Tire changing

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Davydd

I never changed a tire in my Class B's in over 16 years and had one tire go down our first year because of a defective valve stem. I had AAA service at that time to deal with it. Knock on wood, we never carried a spare in our last two vans. I just consider if it happens it is another unfortunate event on the road I can deal with, and a spare is a major inconvenience especially when it is carried on the back door.

This matches both my experience and my attitude exactly.

Experience suggests that losing a tire is just about as likely as losing an alternator. I don't carry one of those, either.

[Cold Gold]

I agree with you; as an AAA Rv member, I let them bring two wreckers and tow me 90 miles at no charge! - except when they can't. I still keep the spare on the van and make sure it is up to pressure and I can get the nuts loose before I vacation. Wreckers are getting bigger, to accomodate Escalades, and more delicate. The drivers are also less gonzo. When I am down a narrow logging road in the rain, I don't want to wait through multiple, albeit free, service calls or run on a rim to get out. I would keep the spare, unless I only drove on pavement.

[rvsprinterguy]

We have a 2004 LTV Sprinter, with the spare on a Continental kit in back. I've taken the time to do a test run with the provided jack and breaker-bar/socket combination and at 63 still find it doable.

What I don't have is a board onto which to place the jack... gonna remedy that quickly.

We just got back from Death Valley, where it seems the last few miles to everything interesting is over dirt roads of fair, at best, quality-- always washboard and sometimes rocky.

Before taking the trip I replaced my spare because the old one, while it had never seen the road, was as old as the van.

No way I would have taken that trip without a known-good spare.

However, during our next trip to Death Valley, we're parking the van and renting a Jeep.

[BillsPaseo]

On this particular day I was really glad that I had a spare tire, and also glad I had dual rear wheels, and had added a TPMS which caught the flat tire before it became a catastrophic issue. Limped the van to a rest area that was 5 miles from where the alarm went off, and changed the tire in the safety of the rest area parking lot rather than on the side of the freeway...

[avanti]

Originally Posted by BillsPaseo

On this particular day I was really glad that I had a spare tire, and also glad I had dual rear wheels, and had added a TPMS which caught the flat tire before it became a catastrophic issue. Limped the van to a rest area that was 5 miles from where the alarm went off, and changed the tire in the safety of the rest area parking lot rather than on the side of the freeway...

I'm not sure if your story argues one way or the other WRT carrying a spare, but it most certainly illustrates why anyone who drives a dually should NEVER be without a TPMS. Without one, you likely would not have noticed until one or both of the tires was shredded.

[Skyman]

Thank you all for the pros and cons of the tire change. My wife and I decided to temporarily remove the spare as we will be visiting local Georgia camping sites for the time being. We purchased a swing out hitch cargo carrier from Stowaway for the extra we want to carry.

[wny-pat]

I think this comes down to age and heart condition. If your doctor says do not shovel snow, then you should not be changing tires either!

[Deano]

Adding to my OP.
I also have break down insurance and would call for help, unless maybe.
I was out of cell phone range.
I was in an inaccessible place.
Response time for help was unreasonable.
Any other scenario you can think of.

If the tire or wheel was damaged, I would not be concerned about someone else finding one, if they could, or how long it may take.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by Deano

Adding to my OP.
I also have break down insurance and would call for help, unless maybe.
I was out of cell phone range.
I was in an inaccessible place.
Response time for help was unreasonable.
Any other scenario you can think of.

You could hit a deer or wreck in that scenario and a spare tire may not save you to continue on your way. It is a matter of putting up with an inconvenience that may or may never happen or putting up 100% of the time with a spare tire mostly mounted on the back of a van. If the spare was under the van I might consider it in your scenarios.

My high school days are long gone when I had nothing but hand me down used bald tires on my car and counted on a flat at any time. My dad had a tire mount stand in our garage which I used a lot. Then I was a skilled tire changer and strong enough.

