5 Caravan Tyres I'd NEVER Tow On in Australia (And the 5 Brands That Last Forever)

📕 Make It Last — the tyre and towing chapters, so you can run the load sum on your own van 👉 https://aussiemechanicgreg.com/?ref=desc Ten trailer tyres went on an independent test rig. The winner was a brand almost nobody here has heard of. A cheap Chinese-made one came second and was rated good. The one name Australians would recognise finished equal last, with the testers unable to find a single positive thing to say about it. That is ADAC's 2025 trailer tyre test, in 185 R14 — the size under a very large share of Australian vans. So the badge on a caravan tyre decides far less than most of us think, and the four numbers printed beside it decide nearly everything. Worst first: five I would not tow on, with the test, the year, the size and the score for every brand I name. Then the five I would buy, best last. Then the four numbers, including the law that says your van's GTM must not exceed the sum of its tyres' load ratings. What I cover: - Why a passenger tyre with no LT and no C has no business under a loaded van - There is NO Australian law on tyre age — nobody will stop you towing on nine-year-old rubber - Reading the date code: week then year, often only on the INNER sidewall, and do the spare - A brand-new van can be delivered on tyres made 18 months before it - Nankang and Kenda: equal last at 3.6 in that trailer test, and the fair point for each - The Kleber Transpro in 215/65 R16 C: last of 16 in ADAC's van test, no positive traits recorded - BK-Trailer at 2.1, Linglong R701 at 2.3, Radar and Boka at 2.4 — the cheap ones that won - GT Radial, and why a good tyre you can actually buy in a country town beats a better one you can't - The trap inside the load rating: it is quoted at MAXIMUM pressure, so airing down lowers it - Speed symbols N, Q and R, and why the states genuinely disagree on towing limits - Rotating a tandem van's tyres every 10,000km, per Toyo's own technical manager FACT-CHECK: ADAC tested trailer tyres for the first time in 2025, size 185 R14, for campers, horse floats and utility trailers — 8 of the 10 rated good or satisfactory, none rated poor, none rated very good. Scores: BK-Trailer 2.1 (winner), Linglong Radial R701 2.3, Radar 2.4, Boka 2.4, GT Radial and Security leading the satisfactory midfield, Trailermaxx 7th, Kenda and Nankang 3.6 equal last (ADAC found Kenda positive in no area; Nankang had the lowest rolling resistance but was weak in the wet). All ten were pure trailer tyres marked "trailer use only" or "free rolling tyre". ADAC's summer van tyre test in 215/65 R16 C (2019) rated 9 of 16 poor with none rated good, on wet-road weakness: Kleber Transpro last, overall 5.5, "not one positive trait"; Hankook Vantra LT also 5.5 overall but strong on dry; best were Apollo Altrust 2.8, then Goodyear EfficientGrip Cargo and Pirelli Carrier at 3.1. In ADAC's winter van test (205/65 R16 C) only Continental, Michelin and Pirelli reached satisfactory. Vehicle Standards Bulletin 1 (Dept of Infrastructure, rev 6, March 2024): a trailer's GTM must not exceed the sum of the load ratings of its tyres, and tyres must suit the loads carried and the speeds towed; trailer tyres fall under ADR 23 and ADR 42/96. Load index at maximum inflation pressure: 100 = 800kg (Hankook), 115 = 1,215kg (Toyo); Cooper Australia states load capacity reduces as pressure is reduced. Speed symbols N 140km/h, Q 160, R 170 (NT Government, Hankook, Toyo). Towing speed limits: WA 100km/h, NSW 100km/h for combinations over 4.5t, NT signs higher, most other states the posted limit — sources conflict, check your own state. No Australian law sets a maximum tyre age; industry guidance is 5-7 years from manufacture. Tandem rotation at 10,000km per Toyo's technical manager. The bearing and Duravis kilometres are one owner's report, not a test. Prices indicative and vary. DISCLAIMER: General information and my honest opinion — NOT purchasing, legal, insurance or safety advice. Every tyre named is legal to sell and fit in Australia, and nothing here says any tyre is unsafe or that any company has done anything wrong. The negative comments are scoped to the named pattern, the named size and the named independent test, by year, and are my own view of what I would fit. ADAC's tests are conducted in Europe in European sizes; patterns and compounds change between markets and model years, and the 215/65 R16 C van test dates from 2019. Load ratings, speed symbols and towing speed limits vary — the tyre placard and compliance plate on your own van and your state's road authority govern, not this video. Get your own rig weighed and your own advice before you tow.