Spare Tire

[buckeyes]

Thank you to all that responded to my inquiry. The decision I made was to let Good Sam road service (CSP) worry about it. I enjoy this forum as it always manages to provide me with input that is needed to make a decision. Heck, if I get a flat, I will just call road service, set back and have a sandwich, watch tv, and let the worry take care of itself. Thanks again.

[jayson]

when I bought my MH I asked the guy,where is my spaire tire ? He laughed and said what do you want to do kill your self,your too old to be handing a spair, let the young bucks do that. You just sit back, make a highball and call your towing Co.

[georgetown350]

I drive trucks for a living and 2 weeks ago had a flat tire. Called tire service up, gave size of tire, they showed up 40 minutes later with a spare tire that I didnt require as they fixed the flat. Took 15 minutes to fix.

cost 300 dollars.......

if it were my rv it would have been free through good sam.

Bottom line is if you get a flat tire and have some kind of coverage it wont cost you more then the price of a new tire and it will be new as apposed to the 2 or 3 year old spare that you may have on board which is half through its life.

[blacktie.shooter]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">My question is two fold, do you carry a spare,and if so, where? Thanks for your insight. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
This was a major question for me when we were loading for a 6+ week trip through the Canyonlands and Arizona. I was trying to reduce my combination weight, and my mounted spare sits in the basement, toward the front axle - bad spot. I was trying to get weight off the front axle.

We made the (great) trip, no tire problems, but in the middle of the Nevada desert (No - doesn't qualify - badlands!) I was thinking about the ramifications of a flat out there. Bad deal. My take is that if you're primarily on the freeway, or well-travelled highway, you should be good to go with a tire only, or just a good road service. If you like the lesser populated byways, or truly lonesome roads, you might want to carry the road-ready spare.

That's what I did. But I also left the jack at home, trying to shed some weight. Duh!

[Steve Rankin]

We acquired 2 spare tires by keeping the take-offs when we upgraded the tires on the front axle. The take-offs were 3 year old Toyos in the OE size, so they made excellent spares. We were considering a trip to Panama at the time, so carrying spare tires made sense. Carrying a spare for a Class A doesn't make sense in most situations, however.

[Johnny]

I carry a mounted tire (11R22.5-when I got new tires, the best old one became the spare) on a carrier underneath the bus, just behind the fuel tank on the right-hand side. The ~250lbs makes no discernable difference in how my bus (GVWR 25,500) handles. I will never under any circumstances travel without a spare tire & the tools to change a flat.

I had to use it on my last trip...my left outside dual picked up a bolt (right on the edge of the tread near the sidewall, not patchable). Rather than wait an hour or more for a road service guy to show up, ready to cross-thread lugs and hammer nuts on with a 1" impact (we don't need no stinkin' torque specs!), I was back on the road in half an hour, including Liz and I cleaning up & changing shirts.

[Johnny]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by jayson:
when I bought my MH I asked the guy,where is my spaire tire ? He laughed and said what do you want to do kill your self,your too old to be handing a spair, let the young bucks do that. You just sit back, make a highball and call your towing Co. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I might well have cold-cocked him for that comment. I would CERTAINLY have bought the MH somewhere else, where the staff doesn't insult customers.

Oh, yeah: the last tire guy to change a tire at work (rented trailer) was about 70.

[Diplomat Don]

Something that is often forgotten here is the availability of a spare that fits. When it comes to the 19" tires they're easy to find, but the 22.5's are a little tougher. Yes, the truckers all run 22.5's, but those aren't designed for RV's won't fit most motor homes. If you absolutely have no room for a spare, there's not much you can do, but the ones who boast about calling the ERS and having it repaired while drinking a beer may be in for a rude awakening.

Before making a decision on carrying a spare, give your local tire dealer a call and ask if he has your tire brand and size in stock. If he doesn't, ask him how long to order one. I live in the Los Angeles area and on two occasions it took three days to find a spare to fit my coach.

I have CoachNet and TyreGuard plus carry an unmounted spare. I found a screw in the sidewall of my rear dual while backing the motor home into my yard. I took it to a local GoodYear truck shop, he mounted my new spare and ordered another tire. TyreGuard paid for the tire replacement and the new spare came in about three days later. In this case I was lucky, but I sure wouldn't have been happy to have that happen in some desolate area. I'm not retired and my trip(s) would be ruined by a three or four day delay.

[Johnny]

That's one reason I swapped from the oddball 10-22.5 tires my bus came with to 11R22.5's--that has been the class 8 industry standard for 20 years. Any truck tire shop will have them.

[JoeH]

I've carried a mounted spare in our
motorhome(s) since day 1 and have had to use them many times. Depending on where I'm at and my mood, I either call Coachnet or do it myself. If I do it myself, I'm back on the road in 30 minutes or so , a bit dirty and sweaty, but sometimes better than waiting for the service truck