Is spare tire necessary when traveling??? - Page 2

Ray F. · 06-18-2012, 12:59 PM

Hey Dad where we campin. Little town called blowoutville son. When will we get there? Could be any minute just wait and see. POW, son where here. Dear could you run out the slide for me. I'm gonna pull out the chairs.

comfun1 · 06-18-2012, 01:33 PM

I'll tell you how necessary a spare is. We didn't even make it 30 miles from the dealer with our brand new camper before one of our tires separated into three pieces.

fordmantpw · 06-18-2012, 01:51 PM

Not only do you want to keep a spare with you, you also need to check the air pressure periodically. It's easy to forget it when checking the other tires, so make it a habit!

Our fifth wheel won't fit in our garage with the spare tire on the carrier on the back bumper, so the spare resides in the big storage area.

**Herk7769** · 06-18-2012, 02:21 PM

Beltway around DC at rush hour.

Would have sat there all night waiting for the traffic to die down in order for the AAA tow truck to get there. Luckily, it was on the passenger side and I made it to a wider area on the shoulder. 30 minutes later spare was on and we were on the road.

vasnipe · 06-18-2012, 09:24 PM

Yes.
Saved my bacon a couple of weeks ago when I did a dummy and clipped a curb with the starboard outside dual. Tore the sidewall. Called Good Sam Road Service and they sent a guy out with the tools to jack my unit up and install my spare. BTW, I replaced that spare since it was over 6 years old with a lot of sidewall cracking and such.

Chris in Virginia

beanoil · 06-18-2012, 09:54 PM

Gotta have a tire repair kit. Maybe the tire could be plugged quickly if it's just a nail. Gotta have the correct lug wrench. This will break the lugs loose. And you gotta have a jack. Ford owners are lucky, the truck jack works perfectly for raising the wheel off of the ground. But the primary reason you gotta have all these things? They ward off evil flat spirits that congregate around highway construction zones, bridges, and toll booths.
Seriously, a spare should be something you don't leave home without. It isn't a matter of if a tire will go, but when.

Phil57 · 07-29-2012, 12:11 PM

I would not go anywhere with out a spare. But I don't have one for my MH. It's a 40'DP the lugs are torqued to 400 fp and I have no idea how I would jack it up. So should I carry a tire to match the others or depend on the service truck to have one in stock? It would take up a lot of room. What do MH folks carry spare or not?

mikey · 07-29-2012, 12:18 PM

The cost associated with purchasing a spare tire is minimal in the grand scheme of buying an RV, besides who would go so far as to specify "no spare" when completing the order spec sheet?

If nothing else, a spare provides peace of mind while you motor down the Blvd.

Phil57 · 07-29-2012, 12:35 PM

Not what I asked. Again what do most people with a MH do carry a I mounted spare or not. I did not order my MH it was new off the lot and it has no spare. Sorry but you sounded kinda rude. There is no way I could change a flat on this MH.

vasnipe · 07-29-2012, 01:05 PM

Phil,
You might want to look at Good Sam Roadside Assistance. Not trying to sell anything, but they saved my bacon a couple of months ago when I did a dummy and clipped a curb with starboard outside dual and ripped the sidewall. My Sunseeker has a spare bolted under the rear of the coach. Like you I have no way to change one of these monsters (not as big as yours). I called Good Sam and they shortly had a tech out with the required tools to jack the axle up, drop the spare down and change the tire.
Without the spare I would have been at their mercy to 1) have a suitable size tire 2) mounted on a suitable/matching rim at whatever their price might have been. My spare was original to the coach (2006) so a few days later when I took the rig to the tire shop I forked out for not one but two tires to have a newer tire as a backup. Expensive lesson, that was.

If I were in your place I would 1) contact the dealer and get a spare tire and rim on order and stowed under the rig and 2) sign up for a roadside assistance program. AAA covers RVs but they wanted more on top of what they already charge (I was up for renewal last July for over $150 for the "Plus" coverage for cars and limited miles free towing) for just a car program and they do not have unlimited towing mileage. Good Sam covers my coach, my cars, and my motorcycle for about $100 with unlimited mileage to tow to a repair facility in case of a breakdown that cannot be fixed on the side of the road.
We took a trip to Branson, MO earlier this month, 2100 miles round trip, without a hitch. But I knew if I got into a problem they would be there to help out.
Like noted above, peace of mind while traveling down the road.

Regards,
Chris Hogan
Roanoke, VA

Phil57 · 07-29-2012, 01:10 PM

Chris thanks for your input. I have always well at least for the 4 months we have owned this been worried about not having a spare. I will look into getting one mounted underneath. Never thought of that.
Thanks

Dave_Monica · 07-29-2012, 02:03 PM

I didn't think that the front and rear rims are the same on your MH...if that's the case, the mounted spare is for which end?

