Spare tire cover- hard or soft ?

[mkguitar]

My Pleasure-Way has a "hard" spare tire cover- a locking chrome disk with a fiberglass "frisbee" cover.
It is a pain in use, fiddly to get on and off
and if I did have a blow out, would it fit over the blown tire carcass on wheel ?


Considering just getting a soft cover from ADCO or similar. easy on, easy off and easy to stow


thoughts ?


Mike

[themexicandoctor]

That is a wise thought, I personally never considered the tire carcass question.

Then again, either one would be a dilemma - my hard case is sitting in storage & I only use it for long trips.

[TX-Trek]

We've got the same hard shell setup on our 210P, I've been thinking about putting it in the garage before our next trip. Things can go sideways quick on the road and I think I'd rather have a nice looking soft cover over the spare. Seeing enough shredded blow-outs over the years I think I'd prefer easy access to the spare and the ability to stick the flat tire (or what's left of it) on the stand without having to mess with trying to get the hard cover back on. Or having to carry the cover inside the van.
Easy enough to put a lock on the spare to avoid a surprise donation to the local populace.

[booster]

While the hard cover and band are a 3 handed dexterity lesson, I think they do look better over time and don't need to be replaced regularly, especially if the van sees a lot of sun which is quite hard on the soft covers.


We have even more issue than the shredded tire fitting as we have larger tires on ours so nothing but the spare even fits the holder, but in the big picture, for us, the odds of having a blown tire and cover sitting in the van for the "hopefully" short ride to the tire store are so low it is a non issue. Lots of folks are going to not carrying a spare even and counting on road service so the relative risk for them is much higher, but I don't recall ever hearing of anyone who had an issue with that way and gone back to carrying a spare.


I think the risk and inconvenience of dealing with the shredded fiberglass skirting and risk from a blowout will be a much larger issue from a shredded tire than having a cover and ring inside the van for a couple of hours.

[TX-Trek]

All good points. I think I'm still going to park the hard shell but what's really highlighted here for me is the incredible amount of damage that could happen.
On our 210, the entire wheelwell surround is fiberglass - yikes.
Now I'm mulling the feasibility of installing a metal tub in there lol.

[mkguitar]

Decision made.


I'm ordering a soft cover from ADCO- it's only $24


Here's what tipped it over:
On my next trip big trip I'll have a hitch mounted cargo carrier with a large plastic tub.
Unless I use an extender the tub would likely rub and marr the hard cover, there is little clearance.



The soft cover may get scuffed but no big deal


better than the added slop and complication of adding an extender


the hard cover now joins the "bunch of other stuff I removed from the van"



thanks for the opinions- mike

[hbn7hj]

I put the soft cover, open side facing aft, over the hard cover to keep the sun off any part of the spare.

In any case it is always a relearning experience dismounting the spare. Which key is it? Has corrosion messed up the lock? How does it all work? Only had to do it once in 12 years on the road and now with the repainting.

[mkguitar]

Originally Posted by hbn7hj

and now with the repainting.

exactly what got me wondering about that cover- putting the spare back on after the re-paint


I'm weaker or it's heavier or something


lining it up, getting the logo on the frisbee horizontal- oh crap it's off by 2º


etc


mike

[mkguitar]

Fits perfect on my 245/75/16 agilis tire


Adco #1753 white


wrapped a piece of chain through wheel and carrier, padlocked


mike

[ChicagoTom]

Removed mine. Useless for me. Unless you plan to go off grid, IMO, I wouldn't worry about it. 100 pounds of the rear end, more stealth looking for my HOA (Not bothered so far) and about a foot shorter. I'm not jacking up 9200 pounds to put on a 10 year old tire...again, JMO

[Billxp]

Originally Posted by mkguitar

My Pleasure-Way has a "hard" spare tire cover- a locking chrome disk with a fiberglass "frisbee" cover.
Mike

Lost my cover recently and it had a built in license plate holder and light. Anyone have an idea where I can get another one? Google has not been any help at all.

[MagicBox]

As I have posted before, I like the Trasharoo spare tire mounted bag. I removed the RT hard case spare cover on our 190 to fit the Trasharoo.

I keep our collapsible outside shower stall and water hoses in it as well as some other miscellaneous gear. It was originally designed for trash and muddy gear so it has drain holes at the bottom.
A great, cost effective way to add some gear storage.
Our bag stayed secure on our spare tire with no problems during our last cross-country trip.
It doesn’t cover the tire completely so it would not protect the tire from UV rays or anything else really.
Just a way to make that troublesome spare tire work a little for you.

Trasharoo Spare Tire Trash Bag (BLACK)

https://www.classbforum.com/forums/f...uch-12644.html

[Sensfan]

Our RT has the spring/3 pulley/cable Continental Tire setup. The cable snapped two years ago under full load after the tire had been lowered into the horizontal position. The spring’s energy release drove the shaft about two inches through the hard shell. A soft shell may have have absorbed the energy without damage. Gorilla tape now covers the hole in the hard shell ... lol.

[MagicBox]

Where did it pop out, the tension adjustment bolt at the top of the metal frame?

[Sensfan]

Yup, and I heard it before I saw it. I recall that the assembly dropped two to three inches. Nobody was close to it when it popped.

[Sensfan]

Originally Posted by Sensfan

Yup, and I heard it before I saw it. I recall that the assembly dropped two to three inches. Nobody was close to it when it popped.

Sorry, I gave you the wrong location ... it went through the top of the plastic cap, not the metal ring.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

If you had your druthers would you rather have a spare tire rack underneath your vehicle?