Spare wheel Do or Don't

[Grey13]

Hi I bought a new rim and fitted a new tyre 8 years ago.
I have never used it, mostly don't even take it with on trips including 2000 miles into Europe and back.
Do you carry a spare?
Does anyone use those flat wheel can sprays
Or do you just rely on a breakdown service (AA or alike)
Planning my May Italy trip, just asking.

My inclination is, blow it, went once without, will sell my rim and Tyre and be rid of that bulky heavy thing!

Comments?

 

[otherclive]

I a,ways carried a spare. Do the spray sealants work at the pressure some tyres are inflated too. IE 55 psi. ? Some garages will not repair a tyre which has had sealant used to seal a puncture, so new tyre required. Also sealants are limited in which punctures they can seal, and aren’t designed to stay in for a long trip.

I have always had breakdown cover both in UK and Europe. Would I use them? Yes, depending on the circumstances.

 

[RogerL]

I always carried a spare - when replacing the main tyres every 6 years, the best one was put on the spare rim - like Clive I wouldn't take the caravan anywhere without one - it travels in the rear footwell behind the front passenger seat rather than in the stupidly-designed Alko holder.

 

[otherclive]

On the caravans with an Alko holder that was binned and the wheel was carried in the door entry on its side on the floor.

 

[Beachball]

We always carried a spare but we had a Alko holder removed and there was room in the caravan front locker and the spare wheel went there it was easier access for my mobility issues.

 

[Boxerman]

Hi I bought a new rim and fitted a new tyre 8 years ago.
I have never used it, mostly don't even take it with on trips including 2000 miles into Europe and back.
Do you carry a spare?
Does anyone use those flat wheel can sprays
Or do you just rely on a breakdown service (AA or alike)
Planning my May Italy trip, just asking.

My inclination is, blow it, went once without, will sell my rim and Tyre and be rid of that bulky heavy thing!

Comments?

The foam cans are a joke unless and would only work for something like a leaking valve if your lucky for me I have a spare and also both wheels have Oki puncture seal in them I have it in my motorcycle tyres and know from experience it works but there are plenty of makes that work

 

[Buckman]

We always carry a spare. We did have a blow out in France so even sealant would not have remedied the issue.

 

[Dustydog]

Please don’t Grey.!
Tyres shred and frankly no amount of gooey gas driven muc will re seal it . Nor will you know if the actual wheel still serviceable after the puncture.
Carry the spare. As long as the tyre is serviceable it may last longer than those on the caravan. Tucked away the UV effect will be far less . My AWS checks the spare every year. It’s an unused tyre getting old but still good.

 

[Hutch]

I would never tow the caravan without a spare wheel, especially in Europe.
In the UK rescue services, might lend you a spare wheel for a car but I don't know if they would for a caravan, I am almost sure the rescue services in Europe wouldn't.
I also carry a tyre inflator in the car.

 

[Mr Plodd]

I refuse, pointblank, to travel anywhere without a spare for the car and caravan!

Admittedly the car is "only" a spacesaver but at least it means I would not be stranded, in the middle of rural France (or England) at 11 o'clock at night with no mobile signal. Nor would I be stranded if any puncture was more than just a nail through the tread.

I also have breakdown cover, and if I needed a tyre changed on a motorway I similar then I would call them out.

It's all very well relying on a breakdown service, but if it's late at night, and you need a replacement tyre, you are going to need some deep pockets!

Another thing to bear in mind is that the "cans of gunk" have a limited service life, how many of you have checked if yours is within its service date?

 

[Gralay]

We always cary the spare wheel for both car and caravan, spare for caravan kept under the bed as the alko wheel carrier seems a waste of time due to the weight and getting to the spare wheel, the tyre aerosol stuff also doesn't seem to be that good for a caravan unless the tyre is flat before you set off, in my opinion if you realise you have a flat on the caravan /trailer it's too late to repair with a tin of gunk, we also carry a small 2 ton trolley jack in the car, I think belt and braces is a good thing as the unlikely will always happen at the worst time.
Gra

 

[JTQ]

Have you check if your recovery provider requires you to have a viable spare, at one time they had such requirements?

Because the caravan tyre is "remote", then unless you have a trailer TPMS you are very unlikely to sense a puncture before the heat build up causes a faux "blowout", but nevertheless with the same carcase wreaking outcome. Even if caught before it explodes the heat build up and or flexing could well have already destroyed the structural integrity of the tyre.
So, the take from this is having a trailer TPMS is the thinking persons option, and even more important for the gambler who chances long hauls without spares. I am old enough to know from my pre TMPS days the mega hassle an on route wrecked caravan tyre causes.

I never was a "gambler", and carry car and caravan spare wheels, and have a trailer TPMS.

