Do you carry a spare tire?

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

How many people carry a good spare tire in your bus and how many have the ability, tools, and skills to change it yourself on the road?  Even if you can't change your own, there are advantages in carrying one for someone else to change rather than having to pay scalpers rates to buy a new tire whilst on the road.

[eagle19952]

i do. but not a jack
outside duals are all i do.
then, only after i call roadside and they are 4 hours away and i have no beer..

[ArtGill]

In the past, up to two weeks ago, I just carried a tire.  When I called CoachNet with flat they advised me they didn't cover mounting a tire, just changing a wheel and road service.  So, I have purchased a wheel.  I also have a 20 ton air/hydraulic jack, 1 inch impack wrench, set of sockets, a pull bar and a pipe.  I plan to test run changing a wheel at home and see what else I need.  I don't what to change a wheel by myself on the side of the road, but I intend to be equipped to do so if needed.

Art

[lostagain]

I never carried a spare until the last couple of years. Just because I had the tire the right size, so might as well carry it, sans the wheel. But I've never needed it. Bus tires just don't go flat very often at all. If they are good newer tires, and you keep checking for proper inflation, and stay off the curbs, statistics say that you will drive at least a life time before one goes flat. I've driven buses and trucks all my life, and flats or blow outs are very rare, like I can count them on one hand. I do carry all the tools for changing one on the side of the road if I had to, like if Coach Net is hours away. If you remove the wheels for maintenance in the winter, you know you can do it anytime if needed. So if you've got the space for a spare, and it makes you feel better, carry one for sure. And the advantage would be that you don't have to look for a new overpriced one if needed.

JC

[PP]

I have insurance. I don't even carry a spare for the toad   With that said, I do have all the tools and no-how to change the tires on the bus as I did my own tire swaps when I replaced the last set of rubber. I learned at that time that I didn't have a torque wrench that clicked on left-hand threads. Along with my torque multiplier and NEW dual direction torque wrench, all I need is a cell phone. There's always cold beer in the fridge and NO that is NOT an open invitation to all you busnuts out there!  

[Iceni John]

I made a mount for my spare tire under the nose of the bus, using a worm-drive 2000 lb. winch from Harbor Fright and a home-made folding dolly that allows me to easily move the wheel out from under the bus.   I also have a 40"-long 1"-drive breaker bar, a Budd socket and an extension for the rear wheels, and an auxiliary 120 VAC air compressor plumbed into the bus's accessories system with three air outlets around the bus for inflating tires and running air tools.   For the heavy lifting I have four bottle jacks:  two 20-ton, a 12-ton and a low 12-ton, and several lengths of 6" x 8" pine and two squares of thick steel plate.   I also have Good Sam, but maybe they won't always be available, hence my own Plan B.   As the Scouts say, Be Prepared.

John  

[Beluga Bus]

I carry a 9.00-20 with tube, not mounted. Had a flat this summer, once the tire guy showed up he had the tire mounted on the old split rim in less than 10 min.

Matt

[luvrbus]

I have never carried a spare and I never needed one but with the heavy 45 ft bus I am considering carrying one 

[jmblake]

I have carried one with me since I bought the bus in 05 and never used it, so now I'm going to remove it and place a generator in it's place. I figure if I need one bad enough I could take one off the tag and chain the tag up to get me to a shop for a repair. I do carry the tools and jacks to do it myself but I also have coach-net that I would call first.
Jason

[RJ]

We carry a spare for several reasons:

• Won't have to buy a new tire at an exorbitant rate while on the road.
• Additional weight on the front axle to help crosswind stability.
• Some additional front end collision protection.

That's what works for us.  And, yes, I do have the tools to change it myself if necessary.

FWIW & HTH. . .

[chessie4905]

Since most of us use 1200xr22.5 or 315x80x22.5 tires, I would think it prudent to carry a spare. Although I haven't actually checked, I doubt that most places coming to repair a flat have that size available quickly. They mostly carry the trucker sizes. The size we use is also going to be a premium in price since it isn't common out on the road in an emergency. Personally, if you run a bus conversion, you should be able to change your own tire if necessary. If you are too old or handicapped, make sure the wife can do it. (With your supervision of course)

[gumpy]

Since most of us use 1200xr22.5 or 315x80x22.5 tires, I would think it prudent to carry a spare. Although I haven't actually checked, I doubt that most places coming to repair a flat have that size available quickly. They mostly carry the trucker sizes. The size we use is also going to be a premium in price since it isn't common out on the road in an emergency. Personally, if you run a bus conversion, you should be able to change your own tire if necessary. If you are too old or handicapped, make sure the wife can do it. (With your supervision of course)

Most OTR trucks are now running 12R22.5. Wasn't that way 20 years ago, but it's changed.

Yes, I carry a spare and all the tools and knowledge needed to change it myself. Have never needed to do so on the road.

[belfert]

I carry a spare because the bus came with one.  My bus has a spare tire winch like many pickups have these days.  My spare is a brand new tire from 1997.  I don't trust it to take me far as it has deep cracks.  This past year I also carried an unmounted tire that came off the front of the bus.

I hit something and blew out a sidewall in Utah.  I have all the tools to change a tire and we were able to install the spare tire in about three hours.  We stopped at a Loves truck stop and the shop there mounted my unmounted tire to replace the bad tire.  We ran on the old cracked spare longer than we probably should have.

[luvrbus]

If you are running 24.5's I would suggest carrying a spare they are getting hard to find on the road

[Utahclaimjumper]

  I had a flat last time out,,,or I say flat,,,cause it was completely GONE,,,as only the wheel left on the toad.. Left rear and cost me $104.00 for the tire installed by Coach Net ( 40 minutes and down the road..>>>Dan)