Caravan tyre safety is crucial if you’re planning a road trip.

Your car’s acceleration, braking and handling all depend on those few square inches of rubber that contact the road. Add a touring caravan and you change the weight distribution of your vehicle. Therefore, regular caravan tyre checks are essential.

Use the following checks to keep you and your caravan safe on the road.

How to tell the year of a caravan tyre

You can check the age of a caravan tyre using the long DOT code printed on its sidewall. All you need is the last four digits.

The final two digits tell you the tyre manufacture date, e.g. 16 for 2016, 17 for 2017 and so on.

Want to dig down further? The two preceding digits give you the exact week. So, for example, ‘01’ would be early January and ‘52’ late December.

Many manufacturers recommend replacing worn-out caravan tyres when they reach six years old. So, the manufactured date is something to pay close attention to.

Tyres start to age from their date of manufacture. As such, you should always use the DOT code – and not the date you had your caravan tyres fitted. Even if they were brand new.

The best caravan tyres will give you several years of reliable use, as long as you don’t get a puncture or experience premature damage.

Should my car and caravan tyres be the same?

There are a few good reasons to have your car and caravan tyres match.

Firstly, all touring caravan tyres are either car tyres or small van tyres, so it may be possible to use the same brand of tyres throughout.

Likewise, replacing all your tyres at the same time balances your vehicle. This will give equal grip and performance from all its wheels, across both your car and caravan tyres.

It also gives you confidence about when to replace your caravan tyres. Rather than worrying about one worn-out tyre.

There are cosmetic benefits, too. Replacing all your tyres at once means you can even get matching caravan alloy wheels if you want.

You will need to get the right caravan tyre load rating to account for the extra weight of your vehicle. If you’re in any doubt, contact Tyres On The Drive and our advisors will be happy to help.

Where should I take my caravan to get new tyres fitted?

You should never drive on damaged caravan tyres. Not even a short distance. The same goes for those that have punctures, cracks, bulges or are bald.

Remember, the penalty for driving on bald tyres is three points and up to £2,500 per tyre. So, towing a caravan on worn tyres increases the risk of losing your licence in a single police check.

It’s also unsafe, especially with an unwieldy caravan behind you. But with Tyres On The Drive’s mobile tyre fitting service, there’s no need to leave your driveway.

Our technicians can come to your home and replace your caravan tyres. This includes a full service that includes rebalancing the wheels.

We can also tell you the best caravan tyres for your vehicle. This includes tyres from a wide range of premium and budget brands alike.

Do you need a spare caravan tyre? Let us know. We can supply you with an extra matching caravan tyre in case of punctures or other damage.

What are Tyron bands and will my new caravan tyres have them?

Tyron bands are an important caravan tyre safety feature. If you experience a sudden loss of caravan tyre pressure due to a puncture or blowout, Tyron bands keep the rubber in place on the wheel rim.

This gives you more control and a chance to pull over without causing severe damage due to the weight of the caravan.

You can usually tell if your current caravan tyres have Tyron bands fitted by looking for a sticker near the valve.

All Tyres On The Drive engineers are trained to remove and replace Tyron bands. We just ask for some warning, as it will take us a little longer to complete the job.