Heavy sprare tire

[Dave W]

Speaking of adding air to a spare - when was the last time you checked it on your tow vehicle's spare? On a Ford, the first time you need to lower it down as in the manufacturer's wisdom, they placed the stem so it faces up. Mine faces the road with the one in a (maybe) million chance of having it broken off. Mine was 5 psig low last week when I crawled uncer and checked. GM and Fiat, no idea how yours are mounted.

[rohrmann]

Not sure how they are supposed to be hung under the rig or truck, but I always make sure the stem is down so I don't have to remove it to check pressure. Had to put the spare on the rig a little over a year ago when a metal stem came loose, and on the truck in March due to a failed rubber stem, which I'm going to have a conversation with the tire shop that had just installed new tires in December, and obviously had not replaced the stems. Both of those tires are seriously heavy. Maybe helium in them would make them lighter

[caroldee2735]

I am ready to see if the air compressor worked and if you liked it , what kind

[laverdur]

At 76 I have had the same problem. At home I just lower it onto a creeper. On the road, I carry two heavy duty plastic sheets (3' x 5'). They roll up nicely and a bungee cord keeps them rolled up. They are light weight and when rolled they stand up vertically so they don't take up much real estate. They also come in handy if you need to get under the TV or trailer and don't want to lay on rocks or in dirt.

[Lew]

Originally Posted by mlh

I’ve noticed that over the last 20 years or so this sort of stuff is getting heavier. I don’t understand it. Why do they always make stuff heavier. A hundred pound sack of corn or wheat is heavier than it was. Wonder what it could be?
Lynwood

I'm sure gravity gets stronger every year.

[WaltBennett]

Originally Posted by richfaa

Roadside service.

CoachNet all the way (since I turned 70 five years back).

[whiterose]

One of the issues is that the Sailun is a heavier tire than the previous junk. I too checked my spare, should be 110, but was down at 80. Will be checking again before I leave present campground.

74 but can still pull the spare out, however like the idea of pulling forward, that’s in my future.

While my rv has a build date of Mar 91, the spare lowering mechanism was very stiff and required lube.

Having had two blow outs within two miles previously, I carry a second spare, but not mounted.

[bear]

Before leaving for trip I go to any tire store like Discount tire ,or Les Schwab have them check all tires (Free)
I also have tire monitoring system, rotates every 30 seconds
Change out tires every 3years , no matter what, sell old ones on Shop and Swap ,etc usually 20% to 30% less than what I paid for them
I'm lucky in 73 years no flats ever.

[mazboy]

I'm old too. I just drop the tire totally down to the ground. then I find using my feet work it out. It is the same for getting it back up.


if problems, get a tow company to deal with it.

[Steve Wall]

road service comes to my mind at age 69

[dbd2158]

Wow, you all are an inspiration to me. I'm only 60 and my fear of crawling under my trailer to get the spare is I wouldn't be back out for 1 1/2 hours due to the nap I would end up taking. One more working year and then I hope to meet some of you all along the trails.

[DebNJim B]

[QUOTE=caroldee2735;1146080]I am ready to see if the air compressor worked and if you liked it , what kind[/

It worked pretty well. Takes a but longer than the pancake a/c one does but takes up much less space and weight. Also it runs on a/c, d/c, or cordless battery. a/c connection is about twice as fast as d/c. You set the pressure and start it and when it gets there it shuts off so you can go do other thins while it's running. My spare was down to 80 some lbs so it took maybe 10 or 15 minutes, but I would normally be topping off less than 10 lbs in regular use.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-1...ric/1000579183

[Oldman]

Thanks everyone. I'm 75 good to know it's not just me��!

[mmturtle]

road service

[Rod Spohn]

I just went from a class C to a 5th wheel. I had at least one flat/blowout a year. I have decides road side service is worth every penny of the $170 annual cost. Only had an overly long wait for service - they blamed on it being a holiday weekend. It has usually taken less than 2 hour from the call until I'm back on the road. It would take me that long to do it myself. Why bust my old back if I don't have to.

[bigred715]

Mind says "sure, you can do it", then the body says noo... you can't. I usually pay the price for doing it anyway. At near 72 now I'm having to pace myself more. I had to mount my sailuns myself and boy are they heavy trying to get wheel put on the studs. Firestone would not let me bring trailer to their location.

[waynemoore]

Firestone would not install the tires for you. I bet the new tire shop will install them for you.

You have to be kidding me you would trade with a tire shop that would not install the tire for you???? After paying them to mount them?

[Theunz]

The mechanic at the trucking company I drove for weighed maybe 150lbs and was 65 years old or so. He easily installed the wheel and tire on our semi's by himself. How, you ask. He simply rolled the the tire over to the hub and leaned it against it, and then used a flat ended pry bar to lift it onto the studs, easy peasey! This man had developed techniques during his career that allowed him to do jobs by himself that usually would require 2 if not 3 men to accomplish.

[DebNJim B]

Originally Posted by Theunz

The mechanic at the trucking company I drove for weighed maybe 150lbs and was 65 years old or so. He easily installed the wheel and tire on our semi's by himself. How, you ask. He simply rolled the the tire over to the hub and leaned it against it, and then used a flat ended pry bar to lift it onto the studs, easy peasey! This man had developed techniques during his career that allowed him to do jobs by himself that usually would require 2 if not 3 men to accomplish.

Leverage is a wonderful thing. "Just give me the right focal point and I can lift the world" I forget the source of the quote, but it's very old.

[bigred715]

I didn't buy my Sailuns from Firestone. Bought them online from Simpletire like a lot of other people. Went to Les Schaub and they would not mount my tires either. Firestone would mount and balance my tires, but didn't have the room to park trailer next to store. Had to make several trips taking off 2 tires at a time and take to store for mounting and balancing.