Do I need to carry spare tire?

[Hula]

Is there a valid reason to carry the extra weight of spare tire? Will roadside assistance show up with tire mounted to wheel and then change it? There is no way I could change it myself.

[David0725]

I carry a full mounted spare. some people carry a tire only. the reason I carry one is because I don't want to pay $500 for a tire that may not even match. or wait for them to change it. I let the come and change my spare and I get the other one fixed as soon as I can.

[Jim]

Hula wrote:
THANK YOU FRIENDS. I didn't realize that ERS can mount new tire to my rim in the field. I don't carry a spare and now I feel SO much better knowing the emergency process. My State Farm agent assured me that ERS would show up; and yes, we will warm up the pizza while we wait.

This is true for a good ERS, but they're not all good.

[Mr_Mark1]

Hula wrote:
THANK YOU FRIENDS. I didn't realize that ERS can mount new tire to my rim in the field. I don't carry a spare and now I feel SO much better knowing the emergency process. My State Farm agent assured me that ERS would show up; and yes, we will warm up the pizza while we wait.

Slightly off topic but for all to keep in mind, if you have a road-side breakdown and need to towed somewhere, you will have an additional wait if you run the generator.

In most coaches, the genny exhaust is located in front of the steer axle. It has to be removed and it can't be removed if it is red hot. Just something to keep in mind if you have a front genny (ours is mid way back on drivers side).

The above info was told to us at a seminar by a tow truck operator.

MM.

[Jarlaxle]

Yes, and you will probably pay approximately retail plus 100% for a used Chinese tire--if they have one in your size in the county. (As has been posted, people have asked for the odd sizes some As use and been laughed at!

[Hula]

THANK YOU FRIENDS. I didn't realize that ERS can mount new tire to my rim in the field. I don't carry a spare and now I feel SO much better knowing the emergency process. My State Farm agent assured me that ERS would show up; and yes, we will warm up the pizza while we wait.

[frankdamp]

When we bought our used Class A, at 8 years old, it had a spare wheel, with tire, mounted under the propane tank with a chain and padlock. The seller said he'd never unlocked it, since it was installed so you could get to the inflation valve quite easily.

When we sold the rig four years later, neither had we! We did replace all six road tires because of age when we bought the MH - they were the OEM originals from the chassis build date.

[Rog___Nan]

Bluwtr that the spare would work was never a question. We ordered our unit from an RV show 20 years ago this last month. A spare mounted on the rim came with it. . And as I said DH is a maintenance freak and he immediately checked that all our rims and tires where the same size. Also always checks it along with all tires that it is in good condition and air pressure is up and good before we leave on any trip long or short. We have witnessed a couple of very high end units being towed by trucks that were not suited to tow their units. They literally tore the front ends off the unit. Really would not like that to happen to us or anyone. This guy we had help us said he could not find a tire within 200 miles of Indy or Louisville. When we got back on the road headed straight to CW at Bowling Green they could do nothing to help us (Elkhart CW installed the new tires). Sent us to a couple of tire places near them but they also did not have our size available. So as a result of that one experience we are so glad we had ,and still have a mounted spare on board.

[Jim_Norman]

I carry a spare. The rig came with it mounted in a side compartment under the rear bed. I had a blow out. We were in a small bubble of cell service, 1/2 mile in any direction and no service. We did call road service and the tire was changed, Only took 4 hours for the guy to arrive. There were two of us returning from a sporting event so the needed muscle to pick the tire up and put it back into the compartment was available. That time.

When I got home I made a couple decisions. The location of the spare poor.you had your butt out on the road side to get the spare out. It was in a difficult to access horizontal rack. So here is what I now have, a rear mounted spare with a cover, an extender to allow me to use a come-a-long to lift the tire down or back up to the carrier, a 42" breaker bar to facilitate the actual change. I don't like to be at mercy of others.

[Tarheel_2]

We're leaving for Alaska next week, so I located an almost new used tire and carry it in the bed of the pickup that I tow. It has a cover on the bed, so no problem. I had a friend making the trip a couple of years ago and the couple with them ruined a tire on the AK highway and they had a very difficult time finding a tire.

