Neighbours new Nissan Qashqai has no spare wheel, jack or wheel brace. Just a bottle of sealer/compressed air. Not for me. But will this happen in the caravan industry?
Future of the spare wheel
- Thread starter Dustydog
- Start date
Dustydog said:
I am surprised that it hasn’t happened already but perhaps it’s the higher loading and pressures used on caravans. Also caravan tyres let go completely in some instances whereas cars don’t tend to. I’m sure the makers have looked at it if only to save them weight and increase profit.
Must confess Dusty when last looking at change of vehicle - one of the criteria to be met for me was a spare wheel, without one 'the' vehicle wasn't even considered. Having said that the wife's Fiat has a space saver spare, never used it, (is that tempting fate?), but that is subtly different to hooking up a ton of caravan to it. My early experience of caravanning (40 years ago) was plagued with punctures and blow outs (tubed tyres then) so there is no way would I tow without a spare. Also use tyre pal monitors these days on car and van to attempt to detect early problems.
One I ruined a few years ago , ran some time before I realized there was a problem, wrecked the wheel and wheel arch too.
I don't think a puncture repair kit would have sorted it!
One I ruined a few years ago , ran some time before I realized there was a problem, wrecked the wheel and wheel arch too.
I don't think a puncture repair kit would have sorted it!
It's nothing new, I had an MB SLK in 2001 that had the compressor and tin of gunk. I paid extra on my Volvo to have a space saver spare wheel but still have the gunk and compressor.
I think the difference between cars and caravans is that a caravan tyre puncture isn't always obvious so the damage can be much more severe. TPMS's solve this problem so perhaps once they become standard spares will become a thing of the past. Just think of all the extra tea bags/wine/beer you could take without the weight of a spare wheel!
I think the difference between cars and caravans is that a caravan tyre puncture isn't always obvious so the damage can be much more severe. TPMS's solve this problem so perhaps once they become standard spares will become a thing of the past. Just think of all the extra tea bags/wine/beer you could take without the weight of a spare wheel!
My car does not have a spare and it does worry me as the inflator is only of any use if you have a modest puncture not a blow out. The car does have a wheel well in the boot, so I really should get a spare. I will need to change the front tyres soon, so my idea is to buy a rim and get the best of the tyres being replaced on this when I change them.
I am not sure why the caravan industry has not joined in with the car manufacturers, but if they monitor this forum perhaps you have opened the floodgates.
I am not sure why the caravan industry has not joined in with the car manufacturers, but if they monitor this forum perhaps you have opened the floodgates.
Don't know about anyone else, but I sense the spare wheel albeit a "space saver" spare is making a comeback.The sealer kit being only a fad that most motorists didn't want.
My daughter has the inflator kit on her Meriva. Recently she managed to shred a tyre (we had words about that one) and I had to go out to her to help with the inflator kit. It was such a ridiculous process I just rang a mobile tyre fitter to come out.
The process stated the tyre had to be removed from the car and laid flat on the road. The rest of it was quite a faff and not something I was prepared to mess around with. Like others, if a car does not have a proper spare, it doesnt get a lookin.
The process stated the tyre had to be removed from the car and laid flat on the road. The rest of it was quite a faff and not something I was prepared to mess around with. Like others, if a car does not have a proper spare, it doesnt get a lookin.
My car came with neither a spare wheel nor an inflator kit. The factory fitted runflat tyres. I don't think that they are available yet in the load rating required for caravans.
We are due 2 front tyres soon and they're not cheap , my plan was to use the spare tyre and buy 1 new tyre and use an old one for the spare but it's a bloody space saver ! 
My 2010 XC70 had a space saver that was 2 inch less diameter than the road tyres. The 2014 SJ Forester had a space saver but in Oz they must have full size so I converted my rear area to take a full size alloy. The Superb has a full size spare but with a smaller diameter steel rim but still has the required rolling radius of the alloy wheels.
Thingy said:
So Thingy your daughter’s car at least had a jack and wheel brace?
The Qashqai nothing.
We do the Scottish Highlands most years. No mobile phone signal is common. Garages few and far between. A proper spare wheel is imo a mandatory essential.
BTW, my neighbour has been quoted £400 for a full sized spare with rubber plus jack and wheel brace
Dustydog said:Thingy said:
So Thingy your daughter’s car at least had a jack and wheel brace?
