Spare wheel , gel or just breakdown service

Jewellbags

Jewellbags

Joined
Oct 22, 2019
Posts
2,042
Likes collected
5,568
Location
Hampshire
Funster No
65,995
MH
Chausson 640 welcome
Exp
Since October 2019
The spare wheel that I have is a lump and takes it’s fair share of room . What’s the thoughts of the funsters ?
 
I did not carry a spare for nearly 10 years, but had puncture safe in all tyre's as a precaution. And would be continuing with that if I had no other options.

Now I carry a spare as I have room and capacity.

However, if it needs changing at the road side i will be calling recovery.

I am more than capable of changing it but anything other than the safest of places I am not risking my kneck with the traffic.
 
At the moment we are using breakdown services. BUT I am keen to get a spare wheel slung under the rear of the moho.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Jewellbags said:
The spare wheel that I have is a lump and takes it’s fair share of room . What’s the thoughts of the funsters ?
Click to expand...
Many new vehicles cars and vans are no longer supplied with spare wheels, statistics show that these are rarely used and often flat if they are needed as most people never check them. There is I the forum many who strongly argue they need them. However I’m not jacking up my MoHo to change the wheel a breakdown truck will be along soon to do this for me. You don’t need a spare use the Gel and a electric pump. If the damage is bigger than the Gel can fix it’s a new tyre.
 
The advantage of a spare is you can continue your journey and get the tyre fixed later, with the fix kit it is only a temporary repair and needs fixing asap. I drove many miles for work, some years 40,000 I have only changed a wheel about 4 times, I have had screws in tyres more than that, but pumped the tyre up and got to the tyre place. So it's down to if you think it's worth it, I do have a spare, my last car didn't have one from new I bought a kit after I took delivery of the car for peace of mind, however we had the car 5 years and never used it.
 
Coolcats said:
How is that possible with most new vehicles not having a spare ?
Click to expand...
You would need to ask your breakdown service if they have that clause as to how they would manage or not. All our vehicles have a spare (albeit one is a skinny, one is a full matching alloy and one is a steel alternative) so not an issue for us. I have seen a clause in t&c's stipulating this but didn't pay much attention to it as not relevant.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Gellyneck said:
You would need to ask your breakdown service if they have that clause as to how they would manage or not. All our vehicles have a spare (albeit one is a skinny, one is a full matching alloy and one is a steel alternative) so not an issue for us. I have seen a clause in t&c's stipulating this but didn't pay much attention to it as not relevant.
Click to expand...
Which breakdown service company has this stipulated you must have a spare? If that’s in the small print I suspect there will be other weasel words too.
 
The Ex-Gasman said:
They say a spare or the gel kit
Click to expand...
Ah so if you have a gel kit they are happy 😃 which is reasonable as that would take into account vehicles supplied without a spare ✅
 
Might not be much of a problem not having a spare in the UK, but venture to the other side of the channel where tyre depots tend to order in stock after looking at your vehicle, it's also been reported that they like to replace tyres as a axle pair.
 
Me to if I have a tyre go I replace both on the same axle

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Coolcats said:
Which breakdown service company has this stipulated you must have a spare? If that’s in the small print I suspect there will be other weasel words too.
Click to expand...
As I said didn't pay much attention to it. It was when I was changing from ADAC but ended up with Comfort so took the chance of having no breakdown cover for a couple of months until insurance was due.
Never travel without a spare and have even walked away from a new car purchase as dealer wouldn't supply a spare (gel only - Volvo).
 
Gellyneck said:
As I said didn't pay much attention to it. It was when I was changing from ADAC but ended up with Comfort so took the chance of having no breakdown cover for a couple of months until insurance was due.
Never travel without a spare and have even walked away from a new car purchase as dealer wouldn't supply a spare (gel only - Volvo).
Click to expand...
Just checked our t&c's with Comfort breakdown and whilst it doesn't stipulate "non-attendance" it potentially leaves the driver open to unquantified costs \ delays \ etc.
+++++
The cost of replacing a wheel if your vehicle does not have a serviceable spare wheel;
+++++
Would they recover the vehicle to a tyre fitter at your cost?
Would the attending breakdown person go and source a replacement wheel and tyre at what cost?
Would a mobile tyre fitter be called to attend with a replacement tyre (if available locally) at what cost, etc.
etc, etc, ......................

Hence the reason I raised the initial point to check breakdown t&c's.
 
How long would you like to be in the slow lane of a so called smart motorway, whilst they look for a new tyre, or weight for the correct recovery vehicle (which we all know won’t be the first one they send out) to save you.

Spare wheel for me.
 
100% PUNCTURE SAFE . Never carried a for spare ten + years. Puncture Safe is ok for tyre fitters as it can be washed out with cold water. Only time I have had to change a tyre is when it was damaged on the side wall. I honestly don’t think I would even try to change a wheel on the side of the road. Looking at the jack supplied with the van I would be a little worried using it. Go Puncture Safe.

Colyboy

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
I have mentioned this before but puncture safe do a tyre goo that is pumped in when you get a puncture and can remain in the tyre as a permanent repair.
But again I carry a spare as I have room and I carry the pu cture safe kit.
And I will not be changing a wheel on any motorway or busy road unless there is absolutely no choice.
 
Had a run flat tyre on the car recently with a nail in it which resulted in a replacement, or two as it happened as like Coolcats I replace both on the axle. £450 later I kept the good one as a spare which I may stick in the boot for our trip to Denmark next year, just in case!
 
