Forum Discussion

GrandMom97's avatar
GrandMom97
Explorer
Feb 19, 2017

Spare tire for Isata

We have a used but new to us 2008 Dynamax Isata Touring Sedan. 25ft. Shortly after purchasing it we wanted to visit an ill family member so headed out on the first trip a few months ago, within 200 miles of home. We goofed, as when we purchased our other two rvs, we would replace the tires first thing. Did we learn a lesson! We had a blow out on an inside rear tire, fortunately it did not cause any major issues. We discovered however we did not have a spare tire on the rig. Called our insruance roadside assistance and told them our situation and asked them if they could locate the nearest tire dealer to help us. We were able to still drive the rig. She called us back after contacting a tire dealer to see if they had the size tire we needed; gave us directions to get to them, which was about 13 miles from our location. We were able to get it replaced to finish our trip. The tire dealer looked at the other tires and shared there was some signs of dry rot on the rest of the tires, but not too much. We decided we would replace them after we got home.
We decided to use the replaced tire after blow out for a spare, and purchased new tires all around.
Problem is that we now have no place to store the spare. We thought it would fit in the trunk storage, but just couple inches too tall, can't get it in there.

Does anyone owning a Isata touring sedan have a spare tire? if so, please share how it is ?mounted? or carried?
Looked under the rv and cannot find any area that a spare could be mounted.

We plan a few more shorter trips around Texas, but will be doing a trip to Georgia and Tennesse in the summer. Just didn't want to be without a spare for the trip, even though we now have new tires. Just want to be prepared... guess we are a "Murphy's Law" kind of folks. We would not try to change it ourselves, but contact roadside assistance to change it. Having a spare also will save money should we have tire issue.

Any advise will be welcomed
Class C
  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    Mar 06, 2017
    How able are you to crawl around under the RV? When I need to crawl on pavement I put cardboard down. On grass or ground, a blue Harbor Fright tarp. Then my suggestion would be make up a cardboard "shape" the size of a mounted tire/wheel assembly. Go under and see if/where it fits.
  • ron_dittmer's avatar
    ron_dittmer
    Explorer III
    Mar 06, 2017
    I did not read through all the replies, but you mentioned the compartment is 2" smaller than the size of the inflated tire.....assumed "Inflated" tire. A deflated tire might fit. Then simply carry a small portable compressor which may be handy anyway. Inflate the tire when you need to use it.

    Just a thought.
  • GrandMom97's avatar
    GrandMom97
    Explorer
    Mar 06, 2017
    Thanks DrewE
    Wasn't thinking about the hoist storage needing to be done with a wheel. Makes sense... so we will be purchasing a wheel!
  • DrewE's avatar
    DrewE
    Explorer II
    Feb 28, 2017
    Things will be a good bit simpler if you have it mounted on a wheel. Not all roadside assistance people would have tire mounting equipment available, particularly those that respond for cars, vans, light trucks, etc. Certainly if you need to change the tire without assistance, it will be a much less daunting task if it's mounted than if you have to unmount the bad tire and mount the good one yourself.

    Most of the hoist thingies I've seen hoist the wheel, not the tire itself, though I'm sure there are plenty of variations around. I know mine uses a cross bar that fits through the central hub hole of the wheel.

    One caveat: if you are unfortunate enough to have different types of wheels for the various positions, it probably is impractical to carry the spare mounted. I suspect you can use identical wheels all around (same offset etc.), though.
  • GrandMom97's avatar
    GrandMom97
    Explorer
    Feb 28, 2017
    Appreciate everyone's posts. Am going to check into possibility of having a hoist type of storage under the unit.
    Have another question:
    Since we got all tires replaced on the RV, the spare does not have a wheel/rim. Is it necessary to purchase a rim for the spare? Or would it be okay to just have the tire so it can be replaced should we have a flat?
  • Travelin2's avatar
    Travelin2
    Explorer
    Feb 20, 2017
    cgmartine, I agree fully that storing a tire out of the suns rays slows the aging process of tires. What I think is, that it is wrong to advise people to use their sleeping space as tire storage. Many people do not buy a new tire for a spare but designate one of the better tires that they take off when replacing the running tires. I know for me the only time I have a new tire as spare is when buying a new vehicle. Since a person has no control over what others do then it is bad form to publicly advise people to do unsafe things. You know that if the under-bed space is the designated tire storage in a unit, then somewhere, sometime, someone is going to store a 10 year old tire there with the steel belts showing. I would not want my kids sleeping over that. That said though I sure think that each person has the right to choose where and what he stores under his bed.
    Regards...John
  • cgmartine's avatar
    cgmartine
    Explorer
    Feb 20, 2017
    Travelin2, every one of those incidents involved tires exposed to the elements. Not a single one involves a tire being stored under the bed. If exposure to the sun increases tire pressures and deteriorates the overall condition of the tire, then I am still of the opinion that it is more reason to store a tire where it is not exposed to the elements, i.e. under the bed, or if possible, under the motorhome. And that is all I have to say about that!
  • cgmartine's avatar
    cgmartine
    Explorer
    Feb 19, 2017
    Trvelin2, "known to burst?" I am incredulous, so I ask that you please cite a specific instance, from first hand knowledge, that this occurred. What would cause it to burst? In fact, it is one of the safest places to store it, versus having a spare tire hanging underneath, exposed to the weather and all type of debris from the roadway, like I have on mine, which is factory installed spare tire underneath my Tioga 31M, and has not protection from below.
  • elcheapo's avatar
    elcheapo
    Explorer
    Feb 19, 2017
    Travelin2 wrote:
    cgmartine wrote:
    Have you looked under the bed? Sometimes, some motorhomes have the water tank under the bed, while others use it as storage area. Even if not, you might be able to fix the bed so that you can raise it and stick the tire inside.


    DO NOT DO THIS. Tires have been known to burst while in storage. It would destroy the inside of your motorhome and if you were in the bed at the time, you may not survive. I'm not a Nervous Nellie but there is a thing called common sense.

    If you want to get some respect for the amount of energy pent up in our RV tires, do a google search on tires bursting.


    How come they have allow spare tires to be stored inside, in rear of Suv's and mini vans. Have not heard much about exploding spare tires.

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