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Old 07-27-2016, 09:26 AM   #1
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22.5 Class A Spare Tire

I could not image why I should have a spare tire for my GT XL 352QS. If I have a flat or blow-out that could not be fixed by one, two or three of "fix flat" cans, I would leave the job to the "roadside assistance". However, hypothetically, if I am boondocking in any of BLM or National Park, and run into a flat on a rough road and could not fix with the "fix flat", and it is too far for any roadside assistance, then maybe the spare tire would save me... ideally. But maybe I am too old for that stuff.

What would you do in that case?

Has anyone been in that situation described above, or carry a space "22.5 tire" for their class A, just in case of emergency, or have you ever change one of that humungous tire yourself before? Or could we even do it at all.

Comment and input is greatly appreciated.
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Old 07-27-2016, 09:34 AM   #2
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My Class A had a complete spare mounted under the rear area (gaser) My one blowout I had Road side take care of, some folks carry just the carcass and not a complete tire to save weight and have roadside assistance do the changing. My trucker friends all do this.
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Old 07-27-2016, 09:41 AM   #3
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I personally would never put "Fix-a-flat" in any of my tires. Would sit by the road and wait for roadside assistance.
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Old 07-27-2016, 10:40 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SeaDog View Post
My Class A had a complete spare mounted under the rear area (gaser) My one blowout I had Road side take care of, some folks carry just the carcass and not a complete tire to save weight and have roadside assistance do the changing. My trucker friends all do this.
My GT XL 352QS does not equip with any of the spare tire carrier, therefore no spare tire. If I need a spare tire, then I have to retrofit a tire carrier for that matter.
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Old 07-27-2016, 10:49 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AquaMan View Post
I personally would never put "Fix-a-flat" in any of my tires. Would sit by the road and wait for roadside assistance.
In an ideal situation, yes, I would do the same, waiting for the "roadside assistance", because that is I am paying for.

However, I am just thinking far ahead of a scenario that when I am in a remote area such as BLM or National Park or certain stretch of the Alaskan highway which does not have cell phone signal or too far for a roadside assistance to come, "Fix-a-fat" may not be a right choice, but if it is necessary, it may be the only choice. If that fail too, then spare tire or not is the debatable subject.

The spare tire is not only heavy, taking away the load allowance for the RV, but also heavy for some folks to handle it as well. That is why I ask the question to see that how some experienced RVers would handle the emergency situation like this.
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Old 07-27-2016, 10:54 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tamdle View Post
I could not image why I should have a spare tire for my GT XL 352QS. If I have a flat or blow-out that could not be fixed by one, two or three of "fix flat" cans, I would leave the job to the "roadside assistance". However, hypothetically, if I am boondocking in any of BLM or National Park, and run into a flat on a rough road and could not fix with the "fix flat", and it is too far for any roadside assistance, then maybe the spare tire would save me... ideally. But maybe I am too old for that stuff.

What would you do in that case?

Has anyone been in that situation described above, or carry a space "22.5 tire" for their class A, just in case of emergency, or have you ever change one of that humungous tire yourself before? Or could we even do it at all.

Comment and input is greatly appreciated.

You might find this informative.

If you run a TPMS and stop before damaging the tire it may be repairable but using "Fix-A-Flat" can 1. make the tire non-repairable and/or 2 void any tire warranty.
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Old 07-27-2016, 10:59 AM   #7
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About the only way fix a flat is going to work is if you were already stopped and noticed your tire was flat. If you're rolling the chances are great that it will pop the bead and or be shredded. That aside, the thought of jacking up an 11 ton motorhome on the side of the road, with most likely a bottle jack, does not sound like my idea of fun, not to mention lifting a couple hundred pounds of tire and rim.