Gellyneck said:
As I said didn't pay much attention to it. It was when I was changing from ADAC but ended up with Comfort so took the chance of having no breakdown cover for a couple of months until insurance was due.
Never travel without a spare and have even walked away from a new car purchase as dealer wouldn't supply a spare (gel only - Volvo).
Click to expand...
Spare wheels will undoubtedly not be available, they will be a thing of the past, particularly with EV's to save weight and cost. Many people do not have the skill to change a wheel safely (even if they think they do).
 
Landy Andy said:
How long would you like to be in the slow lane of a so called smart motorway, whilst they look for a new tyre, or weight for the correct recovery vehicle (which we all know won’t be the first one they send out) to save you.

Spare wheel for me.
Click to expand...
Thats not the issue as you won't be changing that wheel on a Motorway or at least you need to consider the value of your life and others just get out the vehicle and get behind the barrier, help will be along soon.

Rule 277 HighwayCode

  • DO NOT attempt repairs on your vehicle
  • DO NOT place a warning triangle on the carriageway
  • animals MUST be kept in the vehicle or, in an emergency, under control on the verge.
 
Coolcats said:
Many new vehicles cars and vans are no longer supplied with spare wheels, statistics show that these are rarely used and often flat if they are needed as most people never check them. There is I the forum many who strongly argue they need them. However I’m not jacking up my MoHo to change the wheel a breakdown truck will be along soon to do this for me. You don’t need a spare use the Gel and a electric pump. If the damage is bigger than the Gel can fix it’s a new tyre.
Click to expand...

Are you feeling lucky ...? as Dirty Harry would say. It's a bit like not being bothered about home security until after you have been burgled. Depends on your attitude towards risk on many levels. If you only have a can of goo, and a teeny weeny 12v compressor, does it also come with a jack?

Has any Funster used a Dynaplug to fix a puncture? I'm carrying them in my car that doesn't have a spare, and no room even for an emergency spacesaver wheel (due to the HV battery). I am not a fan of the can of goo. That also has a use-by date, by the way.

The OEM tyres are also not a common make and size, so getting a matching new tyre isn't going to be easy. How do I know? Because I had to replace a nearly new tyre that mysteriously had suffered a cut in the sidewall. Several major tyre suppliers offered alternative tyres, but I prefer to have matching tyres on both sides. It took a lot of ringing round to find the right new tyre.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
SpeedyDux said:
Are you feeling lucky ...? as Dirty Harry would say. It's a bit like not being bothered about home security until after you have been burgled. Depends on your attitude towards risk on many levels. If you only have a can of goo, and a teeny weeny 12v compressor, does it also come with a jack?

Has any Funster used a Dynaplug to fix a puncture? I'm carrying them in my car that doesn't have a spare, and no room even for an emergency spacesaver wheel (due to the HV battery). I am not a fan of the can of goo. That also has a use-by date, by the way.

The OEM tyres are also not a common make and size, so getting a matching new tyre isn't going to be easy. How do I know? Because I had to replace a nearly new tyre that mysteriously had suffered a cut in the sidewall. Several major tyre suppliers offered alternative tyres, but I prefer to have matching tyres on both sides. It took a lot of ringing round to find the right new tyre.
Click to expand...
All of my performance cars past and present do not have spare's, my Transporter and Golf do not have spares neither does my HymerCar. Am I boverred.....nope I have the Goo and compressor and If I cant get a match just change both tyres on the same axle or in the case of one performance car who's tyre did go flat in a spectacular way M1_M6 turn off at 70 ish I just felt a slight unbalance looked in to my off side mirror and smoke was pouring out from the O/S rear like a scene from the damb busters.... I called the breakdown services who came out they couldn't locate a matching tyre (told them it was a non standard tyre) they took the vehicle back to the factory and took me to a hire car centre for a courtesy car. No Mess no fuss.
 
Coolcats said:
Spare wheels will undoubtedly not be available, they will be a thing of the past, particularly with EV's to save weight and cost. Many people do not have the skill to change a wheel safely (even if they think they do).
Click to expand...
"Spare" wheels will always be available however agree they may not be a "fitted" or "optional" manufacturer item. If no "spare" were available it would mean the whole vehicle would be written off if you badly cracked an alloy!
As to how breakdown companies manage "no spare" in future would be covered by #17
 
Landy Andy said:
How long would you like to be in the slow lane of a so called smart motorway, whilst they look for a new tyre, or weight for the correct recovery vehicle (which we all know won’t be the first one they send out) to save you.

Spare wheel for me.
Click to expand...

Or you can drive slowly along a live lane, hoping nothing runs into the back of your vehicle, until you reach the nearest (hopefully empty) refuge, by which time the flat tyre will be beyond repair.

Worst case scenario that the motorway planners never envisaged when they designed smart motorways is a lorry that drops something onto the motorway that causes multiple vehicle tyre blowouts and even destroys wheels on some cars. In 2011 I was one of dozens caught up in such an incident, and had a front tyre blowout. Without a hard shoulder the motorway would have to be closed.
 
Gellyneck said:
As to how breakdown companies manage "no spare" in future would be covered by #17
Click to expand...
The Future is here, the future is now and most new vehicles do not have a spare. whether an individual feels they 'need' one is an emotional choice
 
Coolcats said:
........I called the breakdown services who came out they couldn't locate a matching tyre (told them it was a non standard tyre) they took the vehicle back to the factory and took me to a hire car centre for a courtesy car. No Mess no fuss.
Click to expand...
and if the breakdown cover the driver has in place has clauses similar to #17?

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Join us

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top