Hi, we have a VW T5 campervan and it needs new tyres. We have OE suspension and Davenport 17" alloys.
We do lots of singletrack and farmer-field camping, so would like a tyre that's maybe all-season or at least, OK with rough roads and occasional wet field. Albeit, most of the miles are on standard roads. Plus, I'd like something a little larger for simple appearances!
Seen lots of vans in the Alps with Michelin Cross Climates (I think) so a chunky version seems like a good way to go?
Any tyre recos that are van weight/load OK and critically, what's the max size I can go up to on my current rims without any rubbing?
Cheers
P.S. I'm pretty up with motorbike tyres, but found searching around van tyres a minefield!
We have Michelin Agilis Cross Climates on our motorhome. Served us well from muddy race days to Alps trips
And to add, current tyres are Continental Van Contact Eco 215 60 17 (and we haven't yet got stuck in a muddy field!)
Im about to put two new ones on our t5.1...
I too have had a couple of muddy fields. We almost exclusively drive rural Scottish ( and Irish) roads. I've not yet found current Goodyear Cargo's wanting. I've not got stuck. They've had no damage.
IMO, I am going the 99.9% use case.
So road tyres.
Falken do all-season tyres and are generally well regarded
We've got Uniroyal all-season max on our camper
Yokohama go15 all terrains are very good compromise. Great on wet grass and mud, very good in snow and good wet handling. Also don't hit economy like a full aggressive off road tyre
After reading this thread again, I've checked tyre prices on Black Circles ahead of mrs_oab heading to our usual tyre supplier on Monday.
Daaaamn, tyres got expensive.
Thanks all .. and like matt, price might dictate a degree of selection!!!
And am I right thinking a 245 65 17 tyre (load rated) will be the max size?
Cheers
Falken Wildpeak A/T. All season with a sensibly aggressive tread as I’m often parked on a field with a horse trailer.
The two tyre sizes you’ve quoted are a big increase, what is the stock size before you put the 17s on? The increase in the sizes you’ve said is 8.5% which is quite a big increase, and if it’s already got a larger size on it…
You’ve mentioned load rated but do you know the actual load rating, and speed? For a van you normally need a C (commercial) tyre which is not the same as load rating, some brands use LT (light truck) but usually it just means they are a stronger 8ply construction, and the same size tyre may be sold both as a car tyre construction and separately as C or LT, so be careful when shopping for prices and you see the ‘same’ tyre cheaper. Also look up the width/ratio of tyres if not already aware…the ratio (sidewall) is a percentage of the width so a wider tyre will be bigger even if the ratio is the same. Mine below are same width but taller ratio. WIDTH/RATIOR16
I went (not VW) from 225/65R16 to 225/75R16, a 6.5% increase in circumference. Visually much bigger, speedo reading affected (happily it’s gone from the usual over reading to spot on, but you do need to remember that when creeping over) and also I can feel that the van is a bit higher geared when pulling away, especially when towing.
We have a new shaped Movano (Peugeot Boxer) and I changed the 15" steel wheels to 16" alloys.
This was a very useful website for working out what fits and the overall dimensions etc.
WILLTHEYFIT.COM Another thing to consider is that somewhere in the vehicle will be a plate with the max load per axle.
Your tyres and alloys have to be load rated to cope with those weights or you could fail an MOT if they are not rated high enough.
Also consider your spare tyre. In places like France you have to have the same tyre tread on both wheels on an axle.
As it's a T5 all this info will be on the web already.
For year round use and fields on a van I find it hard to come up with reasons not to go all season.
Most van tires are made for economy on the motorway and are in essence 3/5/7 slick tires with a rain groove between them and minimal /low profile siping.
I remember turning in the rain with the van contacts on the iveco. It was merely a suggestion to direction then there was the time I got stuck axle deep on my own grassy drive in the rain.
Once I put all seasons on I never had an issue again.
I've got some Michelin agilis commercial nonsense on the current van and they will be going as soon as interiors finished. Complete nonsense on anything remotely snowy or muddy but I do carry and have used chains in both muddy and snow conditions I'd still rather not
How long does you can stand idle? Motorhomes have cp rated tyres that have beefed up sidewalls to cope with long periods of not moving. If your using you van as a daily as well then this is probably irrelevant
@spooky ... the tyre sticker on the inside of the door specifies 235 55 17 103T ... so recommended tyre size and load (I think). My tyres are 215 60 17 commercial.
However, plenty of VW forum chat suggests 245 65 17 works well.
Hence my confusion!
And from the recos above, the Yokohama Geolander at 235 65 17 look good and relatively reasonable price
Cross climates on ours.. used to just run winters all year round - - occasionally I'd be tripped up by using them in the scottish summer, but i was usually working that day
I've got Mazzini Cross AllSeason AS8 235/55 R17 W (103) on my T5.1 T30 Kombi after a "nearly beached" on wet grass moment. No louder and no worse on fuel than the normal road tyres that they replaced.
My old t5 on Yokohama geolanders in 225/70 16 flavour
