More on our eventful trip to Danbury...

Blog (www.C13MPR.com)

What was wrong with the wheels themselves?

The front one was damaged on the motorway. It wouldn't hold air under pressure. The rear two, along with the tyres, had become misshapen, possibly because I hadn't moved the van from Oct to March.

I'm no mechanic, but why would the rims get misshapen simply by the van not being moved. Is it just the type you have fitted or is it common to 'stainless' rims?

My neighbour says he's seen it before with alloys.

I've only seen wheels misshaped with impact damage or BMW rims which were susceptible to cracking

are the wheels suitably load rated for the Kombi if they are aftermarket alloys?

The alloys came with the van from new, RayC.

RayC wrote:

are the wheels suitably load rated for the Kombi if they are aftermarket alloys?

This would be my concern as the wheels should never buckle just sitting still, inferior batch of wheels perhaps?

Maybe, but they've been replaced so all sorted.

RayC wrote:

I've only seen wheels misshaped with impact damage or BMW rims which were susceptible to cracking

are the wheels suitably load rated for the Kombi if they are aftermarket alloys?

This is what I was thinking. 17" rims on a T2 are a relatively new thing. I'm wondering if others were checked if they'd show the same characteristics. Keep in mind that Absinthe is a well used BraziBay so will have covered a lot more kms than your average 3-4 year old Kombi. All for good reasons of course!

Plus she often pulls a loaded trailer.

Valid points, Tim. Danbury thought the trailer might not have helped, although truth be told we don't always take it with us.

Well worth checking what the weight rating is for your alloys, should be stamped on the inside rim or the inside of one of the spokes. If there, it will be a weight in kg.

AbsintheKombi wrote:

Danbury thought the trailer might not have helped

The trailer is not putting any weight down onto the wheels of the bus really at all, that's what the trailers wheels are for taking the weight of the trailer and contents.

if you see my thread on tyres and pressures you can see loads, I doubt 17" wheels will have the load capacity required for the Kombi mt 15" alloys say 600 KG on them

the trailer should not apply much extra as the ball weight will be low, but the effective damping offered by the 17" tyre will be much lower as the sidewall is smaller and stiffer

It might be worth putting your van on a free weigh bridge and seeing the axle weights then double checking the tyre load index and wheel capacity to be certain everything is OK

We've the same alloys as Abs so slightly worried!! At VWK tomorrow so will gauge their thoughts..

Next person to view is 26000 views
Well done

Sorry but had to log out and back in again but it gone upto 26004. The Ocd was kicking in
At least it's an even number

Thanks Marcus. Trouble is that number includes the "bots" that trawl all over looking at things.

We needed a new rear tyre today , before MOT Dave at VWK detected large bulge on inner tyre wall which he suggested was probably caused by a pot hole.. Fortunately no damage to alloy but could have easily have blown out just like Abs.. Need to stay well clear of the pesky pot holes..

Oops. Hope it's all sorted BB.

All sorted thanks Abs, we didn't have a clue so thankful that it was picked up on the service really..
Think I'll inspect the tyres s little more often and more thoroughly from now on..

What is load rating of 17" tyres?