I've been lugging a spare tire in my bus' basement for thousands of miles. I suppose it's just taking up space and burning fuel -- that is, unless I have a flat. I figure if I have a flat I'm not going to change it myself anyway.
Question, is anyone else lugging a spare around?
Ed DeShields
Ed,
For us it depends on the size. We had a cracked rim in boondocks Alberta (just a few hours from the NW territories border). Even with the logging trucks up there, they didn't have that size rim. We slapped the spare on and were on our way. Ours is fully ready to go, even though I doubt I would swap it out myself.
John
We carry our's behind the front bumper on our 5. I also carry a 2 runup blocks and a 64:1 torque multiplier. Torque wrench and 1 12ton and a 20ton shorty bottle jack. :)
Dave5Cs
Bus didn't have one when we got it, couple of years later we got an unmounted tire, a year or two later i got a new wheel for it and got it mounted. Have the tools and the ability to change it myself. Don't want to have to rely on other people if at all possible.
I have a spare behind the front bumper and hopefully Coachnet will be there if I need it changed.
Had our only blowout last year heading down to busconversions bus rally. Tow truck driver from Good Sam had all the right equipment but no easy access to 12r22.5 tires. So even though it was (at that time) on the wrong rim, the fact that we had the right tire saved us a lot of $$$ and wasted time trying to find the right tire for the bus on a weekend. He swapped the tire on the spot & got us going in under an hour. I was very glad we had the spare with us! PS - we now have 6 new tires and the correct rim. :D
Kind Regards, Phil
Yes, I carry a spare. It's a horrible "get off the road quick and change it later" spare but I don't have any faith in a mobile truck having access to a 12R-22.5 when I happen to need one. It's not as common a tire as say an 11R-22.5 would be.
Brian
As a newbie, we don't have any bad experience with tires yet. We don't carry a spare, the front tire compartment on our MC-7 has an AC unit in it. After reading this thread, I'm seriously considering carrying one. We have a spare tire and rim, just need to get it mounted. Man, that's going to take up some space! New tires are in the plan but not for a couple of years.
I did not carry a spare when Trucking, and I don't carry one on my 11R22.5 equipped MCI5A, I do carry a phone.
Ed
No spare. But I carry all the tools to take a dually off and use it where needed. And I know the nuts will come off because I take the wheels off every winter for maintenance. We have Coach Net also.
JC
My bus came with a spare wheel, jack and wrench - it's obviously intended that you can change it yourself, so it would never occur to me to 'phone someone else to do it for me. I've changed wheels on the bus in order to put new tyres on, but I've never had a flat so don't know if the extra jacking required then would make the job much harder - but I don't really see why it should.
Jeremy
Jeremy,
No extra jacking needed if you carry run-up block(s). If the flat is on the front, run the tire onto the block and jack normally. If it is the outside dual, run the inside tire onto the block and no jacking required. Inside dual, just jack normally. With the run-up block(s) you don't have to worry about clearance below the axle for the jack.
I carry a spare after getting raped on a used tire, when I had a blowout, when we first got the bus. I also have the tools to change a tire if the need arrises again. I will be getting different steer tires this spring, so all the tires will be within the recommended less than 7 years old.
Good luck, Sam
We do not carry a spare. I have extra rims, so I would just need a used tire. If we were to have a flat, a spare would obviously be more convenient than using one of the duals to limp along. Our tires, however, are 11r 22.5 so we should not have trouble finding one most places.
I do not carry a spare, my bus is equipped with hydralic leveling jacks so I can swap tires around fairly easy. now if I just had a 3/4 drive inpact!>>> John
Yep. We carry one. If you never remove it, you'll never even know how much space you're missing ;)
We don't carry a spare, but I do have the means to change tires and will put a tag where needed, Will :D
Scott, you may be right that you do not know how much space is lost if you never remove the tire. Unfortunately, there were several times when I needed to do some work from the spare tire compartment. First, I learned that it is a real nuisance to take out and put back in numerous times, so we left it out. The tire is in lousy condition anyway, so there really was no reason to put it back until I replaced it. In the meantime, I began to use the space, which is so convenient. The way it works is this way-- if you carry a spare for years on end without using it, you have wasted space (and maybe fuel) all that time. If you don't carry one and get a blow out, it would have been nice to have a spare. Either way, you could end up being a sucker. Best thing is not to carry one until just before you get a flat.
We haven't thrashed this one out for a while. I carry two spares. They are mounted directly behind the drivers. Others often refer to them as the tags. The only mission critical blowout you can have is a front tire. In that event I will move a tag forward (or hire somebody to move it). Otherwise I'll be limping into the nearest tire shop. We have 24.5 rubber which used to be common on trucks but I think 22.5 is more common now. If I have a blowout on the road its going to be a bad day anyway - I don't think it would be measureably improved by dragging a flat spare out from under the driver's compartment.
Interesting thread here, though we have been down this road before.
1. The buses that have the spare mounted behind the front bumper have it there as part of the protection in case of a front-end accident.
2. Here in Mexico (and I dare say even in places in the U. S. and Canada), there thousands of miles of highway with ZERO cell phone service, and therefore, no way to call anybody to come change your tire. And here in Mexico, road service simply does not exist. Get a flat and have no spare, and you are skunked!
3. Here in Mexico, NOT having a spare, jack and the lug nut tools gets you a ticket.
I forgot to mention - in spite of the fact that I said I'd call road service I carry 2 x 20 ton jacks & blocks, a 3/4 x 3 foot swing handle and 3 foot snipe, a 3/4 air impact and all the sockets & extensions. (but I'm still gonna call road service even if only to get a young whipper snapper to help me use my stuff)