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vswingfield · 01-20-2009, 09:39 PM

Never on the trailer. (Curse the Little Rock streets for a culvert at street drain that cost me a perfectly good tire on my F150) Beat-up my aluminum wheel too. We all weep for aluminum damage, right?

Have a spare mounded on a Chevy wheel for my ’67 Trade Wind that I never used. It complemented the rest of my inappropriate/out of balance running gear (Thanks for the instructions, Andy, but this was pre Internet [hence pre forums]) and no Airstream dealer in my area, I know better now. I didn’t know, but was lucky. I guess in my case, it really was better than being good.

One of the things that has come up recently is that the life of a tire is about 5 years from the date of manufacture. After that they are potential disasters. They can fail at any time regardless of the amount of tread left.

JoePfznik · 03-05-2009, 02:25 AM

Unless your camping in a really remote area, it seems to me the only risk in not having a spare for your trailer is a couple hours using your TV taking the wheel to a garage/tire dealer to get fixed. Not having a spare for your TV is another thing (not a good idea). Not having a parachute when you need one leads to a really, really bad day.

,

**Kevin245** · 03-05-2009, 03:36 AM

"Unless your camping in a really remote area, it seems to me the only risk in not having a spare for your trailer is a couple hours using your TV taking the wheel to a garage/tire dealer to get fixed."

My personal experience has been that the likelyhood of failure is directly proportional to the distance I am from a open dealer. Factor in the time of day, day of the week, or locale I’ve had too add multiplier of 2 to 3 on top of that. In 1978 I had just such an occurance in AZ. It’s a great story around the fire with a beer, or three, but it sure made for a loooong day. Proof again that many 20-something’s don’t think past tomorrow.

Ahh but it sure was fun…

Our spares make a great awning tie-downs...Never had them on the trailers, and with twin axles I'm not overly worried, but there is a certain comfort in having it them.

Regards,

Kevin

overlander63 · 03-05-2009, 07:13 AM

The only time we've needed a spare for our trailer, we haven't had one.

53flyingcloud · 03-05-2009, 07:25 AM

Shhhhhh Never..
But, now that it's been mention...
I am gonna be on the look out..lol

InsideOut · 03-05-2009, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoePfznik

I don't get the Parachute analogy...Not having a parachute when you need one leads to a really, really bad day.

That's when the reserve parachute comes into play ~

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomW

Your question reminds me of a cost-cutting study done on Naval aviators' use of reserve parachutes. Very few people had actually used them but everyone seemed to want to keep them.

Shari

JStanley · 03-05-2009, 07:45 AM

Only once in four years and about 20,000 miles.
Driving my new Airstream home in 2005, I noticed one tire was soft, so I added air. On the next trip it was low again and it appeared to lose air while it sitting idle. So one day I inspected the entire thread and found the end of a screw in it. Had it repaid locally and examined the screw.
Guess what? It was just like the hex head fasteners the factory uses. I call Airstream and got nowhere. A year later while visiting the factory, I showed them the fastener and they acknowledged it was the type they used but didn’t offer to do anything about it.
Back to the topic: Driving and towing without a spare tire, spare parts and tools is not recommended.

Jim Clark · 03-05-2009, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoePfznik

Unless your camping in a really remote area, it seems to me the only risk in not having a spare for your trailer is a couple hours using your TV taking the wheel to a garage/tire dealer to get fixed. Not having a spare for your TV is another thing (not a good idea). Not having a parachute when you need one leads to a really, really bad day.

,

"I don't get the Parachute analogy"

I do. I have had to use my spare once and it was not remote at all but in the middle of the city a few miles from home. I hit a curb and cut a tire, bent a rim, bent a axel and had to stop in a bad part of New Orleans at night with the family. Due to road conditions I could not continue and would of at the least had to remove the damaged tire and wheel. The tire could not be repaired and no place to get tire or rim at 10 PM. I was not going to unhitch and leave the trailer exposed to vandalism or theft. I swapped out the tire and got the unit home. I replaced a axel, wheel and a tire the following month.

A single axel trailer is more at risk than a multi.
Time is money if you have a couple of hours to sit at a campsite or on the side of the road or if you are comfortable abandoning your trailer while you try to find a repair shop then I guess a spare is not important.

Things I carry. Related to flat tires.

Spare Tire.
12 Volt air pump 2 just because that is what I have one in trailer one in TV. I understand that Slime makes a unit with high capacity and is the one to have.
2 Cans tire inflator stuff. Just in case.
Tire plug kit, will get you to the station for a proper patch.
Tire Air Pressure Gauge.
Cross Wrench
Bottle Jack
Blocking to roll trailer up on to remove offending tire if necessary.
Gun, first statement out of my wife’s mouth was “do you have your gun”. (I have a CC permit) Remember Bill Cosby had a son killed while stopped on the side of the road, this happens more often than you want to believe.

I stow the spare with valve down and check when I check my tires air pressure same for TV.

I purchased my spare and wheel for under a $100.00 shipped to my door, it paid for itself in one use.

If I had been a better driver I would of not needed the spare so YMMV.

ArtStream · 03-05-2009, 08:41 AM

I rotate my spare once a year, every time I do the bearings.

100,000 miles
On my 28 classic in 5 years I needed the spare once, when I returned from a pit stop and discovered one tire had lost air.

I needed a spare TWICE on my tow vehicle and do not have one for it, no place for it. Both times front wheels and both times it was valve failure. I have changed all valves to steel.

1 phone call to my road service and a tire service magically arrives with a tire. Yes, the tire price might be a few bucks higher but it frees-up space in my bulging T.V.

I too have thought of moving the spare and adding an extra battery instead

Michael

ROBERT CROSS · 03-05-2009, 08:50 AM

Twice in 26yrs for the trailer, both on our first AS,

never been without a spare.

