Spare tires

[DonTom]

I just now came across this article today.

"Why your new electric car won't have a spare tire. And why you probably don't need one."

IMAO, the words "probably don't" mean the exact same as "probably does".

I carry a spare in every cage I own, EV or not. Can't be done on motorcycles, but I do carry plugs and a decent air compressor. I use these for an air compressor. I can even add a few LBS to an RV tire with them. They work a lot better than I expected and I now own eighteen of them, as I keep one in every vehicle I own (16 motor vehicles at this time, 11 motorcycles, two EV cars, two RVs and my Dodge Ram truck) and one spare at each house, these are the ones I use the most. I rotate the batteries around every month or so with the ones in the house to keep them all fully charged at all times.

IMO, the real reason they don't supply tires these days is because they are trying to keep the price down by a few bucks. But that is not that part I dislike. The real problems is there is no decent place to put a spare tire in newer vehicles, so it must take up prime space if there is place to put a spare at all. It was one of the reasons I would not consider the Thor Axis I first looked at when I was RV shopping. Not even a place to put a tire with no rim. But I can and do carry a spare in the outside luggage of my 2022 Entegra Vision 27A. Tire only, no rim. Would be too heavy with the rim anyway.

My Y2K RV is old enough to have a place for a spare. I don't mind them not coming with the spare tire, but how about a decent space for them where it does not use the prime luggage space?

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[Bob C]

Not only do I carry a spare for my truck and trailer, I carry a plug kit and a Viair compressor that plugs into a 12 volt outlet and I also carry a combination jump pack/compressor. I picked up the Viair at a garage sale from a guy that did a lot of Jeep 4 wheeling. When going off road, most serious wheelers drop their air pressure very low, like 10 psi. They have to pump the tires up before driving on the highway.
I also have a TPMS on the truck and TT.

 

[stripit]

When I got the Tesla Model X I right away went and purchased a spare and jack to carry with us. Even with insurance towing I have on the vehicle I figured would be a lot easiser to carry my own. So far never needed it but feel better carrying one.

 

[Arch Hoagland]

Good timing on this post.

Just last week my wife had a flat tire on her car and two days later my granddaughter had a flat tire on her pickup truck.

AAA put on the spare tires and away they went.

 

[DonTom]

I carry a plug kit and a Viair compressor that plugs into a 12 volt outlet and I also carry a combination jump pack/compressor.

I also own the Viair as well as carry a portable compressor in my RVs. The portable one is mainly used on my electric motorcycle as needed, but can also add a few PSI to an RV tire.

I do NOT have the need to keep the engine running when I use my Viair. I put on Anderson connectors so I can plug into my ham radio 13-volt supply (300 AH Lifepo4 lith battery in each of my RVs).

The Viair 12-Volt air compressor is the best 12-volt air compressor I have ever seen anywhere for RV tires.

I keep plug kits in my electric motorcycle that I take on RV trips. So I always have those also on my RV trips. But so far, all my RV tire failures have been instant blowouts with no advance warning. And all had the correct PSI. But I think they have all been at least at the five-year-old mark. All on my Class C, including two blowouts in two days.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[DonTom]

When I got the Tesla Model X I right away went and purchased a spare and jack to carry with us. Even with insurance towing I have on the vehicle I figured would be a lot easiser to carry my own. So far never needed it but feel better carrying one.

Yeah, at least they sell the entire EV tire kit on Amazon. I have all the tire stuff for my Model 3 as well as my Chevy Bolt. I also have a couple of towing insurance plans, one works via satellite for when I am out of cell range.

It also makes me feel better to carry my own tire stuff.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[DonTom]

AAA put on the spare tires and away they went.

You were lucky. See here for my experience last year with AAA.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[John From Detroit]

AAA can take a long time to get to you... I have two spares for my Jeep. one here in the apartment one in the factory provided spot. for long trips they both go in the jeep.. Should I ever make a long trip. I've had a few leaky tires never a Blowout but I've had to Blow up a few times. One time the tire store took a quarter inch lag bolt out of it.. OUCH. fixed it and last I knew (A month ago) It was still holding air... (In the shop due to hail storm).

 

[DonTom]

AAA can take a long time to get to you.

Unless a cop calls AAA for you. The cops have the first priority with AAA. Then you're moved to the front of all others who called before you did.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[Skookum]

Yeah, at least they sell the entire EV tire kit on Amazon. I have all the tire stuff for my Model 3 as well as my Chevy Bolt. I also have a couple of towing insurance plans, one works via satellite for when I am out of cell range.

It also makes me feel better to carry my own tire stuff.

-Don- Auburn, CA

Do you carry a sat phone? What plan do you have that works over satellite?

