Spare Tyres, To Carry Or No

[955matt]

Hi just a quick question , do you carrier a spare and if not what do you use if you have a flat?

Just done some work on the van and there is no room under the van now for the spare ( before you had to unbolt the spare with 13 mm nuts and bolts lay on your back and lower it down ) Not sure I could change it anyway as its a twin wheel transit and they are not easy to get the wheels off of the back even when we'll lubricated.


It won't fot under the seats and the garage is small and full as well , was thinking of buying some Slime puncture sealant .

Thoughts?

Matt

 

[Lenny HB]

Wouldn't think of going anywhere in a Motorhome without a spare. Use the search facility loads of threads on the topic.

 

[Wildbill]

I prefer to carry a spare when I done my shelf build I mounted it on the back of the van I

 

[Wildbill]

I carry slime as well but that's just for getting me to a place of safety to change the wheel
bill

 

[Funnymunny]

I don't think the slime will be much help to you if you get a blow out. My experience over the past 12 years is having 3 blow outs and each time the tyre was blown to bits so even a hundred cans of slime would not have helped me.
Carry a spare and be safe.

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[Wildbill]

I don't think the slime will be much help to you if you get a blow out. My experience over the past 12 years is having 3 blow outs and each time the tyre was blown to bits so even a hundred cans of slime would not have helped me.
Carry a spare and be safe.

hope I am not tempting fate but I have been driving motor homes and light commercials for 25 years on and of and never had a blow out I her it all the time on her why is it happening
bill

 

[daveandsan]

We have a twin wheel Transit and carry a spare, keep it in the locker.

 

[Popeye]

I had a spare on my last one and ordered the new one with a spare as well.

 

[dabhand]

I don't think the slime will be much help to you if you get a blow out. My experience over the past 12 years is having 3 blow outs and each time the tyre was blown to bits so even a hundred cans of slime would not have helped me.
Carry a spare and be safe.

Me too, 3 blowouts in 20 years, tyres shredded on each occasion, 2 rear, 1 front. Just ordered a new spare wheel, as new van didn't have one. Not to mention flat tyre in Morocco and Spain miles away from anywhere, carry a spare and don't despair!

 

[mjltigger]

If you have decent breakdown they will come out and change it as long as you have a spare. if you don't have a spare they are going to send the nearest big company with mobile fitting who will charge an emergency rate and no doubt load the cost of the tyre as well. So they do space savers for vans I wonder?

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[The Wino]

No spare with ours and no room for one same with one of our cars

 

[gus-lopez]

I wouldn't travel without one.Backs been mentioned then there's front mounted or the roof ?

 

[jonandshell]

hope I am not tempting fate but I have been driving motor homes and light commercials for 25 years on and of and never had a blow out I her it all the time on her why is it happening
bill

Under inflation, lack of tyre inspections in my experience.
Never had a blowout either.
Had a near miss yesterday though. Had a new Michelin rear tyre fitted to the work van by Kwikshit, drove 100 miles, parked up and could smell hot rubber!
Looked at the new tyre, only 30 psi instead of 60! Anyway, I reinflated it and by the end of the day it was down again.
Its going back this morning! Kwikshit don't open until 0830, so I can't start early and its cost me a couple of hours overtime!

Anyway, moral of the story, do a quick walk round before setting off in your van. Its good practice to do it anyway to check lockers and windows. Including a quick look at the tyres doesn't take much more time.

 

[jonandshell]

We don't carry a spare, BTW.
No room and we need the payload it frees up.

 

[old-mo]

I carry the Goo and elec pump that came with it (No Spare)..

But I have got a new tyre carcass in the garage... would carry a spare complete if I could find an Alloy wheel..

.

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[sdc77]

No spare .. Weight saving and will call breakdown company if we have to. Use tyre pal though which would have prevented or picked up quickshits work.

 

[EzeeRider]

I don't have a spare either and rely on breakdown services to sort me out. >The RAC< now offer a free puncture repair service to members. I have also never had a blow out. Check your tyres regularly, maintain the correct pressures and do not overload them is the key to avoiding trouble.
ezee

 

[Scotties]

Hi Matt, my last van was the two plus four steel wheel transit and the spare got us home more than once. Have changed vans so if you want the wheel including a okayish Pireli, it's yours for a small donation to any children's cancer charity. We will be at most of the shows starting with Thetford next week.

