Spare wheels for motorhomes
I'm currently in the process of swopping our caravan for a motorhome (Fiat Ducatto base and on a Swift Lifestyle 664) and have discovered that no spare wheel is supplied. I'm also told that there is no room to fit a wheel carrier underneath the van. How do seasoned motorhomes cope with this? I've come across someone who carries just a spare tyre without a rim, so as not to add too much weight, but to have a replacement available in the more remote areas in which they travel.
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I’d not travel without a spare wheel so, on our previous MH, mounted one on the towbar which, fortunately, it did have. Weight could be an issue, though, as a wheel, tyre and carrier will add about 50kg to your load, plus a towbar if needed, and more than that to the rear axle loading. As tyres themselves are heavy, I see little point in not having the wheel as well. Roadside assistance will change a wheel for you but it’s unlikely they'd fit a tyre.
PS. Try an internet search or motorhome spare wheel carriers.
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Both the Elddis & Autotrail M/H's I have had have a spare wheel & tyre underslung at the rear.....
You can buy the kit on Ebay.......
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Although I have a fixed spare wheel I was advised by the dealer not to attempt to change it myself.
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The problem is a common one whilst the solution tends to be specific to the make and model - unless the motorhomers accepts the risk of not carrying a spare [many do judging by comments across the forums].
My spare is lashed down in the garage, the van before saw me laying the spare between the two floors, and the one before that it was externally fitted to the rear wall which was designed to take the strain. None of my solutions will help NIgel.
Best I can suggest is that Nigel has a look for an answer on the Swift forum. Oh and to check his breakdown cover to ensure his van will be recovered even if it "does not have a serviceable spare."
My current spare wheel weighs 27kg.
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We’d certainly not travel without a spare. TW’s advice is good. Getting a MH recovered is not like a car, takes a specialist truck to cope with length, weight and height. You don’t want to be in this situation for sake of a spare wheel.
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Our MH didn't have a spare wheel and I've had to buy one and put it flat on the floor under the fixed bed.
Your MH is a similar design and although it takes up valuable storage space it is an essential item especially if you go abroad.
We've only had one puncture, a nail in the tyre in France giving a slow puncture, in 8 years of Motorhoming but having a spare saved us a great deal of hassle and expense.
A fellow Brit and myself changed it in a few minutes, took the wheel to a garage, they repaired it for €10 and we were on our way within an hour.
Without a spare wheel we would have had to wait for breakdown services (very thin on the ground during the weekend), they would have to source a tyre of the same size and probably same make and eventually fit it.
Okay if you have a few days spare but not ideal if you wish to be elsewhere.
Do not rely on the gunge blow up kit as your only option – they will not work on many punctures and can damage the tyre beyond repair as well.
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"Do not rely on the gunge blow up kit as your only option – they will not work on many punctures and can damage the tyre beyond repair as well."
The supplied compressors often aren’t man enough to reach the required pressures either.
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Our Escape 612 came with the 'gunge stuff' and no spare wheel This is despite the fact that Swift's own website, together with those of my dealer and several other dealers I've looked at, all stating that the 612 (and some other models) come with "an underslung spare wheel".
Having looked through the web for advice on this subject, by far the majority of correspondents advise that carrying a spare wheel is essential. I now wonder if I should consider having one fitted. I even wonder if there is space under the vehicle to have one 'retro-fitted'.
Anyone else got a similar problem?
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I don't have a spare wheel and don't even bother carrying a spare tyre in the UK but do so when travelling on the Continent. I couldn't change the wheel if I had one in anycase and on motorways you are advised not to even if you can. I haven't had a puncture for over 25 years until recently when I noticed I had a slow puncture. I just called up a local tyre repair service and they came out bringing a spare tyre with them which in the event was not required. The wheel was removed and on testing the tyre with liquid soap, it turned out to be a leaky valve. This was replaced and the tyre inflated and wheel replaced. Took about 45 minutes. The damage £90, I've had 8 years trouble free motoring with this motorhome without a spare wheel. One would be well over £100 to buy and I would still have to call for help to change it.. As far as I am concerned it is not worth the trouble of carrying a spare even if I could find somewhere to fit it.
peedee
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The van that came out was fitted out to change all manner of tyres, even those of trucks.
I reakon that in a way the leaky valve was self inflicted. I had my tyres changed 3 months ago and I recall the garage said he could not get the extenders off the existing valve and he did not have any long enough to replace them so I agreed he left the same valves and extenders on. The problem was a leaky extender at the joint with the valve. If I had had the whole lot replaced I believe it would not have cost me £90 to call out a tyre fitter. He didn't have any long extenders either but recommended I buy and fit some plastic ones which would not corrode to the valve stem. This I have done to retrofit IDC
peedee
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Ours was an optional extra, which we paid for. Having a rear garage there is no problem with storage. There is no way I would want to rely on the gunge pump that it also came with. That was included in the price.😂 The pump although a lot lighter than the spare was reasonably heavy and looked up to the job it was intended for. However, you could right off a perfectly good tyre, that could have been repaired by using it and still not have a repair I would trust.
