Towing with 'Spare Wheel'

[bigbilly]

Is there any law or restriction on towing when you have fitted one of the space saving spare wheels to the tow vehicle ? I was thinking in a 'get you home' emergency.

I know there is a speed limitation.

Bill

 

[rob_jax]

Bill,

You rightly state that there is a speed limitation, but there is also a distance limitation too. 50 mph / 50 miles seems to be a common maximum.

They are not a "get you home" spare, but a "get you to a tyre shop" spare.

 

[Del_374232870]

Personally I would get a full sized spare wheel.

 

[Chris_374224489]

I have also wondered about the run flat type tyres that are fitted to BMW for example. How far/fast do I fancy going with a flat tyre & a loaded caravan etc on the back.

 

[TimM]

We managed to pick up half a pair of scissors when towing in France with our BMW last summer. (It was still in the tyre when they took it off so I kept it as a souvenir). The car was fitted with wide low profile tyres, different width front and rear and a space saver spare.

We were in Cahors, a fair way down France and on our way home when it happened. I decided that with a fully loaded car and towing, I would not tow home with the space saver. Although my tyres are Michelin (French) and a fairly common size in UK, they were virtually unobtainable in France. I ended up going round several tyre places (Red Pennant were very helpful but had little luck also). Eventually we found a pair of Chinese tyres which were the right size and they got us home, but it still delayed our ferry crossing and return to work by a couple of days and it was fairly hairy at the time trying to locate the tyres.

For subsequent trips last year, I bought an extra front wheel off ebay and a new tyre. It just fitted in the spare wheel. A bit of research showed that the rolling radius of the wheel tyre combinations was the same front and rear although the widths were different. I reckoned that if I had a puncture on the rear, the spare front wheel was better than the space saver, buts its probably still dodgy.

I would certainly think twice now about towing, particularly abroad without a full sized spare. I think the same may apply to run flats. Many cars supplied with a space saver do have room for a full sized wheel, and my mix of tyre sizes isn't common. Buying a second hand wheel as a spare is an option in these cases.

I think VW and Audi tend to still use full sized spares. We are now towing with a Series II Disco, which has a full size spare, and more importantly loads of room for bringing wine back!

Regards

Tim

 

[WatsonJohnG]

There was posting from someone with a VW Touran(?) that didn't have a proper spare

I emailed Nissan twice on this topic as the say do not use the emergency spare when towing a trailer

They rang to say that it was Ok as far as a service station!!

But they didn't put it in writing

I have purchased a SH alloy spare and tyre as fitted to the Columbia as its the same size and identical tyre as the new XT and cost

 

[RayS]

There was recent article in one of the mags about Renault who seemed to say that the skinny spare they provide is NOT suitable for towing - if this is so, should not Renault be disqualified from Towcar of the year tests ?