how to...DRIVE IN HEAVY RAIN

Prepare your motorhome and drive carefully, and whatever the weather, you can tour with confidence, says David Motton

- 

Driving in heavy rain is a fact of life for any British motorhomer. We all know the heavens could open at any time of year.

The wettest parts of the country get up to 4m of rain annually. Even the driest areas receive around 500mm per year (that’s about 20 inches).

Wet weather will place additional demands on both the driver and the vehicle. This is nothing experienced motorhomers cannot take in their stride, but it pays to be prepared, before and during any journey.

Get ready for the rain

Over the next pages, we’ll run through the various steps you need to take to make sure that you and your ’van are ready for travel in heavy rain.

We also have some tips for drivers behind the wheel in wet weather.

Some of the most important stages before driving in wet weather actually need to take place long before a wheel is turned. You have to be sure that your motorhome will be ready for whatever the British climate might throw at it.

Tyres are key to this preparedness. By law, the tyres on vehicles with an MTPLM of 3500kg or less must have 1.6mm of tread depth across the central ¾ of the tread, all the way around the tyres’ circumference.

It’s not worth running tyres close to the legal minimum, because they will begin to lose their wetweather grip a while before this.

It’s sensible to change the tyre when it is worn down to around 2-3mm of tread depth (from around 8-9mm for a brand-new tyre). This is a good compromise between maximising the life of the tyre and making sure that you stay safe and legal.

Remember, if the police were to stop you and find that you have a defective tyre, you’d face a three-point penalty on your licence and a fine of up to £2500 – and that’s per tyre!

A proper tyre tread depth gauge is ideal, as this lets you know how much tread is remaining. The quick and easy alternative is to measure the remaining tread with a 20p piece.