Easy Question for Seasoned Class A Veterans...

[DryCreek]

OK, I had an epiphany the other day while out shopping for a used Class A MH. How do most of you handle a flat or blowout? I don't recall seeing a single spare on any of the rigs we looked at, and certainly no room to store one. Surely you don't call and then sit around waiting for a tire service truck, do you?

Oh, I did see a large cross-wrench in one of the pass thtrough storage bays. I think it was even in the one MH that is now running near the top of our list.

[DryCreek]

rk911 wrote:
all kiddng aside, it's one thing to change a tire in a shop, service yard, etc. it's quite another to change it on the shoulder of an interstate especially a left side tire on the right shoulder. add in bad weather, late at night, a tire that jammed on the underside hoist, has low air pressure or any number of other complications and you'll be glad you called roadside service.

Happens to me all the time. It's not that we don't take care of our tires, there's just more road debris around here in the summer than you could ever imagine. My wife was hauling one load back from Venus when both tires blew out on one side of the "small" trailer (25' dovetail). That was an adventure, but at least she was able to get to the side of the road before the tires caught fire and then the hay. It also seems that when one dual goes, the one next to it shreds in sympathy. And, it's never cools and dry when that happens. Those 100 degree days in the summer are death to heavily loaded tires.

I'm not saying that I would never use roadside assistance, but changing a simple flat shouldn't be beyond my abilities - or so I would hope....

Yep, I've changed many a tire on the side of the road. I just make it a point to set out a marker in advance and get over as far as i can. In the event we have a toad, I would disconnect it and back it far enough away to act like a marker (flashers on).

[Jim_Norman]

In the very near future my rig will have a spare. I have not decided if it will be mounted or not. I am leaning towards a mounted spare on a carrier in the rear. It will need to be a movable mount to allow access to the engine. If you do not carry a spare you MAY be stranded for a considerable time if the dispatched service does not have a tire on hand. If they do you may be paying a lot for it. I will be adding the sockets I need to change a tire myself. I hope never to have to, but I do not want to be stranded without being able to self-rescue. I have had one blow out, it took 4 hours to get service out. And if I have been a mile or two further along, I'd have not gotten service until the next day. We were just inside a Cell Service Bubble. I am starting to consider if mounting the tire in front may not be a better idea than in the rear. Yes there is wind resistance, but no heat issues from the engine.

[chuckftboy]

Many of the class A's have lug nuts torqued at 450 ft. Lbs. and on board air compressor isn't going to handle a 3/4 impact. The 19.5 tire isn't so bad to handle but a 22.5 is all most can handle even in their driveway, let alone, the side of a highway.

I think rk911 has the right idea.

[Old-Biscuit]

Change one (MH flat tire) on the side of HWY whilst traffic is whizzing by and you will only do it once.

The torque on my 5th wheel lugs is 140 ft/lbs....even the lugs on my truck wheels are 135 ft/lbs

Breaking them loose with a lug wrench requires some wheaties and/or cheater
Neither of which is any fun on side of road.


MH lug nuts.........
19.5 = 150 lbs
22.5 = 450 lbs

Yep, Cell phone, roadside assist best answer

[rk911]

DryCreek wrote:
Wow, lots of quick replies!

I have always been a "do-it-myselfer". I would go crazy sitting there and not getting to work on a simple problem like that. Of course I change all of our truck and trailer tires here, but even on our dually the largest is only a 16" - and I realize that the coaches we are looking at have 19.5" rims.

Heck, I even have a manual tire changer and static balancer (bubble type) in my shop. I routinely change out tires on the old Jeep and all of our trailers here around the ranch when needed.

I was thinking that I could carry the spare 3/4" ratchet and socket set, along with the 20 ton hydraulic jack for a job like that. I would even be tempted to take along one of my better impact wrenches if I had a diesel with a solid air source!

