Caravan, Trailer and Motorhome Tyres Norwich

Norwich sits between the Broads and the coast, so we see more caravans, trailers, horseboxes and motorhomes than most city garages. The problem with leisure tyres is almost never tread: a caravan tyre does a few hundred miles a year and looks new for a decade. The problem is age. Rubber hardens and cracks from the inside while the caravan sits on a drive in Hethersett or a storage field near Acle, and a tyre that has plenty of tread can still fail at 60 mph on the A47 on the first trip of the season. We check the date code, the sidewalls and the load rating, and fit the right tyre for the outfit.

Tyres from £40supplied and fitted, quoted by size

Same-day fittingmost sizes, while you wait

Open 7 daysMon-Sat 8-6, Sun 10-4

3-month guaranteeor 3,000 miles on workmanship

Tyre Age: The Number That Matters

Every tyre carries a four-digit code on the sidewall after the letters DOT: 2319 means the 23rd week of 2019. Caravan and trailer manufacturers and the major caravanning clubs generally advise replacing tyres from about five years old regardless of tread, and not running them beyond seven, because the casing degrades with time, sunlight and standing still. On a car, tyres usually wear out first. On a caravan they never do, so age is the only sensible replacement trigger. If you cannot find the code, bring the outfit in and we will read it for you.

Caravan Tyres

A touring caravan puts its whole loaded weight through two, sometimes four, tyres that carry no engine braking and are often run under-inflated because nobody checks them between trips. We fit tyres with the correct load index for the caravan's maximum technically permissible laden mass (on the plate by the door), set the pressures to the manufacturer's figure rather than a guess, and fit new valves every time, because a perished valve on a caravan is as dangerous as a perished tyre. Tyron bands and similar safety systems are checked and refitted where present.

Trailers, Horseboxes and Boat Trailers

Boat trailers around Wroxham, Brundall and the Broads yards live a particularly hard life: dunked in water, left in the sun, then asked to carry a tonne down the A1151. Horseboxes and plant trailers from the farms and smallholdings around Reepham and Hingham carry heavy loads on small wheels at high pressures. Both need tyres with the right load rating and ply construction, checked for the cracking that water and UV cause. We fit them, balance them where the hub allows, and will happily check a trailer's tyres while the towing vehicle is in for its own.

Good to know

How often should caravan tyres be replaced? By age, not tread. The caravan industry and the major clubs generally advise replacement from about five years old and never running past seven, because the casing degrades while the caravan stands. Read the four-digit date code on the sidewall; we will check it for you if you are unsure.

Motorhome and Campervan Tyres

Motorhomes and larger campervans usually need CP-marked camping tyres or reinforced commercial tyres, because they carry heavy loads on the rear axle for long periods parked up. The correct pressures are often much higher than a van's, and under-inflation is the leading cause of motorhome tyre failures. We fit commercial and camping tyres in the common 15 and 16 inch motorhome sizes, and on a Sunday too: one of our five-star Google reviews is from a motorhome owner who popped in with a puncture on a Sunday and was back on the road within 15 minutes.

Before the First Trip of the Season

• Read the date codes and replace anything over five years old, whatever the tread looks like.
• Look for cracking in the sidewall grooves and around the bead: that is UV and age damage.
• Set pressures cold to the plated figure, including the spare, which is often the oldest tyre on the outfit.
• Check the wheel nuts are torqued after the first 30 miles of the season.
• Make sure the towing vehicle's own tyres are rated for the load: see our 4x4 and SUV tyres page.

We are at 100-106 Ber Street with free parking and room to bring the outfit in, open Monday to Saturday 8am to 6pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm. All fitting carries our 3-month / 3,000-mile workmanship guarantee.

How Tyre Fitting Works at Ber Street