Spare Wheels (1 Viewer)

Itchy Feet

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Hello everyone.

This summer will be the first time for us to motorhome in France and Europe generally. Owning an Adria Coral that does not have a spare wheel fitted, but a canister system instead, is this going to be legal for travelling in France?
 

Minxy

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Howdy Moulin 87, welcome to the fun house!

Whilst it's legal I for one wouldn't go anywhere without a spare wheel. The last coachbuilt MH we had didn't have a spare so we bought one and strapped it in the garage, fortunately we never needed it but it was there if we did - if you get a total blowout, or badly damaged tyre an inflation 'gunk' kit won't work and you could find you have fun trying to get a replacement tyre without having to buy 2 (some places insist you MUST have 2 identical tyres on the same axle so could prove expensive - there was a thread about this not that long ago).

Below is how we secured our spare - it never moved at all but was easily accessible if needed.

Spare Wheel - r.jpg

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Box Boy

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Our Adria Sport does not have a garage, only space under french bed. We have breakdown Insurance and strap a spare tyre (not wheel) onto our bike rack just in case. Keeps the overall weight down. :)
 
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****

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Our Adria Sport does not have a garage, only space under french bed. We have breakdown Insurance and strap a spare tyre (not wheel) onto our bike rack just in case. Keeps the overall weight down. :)

OK. Tell me why that username? :D

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Carrying just a tyre seems a good plan.

Inflation kits are an expensive pain IMO! First, they are no good if you have a blowout or large cut. Secondly, as I experienced on a brand new tyre, a small screw punctured the tyre and I had to use the rescue can, only to find when I got to Kwik Fit, that the tyre could no longer be repaired because of all the sealant swilling around in the tyre. I may have been conned but they were adamant.
 
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KeithChesterfield

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A few years ago we were on an Aire in France and a fellow Brit pointed out that my front tyre looked 'a bit low'.

It had a slow puncture, a nail was in it, and between us we changed the wheel in a few minutes.

I took the tyre to a local garage and they repaired the tyre, charged €10, and we were on our way in no time.

If we hadn't had a spare wheel we could have been standing around for hours or even possibly days especially if you can't source a correct size replacement or while waiting for a recovery vehicle.

Calling the recovery people should be your last thought not your first as they are very thin on the ground at weekends and the frequent public holidays and your, and certainly mine, lack of foreign language skills to summon the recovery may also delay their response.

Take a spare wheel - you know it makes sense!

:france::france::france:
 
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Puddleduck

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We carry spare tyre but no wheel and we do have breakdown insurance.

No way would I change a wheel on the motorhome, I would need to call for assistance.

The breakdown insurance people said that if I told them I had a tyre but no spare wheel they would be able to send out someone to fit the tyre a the roadside or would take the wheel and spare tyre away and bring it back :)

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Itchy Feet

Itchy Feet

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Thank you all for your continued answers to my question. I was given a spare tyre when the van was purchased. Thanks to the comments from Puddleduck and Bejay as I think its going into the garage from now on.
 
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KeithChesterfield

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Quote - If there is not room for a spare the vehicle is not fit for purpose.

There's always room to improvise - think VW Caravette with the spare wheel fixed to the front or the rear - there's always somewhere.

If you haven't the spare weight capacity then you didn't do your research on payloads before you bought your Motorhome.

VW 1.jpg
 
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Mack100

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Quote - If there is not room for a spare the vehicle is not fit for purpose.

There's always room to improvise - think VW Caravette with the spare wheel fixed to the front or the rear - there's always somewhere.

If you haven't the spare weight capacity then you didn't do your research on payloads before you bought your Motorhome.

View attachment 91361
Nothing to do with weight and I have improvised

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Itchy Feet

Itchy Feet

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There is a kit available to fit a spare wheel under the van at the rear and there is also space inside the garage, as had been suggested by Minxy Girl. My original enquiry was the legality of not having a spare wheel in Europe. Thanks to Funsters this has been answered. Thanks everyone.
 
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Minxy

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We carry spare tyre but no wheel and we do have breakdown insurance.

No way would I change a wheel on the motorhome, I would need to call for assistance.

The breakdown insurance people said that if I told them I had a tyre but no spare wheel they would be able to send out someone to fit the tyre a the roadside or would take the wheel and spare tyre away and bring it back :)
It may well be that a tyre can be put on at the roadside but I would imagine the number of recovery vehicles that could do that is quite limited, so if they then had to take it away to be fitted, and it was at night, or a public holiday/Sunday etc, you could have a VERY long wait for them to return ... the'd probably stick you on a low loader and take you somewhere instead which could be a pain if it's not where you want to be!

If you have such a tight payload that you cannot accommodate the weight of a wheel rim then something needs jettisoning to make way for it IMV ... give me a spare wheel and tyre anytime, not just a tyre!

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Puddleduck

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It's not a payload issue @Minxy Girl - just we got the tyre from another Funster but don't have the wheel. Better than the can of gunk anyway.

Even our local garage can come and change a tyre (not just a spare wheel) at the roadside, he just needs to know to put the machine in the truck, and that is just a small local garage so I think the major places would be the same. All I can do is take the advice of the breakdown people and they said as long as they know they can make sure they have the equipment on board. I would not want them to change a wheel or fit a tyre on a motorway hard shoulder and would much prefer to be recovered in any case.
 
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Allanm

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We have a spare wheel and tyre on a carrier under the van, although I have no idea how to get it off the bracket once it has been lowered. I tried it just after we bought the van, then put a chain lock on it in case some ne'er do well knew how to remove it.
 
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Minxy

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This might come in handy if you don't have a wheel, just a tyre:

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Allanm

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@Allanm just hoping that you keep the lock on the chain on your spare wheel well lubricated or the repairman will not be able to get it off if you happen to need it.
But that means I am going to have to climb underneath to check!
Actually, thats a good idea, I should check its all working, now, where did I put that key.........
 
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sdc77

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I can't see what the problem is carrying a spare tyre only. It certainly doesn't make a van unfit for purpose. In the UK calling a tyre fitter at any time is effortless I would imagine it's a similar thing in Europe for the trucks. A spare tyre only is an excellent weight saving solution. I'm pretty sure that our recovery (adac) would be quite capable of dealing with a tyre fitting call.

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Minxy

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I can't see what the problem is carrying a spare tyre only. It certainly doesn't make a van unfit for purpose. In the UK calling a tyre fitter at any time is effortless I would imagine it's a similar thing in Europe for the trucks. A spare tyre only is an excellent weight saving solution. I'm pretty sure that our recovery (adac) would be quite capable of dealing with a tyre fitting call.
I don't think you should be 'so sure' about that ... mainland Europe recovery isn't quite so 'keen' to get out of the mire as the UK recovery people are ... but that's not saying they aren't good! They don't have tyre places/garages open for as long/often as we do here so you could end up with a long wait if a wheel has to have a tyre put on it, especially if they have to take it away to do it.

If I was stranded on a motorway with a flat and needed it replacing I'd rather have a 'full' wheel (ie wheel and tyre) ready to be plonked on either by me or the recovery people, than have to spend a second longer on the hard shoulder with all the inherent danger that doing so entails.

For the sake of 25-30kg of total weight (steel wheel and tyre, less for an alloy) I'd rather have the whole lot ...
 
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