Do you have a spare tire?

bigb · 11-27-2020, 06:52 PM

My small class A Via has a spare wheel/tire underneath in a cage. I have owned dually vehicles before and never had a spare since you can always borrow a rear for the front and limp on to a tire shop. That said I have never had a tire fail on a dually (15 years) so it was never necessary for me to do that.
Is it common for a 2 axle dually MH to have a spare? Although I like the idea, storage and payload are precious on the Via and I am eyeing the location which is not too terrible to access given the clearance is enough to slide under there on a blanket. It would also help on my meager available payload.

wyocamper · 11-27-2020, 07:30 PM

On my motorhome? No. Over my belt? Oh yeah, big time.

**Eagle5** · 11-27-2020, 09:49 PM

Hi Big Brian,
I have had my F-350 single-rear-wheel Crew Cab truck for 33 years now, and I have never needed to use the spare. I did buy the optional spare tire for my 2019 Minnie Winnie 22M. At maximum load, my E-450 Minnie Winnie is pretty much fully loading the tires, so if I were to be running on just one of the dualies, I would be overloading that tire by a factor of 100%. While I hope I never need the spare, I want to have it just in case.
If you do not take your spare tire with you, then perhaps you could sign-up for a roadside protection programs such as AAA RV Premium? It will be fairly pricey if you need to get towed to a tire shop, not to mention the interruption in your schedule.
Eagle5

dougb · 01-10-2021, 10:35 PM

I carry a spare on a spare holder that goes into the hitch in back. Its very heavy but the carrier swings down and the spare sits on the ground to access the rear storage or to remove spare tire. Probably never will use it but out i the desert country it could be a week of waiting for the right tire to be brought out to me from a tire dealer. Lots of empty roads out there to get stuck on with a flat tire.

Americanrascal · 01-11-2021, 06:01 AM

I carry an unmounted spare for our current Adventurer 38Q 22.5 wheels. It fits in the toad trunk or in our pick-up bed - whichever we are towing at the time. Also carry a spare tire mounted for the dolly.

Over nearly 40 years of RV travel I've had 2 rear motorhome tires on duallies (separate occasions) fail, one trailer tire on a fiver, and one front tire on another motorhome. No failures yet on the current rig.

Just don't want to be stranded somewhere where I can't get my hands on a replacement tire

bigb · 01-11-2021, 07:25 AM

After careful consideration and advice from the forums I have decided to keep the spare, and install a TPMS sensor on it as well.

Jim_HiTek · 01-17-2021, 11:04 PM

Over 16 years of full time RV travel, first 12 years with 19.5's without a towed, and the last 4 years with 22.5's and a towed, I've only needed the spare once while in the middle of Canada when I had a 19.5 go flat. It was very handy to have the tire available for immediate installation by the tire service.

Now that I tow a car though, I could just disconnect the car and go tire shopping if I need one. Before I call a service. So now I don't carry a spare. I don't travel at night either.

WoodBoss · 01-21-2021, 09:16 AM

I have a spare that goes up under the rear portion of the motor home. When I had all new tires replaced a few months back, I had the cradle lowered ,lubricated and the spare replaced as well. I don't want to have to try and find a replacement tire in a hurry, on the weekend or at night. It's too bad they don't make better spots on new Motor homes to store a spare. Very handy when you need one.

bigb · 01-21-2021, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WoodBoss

I have a spare that goes up under the rear portion of the motor home. When I had all new tires replaced a few months back, I had the cradle lowered ,lubricated and the spare replaced as well. I don't want to have to try and find a replacement tire in a hurry, on the weekend or at night. It's too bad they don't make better spots on new Motor homes to store a spare. Very handy when you need one.

I was looking at mine and it is the original, never been on the ground. I wish that over the course of 10 years of tires someone had thought to swap out the spare with a newer take off. My Superduty was the same way, the spare was never used and 12 years old when I had to use it. I went slow and had no issues but I replaced it with a new one after that. I once had an aged spare disintegrate on me in less than a mile after installing.