Class A Spare Tire Carrier

I'd like to have a spare tire and am looking for ways to store it. I'm thinking of some type of mount to carry it under the chassis frame in the rear of the coach.

I can fabricate most anything but need some design ideas.

Is there a commercial unit available?

All thoughts and ideas are welcomed.

Thanks,
Tom

If you have 19.5" wheels you might have room to mount a tire under. Both of my Damons had a spare mounted under the rear with a cable lift. My coach has 22.5" wheels and I don't have enough room to mount a spare under it, without it hanging down too far. I've been thinking about modifying the hitch to accommodate an extension to mount the spare like some of the older coachs had. Problem I see with that is, I'm not able to get the flat back up there even if I needed it, but then again I don't think I could even change the tire anyways. I have Coach-net but still worried about not having a spare tire along. There is enough room for an unmounted tire in one of my cross over bays, but it barely fits. Won't fit if it's mounted on a wheel even if left flat. That tire takes up a lot of room in the bay, but I'm not a full timer so I can spare the room.   

Hows your coach running since the tune up?

I should have mentioned that I have 22.5" tires.

I wouldn't try to change it myself. But I'd sure like to have a tire available when road service come to help.

Tom

Heli_av8tor said:

I should have mentioned that I have 22.5" tires.

I wouldn't try to change it myself. But I'd sure like to have a tire available when road service come to help.

Tom

Click to expand...

Tom, if the back of your motorhome is similar to mine, there might be a place for a spare.  The back of my motorhome has what appears to be a panel that can't be removed.  At least not from the outside.  There's nothing behind it and the owner of the shop that services my motorhome says it's likely a place to hold a spare tire.  It's certainly large enough but I don't recall seeing any supports that would hold a large tire.  If you've had any luck finding a solution let me know.  I've been considering a spare for our Alaskan journey. 

Does a spare tire make sense?  There is no reasonable way to change a tire on your own on a class A motor home on the side of the road without a professional truck tire company.  The hydraulics, will of course, lift the bus but even if you have a full size air compressor it will not remove the lug nuts.  Because the bus is so heavy the lug nuts are tightened well above the 100 psi that most compressors will deliver, usually somewhere between 500 - 1000 ft lbs.  Yes you can buy a long cheater bar but even with that you will likely not be able to even budge the lug nuts.  Plus the weight of the mounted tire will be some where between 150 - 200 lbs.

So you have to call a truck tire company anyway.  Every truck tire company will bring a new tire and rim no matter what you tell them when you call for the service.  They will not come out, lift your bus, remove your lug nuts, put on your spare just to find out that it has a problem of its own or your rim has a problem.  If you have a spare, yes they will install it but they will bring a spare and a wheel regardless, so be ready to give them your sizes when you call or don't expect them to come out.

So you have a spare tire taking up a lot of storage space, adding a lot of weight (especially if the tire is mounted - why carry one if its not) tying up your money (for years) and for what reason?  The truck tire company is bringing a spare anyway, and you can't change it on your own either.

If it makes sense to you by all means don't let me talk you out of it, but really, ask yourself is it worth it?

If there is no place to mount a tire carrier on the back, some rigs have space under the rear where a tire carrier can be mounted.  The Ford winch type mount is readily available if you have room - see https://www.walmart.com/ip/Spare-Tire-Winch-Only/124788060

As ClickHill says, it may not be practical for you to jack up and swap wheel & tires on the roadside without professional help, but having a tire available avoids the hassle and high cost of finding one if ever needed. Some RVers carry an unmounted tire for that reason - a mobile tire service can mount it easily enough. Personally, though, we stopped worrying about it once we moved past coaches with 16" wheels. Unless you push the envelope on tire age & condition, odds are you will never have a problem with a 22.5" tire.

Another thing to be aware of is that on some larger rigs the direction of the threads can be different on the right and left side.

I had a tire service here come to the Islander resort last year to replace the two front tires.

The fellow told me that they get calls about people breaking off lugs trying to get the lug nuts off.

I recall that it is the drivers side that is left hand threaded to help prevent coming loose with the turning of the wheels over time.

Not all rigs are like this, mostly some of the larger ones.

Just a heads up.

I suggest tpms, a good way to air a tire, and a tire plugging kit. I ( and the tire manufacturers) don?t recommend plugging a tire, but it?s saved my butt a couple of times out in the middle of nowhere and run over a bolt or something. Always want to patch plug area when back in civilization. I never had any problems with a truck tire I had to plug. They wore and preformed the same as the other tires.