To have a spare or not to have that is they question

[EMan508]

I'm in the market to buy a 30'-ish Winnebago or Itasca Class A RV.  It seems like if I go over 30' they no longer come with a spare tire. I was told that they (the 22.5") weigh so much I could never change it. I think the tire size is going between 19.5" and 22.5", which doesn't seem like a lot.

If I don't have a spare does that mean I will always need to be towed somewhere for a repair or are there mobile tire repair vehicles for these huge tires?

-Eric

 

[emiddleb]

One of those subjects where everyone has an opinion, many differ.

Yes, there is certainly a weight factor and also a storage size issue.  A full spare with hub is very heavy (?couple hundred pounds?) and can take up a full bay. There have been some creative solutions for mounting a spare underneath on brackets or on the rear hitch.  Also, there is the issue of jacking up the RV and the amount of torque needed to change those big wheels.

Another question would be how much you expect a flat.  I've never had one, changing my tires out when appropriate and using a TPMS to monitor the pressure.  Sure, I can always hit a curb/chuckhole/spike but so far not an issue.

Personally, I think it depends on where you travel.  If you are going to be somewhat near urban areas with access to cell service then a good roadside assistance plan and a credit card will get you out of most issues.  If you are going to be in the wilds, driving to Alaska etc then I'd probably think about it.  Then I'd also carry the appropriate jacks and breaker bars to ensure I could safely change the tire.

Some carry just the spare tire figuring the issue would be more getting a replacement tire and that as long as they have one almost any truck/tire shop can mount it.  Still takes up the same space but weighs less of course.

So based on that, I choose not to try to carry a spare and depend on my Coachnet to help me out. 

Anyways, just my opinion.

 

[Jeff]

Eric:

Most emergency road services will pick up a tire, bring it to you, and mount it on your rim as part of the emergency call. Your only expense will be the cost of the tire.

Most RVers have a road service contract wilh Good Sam, Coach Net, or their RV insurance carrier. If you have one through other companies just make that sure it covers RVs.

 

[Jammer]

Hi Eric

Jacking removing and replacing a Budd rim with a 22.5" tire is not widely believed to be a do-it-yourself activity.  The OTR truckers don't carry spares much anymore either.

Cars still have spare tires only out of tradition and possibly regulatory compliance.  Flats aren't nearly the problem they used to be and most disabled vehicles are disabled by something else, especially if you are careful about tire maintenance and replace the tires when it's time.

In my personal experience I've been stranded 6 times on the road (none of them with the RV):
- crash
- fuel pump failure
- transmission failure
- gas gauge misreading leading to fuel exhaustion
- coolant hose burst
- tire blowout

So I guess my point of view is that there isn't really a compelling case to be made that tires are the most important thing to carry spares for.

I understand that most of the CoachNet calls are due to slide outs and tongue jacks that won't retract with tires being a fairly distant third.

I carry a spare for my truck and my trailer but it's mainly out of habit.

 

[EMan508]

You mean if my slideout jams they will send someone to help? Is this only Coachnet?

-Eric

 

[odie1234]

You mean if my slideout jams they will send someone to help? Is this only Coachnet?

-Eric

Coach Net will use a mobile repair service sometimes - you still have to pay repair costs after the tech arrives. Typically you have a choice. They will pay for the service call or pay the tow. If the service call is unsuccessful (repair on site cannot be made) they will not, I do not believe, then pay for a tow to a repair facility. Coach Net also has technicians who can help you via phone with mechanical issues.

We do not have a spare tire, and, quite frankly I would not attempt to change one even if it was available. In over 50 years of driving all types of vehicles on all types of roads, I have never had a blowout - a couple of driveway flats is all. For this reason I do not consider the risk worth the cost or effort to carry a spare. This subject comes up regularly on rv forums. Many of the responses tend to be macho "I do not want to depend on anyone else" kind of answers. My feeling is that Coach Net and a credit card will fix the tire.

 

[max49]

You should get a spare with any MH with 19.5 tires.  The reason MHs with 22.5s  don't come with a spare is that it adds expense and takes up space and customers don't demand it and dealers are trained to tell you, you can't change it yourself; even if true, it will be cheaper and possibly much faster for your roadside assistance to mount your spare rather than they have to find you one, especially on Sun. or holidays.
  My 35' Damon has a spare that drops on a cable just like an SUV or PU truck. Never needed it in 35,000 miles but I would not go far without it.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

It's a matter of personal comfort.  All I can say is that we've traveled over 90k miles without a spare so far and haven't regretted it yet. Maybe I will some day, but I could say that about most any major component of the RV.  If I carried one of everything that might fail sometime in 50-100k miles I'd be overloaded.  On the other hand, if I drove a lot of miles with old or worn tires, I might think that having a spare is a good idea, since my risk of failure has gone up. But even then, it makes more sense to me to spend the money of new tires than on a spare.

