Spare Steer Tire & Rim?

[brunsje]

After upgrading my Steers to a 9" rim and 315 tires, I have a spare set of 8.25" rims on 295 tires.

 

I would welcome your ideas on carrying one of them as a spare in case I blow a steer.

 

I have room in my pickup truck bed (towed behind the motorhome).

 

I realize most of you are using your HDT to tow a Fifth Wheel.

 

Thanks as always, JohnnyB

 

[SuiteSuccess]

Johnny,

 

See no reason you couldn't do that but most of us HDTers don't carry a spare, just good roadside assistance. Other problem if you plan to change yourself, you'll need a 1" impact wrench, a way to operate the impact (air or electric), a heavy duty jack, and someway to lift and tote around a 100+ lb tire. Tall order unless you're Arnold Schwarzenegger in his heyday.

[brunsje]

My thought was to make the spare available to the Roadside Assistance Towing or Service Folks.

 

But it may not be necessary since tires/rims are available pretty quickly. 1 or 2 day shipping is the longest I have seen.

 

Since many of us are retired, no problem waiting a bit; We can live in our rigs.

 

I'll have a pair of steers available if anybody wants them. 25,000 miles on 'em. Tire dates are May 2013.

 

JohnnyB

[SuiteSuccess]

My thought was to make the spare available to the Roadside Assistance Towing or Service Folks.

 

But it may not be necessary since tires/rims are available pretty quickly. 1 or 2 day shipping is the longest I have seen.

 

Since many of us are retired, no problem waiting a bit; We can live in our rigs.

 

I'll have a pair of steers available if anybody wants them. 25,000 miles on 'em. Tire dates are May 2013.

 

JohnnyB

Not a bad idea in that scenario. Roadside assistance bringing a tire to mount on your rim or already mounted on their rim is going to be much more expensive than just going in at a tire store and getting a flat repaired or even purchasing a tire. Maybe some one else can answer the question whether roadside will just mount one of their tires just to get you to a tire dealer or do you always have to buy at the roadside.

[GlennWest]

I have 4 rear tire rims left over after singling. Have not considered a spare.

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

We had to buy their tire roadside. During the phone call though, they gave us choice of brand and price range. Price wise, Loves was about $20 more on the Toyo brand steers than others I priced checked later. Not going to argue about $20 when the guy did all the work alongside I-40 in Nashville.

[SuiteSuccess]

We had to buy their tire roadside. During the phone call though, they gave us choice of brand and price range. Price wise, Loves was about $20 more on the Toyo brand steers than others I priced checked later. Not going to argue about $20 when the guy did all the work alongside I-40 in Nashville.

 

Good info.

[skp093018]

I carried a spare steer tire for 8 years, never had to use it, but my thought was it was a match to what I had on the truck, I had the room to carry it, and I would not be forced to buy their tire while I was on the side of the road.

 

Regards

Gemstone1

[Jim Gell]

We had to buy their tire roadside. During the phone call though, they gave us choice of brand and price range. Price wise, Loves was about $20 more on the Toyo brand steers than others I priced checked later. Not going to argue about $20 when the guy did all the work alongside I-40 in Nashville.

 

Jim,

 

I need to test my understanding. Are you saying that Love's roadside assistance gave you a good choice of tires and charged you $20 more for the Toyo tire you chose than what you would have paid if you had shopped around for a better price on that Toyo tire?

 

If that is the case, seems like it would not be worth carrying a spare.

 

Jim

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

Yes, that's what I'm saying. Called the roadside service number and told them what I needed- front steer. They connected to the local Loves nearest us in Nashville and the manager there ran down the list of what they had in stock...... from Michelins to Chinese brands I never heard of. I told him something that won't break the bank but has good life and tread for all weather. He suggested the Toyo. After we got settled for the evening, I started Googling the tire and local price, Love's was only $20 more for the tire and mounting.

Now the roadside call was pricey, but Coachnet took care of that.

[shorts]

Once you get into the 295, 8.25 plus tire sizes availability aloud become an issue while on the road, a 275 or 295 tire on a 8.25 rim could/would be a challenge to air up roadside and your weight carrying capacity would probably be down rated. The 14 or 16k front axle on Showhauler presents you with a different perspective when it comes to steer tires compared to a stsndsrd HDT

[Hewhoknowslittle]

I carried around a spare for 5 years on a old tire, aged out many years before I tossed it, no more.