 

[Kirk]

Like others here, I too am more comfortable with a real spare tire. My VW Jetta came with a liquid tire patch and a canned inflator, rather than a spare tire & wheel in the space provided for one. I must admit that I bought a wheel and cheap tire for it to carry but also must admit that the 2003 truck we just sold had never had the spare tire on the ground. The same was true for our class A that we had for 14 years and also for the travel trailer after 10 years of use. We had the SUV that preceded our Jetta for 9 years and never used the spare. I guess that they are kind of like insurance, a complete waste of money unless you need them and that doesn't happen very frequently.

 

[Skookum]

Carrying around a spare truck tire and 22.5" wheel is a bit much; chances of successfully changing it roadside aren't great anyway. For that we'll rely on 24h roadside services, much like big trucks do.

For the cars around the house, I'm more comfortable carrying a spare than not. But, having mostly had pickup trucks and Jeeps with full-size spares, I've never been worried as 99% of the time we're taking one of them versus the other cars when we may be out of reach of basic services.

Now we also have an EV (without a spare). And I have a sports car with no spare (but it does have run-flat tires). Neither of those vehicles are ones in which I'd willingly put myself in a remote situation that is outside the reach of basic services. But I do carry a plug kit and a compressor.

A while back I had a Chevy Camaro that I used as a daily commuter. We lived up a forest service road and it didn't come with a spare tire. So, I bought a full-sized wheel and matching tire and always carried it upside down in the trunk. It made for a great device to hold grocery bags and other items in place. Never needed it though, knock on wood.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Statistically you are more likely to need a spare battery than a spare tire, but either way the risk is low but not zero. It all depends on what level or types of risk you are comfortable with. We've been historically conditioned to expect spare tires, but improvements in both tires and communications have substantially reduced the need. But it's your call...

Neither of my last two Class A coaches had a spare and in 14 years and 110k miles I never had reason to wish I had one. And I just traded in a 7 yo car whose donut spare never left the trunk. Ditto for the 4 yo car before that, but the one prior to those two suffered two flats in one year. Both were in cities where help was readily available.

My new Hyundai Tucson has a donut spare, but I would have been just as happy with a Slime flat tire kit. I don't drive a lot of miles or in out of the way places anymore, so the extra space (and a few hundred $$) would have been more useful to me..

 

[Skookum]

For those who do have spares...

When was the last time you checked/set the pressure and inspected it for cracks and aging? In vehicles as few as 3-5 years old, they are often low on air.

 

[NY_Dutch]

I recently bought 4 new Goodyear tires for our RAV4 Sport. The original OEM tires were Yokohama run flat tires that lasted 52,000 running miles plus almost 30,000 miles in tow without a problem. The replacements are not run flats, and cost less than half as much as run flats. I also bought a couple of cans of Fix-A-Flat and a plug kit to go along with the Truck-Air 12-volt compressor I already had. Our RAV4 has no place for a spare.

 

[DonTom]

Do you carry a sat phone? What plan do you have that works over satellite?

The Spot Messenger

SPOT ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE PLAN​

Better than a sat phone as they get a map of your exact location on the press of the single button.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[DonTom]

Statistically you are more likely to need a spare battery than a spare tire, but either way the risk is low but not zero.

I don't buy that at all with Class C RVs.

I never needed two batteries in two days, but I have had two blowouts in two days. And countless others.

With other vehicles, I agree that tire blowouts are rather rare.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[DonTom]

When was the last time you checked/set the pressure and inspected it for cracks and aging? In vehicles as few as 3-5 years old, they are often low on air.

I see no need to check the psi of my spares because I always carry a portable tire pump in every vehicle with a fully charged battery. I highly recommend the one I linked. It works very well for cars and motorcycles and can add a few lbs even to an RV tire.

With my Class C, the spare is checked or replaced when I do any tire service.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[DonTom]

Carrying around a spare truck tire and 22.5" wheel is a bit much; chances of successfully changing it roadside aren't great anyway. For that we'll rely on 24h roadside services, much like big trucks do.

Yes, but it is best to have the tire so your roadside service can change it on the road--in minutes.

If you want to wait half the day for them to buy the tire for you, that's fine.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[Skookum]

Yes, but it is best to have the tire so your roadside service can change it on the road--in minutes.

If you want to wait half the day for them to buy the tire for you, that's fine.

-Don- Auburn, CA

It makes no sense to me to carry around a spare Michelin XZE for a 22.5" wheel. It's not a rare tire, or rare size. Certainly not on a wheel. The tire (unmounted) is 114 lbs.

Here's a pic from the last time we had to have a tire patched. It's not exactly something you throw in a basement storage bin.