The Qashqai nothing.
We do the Scottish Highlands most years. No mobile phone signal is common. Garages few and far between. A proper spare wheel is imo a mandatory essential.
BTW, my neighbour has been quoted £400 for a full sized spare with rubber plus jack and wheel brace
I think your neighbour could reduce that cost by a bit of judicious purchasing DIY. My full size alloy fir the Forester cane from SUBARU UK at £60 as it was a discontinued line. Same tech spec as mine but different spike pattern.
otherclive said:Dustydog said:Thingy said:
So Thingy your daughter’s car at least had a jack and wheel brace?
The Qashqai nothing.
We do the Scottish Highlands most years. No mobile phone signal is common. Garages few and far between. A proper spare wheel is imo a mandatory essential.
BTW, my neighbour has been quoted £400 for a full sized spare with rubber plus jack and wheel brace
I think your neighbour could reduce that cost by a bit of judicious purchasing DIY. My full size alloy fir the Forester cane from SUBARU UK at £60 as it was a discontinued line. Same tech spec as mine but different spike pattern.
When I looked into a set of winter tyres for my V50; which had 205/50/R17, you could get cheaper and smaller Ford Focus steel or alloy wheels which were 205/55/R16 with the same offsets. 17" was the smallest Volvo alloy for that car, but 16's would fit. I had a space saver spare, which was never used in 7 years and in the end opted for Cross-Climate tyres as it was cheaper and would not require me to store a full set of wheels/tyres.
My XC60 has the Compressor/Goop in a wheel well which would probably only properly fit the space-saver (£160 with tools, btw) due to the boot floor and its grocery holder which is molded into it. To fit a space-saver in my wife's car, you need to also purchase/option the raised boot floor to allow it to fit!
What I don't understand is why caravans come with a spare, but no jack! Is that to discourage people from performing their own road-side changes?
And I must say it's not easy trying to Jack a caravan up fully loaded with a normal car jack as I helped someone a few years ago when he popped his tire on a fuel pump kerb in the petrol station ! It was a case of get the jack up as much as you can and had to use the corner steadies on one side to get that little bit more clearance off the ground but we done it in about 35 minutes !!
Clive
My neighbour has asked our local garage to source him a suitable second hand wheel and tyre. The two ton bottle jack comes from eBay for a tenner as does a socket and wrench.
Craig, in my loft is the original Al-ko scissor jack. It couldn’t lift the skin off a rice pudding. Years ago on here I challenged all-ko to demonstrate my jack. No response. I’ve used a two ton bottle jack ever since with great ease.
My neighbour has asked our local garage to source him a suitable second hand wheel and tyre. The two ton bottle jack comes from eBay for a tenner as does a socket and wrench.
Craig, in my loft is the original Al-ko scissor jack. It couldn’t lift the skin off a rice pudding. Years ago on here I challenged all-ko to demonstrate my jack. No response. I’ve used a two ton bottle jack ever since with great ease.
Dustydog said:
Dusty
There are plenty of options out there from new or secondhand space savers, to the same with full size steel or alloy wheels. For the Forester I specifically wanted an alloy of the same size as the other four tyres as we were doing Northern Spain in some remote places so I didn’t want to use the OEM space saver with its restrictions. I bought a part worn tyre with around 4.5 mm tread depth as Subaru being full time AWD tendvto be sensitive to mismatched tread unlike a Haldex system. My OEM tyres were down to 6 mm all round so the spare was just about in tolerance before the start of the holiday. It saved me having to buy four new tyres in Wales when a OEM tyre had a non repairable puncture. The part worn spare went in on road use and a new tyre was bought for spare. Life shouldn’t be so complex. 2wd has decided advantages
I still remember vividly the morning I left home at around 5.30am in my work's van to ensure that I arrived at my destination about 90 miles away no later than 7.30am. About 45 minutes into the journey the rear tyre blew in the central lane of the M6 motorway. There was no spare. I had to wait about an hour on the hard shoulder, in the freezing cold for a recovery truck to arrive. The cost of recovery off the motorway was about £130. All he could do was take me to a tyre depot, which didn't open until 9am and even then couldn't fit me in straight away. I finally arrived at my destination at around 11.30am, feeling stressed to within an inch of my life.