I do carry a spare fuel filter, cause it's small , not real expensive, doesn't wear out when not in use and I can swap it myself in 20 minutes if needed.  I don't carry a  spare tire because it has nearly the opposite attributes.

I've had more problems with batteries than with tires. We've put 64k miles on our 2007 car and still have never needed  the spare, but I've needed a jump start twice and a new battery once. I would rather have a spare battery than a spare tire.

 

[Jammer]

+1

I would like to add that the credit card works pretty well even without coachnet.  There are 24 hour truck tire service places pretty much everywhere there are roads.

Careful preventative maintenance goes a long way towards minimizing the need for spares.  This is true for tires as well as everything else.

I don't carry much in the way of spares these days in the era of cell phones and fedex but on a long trip to the back country there are a few things I do bring along:

- Fuel filters (if replaceable without removing the fuel tank, many are not).
- Serpentine belt.  Often a special-order item even if the parts place is open.  Modern trucks can't go more than 1/4 mile without this.  Frequent careful checks of the belt, tensioner, and idlers and aggressive replacement of failing parts can reduce the risk here.
- Air compressor and tire plugging kit.  Often a leaking tire can be reinflated and that can be enough by itself to get to civilization.  Many people think tire plugs are one of the main on-ramps to the road to hell but they sure are lighter and cheaper than a spare
- Jumper cables.
- Roll of wire, electrical tape, and soldering equipment.
- Extra motor oil.  A quart or two may be enough to get you back to civilization if the "too-late light" comes on
- Extra TV-to-trailer electrical cable.  (I've modified my rig so it's removable on both ends)
- Trailer wheel bearings.  My current rig uses Dexter sealed bearing packs which can't be installed in the hub without a press so I can't carry spares anymore but I have in the past.
- Handle for manual operation of the tongue jack

I think the industry wide switch to in-tank electric fuel pumps has led to more disabled vehicles than anything else, and these aren't really field repairable items.

 

[Lowell]

:-\  I carry two spares for my TT.  That's because we most often camp on the National Forrest away from cell phone coverage off of paved roads.  My TT tires aren't very heavy compared to a MH tires.  Plus I believe MH tires are of a higher quality than the cheap Chinese tires used on TTs. Different thoughts depending on each individuals use of their RV.  I have had 2 tire failures in 6 years.

 

[rtluft]

FWIW.  Try removing a lugnut.  I doubt if a 1/2 inch drive impact will budge it.  You will probably break 1/2 inch drive tools when you apply pressure to the cheater pipe trying to move the breaker bar.  3/4 inch tools would hold together but you still will need to be able to apply the needed power to turn the nut.  Sure, the tires are heavy but they roll.  Just my experience.

 

[Just Lou]

My old coach has 16" wheels, so I can handle the mounted tire by myself.  I carry the spare in the trunk of the toad.  I never travel without an emergency road side service, but wouldn't hesitate to change a tire myself it it happened to go flat while safely parked.

I also carry the necessary tools to change the tire and torque the lugs.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I would always have a spare with a trailer - those tires are very prone to failure and are easy enough to change yourself. Relatively small, too, compared to 22.5" bus tires.

 

[StockHR]

I agree with everyone about the weight of my 19.5 tires and rims being way too heavy to change. Also the lug nuts are on so tight that I would have to stand on the star wrench to get them off. There is another reason to carry a spare if you can. This past summer I had my first (and hopefully last) blowout while traveling. I called Good Sam and after an hour wait the tire repair service truck arrived. I had asked them to bring out a new tire to swap out with the blown tire on the RV so I could keep my spare. The mechanic told me the cost for the new tire would be $498.00. Clearly trying to rip me off since I was at his mercy. I told him to keep his tire and use my spare. The cost of the road service was covered by Good Sam. The following weekend I took the blown spare tire to my local tire store and had a new tire put on the rim at a cost of $289.00.

My point is, it's good to have an option in that situation. Our spare is mounted on the back of the Fleetwood next to the roof ladder. As a final note this past week I had all new tires mounted on the RV and each 19.5 Goodyear cost $360.00 so like everything else the cost of tires went up. The ripoff artist would probably ask for $580.00 these days.