130x5 is almost never included as a size for multi fit wheels. Would probably be easier to get adaptors made for the van to covert it to touareg stud pattern.

 

I've got a CR, so PCD is 112 - but point taken that it may not be available off the shelf.

A number of aftermarket wheels allow you to specify the PCD and offset so a custom job may be possible. i.e. that's a problem that can be solved with a few (or lots of) $$ to get the convenience, which makes it a cost/benefit equation.

I'm looking for other practical or technical reasons why the idea is a non-starter, and others have provided interesting feedback below.

Thanks for the response.

 

Getting the right offset for TReg and also trailer might not be easy. Just put a spare tire for TReg on roof.

 

re offset, same response as in my reply above (in post #7)

re spare on roof, in many other posts it's become quite clear that lugging a 30-35kg wheel on the roof is a right royal PITA - especially for someone like me who is not a young fella anymore.

Thanks for the input.

 

I can't even.... does your tow vehicle and your van use\require the same type or even size of tire?
The vehicle that does the pulling has a lot different requirements in terms of criteria vs something that's just being pulled along, so even if you could settle of a "shared" size, it would still result in crap performance.

I can't imagine driving my Touareg around on RV spec tires, or pulling an RV around on Touareg spec rubber..... I'd rather drive a Prius and camp in it too.

 

I can't imagine driving my Touareg around on RV spec tires

I wasn't thinking of putting the Touareg spec tyres on the RV full time. I was simply thinking of the spares, to get you out trouble in case of a flat.
i.e. if you have 2 x multi fit wheels that fit either the van or the car when you get a flat.

 

I don't know Australia laws, but in the USA it would be a legal liability to have car rated tires on a trailer or vice-versa as they aren't engineered or suited for the application. Proper wheels and tires for a Touareg are much much bulkier and heavier than trailer tires on a trailer within the Touaregs weight capacity. The Touareg needs tires rated for much higher speeds and temperatures than a trailer does.

A trailer should always have its own spare tire carrier anyways, in case you need to tow it with a different vehicle than your Touareg, and the Touareg should have its own as well. It would be fine to mount the Touareg spare onto the trailer in addition to the trailers spare.

 

but in the USA it would be a legal liability to have car rated tires on a trailer or vice-versa

I am genuinely interested, why is it a legal liability?

I understand that using Touareg rated tyres on the van is engineering overkill, but again, my question was around spares to use in case of a flat, not the rubber you'd run around on most of the time.

Do RV's have a compliance plate specify the tyre size/load rating?

(full disclosure, don't have a van, planning on getting one, just doing my homework and planning)

 

Just to be clear - I'm not saying that this is the way to go, nor am I trying to convince anyone of anything.

As I made clear in post #9 above, I don't have a van or much towing experience, but I plan to change that in the near future - that's why I asked for your thoughts because many of the people here have real world towing experience.

I'm a "whenever possible, kill two birds with 1 stone" kind of guy so I'm simply exploring the idea to see if it holds any merit because a lot of towing threads focus on the low towball weight capacity and the lack of full size spare in the car and discuss (and argue) about the merits of towbar or swing out carriers etc.

I'm also the kind of guy who doesn't accept that things must be done the way they have always been done simply because they have always been done that way. Mind you, sometimes there are damn good reasons why they have always been done that way - in which case, it's important to know that - which you find out by asking questions.

 

A trailer should always have its own spare tire carrier anyways

Agreed. From what I have seen, most vans have capacity for 2 x spares, which a lot of people use 1 for the car and 1 for the van. i.e. put the car spare on the van to reduce towball weight.

car rated tires on a trailer or vice-versa as they aren't engineered or suited for the application.

I've never seen "caravan / RV specific tyres" ever in any tyre shop (maybe never been to the right tyre shop?).

But going off the load ratings, the touareg is ~2400kg, and a decent sized van is ~2500-3000kg. For my CR, in the smallest rim I can fit the tyre size would be 255/55 19 111 - so the tyre load spec is 1090kg.

4 x wheels on the van would more than handle the van weight so I don't understand why that would be a problem from an engineering perspective (wheel arch clearances, offsets, PCD are different issues).

Happy to be enlightened

 

Agreed. From what I have seen, most vans have capacity for 2 x spares, which a lot of people use 1 for the car and 1 for the van. i.e. put the car spare on the van to reduce towball weight.



I've never seen "caravan / RV specific tyres" ever in any tyre shop (maybe never been to the right tyre shop?).

But going off the load ratings, the touareg is ~2400kg, and a decent sized van is ~2500-3000kg. For my CR, in the smallest rim I can fit the tyre size would be 255/55 19 111 - so the tyre load spec is 1090kg.

4 x wheels on the van would more than handle the van weight so I don't understand why that would be a problem from an engineering perspective (wheel arch clearances, offsets, PCD are different issues).

Happy to be enlightened

Agree with what you said, the tyre load rating and tyre construction is not a problem in my mind.

What I would need to have answered is the question of whether there exists an AU legal impediment for changing the wheel diameter to something other (bigger) than the caravan manufacturers supplied rim diameter.
From what I have seen most of the current vans come in a 16/17" or possibly 18" rim size but as you stated the smallest you can go to is a 19" wheel.
Another issue that you have not raised will the wheel physically fit under the van if going to a +1" or a +2" diameter wheel as vans are generally are built to suit a particular size wheel under the chassis?

