Spare Tire Advice

[AstroRig57]

We have a 2005 Winnebago Sightseer WH30B. Last summer, while visiting our kids in Portland and Beaverton, OR our spare tire was stolen out from under the rig while at an RV park in Tualatin, OR. We left for the day to take some our daughter's belongings to her new apartment and when we returned the tire was gone. I know it was there (had not "dropped off") because I had seen it when I took bicycles off the receiver mounted rack earlier in the day. When I went to put one bike back on the rack I saw the tire carrier was extended with no tire on it.

I never liked it under there anyhow since I felt it would be royal pain to get it out when needed especially in light of the fact that I've had two cervical spine surgeries and "officially" have limits on what I'm supposed to lift. I know, our road service will do this for us in most cases but since we often travel off the beaten path with our astronomy club I also must be prepared to do it myself.

To make tire access easier on my neck, I've installed a Roadmaster Spare Tire Carrier. I also got a replacement Accuride 29585 rim (19.5 x 6.75 RW).

My question is this. What would be your suggestions for a 245/70R 19.5 tire to be used as the spare? I don't see that I necessarily need the same Goodyear G670 RV's that I have on the rig now. They're five years old and will be replaced before too very long anyway and maybe not with the same tire. I assume something similar, with a similar type of tread design, but does the spare have to necessarily be the same make and model?

[AstroRig57]

jplante4 wrote:
You could go on Craigs List and see if your old spare is there. :)..

I kept one of the old GY 9R22.5s I replaced last year (unmounted) in the basement. The idea is to call Coach-Net to replace it and get to a tire place to get a new tire. Next trip, I'm leaving it home. It weighs quite a bit, and my DW wants to collect more rocks.

Having an unmounted spare is great if you don't go far off the beaten path where road service can find you. It won't work for us.

Weight is not an issue, and we go to so many remote "dark sky sites" by ourselves, and with friends from our astronomy club, that I wont risk being stuck DEEP in the boondocks without a spare.

The Roadmaster spare tire carrier is a beautiful piece of engineering, and though expensive it fits our needs just perfectly.

[jplante4]

You could go on Craigs List and see if your old spare is there. :)..

I kept one of the old GY 9R22.5s I replaced last year (unmounted) in the basement. The idea is to call Coach-Net to replace it and get to a tire place to get a new tire. Next trip, I'm leaving it home. It weighs quite a bit, and my DW wants to collect more rocks.

[AstroRig57]

enblethen wrote:
Bro was 2-3 years ago. I stopped to see him, the upstream end looked pretty run down.

There is nothing rundown about the park or facilities now. They had the most upscale restroom/shower facilities I have ever seen and this is reflected in their reviews from Good Sam and other sites. The grounds were also impeccable and green with the aviary/wildlife preserve/flower garden at one end.

There's the lower level of the park, the center being long pull- through sites, where most of the travelers seemed to be, and the two upper levels to the left and right of the office. Most of the long terms seemed to be in the upper left (though it was largely empty) while the upper right seemed to be shorter back-in sites for smaller travel trailers or shorter Class-C's.

One thing that is notable is the proximity to the bridge where Pacific Highway crosses the Tualatin River at one end of the park. I walked my dogs under there on route to walking trails and I could see where this might be an issue with homeless encampments under the bridge. Due to major construction on the bridge it was cleared out when we were there.

[enblethen]

Bro was 2-3 years ago. I stopped to see him, the upstream end looked pretty run down.

[AstroRig57]

enblethen wrote:
They had some other "missing" items when my bro stayed there. Barbeques and propane tanks.

When was this?

With a few notable exceptions, most of the rigs that were there during our stay, August of 2015, seemed to be travelers with upscale diesel rigs. There were a few obvious long term tenants most of whom seemed to be workers on nearby road projects. They came and went with the sun during work hours.

The people I suspected couldn't follow the park rules from the moment they pulled in. A 5th wheel toy hauler and older F-53 based motorhome traveling together. Contrary to park rules, they worked on their OHV's, washed their OHV's and rigs, and played music outdoors well past quiet hours. With no park staff available past office hours (that we knew of) there wasn't much that could be done about it.

[enblethen]

They had some other "missing" items when my bro stayed there. Barbeques and propane tanks.

[AstroRig57]

enblethen wrote:
You must have stayed at Roamer's Rest!
You do not even need to buy a new tire for the spare. You can quite often find a good used tire.
Then when you replace the tires, one of them might be good to use.

Yes. We stayed at Roammer's Rest. Other than the loss of the tire, we had a wonderful stay and loved the facilities especially the grass areas and access to trails along the river for walking the dogs.

They seemed horrified at the theft of our tire and though we strongly suspected neighbors who had pulled out when we were gone, obviously had no proof.

[Rocky2]

I replaced my spare with a good used one for $50 which included all the service needed to mount the spare on the rim and under the coach. A used tire is fine to get you out of the sticks.

[enblethen]

You must have stayed at Roamer's Rest!
You do not even need to buy a new tire for the spare. You can quite often find a good used tire.
Then when you replace the tires, one of them might be good to use.

[Triker33]

I replace my G670's when they get to 10 years old.
For a spare get any cheap brand that will work. If you don't use it in the next 10 years it will need replaced.

I am like many MH's that don't carry a spare. Last spare I needed was over 10 years ago when I had XRV zipper blow outs. And my ERS brought me a spare tire at a reasonable cost.

[rgatijnet1]

If you use the spare tire as a true spare, which means used temporarily until you can get an exact match replacement tire, than it can be any brand.
If you rotate your tires and use the spare during that rotation, then it should be the same type of tire. Just make sure that it is the same size and possibly loop a cable or chain through the tire carrier and hole in the rim to secure the replacement wheel/tire from theft.