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Even if I had another puncture tomorrow, I still wouldn't carry a spare wheel simply because I would always have to call out a tyre repair agent.
The only justification for having one is that most breakdown insurances companies won't cover you unless you do which is why I never bothered calling mine.
peedee
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I like the reassurance of a spare. I would no more travel without one than I would sail on passage without an inflatable/liferaft. Probably never need it but a real bummer if you don't have one and do.
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It's a tricky one. Only ever had the need for a spare in 40 years of driving. On this occasion it was my wife's car being used. The pot hole 'entered' took out both the front and rear tyres so had to park up, phone a friend, then take one wheel to local garage. Had to return again later having fitted spare to have the other one fixed. I will add that the local authority paid up having taken photographic evidence of offending pot hole, damaged wheels and the kind guy who witnessed the event testifing in our favour.
Our latest van has a spare. Weight is no problem so it stays slung beneath where I hope it stays.
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In the UK if you just carry a spare tyre most breakdown services will take your damaged tyre and spare away get the tyre fitted then fit the wheel back on to your wagon. So it is a viable option just keeping a tyre.
However what if a wheel is damaged due to debris, a blow out etc, then you are stuck and need professional recovery.
For a simple nail in tyre puncture, I have had great success with tyre plugs that you glue into the hole left by the nail, the kits are small and take up little room, this works enough to get you to a tyre repair or replacement, I did 400 miles with a plug in the tyre before getting it replaced. But of course you need some method of re-inflating the tyre, the co2 canisters supplied with these kits may not be enough
The other issue is if you are going to change the wheel yourself, consider the weight of the rig, 3,500kg or more, the jack supplied might not be the best and wheels themselves (dependant on size) can be pretty heavy to manipulate. I suppose that's what breakdown services are for though
My Eclipse has a spare wheel and tyre on rear mounted strengthening support and bar from manufacture.
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I wonder just how many owners can actually change a wheel? My chassis is just that of white van man's yet it requires 330Kgm of torque to undo the retaining nuts. Even if you could undo these a wheel is no lightweight to remove and replace and then you need a capable torque wrench to retighten the wheel nuts.
peedee
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'Bloomin 'eck', 330Nm now that's tight, I don't think you could undo them let alone tighten them back up without a scaffold pole!
At least this thread reminded me to check the spare.
Tyre was new in Sept last year
It needed a bit of air, I originally had all tyres at 55psi but found out I should have 59 front and 65 rear, so inflated to 65psi, removed some of the corrosion on the wheel and gave it a touch up with paint, greased the securing bolt threads and greased the security padlock, before cleaning the cover and refitting it all back on the holder.
So, thanks for the reminder
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I wouldn't leave home without a spare wheel, having had two punctures in 6 months, both needing a new tyre. There are a lot of rules about what can be repaired, and a simple nail just too close to the edge is all it takes to need a new tyre.
I swapped both wheels myself using an extending bar, and discovered that a normal socket can be shattered easily at high torques. Quality air gun sockets and a torque wrench are a must.
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'Bloomin 'eck', 330Nm now that's tight, I don't think you could undo them let alone tighten them back up without a scaffold pole!
Believe me I have tried! Came to the same conclusion as Vanfan and decided I would leave it to the experts.
peedee
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Back to Nigel's question for a minute or two, I'd say if you want to carry a spare tyre, and most of us do, you buy a motorhome which allows this. If you can't, then the first thing to check is how your Breakdown Cover will react when they turn up and you have no spare. Some are more amenable than others. It also depends where you go because you will find it easier if you have a flat in mainland Britain but you won't in say the more remote areas of the world.
I'd also contact the Swift Forum to see what others do.
Once I had a spare wheel bolted to the back of the van. OK because it was designed so by the manufacturer but I was always wondering whether it would be nicked. I know motorhomers who store their spare tyres inside internal lockers.
My spare wheel weighs 27kg on my domestic scales so if you carry one, make sure you have the loading margin.
My wheels are alloys and my spare is steel so I carry a set of bolts for the spare because the ones used for alloys will not fit. The torque setting for my alloys is lower than for steel wheels as the latter can cope with the higher setting.
Peedee's torque figure is the same as on my son's commercial Iveco. Truck dealers only to remove the wheels. The four wheeled Iveco has a torque setting about half of Peedee's.
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Hmm, 24 hrs at the roadside on Lewis. That'll be fun😂😂😂
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That's good service, David. The point about The Hebrides is Sunday Observance. No washing on lines, no shops open, no garages, no services and so on.
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so the point is mute anyway, even changing your own wheel is 'work' so would be frowned upon, so sitting it out and enjoy your surroundings is not a bad thing
I always wondered with caravans, why you can't spec the same wheel size/type as your car, meaning you only have to carry one spare for both.
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