So, since I'm looking at gassers, I should find one mounted underneath somewhere? I will have to pay better attention. The few I've crawled under I was focused on tire date codes, shocks, and general frame/chassis condition.

all kiddng aside, it's one thing to change a tire in a shop, service yard, etc. it's quite another to change it on the shoulder of an interstate especially a left side tire on the right shoulder. add in bad weather, late at night, a tire that jammed on the underside hoist, has low air pressure or any number of other complications and you'll be glad you called roadside service.

[Bill_Satellite]

DryCreek wrote:
Wow, lots of quick replies!

I have always been a "do-it-myselfer". I would go crazy sitting there and not getting to work on a simple problem like that. Of course I change all of our truck and trailer tires here, but even on our dually the largest is only a 16" - and I realize that the coaches we are looking at have 19.5" rims.

Heck, I even have a manual tire changer and static balancer (bubble type) in my shop. I routinely change out tires on the old Jeep and all of our trailers here around the ranch when needed.

I was thinking that I could carry the spare 3/4" ratchet and socket set, along with the 20 ton hydraulic jack for a job like that. I would even be tempted to take along one of my better impact wrenches if I had a diesel with a solid air source!

So, since I'm looking at gassers, I should find one mounted underneath somewhere? I will have to pay better attention. The few I've crawled under I was focused on tire date codes, shocks, and general frame/chassis condition.

Not many Class A RV's have a spare. If you want to carry one I would suggest that you simply carry the tire and call the road service to mount that tire on the rim that's still on your RV. Most of us simply don't carry a spare. One way or another it just seems to work out with the folks who show up to help (and the road service we paid for).

[jplante4]

At my age CoachNet is the answer. I do carry an unmounted spare (best of the last batch I replaced) in case road side assistance can't come up with my size, but only to get to somewhere with a tire shop. I'm beginning to think that it's just extra weight.

[GTSR]

I have had a spare on all 3 class A RVs I have owned. I use the leveling jacks and then jack up the axle. I have a 36 inch breaker bar and short extension and a deepwell socket. Gonna got a heavy gauge aluminum pipe to use as a breaker bar extension at some point as well.

[Lwiddis]

We real men...of the travel trailer set...mostly change our own flat tires whilst we smoke short stubby cigars and dream of bourbon in the late afternoon.

[DryCreek]

Wow, lots of quick replies!

I have always been a "do-it-myselfer". I would go crazy sitting there and not getting to work on a simple problem like that. Of course I change all of our truck and trailer tires here, but even on our dually the largest is only a 16" - and I realize that the coaches we are looking at have 19.5" rims.

Heck, I even have a manual tire changer and static balancer (bubble type) in my shop. I routinely change out tires on the old Jeep and all of our trailers here around the ranch when needed.

I was thinking that I could carry the spare 3/4" ratchet and socket set, along with the 20 ton hydraulic jack for a job like that. I would even be tempted to take along one of my better impact wrenches if I had a diesel with a solid air source!

So, since I'm looking at gassers, I should find one mounted underneath somewhere? I will have to pay better attention. The few I've crawled under I was focused on tire date codes, shocks, and general frame/chassis condition.

[Dutch_12078]

We do have a spare on board and the tools for tire changing, but depending on the circumstances, I would opt for using our emergency roadside service plan to have someone sent out to change it for us at no additional charge. They will even bring a new tire along if needed, which we would have to pay for of course. We use Coach-Net as our ERS provider, and there are others...

[Not_a_Yurt_]

Interesting that most Class A gassers that I have seen have a spare stored underneath at the rear of the coach. I don't know whether diesels carry spares or not, but if you're not seeing them, well, that's an answer. That said, changing a tire on a MH can be a bear of a job, and you may be waiting on the side of the road for assistance -- on board spare or not.

[rk911]

DryCreek wrote:
OK, I had an epiphany the other day while out shopping for a used Class A MH. How do most of you handle a flat or blowout? I don't recall seeing a single spare on any of the rigs we looked at, and certainly no room to store one. Surely you don't call and then sit around waiting for a tire service truck, do you?

Oh, I did see a large cross-wrench in one of the pass thtrough storage bays. I think it was even in the one MH that is now running near the top of our list.

you need three things...a cell phone, a roadside service membership and a credit card. :B