Carry a Spare Tire

[Mr&Mrs Duet]

Did some searching here on the forums. The HDT guys did a survey a while back and it looks like the vast majority do not carry a spare. When we bought our MH 16 months ago, it came with a spare (unmounted) that was bought at the same time as the tires mounted on the coach. It takes up a huge space. We took it out and use the space for my wife's mobility scooter. I've read the pros and cons about changing it yourself and quite frankly I'll let the road service do it. Of course with it out, I'll have to buy a new one if we are on the road. Currently we are vacation and weekend users.

 

So the questions are:

 

Can they mount a tire on the road, or is it back to the shop, then back out?

 

Do you carry a spare?

 

Of so, mounted or unmounted?

 

Also we are looking at a trip to Alaska in 2018, what's the thought about carrying it for that trip?

 

Thanks;

 

Keith

[Kirk W]

Most, if not all truck tire service vehicles can mount a tire on the side of the road. If heading to AK I would carry a spare tire but otherwise would not worry much about it. We hauled a mounted spare in our motorhome for 14 years and it was never needed.

[Mark and Dale Bruss]

The joy of carrying a spare is now you have an additional tire that will age out and you probably won't need. Aging of tires happen whether in use or ot.

[Al F]

Did some searching here on the forums. The HDT guys did a survey a while back and it looks like the vast majority do not carry a spare. When we bought our MH 16 months ago, it came with a spare (unmounted) that was bought at the same time as the tires mounted on the coach. It takes up a huge space. We took it out and use the space for my wife's mobility scooter. I've read the pros and cons about changing it yourself and quite frankly I'll let the road service do it. Of course with it out, I'll have to buy a new one if we are on the road. Currently we are vacation and weekend users.

 

So the questions are:

 

Can they mount a tire on the road, or is it back to the shop, then back out?

 

Do you carry a spare?

 

Of so, mounted or unmounted?

 

Also we are looking at a trip to Alaska in 2018, what's the thought about carrying it for that trip?

 

Thanks;

 

Keith

Can they mount a tire on the road: Yes, most if not all road service people will manually break down the tire and mount the spare on the wheel (rim).

 

Going to Alaska, I would carry a mounted spare.

 

I think your MH has 22.5 inch wheel. If so you would have a very difficult time changing the tire. The mounted tire and wheel weighs about 175 pounds. The torque on the lug nuts is pretty high, but with proper tools you can loosen and tighten them. You would need an extra long handle on the wrench though.

 

If your wheels are 19.5 inch, then changing the tire is doable. Not easy at about 125 pounds per tire/wheel though. The torque on the lug nuts are about 150-170 pounds.

 

We went to Alaska on a 4 1/2 month trip last summer (2016) and did not have a flat tire on our 29' Class A. We even drove 230 miles up the gravel/dirt Dalton Hwy (Haul road) toward Prudhoe Bay (Deadhorse).

 

I carry a mounted spare and have the tools and ability to change the tire. My only problem is that I can't pick up the mounted tire and put it back in the storage compartment in the bed room slideout. I would have to roll the tire into the living area and store it until I got to a repair place, or maybe I could get someone to help me pick up the tire to slide it into the storage compartment.

 

If you are interested in our Alaska trip, look at the link to our blog in the signature line.

[nana25k]

Takes up too much space. AND weight

For us its call the roadside service

[dewilso]

I carry a mounted spare for my C, with 16" wheels. For the Foretravel, no spare. I'm going to Alaska next summer in the FT, I'll carry a unmounted used tire.

[mocroc]

We always carry a mounted spare. Luckily our rig was built for carrying the spare under the frame out of the way with a lowering system when needed. YES we have had to use the spare. Sunday, West Texas when Good Sam could only get one lone kid to come out to make the change. Would not and did not have equipment to mount a tire or sell a replacement tire. Our spare is one of our aged out tires as we only wish to get home or to a nearby location. When we travel to Mexico for an extended period of time, a remote location in Mexico or Alaska, we will sometime also carry a unmounted spare. We have come back from Mexico, when we had a 5er, with our mounted spare and two unmounted spares used on the trip. We carry a spare for all our vehicles and trailers.

 

rocmoc n AZ

[Al F]

Ah, yes. Road Service and no spare tire and/or no tools to change the tire.

 

On our 40' diesel pusher (several years ago) we blew a tire on I-20 about 70 miles east of Dallas on a Sunday. I limped about 300 yards to an exit ramp and parked on the exit ramp area (no room on the access road). This was summer and temps were right at 100*. Started the generator and turned on the AC.

 

I called Coach Net. We were about 45 minutes to an hour from the nearest tire service location. About 2.5 to 3 hours later the tire service arrived with the wrong size tire. I called Coach Net back and they confirmed I gave them the correct tire size. It took the tire service folks about 3 hours to locate and bring back the correct tire. Then to top it off they charged about $100-$125 more than what I would have paid for the same tire at a large truck tire service location in a city.

 

So we sat for almost 7 hours on the side of a busy interstate. If I had even an unmounted spare, we probably would have been back on the road in less than two hours.

 

It is good to note that road service contracts like Coach Net, AAA, Good Sam don't cover the labor to mount the spare tire. They DO cover the service charge and mileage and the labor to changed a MOUNTED spare only.

 

The good news is your chances of having a flat on the side of the road is pretty remote if you have a TPMS and replace your tires on a 5-6 year basis. The TPMS will warn you of a slow leak which will end up in a blown tire if not caught in time.

 

My problem was that I was running on 7 year old tires in 100* temps. I had planned on stopping at about noon because of the temps, but figured it was about 11:30am as we came by the place I planned on stopping for the day, it was too early to stop. Besides we only had about 3 more hours to go to our Daughters house, so lets just push on.

