Where's the spare?

[MikeM]

I was curious, what everyone does with their spare tire?

On a utility trailer I built I used a winch from an import pickup. Bolted it to a couple of cross members. Then ran the crnk tube out through the side of the frame, welded a lugnut on it. Now I can hide the spare under the chassis of the trailer.

Should work on a teardrop, you think?

Mike

[campadk]

Camp-Inn tears store the optional spare under the bunk. Hunter and others store it in the front outside the cabin (so much for the tongue box!).

Me? "We don't get flats up in Canada" is my excuse for not having a spare. Guess I figure if it happens, I'll call a garage. Worth it not to have to tow around such a big item. If you use the same wheels on your tear as your car, then you can use the cars spare. Thats efficient! Works fine as long as you aren't already using the spare on the tow vehicle

[Shrug53]

I am planning on having the same rims on my trailer as I do on my car. That way I only have to carry one spare.
Another good idea might be to have one of those baloney skin spares out of a newer car. They are only ten bucks at junkyards. Just make sure you get one with the right bolt pattern.
Those are small enough to store in a tongue box, or even your trunk along with your regular spare.

[Chip]

http://www.fixaflat.com/

lightweight alternative to spare tires,,one size fits all

chip

[Shrug53]

Hey, I always carry a can of that stuff just in case of a nail or something. Will not help anything big, but just last week I wen over a nail at the construction site of my house and by the time I was ready to leave, I had a flat. That stuff got me up and running so I could get to a shop to get it fixed!

Putting the spare underneath seems like a good choice though. That is how my old dodge d50 pickup was, and it worked great.

[campadk]

Thanks Chip! Just added that to my 'To Buy' list for our next trip with the tear.

[tdthinker]

I like the sound of using the spare for your car. I meen, what are the chances of getting 2 flats on the same day?

[MikeM]

I will be using matching rims from the tow vehicle.

But, a word of caution, I went through 5 flats in two months. Fortunately not at the same time. But, I kept the flat out ready(didn't have time to put away).

[campadk]

5 flats in 2 months Mike? Wow! I must be lucky, I've never had a flat in my life.. and I'm 45.... what am I doing wrong?

[MikeM]

Actually, the tires were almost wore out and I was trying milk them to the fall so I would have fresh tires when the snow flew. This all happened in the spring. They were all at home or in the parking lot at work. Luckily none were on the road. Finally broke down and bought the tires in May. The tire company wouldn't fix them anymore. Darn the luck.

[Mike B]

5 flats in 2 months Mike? Wow! I must be lucky, I've never had a flat in my life.. and I'm 45.... what am I doing wrong?

For lots of flats, try living in the country, like I have done for the last 20 years. I still get 3 or 4 flats a year, even though most of the dirt roads have now been paved. I pick up mostly screws and bolts. Less nails than I used to get. ;-)

Mike
Hayden Lake, ID

[tdthinker]

wow, thats alot of flats.

[tdhombre]

I visited the local car junk yard and found a spare tire for my teardrop. These are the ones that are found on all cars now-a-days that are much smaller and intended for limited use. CAUTION: make sure you know what the trailer's lug nut spec's are (mine was 5 at 4 1/2" spacing) and get one to match. There are LOTS of variations (4 vs. 5 nuts and lots of different spacing sizes).

These tires are smaller and lighter to carry. Mine will be in the back of my pickup truck initially. Maybe I will mount it on the teardrop one day.

[mikeschn]

Dave,

You could set it on your running board, and put 1 bolt through your sidewall!



Mike...

[Joseph]

I used to carry a can of "Fix-A-Flat" until I had to use it. It was in the dead of winter and was so cold it had no pressure whatsoever. Now I carry a 12V air pump that plugs into the cigarette lighter - it's slow but it works - and a tire repair kit which contains the same things a garage would use if you took your flat tire to them for repair. This is only good for a puncture, which is the most common kind of flat - if you have a blowout, you're sunk without a spare. In near forty years of driving I've had several puncture flats but only one blowout and that on an old, worn-out tire. I'll take my chances.

Joseph