Richard

 

[makems]

I've p

osted this pic many times. It's the result of a blowout on a Spanish motorway at about 55mph.
I check the tyres visually before every journey and check pressures weekly.
Goo is fine for a slow puncture, but a sudden deflation while driving will probably destroy the tyre before you can stop safely.
Tyres suitable for Motorhomes aren't necessarily stocked at all tyre depots and often have to be ordered. A blowout therefore might involve recovery to a tyre depot (you do have breakdown insurance don't you?) and possibly an unplanned overnight or two in the tyre depot yard waiting for the tyre.
The vast majority of motorhomers will probably never have to deal with a blow out, but if it happens to you, you will be glad you carried a spare (we were)

 

[greyman1]

i am quite surprised how many people think that if they get a tyre problem [esp a blowout resulting in a wrecked tyre] that one magic phone call to their breakdown company will solve everything . i can only suggest they first of all read through their breakdown policies TERMS AND CONDITIONS ! in some cases it will clearly state that for them to respond to a wheel/ tyre problem YOU must be carrying a spare wheel for them to change . if you are not then the options are as follows , send out a low loader capable of transporting you to the nearest tyre specialist and leave you there till they open [poss 24 hours later ] . or send out a mobile commercial tyre fitter to supply and fit a new tyre . this is NOT covered by the average breakdown policy ! breakdown cover is a form of insurance cover at the end of the day and like any insurance cover you will only get the bare minimum that they have to provide . you will be left to pick up the cost of everything else [at whatever rip off prices they decide to charge you!] there also seems to be a belief amongst some, that most tyre blowouts are caused by the owners neglect in not checking tyre pressures before embarking on journeys . the reason that i was given by a pro tyre fitter of 30 years was the problem was usually down to the tyres on motorhomes and caravans standing in one spot for most of the year then being thrashed up and down the motorway for a couple of weeks [how many of us are guilty of that!!]

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[Johnnyb]

It won't fot under the seats and the garage is small and full as well , was thinking of buying some Slime puncture sealant .

Thoughts?

Matt

Our spare was just laid flat on the garage floor when we collected our motorhome. Not entirely safe and wasting a huge amount of space so I bought a couple of quality ratchet straps and fastened it securely upright against the front wall. I'd rather lose a small amount of garage space than be stuck at the side of a road somewhere with a shredded tyre and no spare.

 

[sdc77]

i am quite surprised how many people think that if they get a tyre problem [esp a blowout resulting in a wrecked tyre] that one magic phone call to their breakdown company will solve everything .

..
I agree with you about checking your cover.. And maintenance is obviously extremely important .
I don't have a spare .. Don't intend getting one with this van purely to save payload.
I am pretty confident that my Adac partner plus membership covers me well enough. Along with maintenance and tyre pal I hope to be OK.

 

[EzeeRider]

I have commercial van tyres on my motorhome not camper tyres which are easily sourced in the UK and my UK breakdown service GreenFlag does cover me, I have checked. When travelling abroad I take a spare tyre carried on my bike rack. The Caravan Clubs travel insurance charges an excess of £100 if you don't have a spare wheel. I don't consider that excessive when you weigh the cost of carrying one and the small risk of needed this service.
ezeee

 

[Hydrocell]

To carry a spare wheel or not, it all depends on whether or not you confident enough that the tyres you have will get you there and back without any problems.

You may carry a repair kit, which is fine as long as you only have a nail or small hole in the tread, but if you catch the sidewall on something sharp or have a split then your tyre has no use to man nor beast.

My Rapido never came with a spare from new so I brought a steel rim and tyre just for piece of mind.

If you don’t want to carry a spare it may be a good idea to have breakdown cover.

Six weeks ago my son was traveling home from London in is ford focus and had a blowout on the side wall of one of his tyres, he had no breakdown cover or spare, he was pickup by a tow truck and taken off the M4 in to Swindon to a Kwikfit garage, total cost £380 and 4 hours late getting home.


I’ve dune 28000 mile on the same tyres in my Rapido from new in July 2011 and never had a problem, so you can never tell.


Regards

Ray

 

[Brian and Jo]

I personally would not travel without a spare in a motorhome or any vehicle for that matter.its peace of mind for me.i ordered a spare wheel as an option with the motorhome we are collecting on friday.
Brian & Jo

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[SUGGY]

i think if your payload is that close that you cannot carry a spare wheel it is time to look in the cupboards and have a clear out .
we went through ours and realised we were carrying loads of things not used for months ,and many things duplicated ,

 

[old-mo]

My Rapido never came with a spare from new so I brought a steel rim and tyre just for piece of mind.

Did you have to buy different Stud`s/Nut`s... ?

As I all way`s thought Alloy wheels were thicker and you could not use the same stud`s/Nut`s..

That is what has put me off getting a steel wheel for the spare..

 

[chasper]

As a matter of interest what is the weight of a steel wheel and tyre compared to an alloy wheel and tyre? Just interested.

 

[old-mo]

As a matter of interest what is the weight of a steel wheel and tyre compared to an alloy wheel and tyre? Just interested.

I may be wrong.......... But I don`t think there is a great deal of difference, because of the thickness of an alloy wheel..

 

[Hydrocell]

You may be right Mo but I have all steel wheels so not a problem.

As for pay load I used to be a little obsessed with it myself now I just carry what I need and leave the kitchen sink behind one big thing I never go any ware without carrying as little fresh water as I can get away with and always drain my waste water and empty the toilet for every litre of water adds a kilo of weight.

After seeing some of the French and Spanish motorhome and the stuff they drag around with them wheels nearly rubbing on the wheel arches it is very unlikely the police are going to drag me off to a weigh bridge for being a few kilos over.

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