Spare tire/roadside assistance

[Hemlockdj]

Good day,

SO I have never used roadside assistance and this might be a strange question. Our motorhome, class C 2017 23U Chateau, did not come with a spare tire. Do/can most roadside assistance un-mount/mount a new tire on location if I have a spare tire only, no rim? My thought is why purchase an extra tire & rim, just purchase a spare tire in my storage area. Dumb idea?

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Dave

[mgirardo]

The most important question is what does your roadside assistance cover? Some won't cover mounting an unmounted spare, they only cover mounting a mounted spare. They may charge extra to mount the unmounted spare or they may tell you that you are out of luck.

Our Jayco Class C came with a mounted spare on a rack on the rear bumper. It interfered with our bike rack, so we moved the spare under the queen bed. Only needed it once. Used it for less than 100 miles, then back under the bed it went.

Check with your Roadside Assistance provider and find out what services they cover.

-Michael

[ItsyRV]

The big questions is where do you normally travel and under what potential road hazard conditions?

[Photomike]

To me it would depend on where you go.

If you stay on the main roads in the area of larger towns a tire alone would be enough. Problem would come up if you are in the back country areas on dirt roads or off road even. Just about any roadside assistance company could change a tire but not all have the mobile unit to mount a tire.

Second thing would be how likely are you to damage a rim? If you stay on the paved roads and have a tire pressure monitor system then you should be fine 90% of the time. If you are going down gravel or worse roads it only takes one rock or deep hole to damage the rim and tire.

I don't have a dually so an extra tire mounted to a rim above the back bumper is my safety net. Also if for some reason roadside is not around I can do it or anyone can help me change things out.

[GKAbbott]

We just got another class c after several years of 5th wheel ownership. I carried a spare on the 5er and now with the C. We had a 4 year old tire disintegrate on a previous C we owned. I carry everything I need to change a tire if need be. Waiting for service is not my strong suit.

[Wingcamper]

Thank you for asking the question. We bought a 30 ft class c last year that was made in 2000. It has a spare mounted underneath that still has the sticker on the tread. It appears it has never been on the ground.
I don't have a jack big enough to lift the rv, if it was disabled on the side of the road, and if I did I wouldn't be able to rassle that thing out from under the rv.
Based on the responses you have gotten, I'm going to replace the spare tire with a fresh one, and call road service to change the flat for me, no matter how long I have to wait or what it costs. Injuries take a lot longer to get over as I get older.

[youracman]

To each his own, of course. I carry an unmounted spare; cuz, as with so many other 30+ footers with minimal OCCC, I covet any wt saving available. When the other 6 tires age out, the spare will get tossed on the same scrap pile and I will put a new one in the slot.

I have had one tire failure. It was south of Las Vegas ...... on a Saturday. Called ahead to a Firestone dealer and he said they would stay open until I was ready to hit the road.....of course that was after I told him I wanted 6 new Bridgstone$....lol. "Stuff" happens to me on weekends.....when stores are closed "but I got my own tar" for the emerg road service to put on .... even on Sunday.

Safe travels................ ed s

[rjstractor]

theoldwizard1 wrote:

The pros make it look so EASY !

This is how fast they can change truck tires

Here is another amazing one. 4 off and 4 on in under 5 minutes.

Changing truck tires

They sure do. When our ladder truck gets new "shoes" it takes the guy about 90 minutes start to finish to mount all 8 drive tires. It always makes him smile when we pull a few levers to raise the rear of the 70,000 lb truck so he doesn't have to jack it up manually.

[theoldwizard1]

Tripalot wrote:
For 7 years, all we carried in our Class A was a spare tire - no rim.
Once we had to use our spare and Good Sam put the tire on our rim and we were off.

The pros make it look so EASY !

This is how fast they can change truck tires

Here is another amazing one. 4 off and 4 on in under 5 minutes.

Changing truck tires

[DrewE]

Ralph Cramden wrote:

Granted the OP never specifically stated whose roadside assistance he had, but one would think since its in the "GS roadside assistance" sub forum it's GS?

I'm seeing it in the class C subforum...not the GS roadside assistance one. :h

[Ralph_Cramden]

RoadsideGuy wrote:
Hello Hemlockdj - Thanks for your post. Good Sam Roadside Assistance will send a Mobile Tire Provider to your location to either 1) install your good inflated spare, or 2) install your tire onto your rim and remount on your RV. Keep in mind we would pay for the service call to your location, the mounting, valve stems and any other fees for the mounting would be at your expense.

Think of it as "we bring the tire shop to you!"

Hope that helps.

Thanks again.

And then again we have THIS

Granted the OP never specifically stated whose roadside assistance he had, but one would think since its in the "GS roadside assistance" sub forum it's GS?

[bobndot]

My full tire/wheel spare is on its own rack under the rear of my unit. I have seen others carry it on a rear rack mounted onto the 2x2 receiver. They make a double port receiver to carry the tire as well as tow something, like a dingy, bikes or boat, or carry the tire in whatever you tow.

[carringb]

Where do you travel? There's still a lot of places in the PNW where cell service is non-existent.

That said... On a 23' motorhome, you could limp to town on one rear tire, and can just move a rear up front if you lose a front tire. I wouldn't even bother carrying an unmounted tire. You'd have just as much hassle as buying a tire from a mobile service.

[BFL13]

I have a spare mounted on a rim with the C and also had one with the previous 5er. Good Sam saved us one time with a blow out on the 5er, and used our spare. I don't think they had any spare handy to use instead of ours. The alternative would have been to tow us to a garage on the flat tire or wait till they came back with ours fixed I suppose. How long do you want to wait?

With the C, more recently, I had a flat on one of the rear duallies. I can attest that changing a rear tire of the two duallies is not much fun. I chose this time to limp with one good one on that side to a garage not too far away (under two miles) and let them do it. Alternative there is to call Good Sam and let them use your spare and fight with the whole thing if it is the inner tire. Or what? Tow you backwards with the rear off the ground? Egads!

IMO, have a spare tire on a wheel mounted on your rear bumper, and if it is any of the four rear tires, let Good Sam do all the work! If flat on the front, you can do that if you are reasonably fit.

[Hemlockdj]

Thanks for all the great ideas and comments. Definitely food for thought.

Dave