a retired hgv driver for 41 years I would rather have good tyres on steering axle when one goes that's when you find adrenaline is brown
Plus that video was dated 2002 and then most American cars where rear wheel drive my beleve anyway
 
jagmanx said:
Bugger !
Switzerland just got expensive !
Or should I say will get when we pay !
Driving from our campsite (£33 a night) up the Lauterbrunnen valley and rear-tyre goes flat !
Our breakdown cover (Comfort/Aviva) worked well and a guy arrived within an hour and duly replaced the flat tyre with our 13year old spare.
Friday evening so no garages open except a garage local to our camp-sie but he cannot do until Wednesday SO 5 nights.
Not sensible to drive anywhere without a spare.
However the camp-site deal gives us free local travel in and around Interlaken and reductions if we choose to go up one of the railways.
We will need to buy 2 new tyres to fit on the front !
Move the 2 good front tyres to the rear and use the remaining good tyre on the rear as the spare. I do not fancy driving at even 40mph on a 13 year old tyre !
ps all the 4 tyres in use were new in 2015 .
The local guy cannot do the job until Wednesday so 5 nights here https://goo.gl/maps/37yc8rGpfDZWDiV1A
This was the puncture drive https://goo.gl/maps/LVqzyxvncFNeA1UU7
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Just a note re underslung spares. My lwb Ducati was 18 months old when I bought it and I didn't think to drop the spare for a full examination as I could see the tread and by banging it with a hammer I knew the pressure was ok. I first decided to do a full check when the vehicle was nearly 3 years old. The lowering mechanism worked fine but I couldn't separate the wheel due to corrosion without liberal amounts of WD40 and some pretty robust action with a big screwdriver and hammer. Not what you need to be doing on the hard shoulder in the rain or anywhere to be honest. I cleaned it all up, sanded and painted it and smothered the fitting and where it fits the wheel with grease and also oiled the cable for good measure. Even so, when I tried it a year later it was still a little tricky to free and some corrosion had come back but it was manageable.
I told a mate who had just brought a 7 year old van to check his......the mechanism failed when he tried to release it!!!
I'm now going to source a spare wheel cover I think.
 
blosax said:
Just a note re underslung spares. My lwb Ducati was 18 months old when I bought it and I didn't think to drop the spare for a full examination as I could see the tread and by banging it with a hammer I knew the pressure was ok. I first decided to do a full check when the vehicle was nearly 3 years old. The lowering mechanism worked fine but I couldn't separate the wheel due to corrosion without liberal amounts of WD40 and some pretty robust action with a big screwdriver and hammer. Not what you need to be doing on the hard shoulder in the rain or anywhere to be honest. I cleaned it all up, sanded and painted it and smothered the fitting and where it fits the wheel with grease and also oiled the cable for good measure. Even so, when I tried it a year later it was still a little tricky to free and some corrosion had come back but it was manageable.
I told a mate who had just brought a 7 year old van to check his......the mechanism failed when he tried to release it!!!
I'm now going to source a spare wheel cover I think.
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Thanks yes can be tricky.
Our mechanism is wind down with nuts & bolts.
I have sprayed it every so often and again just recently whilst the spare wheel was "away on holiday" removing the wheel ok .
However I think it should be done at least once a year preferably 2x Once when we store the vehicle in Sept and again when we start to use it again in April
Now that I have 3 matching tyres (2 on the rear and the spare I think I will rotate these 3 every year which will also resolve the ease of use of the underslung mechanism.
 
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