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2manytoyz's avatar
2manytoyz
Explorer
Dec 26, 2022

A spare wheel might be harder to source than you think!

Most new motorhomes don't come with a spare tire. My first Class A motorhome did, a 1999 Bounder, and it was tucked up under the chassis. The disadvantage to not carrying a spare is a flat tire can ruin a vacation. My last Class A, a 2015 Forest River Georgetown 3218TS, used a common size tire, but the wheel (8" wide) had been discontinued. Many RVs use a 7" wide wheel, which didn't fit. It took a week to special order a spare.

We recently traded in our Class A, for a new 2023 Thor Quantum KW29 Class C. It's on a very common Ford E-450 chassis. However, it's a cutaway (RV) chassis, which uses larger brake calipers. Standard E-450 wheels DO NOT FIT as they hit the calipers.

I contacted many companies, and searched the internet for 3 days. I finally found a used one of eBay. It was their last one. Spare tires are often easier to source as you can change brands. Wheels are another story.







I have a Road Master spare tire carrier that mounts in the RVs hitch, and provides another hitch point. This was used on my previous Class A, and I transferred it to the new Class C.

I highly recommend that you check the P/N on your wheel, and checking the availability, especially if you're not going to carry a spare. You might source one in a day, a week, or if you have a wheel like mine, someone just bought the only available one (ME!). Ford can eventually get you one, but those are over $1K, and with the difficulty getting parts, you might be stuck somewhere for far longer than you intended.

For more information on the spare tire carrier, pics and details here: http://2manytoyz.com/spare-tire-carrier.html
Seeking Advice
  • mgirardo's avatar
    mgirardo
    Explorer
    Dec 28, 2022
    JRscooby wrote:

    Help me stand under this; They tell you up front they will not provide a service you are likely to require, why pay them?


    Because I carry a fully mounted spare, so I don't need them to mount the tire on the wheel. They also offer lots of other services as well, not just replacing a spare tire.

    JRscooby wrote:

    How many flats do you have a year?


    On the motorhome, we had only 1 blowout in the 7 years we owned it. On our cars, maybe a few over the last 10 years, but I change those myself. Unless it happens to my wife or daughter when they are 100s of miles from home and then AAA changes it for them.


    JRscooby wrote:

    How much does it cost to have a tire service truck mount tire? And real important, IMHO, is how sure are you the guy that can't mount a tire on the side of road will be equipped both on the service truck and between his ears, to safely change the larger/heavier than normal wheel on the larger/heavier than normal vehicle?


    The Mobile Tire repair charged AAA $250 to pull my flat (which was an inside rear tire) and put my mounted spare tire on. My guess, if he had to remove the blown tire from the wheel and mounted the spare on that wheel, it would have probably easily been double the cost.

    There are probably thousands of Mobile Tire Repair centers. I'm sure all of them can dismount and mount tires off/on to wheels on the side of the road. On much heavier vehicles than our 14.5k Class C motorhome. The question is do I want to pay them to do that. AAA pays for itself each year with the discounts we receive at Hotels, restaurants, etc..

    I'm not preaching that anyone should carry a mounted spare. I was just sharing my experience.

    -Michael
  • JaxDad's avatar
    JaxDad
    Explorer III
    Dec 28, 2022
    JRscooby wrote:
    mgirardo wrote:
    JaxDad wrote:
    Any competent tire service can dismount / remount a tire on the side of the road. All you need to carry is the tire itself, no rim.


    True, but if you have Roadside Assistance, they may not cover having the tire mounted on the wheel. When we had AAA+ with RV, they would only cover removal of the old tire & wheel and mounting the spare tire & wheel.

    -Michael


    And real important, IMHO, is how sure are you the guy that can't mount a tire on the side of road will be equipped both on the service truck and between his ears, to safely change the larger/heavier than normal wheel on the larger/heavier than normal vehicle?



    According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics there is some 13 MILLION transport trucks in the US. That’s north of 230 MILLION heavy truck tires.

    Any reputable tire service doing roadside service calls will know how to dismount / mount a tire correctly.

    Your call will NOT be their first rodeo.
  • 2manytoyz's avatar
    2manytoyz
    Explorer
    Dec 28, 2022
    Grit dog wrote:
    @2manytoyz, most of the problem is it appears you don’t know what wheel it is and what fits.
    If a 16” doesn’t fit then it’s a 17” rim which is standard on all the dually trucks for the last 15 years or so.
    I promise whatever you have if it came off the Ford line is not rare.
    Start by figuring out what size the wheel is.


    I know EXACTLY what wheel it is. I posted a picture of the Ford P/N. It's a 16x6 wheel, but the other numbers in that long P/N indicate offset, etc. The issue is there are a few different Ford wheels this size, but they are NOT interchangeable. This is why I recommend people go LOOK at their wheels, read the P/N, and see if it is commonly available, or if they need to consider getting a spare.