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Old 07-27-2016, 11:10 AM   #8
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If the tire is not destroyed I have used the plug system and my pump to get us to a tire shop but last time we had a tire shop come out and fix the tire on the road.. Had us going with horses in 45 minutes and they replace both of the duallys on the one side of our class A by hand.. Very impressed
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Old 07-27-2016, 11:29 AM   #9
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If you have lost more than 20% of your air the tire is technically "Flat" and should never be driven on. If you have a steel body tire (22.5) running flat can fail the steel body cord and re-inflating can result in explosion (check You tube "exploding tire".) So you should never do more than add a few psi to your tire unless it is in safety cage or chained down and you use a LOOOONG hose.
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Old 07-27-2016, 12:26 PM   #10
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lug nuts!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tireman9 View Post
If you have lost more than 20% of your air the tire is technically "Flat" and should never be driven on. If you have a steel body tire (22.5) running flat can fail the steel body cord and re-inflating can result in explosion (check You tube "exploding tire".) So you should never do more than add a few psi to your tire unless it is in safety cage or chained down and you use a LOOOONG hose.
Biggest problem with 22.5 tires is the lug nuts. You carry an air wrench capable of over 600 ft lb torque?? It won't come off easy.
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Old 07-27-2016, 01:02 PM   #11
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If I had a Class A, I would carry an unmounted spare tire, and tube if it needed one.The service truck may or may not have a tire suitable for your RV, and who knows what the price will be?
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Old 07-27-2016, 01:12 PM   #12
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I agree with RamblerGuy, carry an unmounted spare tire. For 10 years, I carried an unmounted spare in the trunk of my towed car. But I never used it. But it gave me a sense of security if having a flat. If I had a flat, I planned to call road service because of the weight of tire and lug nut torque of over 700 lbs. When calling road service regarding a flat, they may ask if you have spare. If not, the road service tech will bring a spare of the correct size. But they may charge you any price, usually over priced.
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Old 07-27-2016, 02:08 PM   #13
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I can say from experience that prices are priced just like at the store for the tires but they usually charge a $100 service fee..

Problem if you carry a spare and dont use it for 10 years it is past if life expectancy of approx 7 years so you wasted the money
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Old 07-27-2016, 03:13 PM   #14
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I agree with RamblerGuy, carry an unmounted spare tire. For 10 years, I carried an unmounted spare in the trunk of my towed car. But I never used it. But it gave me a sense of security if having a flat. If I had a flat, I planned to call road service because of the weight of tire and lug nut torque of over 700 lbs. When calling road service regarding a flat, they may ask if you have spare. If not, the road service tech will bring a spare of the correct size. But they may charge you any price, usually over priced.

You are correct on the price. It is also true that some sizes may be hard to find (it may take a couple days to find the correct size in some cases)
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Old 07-27-2016, 03:28 PM   #15
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The one flat I had on my Class A when I called road assistance they asked if I had a spare and was it inflated.
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Old 07-27-2016, 05:50 PM   #16
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Class A Spare Tire

Why spare tires don't come with most Class A's always intrigued me. I have an '04 Cross Coutry on a Freightliner chassis. There was enough room between the rails and behind the fuel tank to mount "L" shaped steel bars to nest a full size mounted wheel in between. It sure did come in handy last year as a rear inner tire had a blowout. I called roadside and swiftly they arrived to our aid. The roadside tech told me that we saved a lot of time by having a complete wheel setup as its not always convenient to acquire our particular tire size and wheel should the wheel been damaged after the blowout. He told me that although you have a large truck tire but the actual rim/wheel is not as easily acquired being slightly different dimension than the wheels that are typically on large tractor trailers or town equipment .
So locating the correct wheel sometimes can delay getting you back on to your travels.
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Old 07-27-2016, 06:35 PM   #17
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With my Vista we had a spare.
When we did have a blow out, we were not ripped off for the price of a new one while on the side of the road.

Wish we had a spare on this Georgetown.

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Old 07-27-2016, 07:37 PM   #18
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Hello: Just wanted to input my opinion; Had blowout this past April coming back from Key West. Contacted local tire repair / replace company, waited 5 days for a new tire after dealer said old tire was not serviceable. Seems that certain times of the year in real areas these 22.5 Michelin tires are hard to obtain. I now carry a spare tire (without rim) with us on our travels.
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Old 07-27-2016, 07:49 PM   #19
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I have the GT XL 352QS. If carry just the tire with no rim, it has to be kept in the basement which will take up some room or may not even fit.

If carry it under the chassis behind the gas tank, it must have the rim otherwise it will collect all type of debris which ends up killing the tire before I need it.

That said, has anyone carry either full wheel or just the tire with your G'town and how did you carry it?
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Old 07-27-2016, 09:04 PM   #20
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Roadmaster now sells a spare tire carrier that mounts on your tow hitch. It includes a 2" drop fitting so you can still tow a toad or trailer. The spare mounts on a hinged bracket and there's a separate extension bar to give you enough leverage to easily (with some effort) to raise and lower the tire from/to the ground.

I can't speak for 22.5" tires but the 19.5" tires on my Georgetown can be changed without external assistance. I rotated (swapped) my front tires this past May before starting home, an 1800 mile drive. Fortunately, my lug nuts are only tightened to 150 ft-lbs and a 24" breaker bar is long enough to loosen them. I also carry a torque wrench for tightening them.
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