That was 9 years ago, at which time I vowed never to run a vehicle without a spare wheel and jack and I never have. I'm afraid that if a caravan manufacturer were to not fit a spare wheel there is absolutely no way that I would buy their product even if I had fallen in love with everything else about it.
That was 9 years ago, at which time I vowed never to run a vehicle without a spare wheel and jack and I never have. I'm afraid that if a caravan manufacturer were to not fit a spare wheel there is absolutely no way that I would buy their product even if I had fallen in love with everything else about it.
My Insignia came with an inflation kit. Bought a full size steel wheel from ebay with Jack and brace with a tyre with the next size down width wise, fitted in the wheel well nicely
Use pump for checking car/van tyre pressures.
Use pump for checking car/van tyre pressures.
This is very much the problem with reapir kits, OK for a slow puncture or a nail, but as you say, if you are in the middle of nowehere and the tyre is badly damaged you are in real strife.
Thingy said:
The other problem with repair kits is that many UK tyre repair depots will not repair a tyre if a a goo kit has been used. They quote H&S and Environmental rules. So its a new tyre at top price. But I have read Continental Tyre tech leaflets that give advice on how to deal with a tyre that has had goo kit used on it.
I have just ordered a space saver for my wife's new Kia Stonic.
She had to wait 4 hours for the RAC the last time she had a puncture on her corsa which had a full size spare.
Just imagine how long it would take if you had to wait for the RAC to source a new tyre and then come back and fit it..
Not funny at 10 o'clock at night in the middle of nowhere.
She had to wait 4 hours for the RAC the last time she had a puncture on her corsa which had a full size spare.
Just imagine how long it would take if you had to wait for the RAC to source a new tyre and then come back and fit it..
Not funny at 10 o'clock at night in the middle of nowhere.
chrisn7 said:
Why do you think that, given that caravans have high aspect ratio tyres and which are increasingly commercial van tyres. Not yet seen any runflats in the common sizes used for caravans. A thick walled heavy run flat even if feasible would play havoc with my already fragile Alko suspension. Think I’d rather a proper spare tyre. TPMS though should be standard, especially one that links into the car TPMS system although I can see problems when drivers hitch or unhitch if they forget to reset the datum.
My last car, BMW 3 series diesel estate, did not even have a skinny spare,.
I was fortunate enough to be able to use goo to get me home on 2 occasions, tyres were run flats and if I continued using the tyres using goo then my insurance would have possibly been invalidated in the event of an accident.
Runflats are stupidly expensive and IMO have poorer handling than most conventional tyres, the fear of tyre damage was constantly in my mind as was the ever present danger of missing a flight or a ferry because of the lack of a spare wheel.
The main criteria for my replacement vehicle was a spare wheel, jack and brace and no bloody Runflats.
I have compromised and settled for a skinny spare, but actually I now don't think of that as being overly problematic.
Stres free driving has returned for me.
I was fortunate enough to be able to use goo to get me home on 2 occasions, tyres were run flats and if I continued using the tyres using goo then my insurance would have possibly been invalidated in the event of an accident.
Runflats are stupidly expensive and IMO have poorer handling than most conventional tyres, the fear of tyre damage was constantly in my mind as was the ever present danger of missing a flight or a ferry because of the lack of a spare wheel.
The main criteria for my replacement vehicle was a spare wheel, jack and brace and no bloody Runflats.
I have compromised and settled for a skinny spare, but actually I now don't think of that as being overly problematic.
Stres free driving has returned for me.
Many thanks to all the contributions.
My own take is that the lack of a spare wheel / tyre is nothing short of cost saving, paying no heed at all to the practicalities of motoring.
Most vehicles sold with these goo and pumps still have a proper spare wheel well and central fixing. Eg the Nissan Quashqai. It is worth noting that the no spare vehicles do not come with a wheel brace or jack. Give me a full size spare everyday on both car and caravan. At least I can rest assured if a puncture in the wilds happens I can continue my journey in a relatively short space of time
My own take is that the lack of a spare wheel / tyre is nothing short of cost saving, paying no heed at all to the practicalities of motoring.
Most vehicles sold with these goo and pumps still have a proper spare wheel well and central fixing. Eg the Nissan Quashqai. It is worth noting that the no spare vehicles do not come with a wheel brace or jack. Give me a full size spare everyday on both car and caravan. At least I can rest assured if a puncture in the wilds happens I can continue my journey in a relatively short space of time
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