I can't recall if you already have a van or are thinking of buying one but my suggestion is to simply call the manufacturer and see what they have to say and back that up by obtaining confirmation from another reputable source.

TonyB

 

Agreed. From what I have seen, most vans have capacity for 2 x spares, which a lot of people use 1 for the car and 1 for the van. i.e. put the car spare on the van to reduce towball weight.

That's how our van is set up, HOWEVER, you have to ensure that the rear bar/chassis/sub-frame of the van is engineered to take that load.

I've never seen "caravan / RV specific tyres" ever in any tyre shop (maybe never been to the right tyre shop?).

We use LT Light Truck tyres on the van. Significantly better for the weight, handling, sidewall protection etc and kinder on the wallet. [/QUOTE]

 

It is pretty clear that your vehicle PCD is set in concrete as are the speed and load ratings. If you plan to be a serious vanner then you have:
option 1 to have custom hubs made for your van to match the car and buy a set or two of wheels matching the car. Seems like you would need 6. Keep the standard hubs and wheels for when you sell the van. (Expensive but ultimate solution)
option 2 separate size spares for van and vehicle. (Cheapest but fiddly) I always like a full size spare in the vehicle as you are as or more likely to get a puncture when not towing if you get a little adventurous. I use a spare tyre carrier for the car, the roof mount is for very few people. It will also fit in the boot which is the best compromise.
You can overthink this, both the car and van legal requirements are set and all you have to do is comply.
Personally I can't see the benefit in LT tyres on a van. If your vehicle which is exerting more load on the tyres is OK to drive through then the van which is just rolling should expect no more damage. I would do it in a heartbeat if the tow vehicle was specced for LT tyres but that is a bit of a thing of the past now.

 

Some caravans have the spare mounted underneath. I'm sure you could pick up a bracket and attach it under your van. That way you can carry virtually any size spare wheel with you.

 

Some technical issues that occurred to me in reading the responses - thanks everyone for responses.

1. Putting bigger wheels on the van may raise the center of gravity which in turn could cause stability issues, so that is something to consider.
2. Also, if you fit larger wheels (i.e. larger circumference) you may need larger brakes to maintain the same braking effort.

 

I'm sure you are overthinking all this, so let's get back to basics.

The van will come with a factory mounted spare attached somewhere on the van to match the other rims and tyres on the unit, so no problem there.

Your CR comes with a Spacesaver wheel (I assume as I don't know if the CR now comes with some sort of full size wheel), assuming it is a Spacesaver. Not the ideal spare to carry when towing especially in country/outback conditions.

So we need to replace it with a CR matching wheel (or two).

Issues -
You don't/can't put it he FS on the roof as too heavy, I'm with you on this.
Can't have a rear wheel carrier because it interferes with the tow hitch/A frame plus adds around 50kgs to your rear axle weight.

Solution -
Store it inside the hatch (vertically) or rear passenger seat or fold down seat back and lay it there (it is imperative if carrying inside the vehicle that it is securely strapped down as if it comes loose in an accident situation it will kill you).

Benefit -
You can remove the Spacesaver and utilise it's space for storage, a compromise to a degree for loss of above floor cargo area forgone. The FS spare is always with you even when the van is left back at camp.

You feel safer by having two spare wheels for the CR?

Then compromise by having one F/S spare as above and then carry a matching tyre, no rim (15-18kgs) which is relatively easy to handle and find a place to carry it inside the van somewhere or outside or mount it underneath the van as someone has already mentioned.
It is quite normal to get a flat but not so normal to have to replace the rim as well as the tyre.

Tony_B

 

The spare in the CR is surprisingly capable. It's not the small spacesaver that many people would be familiar with, instead it's a 195/65/20 Vredestein Space Master with a folding sidewall that means it takes much less space when deflated. It has a 20" rim to fit over the brakes and has the same load rating and nominal rolling diameter as the tyre sizes listed on the tyre placard. The speed limit is 80 km/h, but that's the only limit imposed on the spare. And having recently done 110km on mine fitted to the right front, at 80km/h it's hard to tell any difference between driving on the spare vs the regular tyres. Unless travelling really remotely and mostly offroad, I'd suggest that the spacesaver, a tyre plug kit and an unmounted tyre as suggested by seafarer28 would cover most contingencies. The vehicle spare will get you to a servo for repair of the punctured tyre or mounting the spare tyre, and no need to swap tyres across axles or leave the van behind.

 

Great response @Wolfy . Extra spare is much ado about nothing unless you plan on serious off-bitumen times. If you're doing that kind of travel, put the extra spare on the van, in the back or on the roof. Carry a repair kit. I'm on about 90000 klms with a van on the back of Touaregs, a lot of that on dirt, gravel, sand. I've had one puncture on the caravan that was fixed in 30mins with a self inserted plug, never a problem on the car. I'm considering selling my spare spare, cos I think it's overkill.

@CrDubNut I think setting up your tyre pressures and having good tyres on van and car are more important than where you put the spare

 

If buying a new van manufactured locally, specify the Treg rim/tyre combination you have as the rim/tyre combination you require on the van.

I know of friends and relatives who did that. The van manufacturer was happy to provide the required hubs

As the manufacturer, they can ensure that the rim/tyre combination is suitable for the van.

One was in Qld and the other in NSW.