BCM Community

I have a spare tire and wheel for Thomas. I am debating if it is worth rigging a system to carry it, or maybe just carry a spare tire, unmounted. Since I have the ability to fix a flat on teh roadside, maybe I should just carry the jack, lug wrench, tire irons and patches. I know it's hard to be prepared for anything, but it's nice to at least try. Doug Engel, Gunnison, CO

My Dina has the spare tire mounted on a winch like a lot of trucks, SUVs, minivans, and the like.  The tire is very close to the front of the bus.  There is really nothing else I could do with the space so I carry a reasonably decent mounted spare there as Dina intended.

I am like Brian, I have the spare mounted on a rim and carry it all in the space the bus mfg provided.  I have a jack and some wrenches, whether or not I could change it is another story.  Each year a get a little wimpier.  I've had the bus 4 years, put about 30 k miles on it, and no worries so far, although I started off with all new tires. 

I could use the space to put a pancake air compressor, although I may be able to take the air compressor apart and jam it in some other spaces. Other than that there is not much else I could do with the space.  My bumper assembly has to fold down and it was very cumbersome to manipulate even when new, and now its old and even the mechanics have trouble with it. Not a convenient space to store anything.

While I carry no spare, I do have the jack and tools to change a tire.  I view the duals on the drive axle as a spare if required.

I care a mounted spare, just because it was there when I bought the bus.  I have no tools to change it.  Figure that's what my road service is for.

I've heard the biggest reason to have a spare up front, is in case of a head on, it would make a great bumper.


Bill

I've heard that theory about the spare being a good bumper, but when I look at what is behind the tire, there is nothing but tin.  So I don't think it would really save much. It would just be pushed back.

Hey,
Why can't I carry my tools, tire, AND beer?   ;D  I need something to calm my wife down after a blowout!

I view one of the wheel/tires on the dual axle as a spare.  Chances are only one in three you will have to change a tire in case of a flat and that's a tough job on the road.  (got your 3/4" impact wrench along)
-RickBrown in Reno

My PD4103 came with a spare when I bought it a few years ago. I actually used it when I blew a tire while out in the countryside. Fortunatly, I was near a farm which had a maintenance facility and got help from the a farmhand. I didn't have a jack at the time but now do.

Yeah...I alsos tried to push the emergency beer/wine/Jack Daniels entry thing ALONG with the carrying a spare tire and wheel and all the stuff needed to change it out all by myself maybe perhaps in my dreams button.   Only problem is that I am mostly machine by now...twisted and evil...and not any younger.   :) :) :)

I voted "No spare" but I actually carry 2.  They are conveniently mounted behind my drivers on an air lift mechanism.  In the event I lose a steer tire I will remove one of my 2 spares and mount it in place of the steering tire.  If I happen to lose a dual I don't really care - the other one will get me to help.  I carry 2 x 20 ton jacks and a 3/4 air impact as well as some cheater bars and a 1" drive socket with breaker bar.  I can get the suckers off and back on again but I sure don't intend to.  That's why we pay for Good Sam RV insurance and I may help the kid they send out but I also may just buy him a beer and watch.

I don't carry a spare. Isn't that what road service is for?

Another poll i would like to see is how aften the spare has been used? In my past experience it would just be sitting down there rotting away.

There is space for the spare so I carry it. Here there is no good sam every few miles to come and bail you out.

I've had to use the spare three times, once for a blowout where a tyre patch kit wouldn't have helped much.

I regard the tag wheels as two extra spares and carry the chains to hold the axle up if I had to use them.

One difficulty of repairing the tyre is if you have to take it off the rim, it can be very difficult to get the tyre to seal on the rim again.

    I used our spare 1 time to replace a blown tag when we first purchased our bus (old tire, I should have checked them closer). Since then I decided that space could be put to a better use. We have the generator radiator remote mounted in what wwas the rear wall of the compartment and a slide out tray to store shoreline cords and water hoses. Pull on the bumper to slide out the tray.
    I condsider our tags as spares. We also have road service for any on the road tire changes.  Although I am sure I could change a tire if i needed to, at my age, it ain't worth the risk of a back injury or other injury. Jack

Buses with standard truck tires can get away with waiting on road service.  You'll get toasted buying a tire, but you'll get going quickly.   
Those with 22" bus tires may not find a tire in some places.  If you find a tire, you better have some Vaseline...you're gonna need it.  You could pull a tag, if you have tags, but that seriously limits your 'legal' road speed.  May compromise handling on a heavy bus.  Either way you still need a tire.   
If you need a tire, the tire guy won't come out until a tire is obtained...unless you have specific instructions such as using a tag axle wheel for a spare.     
I've read that spare tires served as crush-zones when located behind the front bumper.   It's part of the structural system when the bumper is crushed.
I carry a steel wheel with a good, correctly sized spare.   And got jacks for most conditions.
Have a torque head and pipe to get the wheel off.    Alcoas are easy (relatively) to handle.  The steel spare is a PITA to work with. 
If you have steel wheels, or steel inner duals, carry a steel spare wheel.   Aluminum may not fit the stud length.  Two alloy duals are a lot thicker than one steel and one alloy. 
Also carry a peice of flat steel plate if you plan to jack a bus up on anything other than hard concrete.   
Most bus front frames are really close to the ground when a steer tire blows.  If you cannot air it back up, you better have a low jack on board. 
Be safe and only jack on the proper jack points.  Most buses have specific jacking points. 
Often, two jacks can be used...air up the bus all the way, place the frame jack in the proper location, and take up the slack...don't jack, just take firm the jack up agains the frame.
Then bleed the air off the system and your bus is almost jacked up.  Place a small jack under the affected axle and jack 2" and the tire will come off. 
Be sure and loosen the lugs prior to jacking when working on a tag or steer axle wheel.  Drive axle will be locked up when air is bled off. 
BTW, for those that haven't had the pleasure of pulling a truck tire:  don't jack the tire more than enough to slide a piece of paper under the tire.  You just want to work it off.  If you get more than a fraction of an inch between the tire and ground, it'll make the wheel difficult to remove, and the wheel and tire assembly will fall off the hub.   It'll get you~   
JR