    This wheel has a slightly different profile, that clears the oversized brake calipers on the new E-450 CUTAWAY chassis. This is not the same wheel used on the standard E-450 chassis.

    Not only do I know the exact wheel I need, I have one. Maybe the only one available at the moment.
  • 2manytoyz's avatar
    2manytoyz
    Explorer
    Dec 28, 2022
    JaxDad wrote:
    Any competent tire service can dismount / remount a tire on the side of the road. All you need to carry is the tire itself, no rim.


    And if a blowout damages the rim? "I" can't remount a spare tire on the side of the road, but I sure can swap a mounted tire. I choose to have the option of getting myself back on the road.

    I don't share this information to convince anyone they should do the same! Some will find this information useful...
  • Veebyes's avatar
    Veebyes
    Explorer II
    Dec 27, 2022
    Enough of the whatabouts & the what ifs. If you have something that wears out & is hard to find, get a spare when you can & carry it.

    Rim, tire, brake pads, oil filter, fuel filter, doesn't matter. Sitting by the side of the road without it does you no good. At least having the part only leaves the problem of replacing it.

    We are off to Alaska again in 2023. We will be starting off with new rubber all round. We will also be carrying a spare brake drum with Nev R Lube bearings mounted, spare truck brake pads, serpentine belt, oil filter, primary & secondary fuel filter, spare trailer wet bolts, landing leg parts, slide gears, two spare tires (truck & trailer use same tire), numerous other bits & pieces collected over the years, very few of them stock items in an auto store.

    We even carry a spare trailer axle!

    We are former cruising boaters where there is NO roadside assistance. We carried all of our spares, even used stuff that had some life left in it, & knew how to install it.

    The trailer broke a spring in Newfoundland this year. Lucky. We were able to get a replacement pair, slightly different, & changed out both sides ourselves. Still have the remaining one good spring pack just in case.

    With all of the stuff that goes wrong with these RVs I don't know how some helpless people get by.
  • JimBollman's avatar
    JimBollman
    Explorer
    Dec 27, 2022
    I assumed a rim failure which reminded me of a story a friend told me years ago. He use to do cross country trips in a 1956 Ford Sedan Delivery picking on the back roads. This was in the late 70s and early 80s, don't remember the year it happened but he had a rim failure in the middle of nowhere out West. The rim was enough different he wasn't sure where he was going to find a replacement in this little town. He started walking around town thinking about who he might call that could ship him a rim and noticed a house trailer that had a familiar looking car rim holding up the tunge and took a closer look. Sure enough it was just what he needed. He made a quick deal to trade a failed rim for the useable rim and a few hours later he was on his way again. He had a way of falling into things like that.
  • Grit_dog's avatar
    Grit_dog
    Navigator
    Dec 27, 2022
    @2manytoyz, most of the problem is it appears you don’t know what wheel it is and what fits.
    If a 16” doesn’t fit then it’s a 17” rim which is standard on all the dually trucks for the last 15 years or so.
    I promise whatever you have if it came off the Ford line is not rare.
    Start by figuring out what size the wheel is.
  • JRscooby's avatar
    JRscooby
    Explorer II
    Dec 27, 2022
    mgirardo wrote:
    JaxDad wrote:
    Any competent tire service can dismount / remount a tire on the side of the road. All you need to carry is the tire itself, no rim.


    True, but if you have Roadside Assistance, they may not cover having the tire mounted on the wheel. When we had AAA+ with RV, they would only cover removal of the old tire & wheel and mounting the spare tire & wheel.

    -Michael


    Help me stand under this; They tell you up front they will not provide a service you are likely to require, why pay them?
    How many flats do you have a year? How much does it cost to have a tire service truck mount tire? And real important, IMHO, is how sure are you the guy that can't mount a tire on the side of road will be equipped both on the service truck and between his ears, to safely change the larger/heavier than normal wheel on the larger/heavier than normal vehicle?
  • mgirardo's avatar
    mgirardo
    Explorer
    Dec 27, 2022
    JaxDad wrote:
    Any competent tire service can dismount / remount a tire on the side of the road. All you need to carry is the tire itself, no rim.


    True, but if you have Roadside Assistance, they may not cover having the tire mounted on the wheel. When we had AAA+ with RV, they would only cover removal of the old tire & wheel and mounting the spare tire & wheel.

    -Michael
  • JaxDad's avatar
    JaxDad
    Explorer III
    Dec 27, 2022
    Any competent tire service can dismount / remount a tire on the side of the road. All you need to carry is the tire itself, no rim.

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