Towing with a Spacersaver
After 40 odd years of towing,I had the first puncture,whilst leaving the site today,the car tyre low pressure warning alarm initiated on dashboard.Luckily I could change the tyre safely on the ground outside the site,well before the 13:00 hrs arrivals,but on fitting the new tyre from boot,even though it was a steel rim,it was a full size 19" but slightly thinner "spacesaver" with a max 50mph sticker on it.It was not one of those skinny hard rubber tyres.
Now in my panic, I did not even think,are there any "rules" or "guidelines" towing with a dedicated Spacesaver?
I had a slow tow home of 45 miles, braking and steering were fine.For info,tyre with puncture was drivers off side front.
Would you have driven?,or would you attempt to get the tyre tyre repaired and refitted.Unfortunately the nail in the tyre is right on the edge.
Answers
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I would be happier with the spacesaver on the front than on the back with a fully loaded van. Because we have space in the well for a full tyre, we have one so are OK at present, but I guess at some stage in the future a spacesaver will be the only luggable option
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I think that if I found myself in that situation I would ask the warden if I could leave the caravan in the late night arrivals area, and then go and get the tyre mended or replaced.
I don't know what I'd do if I had a puncture on route, other than fit the space saver in order to get to safe area, but I reckon its worth a call to the Clubs technical department.
I suppose you also have the option of calling in a mobile tyre fitter, assuming they arent booked up
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When I had to fit a space saver tyre onto the Mazda 2 we used to own, although not towing, the handling was dreadful (and no, we never put it through its paces). If that was anything to go by, I certainly wouldn’t want to tow with one. But of course, needs must…
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Not sure what I would do, I suspect it depended on how far we had to go or if there was a tyre dealer very close. We had a flat tyre once when leaving Beechwood Grange pointed out be the warden as we passed him. He did tell us o a tyre dealer just down the road so we were able to unhitch on the car parking bay and get it replaced before we moved on. I think many sites have a dealer nearby so that might be the deciding factor in most cases.
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Update.I have contacted the Club's technical help line and you can tow with a spacer saver but limited to instructions given with the tyre,also the limit is about 50 miles (at 50mph) max. Legal side of it is that the police will not pull you over, but if stopped for a spot check they may not let you carry on.
Tyre is unrepairable,as screw has gone through tread and side wall,so waiting for new tyre to arrive sometime this afternoon.
At least I had a spare as so many cars do not come with a spare wheel,just a tin of gunk to inject in to tyre.
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The subject of spacesavers is confusing. We tend to naturally assume it to be one of the very slim lightweight skinny affairs, but this is not always the case.
When I owned my 2004 VW Touran it came with no spare. I bought a smaller than fitted steel rim and had fitted a deeper profile slightly narrower tyre, but the rolling diameter was the same. The load rating also matched the vehicle tyres fitted.
I had a valve failure on one of my road tyres in 2012 whilst in the Dordogne, 600+ miles from home. I fitted my spare and whilst I managed to get the tyre fixed at a local village garage I was apprehensive as the wheel had not been re-balanced so drove home with the spare fitted.
As usual I kept to around 50-55mph, but technically I later found what I was doing was illegal. Whilst the spare fitted was a full size tyre of correct load rating it differed to the other wheels/tyres fitted and therefore classed as a spacesaver. Some manufacturers call it a "Temporary Spare Wheel"
In 2014 I bought a Skoda Yeti that did come with a spare wheel. Like the VW I had sold this spare was a steel rim of a smaller diameter, same load rating, slightly narrower with a deeper profile and same rolling diameter. It was clearly labelled with a 50 mph & 80 kph sticker. The owners manual reinforced this.
Colin
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Thanks Eriba Motters
Odd thing is my tow car is a Skoda, normal road wheels are 19" by space saver was 16" and slightly thinner but still a full height tyre on a steel rim. I mentioned this to my tyre fitter today,and he mentioned it sort of gets the manufacturer free from any liability whilst a SS is fitted.The tyre fitter was slightly taken back when I said I had my caravan on the back though.Looking back on yesterday I may of taken another option,than towing home.
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I've found a picture of the Yeti spare, classified as a "Temporary Spare" a 185 50 R16
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This is my solution! A bit OTT, I accept🤔 However, the Touareg has the Adblue tank in the boot- well, where a spare wheel would be and although I think you might be able to get a skinny space-saver in there, I wan't happy with that solution. The small print in the Mayday recovery brochure states that if you don't have a serviceable spare wheel, they will provide one at the owner's expense. Not so much bothered about the 'expense' bit - more to do with where would you find a spare wheel and tyre on a Bank Holiday Sunday afternoon, when, by sod's law, is going to be the time you need one! Especially for a not-too-common car. Got bitten by that one some years ago with a boat trailer - never again!
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I would never tow with a space saver wheel on the tow car, that’s why I have the clubs green flag to get me out of trouble safely.
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Eriba Motters yes that looks like a similar tyre to mine,but mine did have a sticker across the securing nut with limiting usage on it.
Clarinatman.Yes I too are in a breakdown company RAC Arrival in my case,I am not sure what the breakdown company would do in this situation though,another option was a mobile tyre fitter,but then again would he of had my tyre size available at short notice.
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