The Secret Is Winter Tyres
While carrying snow chains may be advised, the real secret lies in those black rubber things you use all the time – your motorhome’s tyres. Most UK vehicles, including motorhomes, come with summer tyres as standard. For the vast majority of drivers in the UK, summer tyres are the only type of tyres ever used, even in winter.
The truth is that summer tyres aren’t really that suitable for winter use, but you can get away with it unless it snows. That’s one reason why the UK grinds to a halt with a couple of inches of snow but European countries such as Austria, Germany and Poland don’t. In European countries where severe winters with lots of snow are usual, most drivers fit winter tyres to their vehicles in the autumn and use those until spring arrives.
In a number of European countries, winter tyres are a legal requirement during some months of the year and failure to comply can mean a fine (especially if it results in you causing an accident or obstruction). Again – check the AA’s European Driving website for full country-by-country details.
Winter tyres have two main benefits that make them more suitable for use in cold weather:
They have a slightly softer compound that remains softer and more flexible when it gets very cold, improving grip in slippery conditions. Summer tyres become very hard and stiff at low temperatures, reducing their grip.
Winter tyres tend to have a slightly deeper, blockier tread that grips snow more effectively, rather than just slipping over it
Summer tyres are proven to be less effective than winter tyres when the temperature falls below around 7 degrees Celsius, even without snow. In a motorhome, you can make a strong case for running winter tyres all year round; motorhome mileages tend to be low and ultimate driving performance isn’t important, so slightly increased tyre wear isn’t an issue.
Having winter tyres can be more useful than 4-wheel drive in snowy conditions – last winter saw plenty of modern ‘soft-roader’ 4x4s getting stuck in the snow because their wheels were shod with standard summer road tyres.
looks like we will be one of those european cold countries from here on