FWIW....GM TV's, crank that spare down and lube frequently, the cable WILL be siezed when you need it!

Mikethefixit · 03-05-2009, 08:53 AM

NOT YET! (keeps fingers crossed)
My spare is in the nose of the truck bed strapped to the side. Its out in the open (in the cap) where I can thump it wiff my tire billy or check with a gauge any time. I never leave home wiff out a Spare for Truck or Trailer.When we travel I have a Spare Tire (not mounted) I carry also and Irons, sledge, an air compressor. I can GITTER DONE if I need too.
Sorry thats 45 yrs in a big rig talkin.Im ready fer almost anything.

InsideOut · 03-05-2009, 10:16 AM

We've used ours once...fortunately with our single axle trailer, it wasn't catastrophic. We noticed the tire was a little low and filled it while on the road. The next morning (Sunday) it was flat, flat FLAT...we had evidently picked up a screw somewhere that we didn't notice the day before. We put the spare on and continued on our way until the next stop and then got the tire fixed on Monday. No lost time - except the hour or so at the tire shop - we were able to stick with our original scheduled arrival and then deal with the tire. If we hadn't had the spare, we would have had to delay our arrival a day and missed some things we wanted to participate in.

We've also been on several mini-caravans with friends on the way to/from rallies where if they didn't have a spare, it would have delayed the arrival of us all.

Shari

**moosetags** · 03-05-2009, 10:59 AM

We bought our 2005 25FB (Lucy) new in June of 2006. We have towed it 42,000 miles and have spent 350 nights in her. I state this at the outset to show the use of Lucy before I tell my trailer tire saga. I also want you to know that I have always checked tire pressure almost daily while on the road.

Lucy came with the standard OEM Goodyear Marathons. On a trip out west in 2007, we had a blowout on the left rear. It was pointed out to us by a passing car on the interstate. We were able to stop before Lucy sustained any body damage. We put on the spare at a remote exit using legos to lift the good tire. We continued into Dallas where we purchased a new Marathon. At this point, Lucy had about 11,000 miles on her.

About three weeks later, on the same trip, in Wyoming Lucy blew her right rear tire. Again, this was pointed out to us by a passing motorist. We got off at the next exit and again used our spare. At this point we were learning the finer points of Airstream tire changing. We continued on into Gillette, but before we got there, Lucy suffered another blowout on the right front. We limped into Gillette and found the local truck tire dealer. Lucy was then at about 14,000 miles.

The tire dealer in Gillette recommended going to Maxxis load range E's. Lucy got 4 new Maxxis, and we used the new Marathon that we had bought in Dallas as the spare.

The Maxxis did very well for almost 25,000 miles. Last Fall we were in Nashville on the return leg of another western adventure when we stopped for gas and noticed that Lucy's right front tire had lost pressure. Fortuneately, it had not shredded on the road as had the Marathons. Once more we got to fine tune our tire changing skills. That tire had a strand of steel belt that had come through the sidewal causing a leak. We replaced it with a Carlisle 10 ply as it was the only suitable trailer tire that we could find in Nashville on a Sunday afternoon.

Moral of this story is, if you don't have a spare, you're a braver man than I.

Brian

Gene · 03-06-2009, 03:04 PM

When I started looking for a good 12v. air compressor last year, I first checked the internet and there were two types—cheap stuff that looked like junk (some wouldn't even pump up to 65 psi) and expensive (several hundred and up) ones. The cheap ones plug into a cigarette lighter socket or other 12v socket in a TV and can't build up much pressure because they would fry the circuits. The better ones are directly connected to a 12v. battery and have a long cord and hose to get to all the tires.

Last summer we were in Costco and they have a compressor for around $55 that works very well and appears to be well built. The pressure gauge on it is very accurate. It the hose screws to the valve stems so you can stay with the pump, check the pressure and operate it. I have no idea of the brand name, but I think they still carry them. It's easy to use in a campground when the tires loose some pressure.

I started carrying a cheap little compressor when we used to go on 4WD drive roads and needed it more than once. I also carry a kit to plug tires. Although I know plugs aren't supposed to be as good as patching from the inside, I never had a plug go bad. It's especially nice to have this stuff when the second tire blows—I've had that happen too when many miles from a real road.

Gene

waltero · 03-06-2009, 05:46 PM

On a return leg from PEI in '97 we had a flat on the trailer in NH, didn't have a spare but were fortunate to find one nearby, probably only lost about 4 hours....now I carry a spare...

Motoman · 03-06-2009, 08:12 PM

4 times in four years and 45,000 miles, once to take a tire/rim to Goodyear for a new tire and 3 times for a flat tire.

TBRich · 03-06-2009, 09:18 PM

Once in 2 years...when a rubber valve stem failed (refilling it with air would not have helped)...and we have a single axle, so there you have it. I would not go without a spare...and we check it periodically just to make sure it's up to snuff pressure-wise.

Tarheel · 03-22-2009, 04:30 PM

I have used my spare about 8 times. Right now I have two spares on the ground and none of my tires are over 5 years old. I do drive about 15,000 miles a year so that does play a part.

Mike Leary · 03-22-2009, 05:08 PM

Install the spare, drive to the tire store, replace the tire(s), throw away the spare.

Beginner · 03-24-2009, 05:38 AM

I used the spare three times the first year I owned the trailer. All tires that let go were under 3 years old. I had to air all tires on the ground every time I went to move the trailer.
After going to 16" Commercial T/As (now two seasons) the only thing I do to the Spare is make sure it has air in it before I rotate it to the ground. Also have only had to air the new tires at the fall when temperature drops (I guess that is causing the pressure drop) then only at the end of the second season.
Beginner