[Deano]

Over many years I struggled with several flat tires with the spare under pickup trucks. If you ever did you would not think that is a good option.

[Nic7320]

Originally Posted by avanti

... it most certainly illustrates why anyone who drives a dually should NEVER be without a TPMS.

That was me earlier this year. I have a dually with no TPMS. Mercedes Sprinter Vans usually have TPMS, but Mercedes leaves off the TPMS option when they build a dually 3500 Sprinter cut-away van for a class C conversion.

And my chrome wheel covers don't stay on very well, so after one got loose, the only thing holding it on the wheel was the valve stem extension. Wildly flopping around, it loosened the valve stem extension and deflated one of the duals. After airing back up, it happened again and that's when I discovered I needed a better method to keep the wheel covers on (right now, it's held on with tie wraps)

I tried a mid-priced TPMS from Amazon and it was so bad I sent it back. Looking for another.

[Nic7320]

Another story:

Years ago, approximately 4 BCE (Before Cellphone Era) I had to pick someone up at LAX on a winter day when we had our first big storm. I didn't want to take the 101 and 405, since SoCal drivers don't understand what all this liquid is coming from the sky and how to drive in it, so... I thought it would be smarter to take the Pacific Coast Highway.

I got on PCH after passing a CalTrans truck, and headed south in very light traffic and was making good time.

But after a sharp bend in the road near Pt. Mugu rock (a famous landmark), the pavement was full of basketball-size boulders strewn across the highway. I hit one and managed to control the vehicle (with no power steering) as it tore into my front tire and destroyed the rim. I pulled over to the side with six other cars that had similar problems.

Oh, did I mention the Caltrans truck? It had a blade on the front. Apparently, it was headed south for a reason. 2 + 2 is... let's see... 4?

I had a spare. I had a jack. I had a tire wrench. The only thing I didn't have? A wrench to loosen the locking nut on the rear door tire rack .

But the other cars sent a message ahead and had Triple A come, so a tow truck operator loaned me a wrench. I was *only* two hours late at LAX. Moral of this story: Make sure you have ALL the tools you need, and think twice when you pass a highway department truck with a blade on it!

[BillsPaseo]

We're frequently camped 10 miles off the pavement, where there is no cell service. I'm not sure that roadside assistance will do much good out there.

In the last 4 years, I have had two flat tires - the one pictured above, and one a year earlier way out in the middle of Death Valley National Park, at least 70 miles from the nearest tow truck.

Maybe I'm just unlucky, but I will continue to always carry tools and a spare tire whenever I venture off the beaten track.

[robert g]

Originally Posted by BillsPaseo

We're frequently camped 10 miles off the pavement, where there is no cell service. I'm not sure that roadside assistance will do much good out there.

In the last 4 years, I have had two flat tires - the one pictured above, and one a year earlier way out in the middle of Death Valley National Park, at least 70 miles from the nearest tow truck.

Maybe I'm just unlucky, but I will continue to always carry tools and a spare tire whenever I venture off the beaten track.

I will keep my spare tire.

[hbn7hj]

Originally Posted by robert g

I will keep my spare tire.

As will I, I have needed it twice in 10 years. As close to the load limit as these tires run I’m amazed so many have gotten away with it and never had a failure.

It has always been a Michelin of less than four years old tire failure not a road hazard issue.

[JohnnyFry]

I am never going to change another tire either but having the tire available for the Roadside assistance to install is a huge time and money saver.

[robert g]

Originally Posted by JohnnyFry

I am never going to change another tire either but having the tire available for the Roadside assistance to install is a huge time and money saver.

i certainly hope i never change another but mostly hope i am physically capable if necessary. I carry road side service and have used them but you never know so i will keep my spare.

[InterBlog]

Some of the replies on this thread imply the following false dichotomy:

(1) Carry a spare tire, and change your tire yourself if needed.

(2) Don't carry a spare tire, and get roadside assistance to resolve your flat tire situation.

