Community Forums

SarahW · 10-29-2011, 11:01 PM

Several of the new coaches we have looked at lately do not have spare tires on board. Is this typical? One salesman said, "just call roadside service." HUH?? Does roadside service provide a tire? What's up with that?

Sorry for this goofy question, but we are buying our first motorhome and this just seems .... odd.

Mr_D · 10-29-2011, 11:10 PM

Not odd at all, very few MH's have a spare. None of our Type A's have had one and we've never even had a flat while on a trip. We do have roadside service though. Have never used it for a tire.
Most of the roadside service trucks can bring a tire to you or fix it on the spot if it's still usable.

SarahW · 10-29-2011, 11:23 PM

Thanks, Mr. D. It still seems weird to me, though.

cj5 jeeper · 10-29-2011, 11:29 PM

Our 2000 Rexhall had a spare, and we used it when we lost a tire in the middle of Nevada. When we bought a new Rexhall in 2008 it did not have a spare, and there was no place one would fit. I asked Bill Rex why there was no spare, and he told me that he used to check the spares on older units that came in for service and most had the origional spare and it was so old it was junk.

Mr_D · 10-29-2011, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SarahW

Thanks, Mr. D. It still seems weird to me, though.

It does freak some people out!! But I have very little tire trouble in comparison to some others. In fact I've only had one blowout since I started driving in the early 60's and that was on a GoodYear on the '97 Jeep some three years ago.

Conquest102 · 10-29-2011, 11:33 PM

I carry unmounted tire NOW. We had 1 belt break in tire 1 blowout and 1 flat on dually. In my case they are truck size NOT semi-truck size so the roadside guys usually don't have them on hand. On my dually flat guy came out was for semi's didn't have tire that would fit. He said if I would have had tire he could have swapped it no trouble. Now I carry one just incase.

From what I have read here most folks don't but they also drive A's with HUGE tires on them. Which most roadside services carry because that's what they deal with all the time.

WeatherTodd · 10-29-2011, 11:34 PM

figure a new tire is $300 or so on the manufacturers end. Cost adds up quickly.
You can buy one on your own to keep in a basement compartment or even under the bed inside. Seems the 22.5 wheels are scarce in the used part world.

kalynzoo · 10-30-2011, 12:12 AM

Lots of reasons given for no spare: weight, size, danger of replacing tire yourself, added cost, decreased mpg because of weight...I'm sure there are more.
If you get a blowout, even with roadside assistance, figure it will cost you a whole day at least and lots of money. If your in or near a big city someone may have a 22.5 RV tire in stock. With luck, you will be able to use a duel, limp to a safe place, wait a day or two for a 22.5 to be delivered to the tire dealer, and then pay top dollar plus shipping for the emergency tire.
I have a used 22.5 unmounted tire in the center of the well, out of my way in a place I can't imagine using for storage. I purchased it prior to a Mexico Track Tour. It is now over 8 years old (it was old when I purchased it). I presume if I had it mounted in an emergency I would only drive to the nearest major tire dealer, where I would order and wait for a new replacement tire.
One more thought, if the RV were to come with a mounted spare you would then have 7 or 9 tires to replace every 5 years. I just replace 6 tires for just over $3k, and prices went up again...do you really want to spend $550 dollars for a spare tire?
Happy Trails.

sdennislee · 10-30-2011, 02:48 AM

I carry an unmounted spare in the basement.

As others have stated 22.5" tires are hard to come by on short notice.

I was in Edmonton, Canada when I needed a tire. Took 2 days to get the tire and Edmonton is a big city.

Full.Monte · 10-30-2011, 08:04 AM

What about 19.5 inch tires? Are they even harder to find than the 22.5 inch tires?

mikron · 10-30-2011, 08:35 AM

There have been lots of threads on this and IMO I carry an unmounted tire. We have 22.5 Michelin tires on our 2008 coach. I bought a new tire from Sam's club for $428.00 with tax and had a tire rack made to fit under the chassis behind the gas tank. Most replys on this subject stated could not get a tire on the road and waited for sometimes days. We have Coach net for road service and have read on this site they won't mount a spare tire. Guss I would need to call a truck service for that.

bldrbob · 10-30-2011, 09:29 AM

My motorhome came with a new mounted spare tucked in a compartment.After hauling it around for 8 years I needed it this fall.Noticed some bulging in the sidewall of the outside dullie and decided to change it before it blew and did damage.Without the spare I probably would have taken the chance and kept going .I will get a new tire before the next long trip since the spare only has 800 miles on it. but it is from 2001.

ga traveler · 10-30-2011, 09:48 AM

I think the MH manuf. removed the spares for the oldest reason in the world, Money. I have been motorhoming since 1974. I have had 4 blowouts. I would not leave home without a spare. I can change a tire and be underway in less that 25 minutes. If you don't carry a spare, you are at the mercy of the roadservice. they can charge any price the feel like for the tire. I have had customers tell me they were sold used tires at high prices. When the dot date was checked, they were out of date. In other words they picked up out of date tires for free and sold them for top dollar. I am sure there are a lot of decent people who would not do this, but why take a chance.

Cat320 · 10-30-2011, 09:52 AM

Even if you have a mounted spare...you'd have to carry some heavy duty equipment to change it. The spare and wheel are very heavy, plus you'd need a big jack and huge torque wrench.