Spare wheel

Nov 16, 2015
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Yes there are a lot of us on here, that have moved the spare wheel. In my case on the Coachman 560, I store it under my fixed bed on a peice of carpet, same place as when on the carrier, almost, but above the floor. Easy to check the tyre pressure. And it saves 6kg for the carrier.
 
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Nov 11, 2009
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I removed any wheel held in the under van carrier and carried the spare in the caravan. Did after a puncture in 1999 when I realised how difficult it was to get the spare out despite maintaining the carrier. It was also safer when travelling abroad.
 
Jul 18, 2017
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Yes there are a lot of us on here, that have moved the spare wheel. In my case on the Coachman 560, I store it under my fixed bed on a peice of carpet, same place as when on the carrier, almost, but above the floor. Easy to check the tyre pressure. And it saves 6kg for the carrier.
Even if it is in the carrier there is an easy way to check tyre pressure by using a valve extender. We have one for our caravan. The other option is if you have aTyrepal unit is to buy an extra sensor. The extender is the cheaper option.
 
Jul 19, 2021
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We also moved our spare from unneath and put it in caravan because it was easier access
and safer to access on the side of a road if you need it, and more comfortable than lying on your back on a wet layby with whatever else you may be having to lay in. And less painful if you have a bad back plus you dont have to worry about the carrier mechanism being seized up when you actually need to use it despite it being serviced every year (supposedly)
 
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Jul 18, 2017
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and safer to access on the side of a road if you need it, and more comfortable than lying on your back on a wet layby with whatever else you may be having to lay in. And less painful if you have a bad back plus you dont have to worry about the carrier mechanism being seized up when you actually need to use it despite it being serviced every year (supposedly)
We have an easier way. We access breakdown contact on phone and they send someone to do all the hard work. (y) :LOL:
 
Nov 16, 2015
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Even if it is in the carrier there is an easy way to check tyre pressure by using a valve extender. We have one for our caravan. The other option is if you have aTyrepal unit is to buy an extra sensor. The extender is the cheaper option.
And how do you get to the valve, with the wheel in the cradle the valve points upwards.
 
Jul 18, 2017
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And how do you get to the valve, with the wheel in the cradle the valve points upwards.
You fit this extender. No need to remove it once fitted. We bought it for our Lunar which had the ALKO carrier. On our current caravan although it is an ALKO chassis, the carrier is a straight drop down carrier so easy to access the spare wheel.
 
Nov 16, 2015
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You fit this extender. No need to remove it once fitted. We bought it for our Lunar which had the ALKO carrier. On our current caravan although it is an ALKO chassis, the carrier is a straight drop down carrier so easy to access the spare wheel.
I still don't believe you could get to the extender when using the Alko carrier, the extender is just not long enough, and the tyre pushes against the caravan underside, I would have to see it fitted. Also the drop down carrier, with a flat tyre must also be a real pain, did you ever have to do it, for a real puncture. ?
 
Nov 11, 2009
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I still don't believe you could get to the extender when using the Alko carrier, the extender is just not long enough, and the tyre pushes against the caravan underside, I would have to see it fitted. Also the drop down carrier, with a flat tyre must also be a real pain, did you ever have to do it, for a real puncture. ?
I had to use the Alko carrier with its spare wheel back in 1999. Had a 60 mph blowout, which was totally insignificant compared to getting the spare wheel out and using it to replace the shredded tyre. I had always maintained the Alko carrier but the location of the incident exacerbated its use even more. After that the spare was carried in the van, unless it had a location in the front locker, which my last caravan had.
 
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Jun 16, 2020
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I still don't believe you could get to the extender when using the Alko carrier, the extender is just not long enough, and the tyre pushes against the caravan underside, I would have to see it fitted. Also the drop down carrier, with a flat tyre must also be a real pain, did you ever have to do it, for a real puncture. ?

You can get the extenders in various lengths. The tube can be passed through a hole in the wheel and located on an accessible bracket on the outside. Also useful for testing pressures of spare tyres buried in the boot.

John

PS. Year's ago I had a 1 metre flexible extension which worked a treat. I have just had a good Google and can't find one, perhaps they no longer exist.

John
 
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Jul 18, 2017
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I still don't believe you could get to the extender when using the Alko carrier, the extender is just not long enough, and the tyre pushes against the caravan underside, I would have to see it fitted. Also the drop down carrier, with a flat tyre must also be a real pain, did you ever have to do it, for a real puncture. ?
Yes and it is lot easier than the ALKO carrier. Only the nearside part drops down as it is hinged at the offside. Can be dropped down with one hand. Our extender is about a foot long. Obviously it does depend on the orientation of the tyre when in the carrier to be able to use the extender, but as said if it is a concern buy the extra Tyrepal sensor for the spare tyre of you currently use a Tyrepal TPMS.
 
Nov 12, 2021
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I removed the carrier from my caravan earlier this year after finding that the bolts securing the wheel had rusted solid. I would never have got the wheel out at the roadside in an emergency. Another reason for removing the carrier is that it actually causes damage to the sidewalls of the tyre as there is no padding on the tubes of the frame where they contact the tyre and it causes grooves in the sidewall.
I now store the spare wheel under the bed when in storage and on site but when travelling I put the spare wheel in the back of my vehicle to save on the caravan's payload. I reckon that the spare actually weighs slightly more than my Kampa air awning.
If you do choose to keep the spare underneath your caravan I would definitely recommend you get the spare wheel off asap in your own time and grease the two securing nuts and bolts and the sliding part of the frame.


I too use the TyrePal TPMS on my caravan to keep an eye on tyre pressure and temperatures.
On that point, would the spare wheel be subjected to suffiicient movement to activate the TyrePal monitor?
 
Nov 12, 2021
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I think 14kg is the approximate weight of the spare steel wheel for a caravan.

As I still had my spare wheel in the back of my car after our recent holiday I decided to weigh it. I keep it in a "spare wheel bag" which has a convenient carrying handle. So, using the scales I use when checking my luggage weight before going to the airport I found to my surprise, my spare wheel actually weighs slightly over 25kg which is nearly 4 Stone.
By putting it in the car I'm making a significant saving on the 150kg payload my caravan has.
 
Oct 17, 2010
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I moved my spare from under the van in to the bed box, when I realised that the carrier, as well has that, that has been mentioned above, had worn two grooves in the side of the tyre, making tyre unsafe.

Under the bed now , freshly painted and clean.
 
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