Spare tire/roadside assistance

Hello Hemlockdj - Thanks for your post. Good Sam Roadside Assistance will send a Mobile Tire Provider to your location to either 1) install your good inflated spare, or 2) install your tire onto your rim and remount on your RV. Keep in mind we would pay for the service call to your location, the mounting, valve stems and any other fees for the mounting would be at your expense.

Think of it as "we bring the tire shop to you!"

Hope that helps.

Thanks again.

Hemlockdj wrote:
Good day,

SO I have never used roadside assistance and this might be a strange question. Our motorhome, class C 2017 23U Chateau, did not come with a spare tire. Do/can most roadside assistance un-mount/mount a new tire on location if I have a spare tire only, no rim? My thought is why purchase an extra tire & rim, just purchase a spare tire in my storage area. Dumb idea?

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Dave

For 7 years, all we carried in our Class A was a spare tire - no rim.
Once we had to use our spare and Good Sam put the tire on our rim and we were off.

It would depend on the actual local provider of services that the roadside assistance company contracts with. For large motorhomes (and large trucks and so forth) it is common to carry unmounted spares so most truck service people would be able to put a different tire on the wheel, and indeed would often expect to be doing that. For smaller vehicles, such as cars, I don't think too many carry tire mounting equipment on the tow/service truck as they would usually expect to be putting on a mounted spare tire, though that might be changing some as more and more cars don't have a spare.

Most class C motorhomes kind of fall in the no-mans-land middle, I think; they're small enough to not absolutely demand a full-on truck service guy, but a good bit larger than a car as well. I personally carry a mounted spare and would not care to do otherwise, partly because in many cases it would be quicker for me to change it myself rather than wait for the roadside assistance to arrive...and the wheels and lug nuts etc. are of a size and weight and tightness that it's entirely practical for me to do myself without needing to have obscure equipment or be a dedicated body builder.

If you tell your roadside service plan you need to have an unmounted tire put on when you phone in for help, I can only believe that would assist in ensuring you get someone coming with the proper equipment (or at least who will be willing to bring the wheel and tire someplace where they can mount it and return).

Personally I would carry a mounted tire and rim. The minimal extra cost and weight are worth it in my opinion. Not all roadside service providers can mount tires, in fact I once had a roadside service provider contracted by a very large national insurance company that showed up and was barely capable of changing a mounted tire, let alone mounting one. Carrying a mounted spare gives you more options in the event you get a flat in an area without cell coverage or far away from a roadside assistance provider.

What would you do if the rim is damaged for some reason after the blowout?

Better to have a mounted spare even if you need assistance in changing it.

Good luck!

Mitch

Dave,

I have an interesting calibration point for you. (One that I have used.)

If you can managed a wheel and tire, then get the set. If not, then maybe just a tire. Our current wheels are about 85#. I can manage them , if I have to. If they were any heavier, why bother. I also carry the tools to change one out if it the need arises. That was twice in 14 years and one of those was a cracked wheel.

But, then there is the other ever present issue. Tires have a life of 8 years, 10 at the outside. So, if you are going to carry this as a spare, how long can you carry it?

Matt

Thanks for all the great ideas and comments. Definitely food for thought.

Dave

I have a spare mounted on a rim with the C and also had one with the previous 5er. Good Sam saved us one time with a blow out on the 5er, and used our spare. I don't think they had any spare handy to use instead of ours. The alternative would have been to tow us to a garage on the flat tire or wait till they came back with ours fixed I suppose. How long do you want to wait?

With the C, more recently, I had a flat on one of the rear duallies. I can attest that changing a rear tire of the two duallies is not much fun. I chose this time to limp with one good one on that side to a garage not too far away (under two miles) and let them do it. Alternative there is to call Good Sam and let them use your spare and fight with the whole thing if it is the inner tire. Or what? Tow you backwards with the rear off the ground? Egads!

IMO, have a spare tire on a wheel mounted on your rear bumper, and if it is any of the four rear tires, let Good Sam do all the work! If flat on the front, you can do that if you are reasonably fit.

Where do you travel? There's still a lot of places in the PNW where cell service is non-existent.

That said... On a 23' motorhome, you could limp to town on one rear tire, and can just move a rear up front if you lose a front tire. I wouldn't even bother carrying an unmounted tire. You'd have just as much hassle as buying a tire from a mobile service.

My full tire/wheel spare is on its own rack under the rear of my unit. I have seen others carry it on a rear rack mounted onto the 2x2 receiver. They make a double port receiver to carry the tire as well as tow something, like a dingy, bikes or boat, or carry the tire in whatever you tow.