 

[Oscarmax]

I refuse, pointblank, to travel anywhere without a spare for the car and caravan!

Admittedly the car is "only" a spacesaver but at least it means I would not be stranded, in the middle of rural France (or England) at 11 o'clock at night with no mobile signal. Nor would I be stranded if any puncture was more than just a nail through the tread.

I also have breakdown cover, and if I needed a tyre changed on a motorway I similar then I would call them out.

It's all very well relying on a breakdown service, but if it's late at night, and you need a replacement tyre, you are going to need some deep pockets!

Another thing to bear in mind is that the "cans of gunk" have a limited service life, how many of you have checked if yours is within its service date?

+1

 

[otherclive]

We always cary the spare wheel for both car and caravan, spare for caravan kept under the bed as the alko wheel carrier seems a waste of time due to the weight and getting to the spare wheel, the tyre aerosol stuff also doesn't seem to be that good for a caravan unless the tyre is flat before you set off, in my opinion if you realise you have a flat on the caravan /trailer it's too late to repair with a tin of gunk, we also carry a small 2 ton trolley jack in the car, I think belt and braces is a good thing as the unlikely will always happen at the worst time.
Gra

A caravan TPMS will pick up the incipient puncture before the tyre is wrecked.

 

[izzy]

I carry a spare and a bike track pump (higher pressures) also a 3 ton scissor jack with a ratchet type winder.
I also carry an extending wheelbrace.
The wheel goes under the van in the BPW wheel basket this is far superior to my sons alko offering and I have had to change a flat tyre just the once, it went great although it was not an exploding tyre scenario, just a flat.
I can see why people don't like the alko thing though

 

[Mr Plodd]

Another vote for TPMS, I have it for car and caravan. I have seen too many shredded caravan tyres over my working life not to have it, especially for a caravan.

The financial cost of a tyre alone, let alone the potential possible damage to the caravan, makes it a no trainer in my opinion.

 

[Buckman]

A caravan TPMS will pick up the incipient puncture before the tyre is wrecked.

Not always. We were pitched on a site in France when our tyre blew. We had been on the site for 24 hours! Tyre totally shredded.

 

[otherclive]

Not always. We were pitched on a site in France when our tyre blew. We had been on the site for 24 hours! Tyre totally shredded.

Yes the vehicle has to be moving to activate the sensors. I guess there’s always the exception. But at least the caravan was stable😂

 

[Dustydog]

A caravan TPMS will pick up the incipient puncture before the tyre is wrecked.

You will recall the puncture I sustained in May due to a Shropshire deep pothole. The side wall was torn rendering the tyre a write off. Still a plus one for TPMS.

 

[JTQ]

Not always. We were pitched on a site in France when our tyre blew. We had been on the site for 24 hours! Tyre totally shredded.

The total shredding of a tyre that had been static for 24 hours, be it on a caravan, car, lorry, aircraft or bike though must be an incredibly rare occurrence, not something I have ever known. A puncture becoming eviden over time, more than once but not leading to a static shredding explosion, just it going "flat".

I have know pneumatic tubes and their sleeves in air awnings exploding, one, well I at least have presumed from solar heating along with possible UV damage over time.

 

[Buckman]

Yes the vehicle has to be moving to activate the sensors. I guess there’s always the exception. But at least the caravan was stable😂

Gave us and other campers quite a fright as half were probably still in bed!

 

[Oscarmax]

We have a separate solar Tyrepal TPMS on both the car and caravan.

 

[Buckman]

We have a separate solar Tyrepal TPMS on both the car and caravan.

Your car is quite new with built in TPMS so why do you need a Tyrepal TPMS for the car?

 

[JTQ]

Your car is quite new with built in TPMS so why do you need a Tyrepal TPMS for the car?

There are cases where the in car tyre pressure warning system is not one displaying the pressures but simply a technology that warns based on comparing the relative wheel rotation speeds.
Should the owner of a car have that type of system I can well understand they would like to have a pressure display, not least because they can be proactive to more modest pressure losses than IME the speed derived system comes up with.
Plus the speed based system does not know the pressures are "wrong", they could all be down a bit, only that one wheel has an issue relative to the others.

 

[RogerL]

There are cases where the in car tyre pressure warning system is not one displaying the pressures but simply a technology that warns based on comparing the relative wheel rotation speeds.
Should the owner of a car have that type of system I can well understand they would like to have a pressure display, not least because they can be proactive to more modest pressure losses than IME the speed derived system comes up with.

Speed-derived systems are quite sensitive - as I discovered some years ago when I fitted slightly larger tyres on the rear of my Astra as it fooled the ABS system into thinking the front wheels were spinning!