Fiat Ducato spare wheel carrier opinions please

[phase3begins]

I have a 10 year old van and the spare wheel carrier is rusted / corroded solid (spare still in there). One garage couldn’t free it and one said if I bought a new one they would cut out the old one and fit the new one.
The carriers are not cheap and the removal / refit labour might be a bit pricy so I’m considering just having it removed and getting by with a compressor and some sealant type gunk.
I do have breakdown cover.
any advice / opinions Please?

 

[Boringfrog]

I think I'd rather use one of these than an aerosol type. <Broken link removed>

 

[RGCH999]

Aerosols are rubbish and usually puncture can’t be repaired. Could wait hours for a breakdown and often they tell you to call out tyre service. Carry the spare inside the van when travelling but I wouldn’t get rid of it it
f it was me.

 

[Stealaway]

I don't bother with a spare any more.
I've not had a puncture in many many years and I'm not sure I could even change such a big heavy wheel now.
I'll wait for the breakdown service if the gunk doesn't solve it.

 

[RGCH999]

Trouble is last time I waited for the breakdown service it took 7 hours on a bank holiday Friday.

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[Tea Bag]

Hi.
Have you tried a local to you fitter, car/hgv ?. They are often in situations like yours and only have a Gas Axe as the last resort. They can work miracles with this " Sent from Heaven " tool. Worth a punt.
Tea Bag

 

[martin2603]

My MH has the underslung carrier on the Allo Chassis, no nuts or bolt involved to remove the wheel, just snap pins . I changed the steel for an Alloy wheel some time back, yes they are heavy to get down but I used a small bottle jack to lower it . To replace the wheel you do have to lay on the ground from the rear
and push it into the carrier with your feet . Then jack it back up. Not the ideal solution but better than waiting 7 hours and a lot cheaper than a call out. I keep the he moving parts lubricated with spray grease.

 

[Mr and Mrs O]

Is there no way to put a bit of heat on the bolt that holds the tyre in the carrier as if its the original tyre at 10 years old its going to need replacing any way also deflate the spare first to take pressure off of the carrier mechanism. Hope you get it sorted!

 

[Tea Bag]

Is there no way to put a bit of heat on the bolt that holds the tyre in the carrier

Hi.
Oh ye of little faith. Cut the carrier off,i would have thought a fitter from those sources would be aware of the tyre blowing if it got " warm" Two lads got killed at Middle Peak Wirksworth quarry,very sad,it was rumoured that it wasn't air in it...........
Tea Bag

 

[82125]

The spare on my Fiat Ducatto I recently bought was completely missing when i went to check the tyre pressure. Just an empty basket under there.
Ive just gone with a bottle of tyre sealant.
As some have said, even if it was there im not sure Id be able (or even want to) to get it out of that cradle.

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[Garfields]

I thought I would bump this thread just as a reminder.
It is well worth checking that the spare wheel winders fitted to a lot of PVC is all operational and that the bolt that attaches the wheel to the carrier is not stuck.
Like a good few on here I am likely to call out the breakdown services to change a wheel but it's not great if they cant get the wheel off the carrier.
Checked ours this morning.

 

[rwg]

And, when you've checked the carrier works, be sure to wind it ALL the way back in... If it's not wound in fully then it will slowly unwind under the weight of the wheel and the jolts of normal driving. Then you are treated to some very interesting noises when the wheel starts to drag along the ground.

I know this from experience, but fortunately was on a quiet road and managed to stop quickly and put everything right before any damage done. In my defence, the van came from new with the wheel not wound fully in, and at that time I didn't know that being able to see the spare wheel was wrong, or that I needed to check the winder...

cheers,

Robin

 

[TheMachMan]

I guess if you had a roof rack you could stick one up there?

 

[rosalan]

I don't bother with a spare any more.
I've not had a puncture in many many years and I'm not sure I could even change such a big heavy wheel now.
I'll wait for the breakdown service if the gunk doesn't solve it.

I woke up on a Sunday morning with a neat hole in the tyre wall, aerosols no use. I had a spare tyre which call-out fitted. After a thorough search from south of Pamploma and well into France I eventually got 2 Vancocamper 15" tyres. If I had no spare, I doubt the call-out would have searched for most of a day to find a replacement.

 

[Stealaway]

I woke up on a Sunday morning with a neat hole in the tyre wall, aerosols no use. I had a spare tyre which call-out fitted. After a thorough search from south of Pamploma and well into France I eventually got 2 Vancocamper 15" tyres. If I had no spare, I doubt the call-out would have searched for most of a day to find a replacement.

Bugger.

But I would have expected the breakdown service to take me to a garage and we would wait for a tire and to have it fitted.
As we never have a need to be any anywhere it wouldn't be a problem - bit of an adventure for us really

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[rosalan]

Bugger.

But I would have expected the breakdown service to take me to a garage and we would wait for a tire and to have it fitted.
As we never have a need to be any anywhere it wouldn't be a problem - bit of an adventure for us really

This was in Spain on a Sunday morning. The 'mechanic' who arrived in a little van had an obvious hangover. He hardly spoke except to tell me he would not put air into the spare tyre, although I could see in his van the equipment to do so. He fitted the wheel and left. As it happened we bought the tyre second-hand from another camper at a Motorhome Show just before we went on holiday.
Tyre depots in the area were closed on Sunday. We visited four huge tyre depots the following day in Spain and France until we eventually located 2 x Continental Vanco Camper tyres. Hard to believe but true, perhaps there was a national shortage, I do not know.

 

[Stealaway]

Nightmare. Just what you need when you need the help you've paid for.
Although I'm never on top form on a a Sunday morning.
Good to hear you did get it sorted even without much help from the breakdown service