spare tire

[Carol]

My 07 BT Cruiser didn't come with a spare tire. There also isn't a place to put one. CW said they would see if they can put a bracket underneath, but they aren't sure. I asked why there isn't a spare he said that most people would just call road service and be towed to a station to have the tire fixed. Now, do I spend a lot of money on a spare tire, rim and bracket, or do I just rely on road service? What would you do?
Carol

[retiredhappy]

I have a 30' class C and also don't have a spare tire. Yes, I would rely on road service. I sure wouldn't mount it under the rig where you can't get to it anyway.

[Bethers]

Me? I wouldn't be without a spare tire. Mine is bracketed onto the back of my Class C - and has been used. If you don't have a spare tire, when you call Road Service, it will no longer be a free service - you'll have to pay for a new tire (at their prices) and for them to come out and replace it. If you travel somewhere and don't have phone service (like roads in Alaska) I would have used the graciousness of stranger if I'd had a flat - for them to put on my spare until I could get to somewhere.

That's just me - but I would pay to have the tire added. I like the tire mounted in the back. It's easily accessible.

[Acadianmom]

I'll tell you my experiences with Good Sam Road service regarding tires. They will probably not tow you anywhere. I had a blow out on the Atchafalaya Bay Bridge which is about a 20 mile long bridge on I-10. They risk their life changing my tire on the bridge and wouldn't tow my Class C 5 miles to get us off the bridge. All of this ended up taking about 5 hours because they first sent a kid in a pickup truck that didn't even have the equipment to get my tire off. All this time we had to sit on the bridge with 18 wheelers flying by at 60 mph. I have always had a spare but the tire service will show up with some junk over priced tire that you don't want. The chances that they will have a tire to match what you have are slim to none in my opinion. The road service will change your tire but you have to buy the tire. Because I had a spare I had someone change it for me one time saving me a long wait on the road service.

I don't know what kind of bumper you have but there are bumper mount tire holders. I think I have even seen one that will fit in a trailer hitch. I would not travel without a spare but that's me. Two of my class c's had the tire mounted under the back. You wouldn't be able to get it down but a man with a jack can.

Martha

[Cedar518]

Spare tire: always
Location: rear bumper rack.
Motto: better safe than sorry!

[Nasoosie]

Spare tire: always
Location: rear bumper rack.
Motto: better safe than sorry!

DITTO!!

[AlmostThere]

Carol, I have an '04 BT Cruiser and the spare is underneath. When I took it in for all the steering issues I had a flat on one of the inside duallies. When the mechanic went to change it out he discovered the spare wheel was some foreign type thing that didn't even match the # of holes for my rig, and it was the wrong tire size! At my permission he then ordered a spare wheel and tire to match the rest of my rig, but told me that it was a bear to get at if I should every need it. He said to call my roadside service and let them wrestle with it. If I didn't have the mount underneath, I'm not sure where I would put a spare as there isn't any real bumper in the back. IT's all molded fiberglass. Something would have to be special made, I assume, but I'm not sure I'd worry that much about traveling without a spare. Something to ponder, for sure.

[avalen]

Spare tire: always
Location: rear bumper rack.
Motto: better safe than sorry!

DITTO!!

DITTO AGAIN

[carold]

We had a flat time with our Class C in the middle of nowhere and a spare with us. Good Sam came out, took off the flat, put our spare on our rim and off we went. Don't have one with the Class A-so, we'll see what happens. carold

[ali1257]

We have a Class A with a spare on the back that we have never used. We have had two flats and both times called Les Schwab, told them what size tire and type we needed. Each time they brought out the specific tire we asked for and changed it. All we paid for was the cost of the tire, $176. We have used Les Schwab for years. There is no way we could change the tire ourselves.

When we bought all new tires last summer we had them check out our spare. It is in good condition so if we ever have a flat somewhere and they don't have a tire, we have one that can be put on but we would still have to call Roadside service to put it on.

Good luck with your decision.

[Carolinagal]

I'm of the generation, that we have always had spare tires, my r.v. has one. Was on the back bumper, but my husband, relocated it under the rig, so he could haul his trailer with his antique car on it, also a carry unit he made for the hitch, for excess stuff we carried at times.(big aluminum box).

I have really been glad I have had this spare two times since driving alone. One in a forest part, way down in a gorge in the Tn. mts. and then the famous Eagle mt. blow out. which happened on a Sunday, would have been hard to locate a tire then. GS, just sends a guy out with the tools, an air compressor , in case it needs some air et. and I am all fixed up.
These tires these days, you need a very strong person or an air wrench(whatever they are called) to get the lugs off. In both cases it was the inside tire and they are heavy , so I really wouldn't want anyone except a professional to change them. Used to change my own tires, now I would never dream of it. (Probably couldn't )

I would feel like I was leaving something at home, if I left without a spare tire on either of my vehicles, but then too, as I said, I am of the generation that we always had spares, not these donut thingings, they try to give you now, if anything at all. Progress in some things, I don't think is progress. Trying to buy a spare somewhere , for a big rig, might make for a real long delay in a trip.

It just comes down to what you are comfortable with and your own opinion in any given situation.

Safe and Happy travels,
Carol

[Jennifer]

Another thing to remember (if you are going to ever change your own tire w/o help) is to check the tire pressure of the spare when you check the tire pressure of those in use. It would be a real bummer to realize you don't have air in the spare!

[Liz]

I have a spare underneath. I just bought new tires and bought 5, replacing the spare too as I have no idea how old it was. When I have tires rotated, I'll have them rotate the spare too, so they will all wear about the same.

[Acadianmom]

When people were having so much trouble with Firestone tires I had 6 on my Class C. I had blowouts, tread peel off and a defect that affected the driving so I have to say that I am a little paranoid when it comes to tires. The people at repair shops probably think I'm crazy but if they do anything that involves my tires I check them all before I leave. I had some brake work done and they didn't put the valve extenders on tight enough and an inside dually was flat. Another time they didn't put a hub cap on right and I couldn't get to the valve stem. I can't tell you how many times I have found tires that were either over or under inflated.

Another thing to watch is if you bring your rv in to have several things done is check to see that they actually fixed everything and that everything is working. It's a lot easier to get something resolved before you leave than a week later when you are on a trip and something that was suppose to be fixed is not working.

I carry one of the 12-volt portable air pumps. Now days it's sometimes hard to get to the air pumps at gas stations or they are broken. If you get one be sure it's for trucks so that it will be strong enough and the cord will be long enough to reach your tires.

Martha

[Carol]

I e-mailed Gulf Stream and this is their answer:
" There was no allowance for a spare tire for the BT Cruisers due to weight etc. during the design. Underneath in the rear of the motor home, the chassis mfg may have a spare tire carrier already mounted, however we did not install a spare tire for this unit. "
There isn't a rack mounted underneath and I'm not sure what to do if weight is the issue.