 

 

Even if you have a spare, mounted or unmounted, road service doesn't always work as well as one would hope for.

 

Another time, on our present MH, when we were getting ready to leave a Corps of Engineer park in the morning, the TPMS showed a low tire. Called Coach Net. An AAA guy showed up to swap the mounted spare, but didn't have a wrench or jack heavy enough to change the tire. Fortunately I carry a 6 ton jack and the tools to change the tire.

 

I could have and would have changed the tire myself, but the mounted tire is too heavy for me to pick up off the ground and get it back into the storage compartment under the bed. The door to the storage compartment is about 4.5' to 5' off the ground.

[Mark and Dale Bruss]

We approach the issue or replacing a tire on the road differently. We had an outer dual recap destroy itself. The tire service came and installed a suitable used tire, that was on the truck, on the rim for $100, tire and labor. That is why those service truck have a pile of tires on them.

 

The next day we went to the tire shop that happened to be the tire service we used. We were in a position to negotiate a good price on good tires. And the shop gave us a credit for the used tire.

 

Buying a new tire on the side of the road will be expensive and probably a lot less choices then at a tire shop.

[acampingwewillgo]

Have a had a few necessary times to have Roadside assistance for tire issues. This past summer in Texas, I had the center tread come off my outside rear tire(not a recap), so I was stuck at a CG in a small town with very few choices. I ended up with a New tire but it's a mis-match for the other 5 on the MH. Before the next big trip, I will replace all the tires and also get a mounted or un-mounted spare or possibly use the new mis-matched tire as a spare. Sometimes you are at the mercy of your circumstances!

 

Has anyone considered using the receiver hitch type spare carrier? I know even Amazon carries them for about 550.00 and they are designed for 22.5 inch wheels....I'm considering this but it seems you could have one built or build one yourself for alot less, I'm just concerned about the added weight on the hitch even though my toad is on the small side and adds no tongue weight......

 

Just to clarify, I'm not considering mounting the tire myself, I'm just trying to make things alot easier when I call Roadside Assistance and both my carriers(AAA and Progressive) have a hard time recognizing what Roadside TIRE Service is!

[2gypsies]

We didn't carry a spare - takes up too much room and is too heavy to move around and we'd never attempt to change one on our own. However, we checked our tires before every move and kept them aired up properly. Before our last all-summer Alaskan trip we went via Oregon and got a new set before crossing the border (no sales tax in Oregon). They were 5 years old at the time so we didn't want to risk problems. We've never had road service for a tire issue on the motorhome and we've also driven many gravel roads.

 

That said, if you still have the spare you removed then, by all mean, take it along to Alaska if you can find the room for it. However, I wouldn't buy a new one just for the trip IF your present tires are fairly new and you take care of them.

[Mr&Mrs Duet]

Thanks for the replies.

 

After reading the replies I am going to keep the spare and will take it when we go to Alaska. It is unmounted so I can maneuver it around. I may add a jack to the tool bin. Probably carry and never use it LOL.

 

One more question; If I decide it should be a mounted spare, which rim should be the one selected?

I assume ( I know, I know) the front tires and inside dual tire can use the same rim, the outside dual is of course a different rim. I'm thinking a front tire compatible would be the most beneficial. Then Murphy can affect the outer tire.

 

I do have a TPMS but I think it has a bad sensor, after I get rolling a while it gives an over pressure warning, but when checked the pressures are within a couple of pounds all around.

 

Thanks again for the advice and experience.

[Mark and Dale Bruss]

Unless you have a mixture of steel and aluminum wheels, your outer duals are the same as the inner duals, just turned around. That is why the valve stem points inward on the outer dual so it point outward when mounted as the inner dual.

[teacher's pet]

We carry and have carried an unmounted good used tire (from the motorhome) in the back of our Sport Trac for a number of years, after a 7 hour wait for a road service company in the Ocala National Forest between Ocala and Daytona, that was dispatched by our road service. We were told our tire was obsolete (2 years old) and none could be found, but the road service company could supply me a new tire for $650. I insisted on a used tire rather than new tire for my "bad tire" which he hadn't even seen. At 9PM we were charged $300 for a used tire + mounting. Next morning found the "good" used tire had a sidewall repair. Over 100 of our obsolete Michelin tires were in stock at Boulevard Tire in Deland 20 miles away, per Michelin. Boulevard fixed my "obsolete bad" tire, which the road service provider wanted to take and dispose of, and remounted it for $75 . Our road service refunded the used tire cost and install after hearing our complaint. I keep my 50 ft 50 amp extension cord, a 75 ft 3/4" macerator hose, extra draw bars for my motorhome and toad, and a set of magnetic tow lights inside the tire, so it is not totally lost space. The tire is normally under a platform in our recently acquired 2014 Ford Flex with other cargo on top. Since we are in Mission TX for 4-5 months, all that stuff is off loaded and in our cart shed so the 3rd row seating is available.

[rlbarkleyii]

I am having a tire carrier built by a local fabricator similar to the Roadmaster rack at a cost substantially lower ($400.00 vs $700.00) that the one Roadmaster sells. I will haul around a mounted 22.5 tire on the rear receiver and still be able to haul the TOAD. I bought a great 12 ton pneumatic/hydraulic jack from HARBOR FREIGHT for under $100, have changed, rotated tires for years without problems. I use a 1" ratchet with 24" handle and a four foot piece of 3/4" steel pipe, applies more than enough torque to break and tighten lug nuts. (Pre-soak with WD-40)

 

I don't plan on doing it on the road, but there is a great deal of satisfaction in knowing that, if i have too, i have the tire mount and tools on board to get moving again. I might have to leave the damaged tire by the side of the road though, unless i ca get someone to help put it back in the rack.