That's why I understand that other MH owners carry a unmounted spare and have roadside assistance mount it the rim of the blown tire.

Dave

Phil57 · 07-29-2012, 02:23 PM

I thought they were all the same but I need to look into it.

gerrym51 · 07-30-2012, 07:18 AM

It doesn't have one mounted underneath the rear like all other sunseekers?

Phil57 · 07-30-2012, 08:14 AM

No spare mounted underneath it a Berkshire 390RB 340 DP with 255/80r22.5. A spare would just fit in the basement and a mounted spare is very heavy. My plan covers road side service 24/7/365. It would be a long wait if a flat happened in some areas of the country but I would think a day or two and a tire would be available most anywhere. I may call some places we plan to travel to see what the worse case would be. That would be the deciding factor on carrying a spare. I did look under the MH and mounting a spare there would not be a easy thing to do and very expensive. I say this post and wondered what other MH did. I think that I wasn't clear on what is involved in changing a flat. I asked the dealer and they recommend having a good service plan and letting the service company haul the tire for you. Waiting for a exact match is what worried me.

VinceU · 07-30-2012, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil57

No spare mounted underneath it a Berkshire 390RB 340 DP with 255/80r22.5. A spare would just fit in the basement and a mounted spare is very heavy. My plan covers road side service 24/7/365. It would be a long wait if a flat happened in some areas of the country but I would think a day or two and a tire would be available most anywhere. I may call some places we plan to travel to see what the worse case would be. That would be the deciding factor on carrying a spare. I did look under the MH and mounting a spare there would not be a easy thing to do and very expensive. I say this post and wondered what other MH did. I think that I wasn't clear on what is involved in changing a flat. I asked the dealer and they recommend having a good service plan and letting the service company haul the tire for you. Waiting for a exact match is what worried me.

Not for certain about a spare, don't have one either, but these tires are truly truck tires and can be supplied by road service dealers in a failure. We both know not too many people can change these wheels 22.5" with on board equipment. Road service trucks carry tires for many sizes, with jacks, pneumatic wrenchs and sledge hammers to get them loose. I think if you should have to call tell them tire size they would have it or can get it soon. Notice these repairs trucks carry spares without rims, they mount on scene. I can't imagine what these tires weigh mine is 235 while yours is 255 even heavier. What ever they are they reduce RV cargo capacity by quite a bit. Tools would be even more. I'm going to call a local truck tire dealer and ask him response time and availability of equal tires, just for example. Tires are all alike, my outside rims are all alum alloy and the inside rears are steel.

Acableguy06 · 07-30-2012, 10:22 PM

I think this is being slightly over thought. Just about any roadside service truck for trucks/semis carries the tools to mount these tires. they also have quite a selection of tires with them, or when you call you tell them your size to make sure they have it with them. They even can bring a rim with them if the damage requires a new rim. No it probably wont be an aluminum rim but it would get you down the road. 22.5" and 24" are the 2 common sizes on semi trucks. When your on the road look for truck stops or truck service centers. See how many are around? There is a website you can use to look for truck repair centers anythime, you enter the state and city and a list pops up with centers near by. Unless you out in the boonies I would be surprised if you are more than 100 miles from a service center for trucks at any given time. here is the link. NTTS Truck Repair

hannibaljv · 07-30-2012, 11:29 PM

I wondered the same thing about my travel trailer its a wildwood 261bhxl and it did not come with a spare. It would take up around 100 lbs with the spare plus mount. The dealer only suggested the roadside assistance that's provided for the first year and to check them have them rotated regularly. I read some places and it seems like it would be a hassle to get a spare much less trying to change the spare I'm not one to want to crawl under my trailer to put the jack and chock the wheels and hope its level when I'm changing it. I guess the choice is more up to the person. Like the habit of always carrying around jumper cables

prof_fate · 07-31-2012, 01:23 AM

Is a spare necessary? When you have flat, yes.
Is it cheap? Maybe, maybe not. Neighbor just changed all 4 tires on his 4 year old TT due to dry rot. Spares rot too.

From what I gather reading here TT tires suck, quality wise. I'm hoping not to find out the hard way.

Last flat I had on one of my cars was .... still thinking....hmmm...16 years ago when I ran over a board in the road. Spare was flat too as it had spent a decade under my truck (checked at times...but I guess not often enough).

And so I have a spare...I don't have the tools/jack to change the tire on the TT so it won't do me too much good. I may have some road side assitance that came with some membership...no clue. Gave up on AAA 30 years ago when I needed them most and they were less than useless.

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