Insurance issues if not run non commercial tyres on ur bus?

[mattp]

I have a set of rims on my bus and they have regular tyres on them, not van tyres so therefore car tyres. As friends of mine point out the van would have come from the factory with commercial rated tyres on and as such this does give the insurance company a possibly chance to wriggle out of payment to me in the event of a crash as their position would be that the tyres I have are not designed for a bus and are therefore not up to the job.

Now I don't want this thread to desend into people saying how long / many miles they have run their busses on car tyres, slam tyres, smart car tyres etc OR that they have legit MOT's as this is not the question.

My question is purely to find out what type of tyres I can fit to my bus and keep legit as far as insurance is concerned. I am aware that car tyres have come along way and that many large cars probably weigh the same as a bus anyway so the tyres are probably ok. I am actually most probably going to fit commercial 185 tyres to my 14" rims as I would like the maximum comfortable crusing speed on the motorway and like my speedo to be accurate, granted that I may to for a slightly lower profile (say 70 / 75) as I think stock was 80.

Comments, suggestion etc please...

Thanks, Matt

 

[Justin & Muttley]

I can appreciate your dilema - the best thing is to call your insurers and let them decide, get any decision in writing and then you'll know that you're safe!

 

[mattp]

Good point, thanks.

Just been calling around for tyres.

A transit connect (light commercial) 6 ply tyre has a load rating of 100kg (Avon 185/80/14)

A car tyre, 4 ply has a load rating of 88kg -very little in it.

Anyone know what the load rating would have been on the original factory tyres as the tyre place seemed to suggest it would have been more in line with the car tyre than the light commercial tyre?

 

[AxlFoley]

i guess the only person tht would give you the right answer would be your insurance compaineis, tbh i would say a lot of new road cars are probably heavier than a bay!!

 

[Clarkson46]

The original tyres were 8 ply re-enforced and would equal a modern day Transit (the full size one). Remember the Bay window in its original form was a 1 ton van so would have had to carry the van plus a ton payload or around 2175 kg gross vehicle weight and carry that lot at 65 mph all day. It this parameter that determines tyre spec. As someone said above talk to your insurers but be aware that some will say "modified vehicle" and cancel your insurance. I was refused insurance on a Type 25 because it had 2 sliding doors and was therefore "a modified vehicle" despite the fact that it left the factory built that way.

 

[mjknight71]

What tyres do the 'new' Danbury Rio's have on them with the 15" BRM/lowering 'optional extra' :?:

Can a wheel and tyre place (eg MWS) advertise wheels and tyre sets for a bus that would not be ok? :shock:

Looking below...

Load index Load in kg Load index Load in kg Load index Load in kg
80 450 84 500 88 560
81 462 85 515 89 580
82 475 86 530 90 600
83 487 87 545 91 615


Camper unladen (approx) 1500kg
Camper laden (approx) 2300kg
(figures from '72 handbook http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/72bus/72II-85.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false

......most car tyres would safely carry the bus......just dont put anything in it :mrgreen:

 

[Guest]

well even if you multiply those figures per tyre by 4 you get around 2000 kg total?

the same weight as a loaded bus?

my golf tdi is 1400kg unladen, add 4 or 5 (large) adults at 100kg each? that nearly 1900kg?

so for a bus to be totally safe you would need a tyre with a load index of 2300/4= 575kg? so that 89+ rating?

what rating have the standard bus tyres got? i thought it was 80? (450kg)

LOAD INDEXES
Most tyres carry markings on them which give their load (number) and speed (letter) rating. The load index is a numerical code that corresponds to the maximum load a tyre can carry at the speed indicated by its speed letter under specific service conditions. The following weights are a guide only. Please contact us for information on any load ratings not shown below.

71 345kg 761lbs
72 355kg 783lbs
73 365kg 805lbs
74 375kg 827lbs
75 387kg 853lbs
76 400kg 882lbs
77 412kg 908lbs
78 425kg 937lbs
79 437kg 963lbs
80 450kg 992lbs
81 462kg 1019lbs
82 475kg 1047lbs
83 487kg 1074lbs
84 500kg 1102lbs
85 515kg 1135lbs
86 530kg 1168lbs
87 545kg 1201lbs
88 560kg 1235lbs
89 580kg 1279lbs
90 600kg 1323lbs
91 615kg 1356lbs
92 630kg 1389lbs
93 650kg 1433lbs
94 670kg 1477lbs
95 690kg 1521lbs
96 710kg 1565lbs
97 730kg 1609lbs
98 750kg 1653lbs
99 775kg 1709lbs
100 800kg 1764lbs
101 825kg 1819lbs
102 850kg 1874lbs
103 875kg 1929lbs
104 900kg 1984lbs
105 925kg 2039lbs
106 950kg 2094lbs
107 975kg 2149lbs
108 1000kg 2205lbs
109 1030kg 2271lbs
110 1060kg 2337lbs
111 1090kg 2403lbs
112 1120kg 2568lbs
113 1150kg 2535lbs
114 1180kg 2601lbs
115 1215kg 2679lbs
116 1250kg 2756lbs
117 1285kg 2833lbs
118 1320kg 2910lbs
119 1360kg 2998lbs
120 1400kg 3087lbs
121 1450kg 3197lbs
122 1500kg 3307lbs
123 1550kg 3417lbs
124 1600kg 3528lbs
125 1650kg 3638lbs
126 1700kg 3748lbs
127 1750kg 3858lbs
128 1800kg 3969lbs
129 1850kg 4079lbs
130 1900kg 4189lbs

SPEED RATINGS
The letter indicating the speed rating gives the speed at which the tyre can carry the load corresponding to it’s load index.

H 130mph 210kph
L 75mph 120kph
M 81mph 130kph
N 87mph 140kph
P 93mph 150kph
Q 99mph 160kph
R 106mph 170kph
S 112mph 180kph
T 118mph 190kph
U 124mph 200kph
V 149mph 240kph
VR 130+mph 210+kph
W 168mph 270kph
Y 186mph 300kph
Z 150+mph 240+kph
ZR 150+mph 240+kph

 

[sparkywig]

I've got a pair of Firestone Firehawk 185/60/15 on the front and a pair of Semperit SpeedComfort 195/65/15 on the back of my van.
The Firestone's load rating are 88 (560Kg) and the Semperit's load rating are 91 (615Kg).
If in doubt just ring and ask the tyre fitter. Don't go just on price though, remember this is the only contact with the road and it's only the size of a piece of A4 paper in total. :shock:

Try this link for load ratings
http://www.etyres.co.uk/glossary-tyre-terms?term=load-rating" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[mattp]

The original tyres were 8 ply re-enforced and would equal a modern day Transit (the full size one). Remember the Bay window in its original form was a 1 ton van so would have had to carry the van plus a ton payload or around 2175 kg gross vehicle weight and carry that lot at 65 mph all day. It this parameter that determines tyre spec. As someone said above talk to your insurers but be aware that some will say "modified vehicle" and cancel your insurance. I was refused insurance on a Type 25 because it had 2 sliding doors and was therefore "a modified vehicle" despite the fact that it left the factory built that way.

Thanks for this. From the info posted by Johnny (thanks) I would need 87rated tyres or above