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Old 04-27-2019, 11:37 AM   #1
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How many of you carry a spare tire?

Is it worth it to carry a spare? Or is it too difficult to do the work, and a better strategy to just get a tow if you blow? What do you guys do?

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Old 04-27-2019, 11:53 AM   #2
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I carry a spare. It's much cheaper to have someone come out and jack up the bus and swap in your spare than it is to get a tow.
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Old 04-27-2019, 11:57 AM   #3
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I am also curious.... being 100 miles from a small town and being stuck does not seem fun. If you do carry a spare. I would imagine that a steer tire would be the one to carry. it will also work as a temp drive tire too. how big of a jack do you need? how many foot pounds of torque do the lugs require?
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Old 04-27-2019, 11:59 AM   #4
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I go to the gym, but my spare tire doesn't seem to go away.

On the bus, I don't think I'm going to. On the chassis I'm looking at, I'll need to pay particular attention to the weight. I also think I've got a fairly common tire size, to I'm not too worried about it in the long run.
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Old 04-27-2019, 12:46 PM   #5
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I am also curious.... being 100 miles from a small town and being stuck does not seem fun. If you do carry a spare. I would imagine that a steer tire would be the one to carry. it will also work as a temp drive tire too. how big of a jack do you need? how many foot pounds of torque do the lugs require?
I believe the torque on the lugs is between 400-450lbft, a bit more than a car at 100lbft associated with cars. I broke a 1/2" breaker bar trying to loosen one
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Old 04-27-2019, 02:23 PM   #6
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To loosen the lug nuts on a bus wheel without power tools unless you are Arnold a torque multiplier is recommended . At my age I am carrying no spare and I am carrying the road service phone#. Gene
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Old 04-27-2019, 02:48 PM   #7
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To loosen the lug nuts on a bus wheel without power tools unless you are Arnold a torque multiplier is recommended . At my age I am carrying no spare and I am carrying the road service phone#. Gene

something like this? https://www.amazon.com/ABN-Heavy-Tor...YGSK8JAPNPA1N1

never seen one in use. I will have to youtube a video.
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Old 04-27-2019, 03:14 PM   #8
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If your rig has "dualies"...technically you have two "spares" (the outers) that can be rotated to get you where you need to be. A road service call out in the boonies can get real expensive...real fast.
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Old 04-27-2019, 03:18 PM   #9
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Yeah I was looking at the tires (single rear for me) and was thinking damn, this looks a bit more difficult to swap out than just a car tire. Someone asked me for a jack at a campground and when I said I didn’t have one, he asked what I do when I have a flat.... to which I said I’m fvcked if I get a flat.

I’m probably just gonna stick with keeping my offline map directory up to date on my phone so I can search for an appropriate company if it happens.
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Old 04-27-2019, 05:35 PM   #10
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Looks like a reasonable price for that multiplier, I'm sure it's value appreciates exponentially when you need it. Gotta save you at least $200 deleting the call for roadside service. Just may have to get one to keep on the bus.
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Old 04-27-2019, 07:20 PM   #11
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i pay for towing on my insurance policy. it's like $8/yr for all my vehicles. i've had to use with my daily driver, but not the bus yet. the agent swears its good for a heavy tow.

fingers crossed i never have to make the call.
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Old 04-27-2019, 07:42 PM   #12
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I made a horizontal rack to the rear of the DS front wheel for our spare tire and wheel.
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Old 04-27-2019, 08:10 PM   #13
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At some point I expect I'll carry a mounted spare tire, suitable jack, and torque multiplier for changing one. The jack and multiplier will be cheaper than a single road service call, and the tire - well - I'd end up paying for one anyway.
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Old 04-27-2019, 09:15 PM   #14
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I bought a torque multiplier last summer when I had a bunch of tires to swap around. It wasn't exactly that one linked from Amazon, but based on appearances it could have come from the same factory.