[Bumpyroad]

Jarlaxle wrote:


What? Many motorhomes use the same wheels in all positions.

are the rims different from drive/steer wheels? if not I certainly think you could "limp" into a facility on the "wrong" tire.
bumpy

[Jarlaxle]

bluwtr49 wrote:

Rog & Nan wrote:
Our unit is 20 years old and it came with a spare tire mounted on a rim. Never had a flat until 8 years old and had tires replaced. First trip out front right tire went down on a county road in southern Indiana. Tow truck from west side of Louisvlle was almost 2 hours to arrive. He spent an hour trying to locate our size tire and rim even though we told him we had both. His experience told him it was probably old and not in good shape. He could not find a tire so brought his big rig to tow us in! To his surprise DH is a maintenance freak thus tire was in great shape and ready to go. We had destroyed the rim trying to get to the side of the road. Thus we needed both. He had us ready to go in under a half hour. The reason we got a flat was the guy at CW balanced the tires with beads but did not replace stem valves with proper valves so a bead got into valve and tire guickly deflated. Had another occurance returning to CW to get the right fix but this time it was an inside dually and we made it to CW ok. Have not had a problem since but our trip could have ended at that point had we not had a mounted spare. We certainly believe in carrying a mounted tire.

You were lucky that the wheel the spare was mounted on a wheel matching the one that was bad. It could have gone the other way and the spare would have been useless. You still would have to wait until the correct wheel was located.

What? Many motorhomes use the same wheels in all positions.

[Jarlaxle]

Mr.Mark wrote:

RLS7201 wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:

RLS7201 wrote:

mike brez wrote:

KD4UPL wrote:
I carry a spare for sure. I can change my own tire long before any help would arrive. That's if I'm even in an area with cell phone coverage. I don't know who I would even call for help really. I assume you have to pay these roadside guys for the privilege of being able to call them. Paying for that and an overpriced replacement tire isn't for me.

Maybe on your pickup.this is a class A forum.

Maybe you don't have the expertise or physical capacity, but many of us do have the capacity to change class A tires while on the road. I for one have the capacity to change rear hub seals and front wheel bearings while on the road. So don't discount the capacity of your fellow RVers.

Richard

When I bought my various class As it was pointed out that they didn't come with a jack and there was a reason for that. that's what road service will do for me.
bumpy

Then you probably don't need a fire extinguisher either. The fire department is also road service.
If you're not qualified or just don't want to get your hands dirty, just say so. Some of us like to fend for ourselves.

Richard

Richard, fending for yourself is the best in all situations. That's great! And, I'm glad that you have the ability to lift those heavy tires and all that goes with it. Unfortunately, I have a bad back for lifting, I'll have to leave it to the professionals.

We have Michelin 365's on the front and tag axles, 315's on the drive. There is no way I could lift or maneuver that size tire. Another problem that we may have is that Michelin is the only manufacturer of the 365.

As with our other coach, I checked our air pressure before every departure and adjusted pressure as needed. I know the minute that you drive out of the RV park you could run over a nail. We were lucky. I kept the original tires until their 7.0 yr. build date.

On the new coach, we have a built-in tire monitoring system that checks air pressure and temperature. I watch it religiously.

I will replace the tires at 7 yrs. Prevost changed my front tires under warranty as there was a slight vibration that could not be corrected. Tires were determined to be out-of-round. The 365's were listed on the invoice at $1,007 each. They also gave me a three axle alignment covered under warranty.

So, hopefully, watching my tires closely will prevent a roadside replacement. I don't want to carry a spare but might think about carrying a 365 for the rarity.

MM.

I suspect Michelin is, again, just weird, and that a 385/65R22.5 is the same...just like Michelin's 275/80R22.5 is a 295/75R22.5 to everyone else.

[Jarlaxle]

2gypsies wrote:
Bigger Class A's do not come with a spare for a reason...they're heavy and big.

No, they just cost MONEY that the builder can instead pocket!

[Jarlaxle]

At the very least, carrying an unmounted tire will keep you from being at the mercy of the guy that KNOWS he has the only tire of the correct size in the county, knows you're stuck, and is ready and willing to ream you for it.

Personally, I carry a mounted spare (11R22.5) and the tools to change it.