In actual practice, many tire failures will get resolved via this third option:

(3) Get roadside assistance (by either formal contract or informal agreement) to change the tire for which you are carrying a spare on your rig.

I understand the weight and space restrictions that Class Bs have - I've been living with that reality for 6 years, during which I've had two tire failures, including a blow-out several weeks ago. But an upfit Class B does not take the type of tire that you can necessarily find at your nearest Walmart. If you are NOT carrying a spare, you dramatically reduce your response options.

I did not jack my 8,500-pound rig and change my own tire after that blow-out - I am a 135-pound middle-aged woman and I don't consider myself to have either the physical strength or the knowledge or confidence required to safely perform that task unassisted.

In the case of the blow-out, I got a flatbed driver to load me up and drive me about 2 miles to the nearest truck stop, where I was unceremoniously deposited, and then met by my strong, decade-younger husband who did most of that work with my help, especially on the brake line replacement which is an impossible job to do as one person alone (the blow-out shredded the brake line which dumped all the brake fluid onto the freeway).

If I had not been carrying a spare, I would have had to Uber or something, and physically carry one back from the nearest store with me - which would have been the next day because it was after business hours. Or pay someone else to do that, but costs would have begun escalating dramatically because I don't think Good Sam covers some of that.

As it was, I have Good Sam but I had to bail on using them and hire my own flatbed for cash, because Good Sam couldn't get the job done - they could not identify the resources needed to get me off the freeway.

You might think that using a response service should be straightforward, but it is not. Just for openers, they won't tow you until they identify an acceptable (to THEM, not you!) place to deliver your vehicle. So if they cannot find such a place, they won't respond.

Moral of the story: I carry a spare to maximize my options.

Great sunset and after-dark pics of that little escapade:

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Some of the replies on this thread imply the following false dichotomy:

(1) Carry a spare tire, and change your tire yourself if needed.

(2) Don't carry a spare tire, and get roadside assistance to resolve your flat tire situation.

In actual practice, many tire failures will get resolved via this third option:

(3) Get roadside assistance (by either formal contract or informal agreement) to change the tire for which you are carrying a spare on your rig.

I understand the weight and space restrictions that Class Bs have - I've been living with that reality for 6 years, during which I've had two tire failures, including a blow-out several weeks ago. But an upfit Class B does not take the type of tire that you can necessarily find at your nearest Walmart. If you are NOT carrying a spare, you dramatically reduce your response options.

I did not jack my 8,500-pound rig and change my own tire after that blow-out - I am a 135-pound middle-aged woman and I don't consider myself to have either the physical strength or the knowledge or confidence required to safely perform that task unassisted.

In the case of the blow-out, I got a flatbed driver to load me up and drive me about 2 miles to the nearest truck stop, where I was unceremoniously deposited, and then met by my strong, decade-younger husband who did most of that work with my help, especially on the brake line replacement which is an impossible job to do as one person alone (the blow-out shredded the brake line which dumped all the brake fluid onto the freeway).

If I had not been carrying a spare, I would have had to Uber or something, and physically carry one back from the nearest store with me - which would have been the next day because it was after business hours. Or pay someone else to do that, but costs would have begun escalating dramatically because I don't think Good Sam covers some of that.

As it was, I have Good Sam but I had to bail on using them and hire my own flatbed for cash, because Good Sam couldn't get the job done - they could not identify the resources needed to get me off the freeway.

You might think that using a response service should be straightforward, but it is not. Just for openers, they won't tow you until they identify an acceptable (to THEM, not you!) place to deliver your vehicle. So if they cannot find such a place, they won't respond.

Moral of the story: I carry a spare to maximize my options.

Great sunset and after-dark pics of that little escapade:

My choice would be #3 followed by #1 if necessary. During the design phase I was considering using spare tire space for tanks which would force me to eliminate spare or moving it to the rear door. We quickly decided to stay with spare factory placement under the van.