Protyre Offers Run-Flat Advice to Caravaners

The number of vehicles utilising run-flat tyres is increasing year by year, and while typical application allows such tyres to be used for a set distance following a loss of air pressure, different issues come into play when run-flats are fitted to a vehicle that is towing a caravan or trailer. This warning has been voiced by Protyre, who says that while normally inflated run-flat tyres on a vehicle towing a caravan or trailer can be treated in the same way as a standard tyre, a deflated run-flat is only designed to cope with the demands of a solo vehicle. The additional mass of a towed caravan or trailer subjects the tyre to higher stress levels and impacts on the tyre’s in-built torsional and lateral stability. The consequences of this is, notes Protyre, that even when travelling at a restricted speed of 50 mph for 50 miles – the speed and distance recommended by most manufactures of this type of tyre – the additional flexibility of the deflated run-flat tyre may negatively affect the stability of the car/caravan combination.

To avoid this potential hazard, Protyre recommends that the distance travelled and maximum speed when driving a vehicle with deflated run-flat tyres should be further reduced. As the vehicle itself has an influence on a tyre’s performance drivers should refer to the vehicle manufacturer’s handbook for further information. The independent tyre dealer network also makes the general point that run-flat tyres should only be fitted to a vehicle that has been specifically designed to accept this technically advanced tyre and has a tyre pressure monitoring system fitted that provides the driver with an audible or visual warning of a deflating tyre. As yet no caravan or trailer is fitted with pressure monitoring system and so should not be fitted with run-flat tyres, Protyre adds.