Spare Tires

[Marv]

Hello,

I just bought a 1977 Excella, and the previous owner carried two spare tires inside the trailer. He did occasional camping, and my wife and I plan to live in it full time. Carrying tires in the trailer does not work well for us.

I have two questions.

Is carrying two spare tires overkill, or is it likely, as the other owner felt, that if there is a problem with one tire, there would be one with both?

Has anyone found a good way to carry the spare on the outside of the trailer?

Thanks.

[Theo]

My trailer has a spare tire up underneath the front..

[James Schmidt]

Congratulations and welcome to the world of Airstream owners!
Airstream offers an option of a spare tire carrier that is installed near the front of the trailer and on the underneath side. You may or may not have one on your unit. In any event I have found that one spare is plenty. In an emergency you can tow with three tires-just take it slow and easy until you can have the flat repaired. In 20 years of towing, I have used my spare one time. On another occassion, I loaned it to a traveling companion who needed one and did not have a spare.

[jcanavera]

I'll concur that the need for the spare is minimal. In 25 years of towing I have used a spare once, and that use was because I neglected my tire pressures when I towed my SOB home from winter storage. I was backing into the drive and when I did a sharp pivot, I broke the sidewall bead and instantly deflated a tire.

On the other hand I have always had a spare and I know the fact that I carry one has kept the flat tire demons at arms length. My Safari and my Classic both have the underbelly spare mounts where I carry the spare. I know when I was ordering the Safari I mulled over whether it was worth the extra $350 to have the spare tire mounting added (spare tire mounts were not on the option list for Safari's in 2001). In retrospect it was worth not having to carry the tire in the back of my van or in the trailer.

Jack

[Marv]

Thanks for the feedback. I will drop one of the spares, and look for the under-trailer mount. That will certainly free up a lot of space inside.

[wahoonc]

Marv,
If the spare tire rack is not already mounted, it takes some reconfiguration of the belly pan to install. It fits up in between the frame rails in the front. We just carry our spare in the tow vehicle, where it is readily accessible. I detest having to lay on my face in the mud or whatever else is on the side of the road to release a spare tire. Just my opinons

Aaron

[TomW]

My Airstream has the spare tire mounted behind the propane tanks. At present, I need to remove the bracket to treat rust, but I think I will reinstall it because the spare does not look bad there WHEN it has the aluminum colored cover on it.

Tom