I used it a fair bit, and I really wanted to love it, but in the end I sent it back. The square drive parts fit together loosely and the planetary gears in the gear box were kinda loose too. The whole thing tended to lean off the axis of the wheel stud while loosening nuts, which creates a tendency to bend studs.

Putting nuts back on was worse. The accumulated slack in the whole path created a lot of springiness. For the lug nuts nearer to the ground the torque wrench I was using on the input couldn't spin in a full circle. I had to hold the multiplier's input shaft with a pipe wrench while backing up the torque wrench.. It was way more hassle than it's worth.

What worked well? I got a 24" long 3/4" breaker bar and made an adapter to slip over the end of the handle. The adapter allows me to connect my 24" long torque wrench at the end of the breaker bar handle. This gives plenty of leverage to loosen the nuts and provides a way to torque them back on, too.
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Old 04-27-2019, 09:24 PM   #15
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Quote:
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If your rig has "dualies"...technically you have two "spares" (the outers) that can be rotated to get you where you need to be. A road service call out in the boonies can get real expensive...real fast.
Oh, Tango so what you are saying is that you can use a drive tire on the front as a temp emergency solution, and run just 3 tires on the back? seems like a good alternative.

I think I will add that torque multiplier to my amazon list. need to find a suitable jack now
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Old 04-27-2019, 09:52 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by Rovobay View Post
Oh, Tango so what you are saying is that you can use a drive tire on the front as a temp emergency solution, and run just 3 tires on the back? seems like a good alternative.

I think I will add that torque multiplier to my amazon list. need to find a suitable jack now
Yep, I noticed when I picked up the TC2000 that it had drive tires on the front and steer tires on the rear. I asked the seller about this and he replied that he'd had a blowout a year ago and when road side service showed up all they had were drive tires, when he got home he replaced the other front steer tire with a matching drive tire and left them there, You can tell driving it with the aggressive tread pattern. Still doesn't explain 4 steer tires out back.
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Old 04-27-2019, 10:33 PM   #17
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Yep, I noticed when I picked up the TC2000 that it had drive tires on the front and steer tires on the rear. I asked the seller about this and he replied that he'd had a blowout a year ago and when road side service showed up all they had were drive tires, when he got home he replaced the other front steer tire with a matching drive tire and left them there, You can tell driving it with the aggressive tread pattern. Still doesn't explain 4 steer tires out back.
I just noticed that on your for sale thread. Didn't want to mention and asked how it drove because I didn't want negative vibes on your bus for sale. I guess in a pinch it would do until a proper fix is available.
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Old 04-27-2019, 10:37 PM   #18
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I just noticed that on your for sale thread. Didn't want to mention and asked how it drove because I didn't want negative vibes on your bus for sale. I guess in a pinch it would do until a proper fix is available.
Buyer will need to rotate them.
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Old 04-27-2019, 10:44 PM   #19
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I have Good Sam Roadside assistance - they will bring out a tire and change it. There are mobile mechanics through truck stops - or independent that will bring out a tire and change it on the spot.
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Old 04-28-2019, 12:30 AM   #20
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I just bought six new tires last Monday (Yokohama 104ZR 12R22.5"), and used my old Michelin XZE right front tire as my new spare. No way will I go anywhere without a good spare. My old spare was an ancient tube-type 11.00-20", and in an emergency that would have been better than paying through the nose for a new tire from a road service truck. I made a mount under the front of the bus for the spare tire, and the tire and wheel can be easily moved on a wheeled dolly when on the ground.

I have emergency road service for the bus, but I still also keep with me the basic tools to change a wheel myself. I have four bottle jacks: two 20-ton, a 12-ton and a low-profile 12-ton, some lengths of 6" x 8" timber, two thick steel plates for the jacks, and a 1"-drive 40"-long breaker bar and extension and a Budd socket. Putting my body weight on the end of a 40" breaker will give me almost exactly the correct 500 ft/lb for tightening the nuts, but getting them off could be a challenge. I think I'll buy one of those reduction-geared doohickies, but all of them I've seen seem to be very poor quality.

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