Puncture in France

Going on the premise that there is no such thing as a stupid question .........

Are punctures easy to fix on a 6 berth Fiat Ducato campervan? Worried about what the hell to do if we get a puncture in France - pretty good changing in a car but never done it in camper. Roadside assist? (or am I just a big girls blouse?)

John is right.
we get puncture seal put in the tyre of all our motorhomes.

You can either carry a can and put it in yourself or have the gel prefitted before your journey by a tyre company

Seems like a great idea for a motorhome.

I've seen something like it used with ride lawnmowers where pneumatic effect is not that important and something that seems similar came with one of our cars that didn't have a spare wheel. In that case the instruction on the kit was to restrict speed and go to the nearest service center to have the puncture repaired.

More dumb questions....

Does "Puncture Seal" provide the inflation pressure (i.e. replace the air) or is it just there in foam form and available to plug the hole as the air escapes?

Any downside(s) to having it permanently in the tyres?

Thanks.

By coincidence I had to have a puncture repaired this morning in Lourdes. We have been out in France for about 4 weeks now and after arriving on a site yesterday afternoon I did the weekly checks. Front left was down to 40psi. 'Un clou dans mon pneu'. Luckily it was a big flat headed beast so I was able to google repairers. Good job too as the first on street view was in an arrow street with double yellows. The second had a large open parking area in front of its six bays. A national chain.

The downside was that they charged 20€ for wheel removal, patch and refit. Took ages but at least it was done. I also made sure I had some of the French words available, such as pression (pressure) torsion (torque) etc. I stood over the process to make sure they used the correct jacking point etc.

The upside ? It did not fail me yesterday morning as we made our way down the gorge from Gavarnie. 15 miles of twisting narrow rock overhangs and huge drops beside my wheel.

Good idea to perhaps make a list of useful terms and technical details to have. I was fortunate that I could drive 4km from the site to a tyre depot and had time last night to do my homework.

Davy

Big prob is if you use tyre seal repair shops will not want to fix as it leaves a load of slyme inside tyre so patches will not stick,most then want to fit a new one,they can be washed out and dried but they dont want the bother.

The link that I posted is a tyre sales and fitting place. I only get my tyres there as they do not have a problem with removing the seal and even reusing it in the new tyres.

one thing I have had experience of is that the tyre sealant can destroy the tyre pressure monitors which are now being fitted to van platforms, we have had merc sprinters having to have them replaced!

I would have no problem changing a wheel in the van if the spare was on the ground beside me, but there is no way that I would crawl under the van to remove the spare with it sitting on the Jack, I can't see how you would get it out if a back wheel was flat with out jacking it first. My advice is don't dream of attempting to change it after all you are on Holidays.

OK Dan "ya big old girly "

I thought it was four years due to side wall rubber degradation.

I had the old type XC Campers as original equipment on my MH. After 5 years they had to be changed due to crazing on the side walls, they did spend a lot of the time in sunnier climes though.

Also, while the sidewalls may appear to be OK there can be splitting between the treads which is not as obvious.

Another thing to consider is that the old XC were not particularly good in the wet and went quite hard with age. The new Agilis Camper are a far superior tyre.

If your tyres are now 10 years old trying to get a bit more out of them could be a very costly false economy.
Personally, I always buy a premium product when I buy tyres and avoid budget brands, those four small patches of rubber need to be the best possible performers in all weather and operating conditions.

On our first trip to arrange with our new (to us!) 2000 RollerTeam, some
up one morning to find a flat rear tyre.
I had brought the small frilly back I keep in the keep, as no back came with the M/H. It wouldn't lift it high enough however. You need a bottle back with a high lift to get the body up enough to take the wheel off the ground. A nearby French motorhomer came to my aid with his jack. Put on the spare and drove to a garage to get a plug in it. €10. Seriously akward getting at the spare. Even worse getting it put back up in its cradle.

Very much agree on that, if you have breakdown cover on your ins.(I do) then you may as well use it. Far safer on the side of the road

That's unbelievable bad luck Brendan, how do you account for a blow out on a new tyre. We never got a puncture since we started Motorhoming. Hopefully you will get home without too much hassle.

Hard luck Brendan, hope you get back safely.