Bus Crazy
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 1,358
Year: 1990
Coachwork: Crown, integral. (With 2kW of tiltable solar)
Chassis: Crown Supercoach II (rear engine)
Engine: Detroit 6V92TAC, DDEC 2, Jake brake, Allison HT740
Rated Cap: 37,400 lbs GVWR
|
I made a spare wheel/tire mount under the front of my bus, similar-ish to what Crown offered as an option from the factory. There are four 1" grade-8 studs hanging down from two cross tubes between the frame rails, and the wheel bolts onto these studs through four of its ten holes. Because a 12R22.5" wheel and tire is well over 100 lbs, I also made a lifting mechanism using a Harbor Freight worm-drive winch that hooks onto a separate lifting dolly under the tire. This lifting dolly folds flat when not in use, and has four wheels on it so when the tire is on the ground I can easily move it around. All I have to do to release the wheel is to get under the bus, undo the four 1" nuts with a long-handled socket wrench that I keep there for this purpose, lower the wheel to the ground on its dolly and move it out from under the bus. Easy! And to make it even easier, I can remove the handle from the winch and turn it instead with a cordless drill.
Because there's little point in having a spare wheel/tire if you don't also have the means of changing it, I also have six blocks of 6" x 8" timber, a 40"-long 1"-drive breaker bar with a Budd socket and extension, and four bottle jacks (two 20-ton, a 12-ton and a low-profile 12-ton) and two squares of thick steel to go under them. There's also a 120V air compressor for emergency tire inflation or for air tools. In practice however I would probably just call out Good Sam to change it, but what would happen if they couldn't send someone for several hours - it's always good to have a Plan B.
Spare wheels/tires are like umbrellas - if you have one you may never need it, and if you don't have one guess what happens . . .
John
|