Why Do I Need To Carry A Spare Tire

[mkguitar]

You could mount a 2" receiver off of the front frame rails and hang the spare off that ...or a motorcycle carrier or...

these set ups are super handy for moving the trailer around the yard.

mike

[mumkin]

Interestingly all makers of front hitch systems stopped making them for Chevies some years ago. That likely means that it is no longer recommended.

[skiMore]

Some class C RVs ship without a spare.

[mlts22]

I've seen class "C"s where the spare is an option.

[mumkin]

All Leisure Travel small Class C units have no spare... they were talking of developing an option, but I didn't keep track whether they did or not.

[Sailordive]

Why, while traveling across the country, Thursday night July 3rd in Ohama, NE we had a right front tire go down due a bad valve stem. Progressive sent out a tow truck to change the tire in the Cabelas parking lot where we were staying. The next day Discount Tire checked the tire, put in a new stem rebalanced and reinstalled the tire. Lost time about an hour.

Sunday morning, August 9th 45 miles east of Dallas, we had an inside right rear go flat. The only sign was an occasional whomping noise. Pulled over, changed the tire in about 15 minutes and we're back on the way. That tire had two small punctures in the sidewalk, must have been road debris. Total cost for both events, $20 for the new road hazard insurance on the second flat tire, it was toast and needed replacement. We made it as planned to Birmingham that day and I was back in the office in Atlanta Monday morning.

Cost without a spare, who knows? Would the tow service take us to the dealer who was the road hazard? Lost time, depending on the local stock a day or two.

[Rocketman53]

Here's my recent "never made a call for tire roadside assistance" experience:

After stopping at Ben & Jerry's in Vermont, was on the Interstate headed toward Burlington, cruising with traffic at 65 mph. Suddenly, big noise fills the van... Get the camper stopped at side of the road, shoulder hardly as wide as vehicle, and thick growth knee high beyond pavement. Heavy traffic zipping by. Tire blew out - had just 3000 miles on it.

AAA (claimed they) called every one of their contractors in area - none would come out on the Interstate to change a tire - "too dangerous." They also wouldn't come out to tow me in when AAA tried that tack after two hours fiddling around. With that, I changed the tire myself (hsould've done it anyways) and we limped to town on the doughnut.

Next morning we go to the local tire store that happened to sell the same brand tire (Falken). The service guy looked at the chewed up tire and we both wondered what caused the catastrophic failure. Hadn't hit or driven over anything. (BTW, I used to sell tires, so I think I know something about them.) And there was no warning.

After the tire was dismounted I was called over. He showed me something I'd not seen before. It was the pressure sensor that attaches inside with the valve stem. The metal stem apparently fatigued and broke off - then WHOOSH! He said such a failure is not unusual, that the tire installers generally don't bother to check when new rubber is installed. (I had been getting intermittent low pressure light on the dash, but the pressure was fine in all four tires when I checked them.) The metal stems are easily replaceable, and only cost a few bucks, if not included.

So, my cheap advice, don't count on "help" ever arriving, even for a tow, if stranded in the wrong place. I always carry a plug kit and tire pump (I find the Wal-Mart Slime-brand pump with integral gauge and light the best I've ever used. Quick to inflate a tire even from zero. Bargain at about $20.) And my lesson learned: Have those metal valve stems checked when new tires are installed, or if getting a seemingly "false light."

BTW: Shout out to the lady on the phone at the nearby Wal-Mart. The store does not have a tire department. Nothing was open otherwise after 6 PM. She wished me luck, and then, "If you can get your camper here, you're welcome to stay overnight in our parking lot." Bless her for trying in our time of need.

[mumkin]

If the roadside assistance people refuse to come, I will just have to live there for the rest of my life because even with a spare there isn't a chance in hell that I could do it...