Spare tires

[Stu & Filo. T]

Originally Posted by dond

If you don't have a tire, they will bring you one...At what cost? Tain't free Lot of bux for the tire carrier for sure but if you have a tire on a wheel, the cost should be the cost of a tip for the tire guy.

About 12 or so years ago I bought my first bus in Indiana, I was driving back to Ca & had a blow out some where in Iowa, it was over $300.00 for a used tire & the service call

[miltruckman]

My tc2000 had the spare mounted up under the left side behind the battery box. I ended up moving the spare tire winch to behind the rear axle so i can mount a water tank where the tire was.

[r_w]

Originally Posted by nat_ster

Many home brew jeeps on pirate 4x4 have swing down spare tire mounts.

I like the ones on the big 8 wheel drive army tucks better. Unlike the hummer, the 8 wheel trucks have a tire closer to the size of a bus.

Nat

A hummer runflat rim and tire may not be as big as a bus tire, but it is darn near as heavy.

I put deuce and a half A3 rims on my old grain truck, that super single is heavier than both tires it replaced. 44-14.5-20, 9000 lb rating at 60 psi, and never stuck in the mud again :big grin:

[nat_ster]

Originally Posted by r_w

A hummer runflat rim and tire may not be as big as a bus tire, but it is darn near as heavy.

I put deuce and a half A3 rims on my old grain truck, that super single is heavier than both tires it replaced. 44-14.5-20, 9000 lb rating at 60 psi, and never stuck in the mud again :big grin:

I love over kill.

Nat

[pwalker]

Thanks for some great ideas. I believe we are going to mount two spares behind the rear wheels with a crank system with cables then have a swing arm to fully support the tire so that the tire weigh is supported by steel not just a cable. Maybe two spares is over kill but it's better to be prepared right!

[mjh2901]

That would be a good question. All of you who have had tires go while on the road, how many have you lost on one trip one two or god forbid three? And those of you that had someone do the switch how much did it cost on the road to swap out for a tire you had vs swapping out for a tire they brought.

[rvingoffgrid]

I keep new tires on it, but a flat can happen even on new, so I carry no spare just cash and a cb radio and cell phone

[Hvbuzz]

Last year, me caring a spare no rim and outside dual cost me $42 and some change,to get it fixed. No way will I not carry a spare. Unless like others say, and carry your cc card close. That was with no aaa or other. This year I added good sam. Not home yet, but we'll see..

[Alan N]

Originally Posted by mjh2901

That would be a good question. All of you who have had tires go while on the road, how many have you lost on one trip one two or god forbid three? And those of you that had someone do the switch how much did it cost on the road to swap out for a tire you had vs swapping out for a tire they brought.

Lost 8 in 300 miles one hot miserable day in Texas. Fun fun.

[nat_ster]

Here a credit card is no guarantee help is coming.

Not being able to do the flat change yourself, means your leaving your self in a venerable situation.

If traveling distance, I will carry two spares. One on a rim, and one unmounted.

Nat

[M1031A1]

I have all of my tire changing equipment from when I owned my own trucking company from waaaaay back. I have three spares for my one ton Ford, one for wife's 3/4 ton 4X4, and one for Heavy. So for me, changing a semi-tire is no big deal. I have air, tools and the ability. I learned and gained all this from driving Intermodal junk chassis back in the '90's. It's paying off now!

[Tango]

I'm with M1031A1 --- anyone running around the country in a rig they can't change a tire on is asking for trouble to my simple mind. It is NOT that complicated or hazardous if you have the basic skills and equipment. Neither of which is all that hard hard to come by.

I seriously doubt anyone here is running Firestone RH5 ("Widowmaker") rims these days. That's the only wheel I can think of that is genuinely "scary" to mess with.

(Note...I DO have an RH5 laying around in my shop and it DOES scare me just sitting in a corner. Gonna' wrap some chain around it get it out of there soon.)

[nat_ster]

If you can't fix what your driving, you simply should not be behind the wheel.

I have always lived by that, and always will.

That means oil changes, simple maintenance, ect.

Nat

[family wagon]

All right, all right. Changing out 11R22.5 tires and wheels is the only mechanical thing on my bus that intimidates me. Swapping out a $1200 injection control valve wasn't bad at all, but wheels...! They're heavy and high-torque.

So specifically what tools do you use, then? In my case, the bus has the so-called "Budd" stud-piloted wheels. The rears have a large nut spun onto a stud with a square head; I understand some are right-threaded and probably some are left-threaded. I can borrow the 20-ton bottle jack from my arbor press, and I can work out how to get the jack height adjusted so that the wheel can slide easily over the studs, and can roll the wheel around on the ground until it's rotated so that the studs and holes are aligned and ready to slide back on.

The biggest question in my mind is how to break the nuts loose and how to re-torque them correctly. I understand there are planetary geared torque multipliers for instance, but haven't any idea how to select one that's worth having. Does such a thing even exist for, say, US$200 or less? What about the torquing? I feel somewhat strongly about torquing accurately, rather than having Bubba bounce three times on the end of whatever length cheater bar is at hand. I'm ashamed to admit I'm still using a cheap Harbor Freight torque wrench on my passenger vehicles and trailers..

[nat_ster]

6 foot piece of steel pipe 2 inches in diameter used a leverage bar.

I don't bother with ratchets when dealing with that kind of torque. Don't even try most flex handle breaker bars. Only use a 3/4 1 inch drive T handle with the right size socket.

Scrap pipe is far cheaper than a torque multiplier. It's also usefull for defending your bus in bad neighborhoods while changing the tire.

Nat

[bubb, the real one]

at first I had a half inch drive, about 28 inches long with a 6ft fence pipe, I easily bent the drive about 4 inches then realized it was not strong enough.

I then got a one inch drive breaker, is 42in long, then with the 6ft pipe it was not too hard to break the lug loose and the drive handle did not bend at all,

but taking the lug all the way off was hard, I needed the half inch drive with a 2ft pipe (occasionally) just to get the lug all the way off,

[Zephod_beeblebrox2]

Carry a spoare front but duals on the back should mean you won't need a spoare back

[nat_ster]

Originally Posted by bubb, the real one

but taking the lug all the way off was hard, I needed the half inch drive with a 2ft pipe (occasionally) just to get the lug all the way off,

This was caused by damage to the threads on the studs, and or dirt.

Use a wire brush to clean the threads first before removing lug nuts.

After lug nuts are loose, they should spin off by hand, just like on a car.

Nat

[Jolly Roger]

I agree with the scrap pipe and a real bar. My question is if I stick a tee in the air line for a neumatic impact gun? Will the bus compressor be able to handle 1 lug at a time coming off (providing threads are cleaned properly) ? 86-b 700

[nat_ster]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger

I agree with the scrap pipe and a real bar. My question is if I stick a tee in the air line for a neumatic impact gun? Will the bus compressor be able to handle 1 lug at a time coming off (providing threads are cleaned properly) ? 86-b 700

Yes, they should spin off by hand once loose.

A 1/4 cordless impact should work also.

Nat