It was a pain in the a$$ most of the time.

 

Now I have the credit to get a service provider to haul it to me, install it.

 

That being said, not needing one for 15 years that I carried that spare around for no reason, so in my opinion , ditch the the spare, keep 500.00 in reserve and drive on.

 

Roger

[Broncohauler]

If you have them carry them!!!

Just MO but if you have a empty pickup bed. Why wouldn't you? Why take a chance on the tire guy having what you need?

Tires don't always give up in the most ideal spot like next to a beach camping spot next to the marguerite bar.

For most of us it's on the freeway our a tight two lane highway.

If I have the room I'll have the tire at least.

[brunsje]

Would you carry only one? It would seem to be overkill to carry two?

 

JohnnyB

[RoosterBooster]

Johnny

if you travel a lot off of the major highways i would carry a spare...

if not i would do what Roger suggested

 

many pro Drivers carry a non-mounted spare ,

just so they get mounted what they want everywhere and dont need to relay on whats available from the roadside assistance truck

[NoDirectionHome]

 

 

not needing one for 15 years that I carried that spare around for no reason, so in my opinion , ditch the the spare

Mr. Murphy is laughing at you Hewhoknowslittle.

You do know that the only reason you didn't need one was BECAUSE you had one. That just seems to be the way it works. Take those jumper cables out of your truck...dead battery. Take that jug of water out...sure to overheat.

[Broncohauler]

I would only carry one. The wheel should be the same front and back, you just turn it around for inner or outer for the rear.

You could also make a nice mount in the bed of your truck and polish the wheel so it looks professional not just thrown in there.

Or take just the tire only no wheel it's a lot lighter but make some type a cover to go over the tire so it doesn't fill full of water or look bad.

[Broncohauler]

If the tire service won't put your tire on the wheel I would be calling somebody else. Seems to me it would be the same as doing a flat repair and they can just charge you for a dismount remount.

 

I've had to use tire service many times over the years with company trucks. And my first eight years as a driver was as a tow truck driver. And here's a few pointers to help make it easier for you and them.

 

1) know your exact location before calling. are you between on-ramp and offramp which ones?

Mile marker or call box #

 

2) are you on the right shoulder or center divider?

 

3) what size is your tire and can it be repaired or will they need to bring you a tire?

 

4) what position tire are you having a problem with number one axle being the front number two or number three being the rear most?

(An example would be #2 axle outside tire pass side)

 

5)they most likely will want the license number off the vehicle that has the flat tire. Be prepared with these first five it'll go along way towards faster and cheaper service.

 

6) get a rough idea of pricing before they come out when they see a nice shiny rig the price can go up.

 

7) if it's night time be prepared for an after hours service call approximately $80

 

8)these guys work really hard for not much $$ and are usually in a hurry with calls backed up. If it's night time I can guarantee you he was on call and they called and woke him up. Chances are he had already worked all day and would be going back in in the morning.

 

Offer him something cold to drink if it's hot, or something hot to drink if it's cold. Homemade cookies or a ice cream sandwich go along way towards better service and better pricing. (Just like phill with Dr Pepper)

 

9) give the guy a tip, they never get them from company drivers. $10 towards a burrito is great.

 

10) make sure you ask them to be real careful with not dropping lug nuts in your shiny wheels.

 

11) If you have a DP or truck conversion with levelers on it,

Raise the coach up off the ground so he does not have to use a jack when changing your tire.

I won't say pricing is negotiable but he will charge what he feels the job is worth.

They have set pricing for certain things but he can delete or add them as he pleases.

 

Good luck Charlie

[Star Dreamer]

We carried a mounted spare for the first couple of years because it came with the HDT. Two problems with it, it was way too heavy to lift up to and down off the bed and it was a drive tire which meant it could only be used on a rear axle. We have since changed to an unmounted steer tire that we picked up cheap and carry that in a rack behind the cab. Much lighter and now can be used on any axle. We still have the mounted tire but that stays at home now.

Dave