Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum > GENERAL DISCUSSIONS > General Discussions about our Montanas
Click Here to Login

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 05-12-2019, 06:21 PM   #21
wcockerham
New Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Santa Rosa Beach
Posts: 6
M.O.C. #22558
WE made two cross country trips without the need of spare. We recently took a short trip up to Georgia and blew a tire 100 miles from home. Checked all tires for condition and pressure before we left. With 6 tires on the ground, I am thinking about a second spare. The rack is around $130 plus wheel and tire. I just bought a TPMS too.
 
wcockerham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2019, 06:58 PM   #22
druryg
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Cumming
Posts: 109
M.O.C. #7984
Quote:
Originally Posted by wcockerham View Post
WE made two cross country trips without the need of spare. We recently took a short trip up to Georgia and blew a tire 100 miles from home. Checked all tires for condition and pressure before we left. With 6 tires on the ground, I am thinking about a second spare. The rack is around $130 plus wheel and tire. I just bought a TPMS too.
All the more reason to have a second. I have TPMS on our coach as those tires are real expensive and with riding in it all the more important. Wish I had bought that for the Montana years ago. Our luck has been good but maybe pushed to far on one trip to the beach. After having to put a bad tire back on to get home we went to keeping a second spare prior to buying the coach. The tires were close to 10 years old and should have replaced them all all before the trip but like said it happens!
druryg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2019, 07:06 PM   #23
druryg
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Cumming
Posts: 109
M.O.C. #7984
Never had one on our travel trailer or 5th wheels that completely failed and blew apart. Always caught mine on fuel stops and noticed the growth in diameter and separation.

The coach though on our first trip blew one while stopped to dump tanks. Fortunately we were stopped!
druryg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2019, 07:59 PM   #24
Neverhome
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Sanford
Posts: 114
M.O.C. #18136
I carry two spares just in case. A friend told me of a case where two tires blew out on the same side of the fiver when the driver cut a corner too close backing into a site. I have never witnessed that but have no reason to doubt him. I carry the second spare behind between the hitch and back wall of the cab. Cheap insurance.
Neverhome is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2019, 08:38 PM   #25
chittumbark
New Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Bay City
Posts: 8
M.O.C. #13241
I carry two spares for our 2008 3605RL. We had a blow out that doubled the weight on the other wheel until I could get stopped. After mounting the spare we were able to get to a tire shop where it was discovered the other original tire had split open with exposed belts. We were lucky!! When we got back to homebase, I dismounted the spare tire carrier from under the Monty, bought another winch assembly and took it all to a welding shop. They rearrainged the winches and beefed up the carrier frame to allow two spares side by side. Haven't had an issue since then. Also installed a TPM system. Worry free, well almost.
chittumbark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2019, 09:49 PM   #26
Texan
Montana Master
 
Join Date: May 2017
Location: new caney
Posts: 1,050
M.O.C. #19873
I carry an air compressor like most but an air compressor doesn't do you much good if you have a blow-out or a cracked wheel that causes you to loose air faster than you can put it in. If you have a blow-out the weight from the bad tire will shift to the good tire and put increased stress on the good tire. It is recommended you replace both the bad and the good tire on the same side if you have a blow-out or you have one tire go completely flat and have the weight of two tires on one. Other words if i loose air in one tire quickly i change both tires on the same side with both my spares. As I have said before, most people don't think they need a spare for the spare unless they experience a flat. With 2 cracked wheels and perfectly good tires I have learned anything can happen. I keep a spare between the hitch and the tailgate of my truck. Just because someone has traveled thousands and thousands of miles with no problem doesn't mean it can't happen. I can't control every situation but this is something I can do something about.I carry two spares now and hope I will never need one.
Texan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-2019, 05:08 AM   #27
goodellj
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Richmond, TX
Posts: 109
M.O.C. #20452
I was going through tires when my 2012 3150RL was new. It came with E-rated tires and I was replacing an average of 2 tires a year. I got a TPMS and a Viair compressor and kept the pressures well maintained. Some tire replacements were due to punctures but most were due to broken belts, and I was always far from home. I decided that replacing the tires with whatever the local tire shop had in stock was not satisfactory, so when I replaced 2 tires due to wear with good quality tires, I also got 2 extra unmounted tires which I carried in the bed of the truck (and kept the original spare). We wintered in AZ and I used one of the unmounted spares on the way out and the other on the way back. I was very frustrated and always asking for advice from tire techs (and I had lots of contact with them!).

Finally one of them asked about the E-rated tires and the weight of the trailer. I had weighed my trailer several times and it was always under it's weight limit by at least 500 pounds. He said I was too close and needed a greater weight margin. After using both my unmounted spares on a 3,000 mile trip, I went to my local tire shop at home and replaced all 4 with G-rated tires, and of course I got 2 extra unmounted spares. The G-rated tires are slightly larger than the E-rated tires and fit on the same wheel rims.

That was 3 years ago and I have had no problems since, even though I have put 24,000 miles on them. I always do a thorough inspection before each trip and I have lots of experience and know what to look for. We just got home from El Mirage AZ and I noticed a little uneven wear on both rear tires, so I rotated them. I still have the 2 unmounted spares and I've been hauling them on every trip. This summer I am going to replace the original spare with one of the G-rated unmounted spares, since it is pretty old now.

I never thought I would be thinking about replacing the 4 tires on the trailer because of age (due to my frequent troubles), but I am now planning to replace them at 4 or 5 years. BTW, the G-rated tires are Gladiators.
__________________
John & Janet from Texas via Connecticut and Vermont
2012 Keystone Montana 3150RL 5th Wheel
2012 Ford F350 Diesel 4x4 Lariat Crewcab SRW
6.7L V-8 diesel, 6-sp automatic, 3.55 axle ratio
goodellj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-2019, 05:32 AM   #28
timandsusan
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: San Antonio
Posts: 1,296
M.O.C. #5165
Interesting discussion. I recommend-a TPMS, air compressor, torque wrench, and good road side service like Coach Net. This fits my travels over the past 13 years. Also, check all 5 tires--4 on the ground and the spare. Carrying a spare that is over 5 years old is not a great plan. My worst experience with road side service was via my RV insurance--not going to use them again. Also a 10 ton hydraulic jack, pair of work gloves and a piece of carper to lie down on. Hope these ideas help.
timandsusan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-15-2019, 02:43 PM   #29
WaltBennett
Montana Master
 
WaltBennett's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Hanover
Posts: 1,471
M.O.C. #13325
I've read all these posts and am totally AMAZED that none have anything about tire AGE! There's a DOT mandated (thank God for big Gov.!) stamped 'born on' date on every tire. First two digits are the week number, second two are the year. EVERY tire will degrade over time, even if in an enclosed garage, and they loose 10% or more of capacity every year. That's for truck/car tires. Trailer tires are worse.



Don't worry so much about having a second spare, worry more about how old both the tires on the road are AND your spare is. Slime and the like will keep you from having flats from nails, but not from sidewall failure.
__________________
WaltBennett is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-15-2019, 03:08 PM   #30
mlh
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Salem
Posts: 7,528
M.O.C. #2283
Good advice Walt.
Lynwood
__________________
www.harrellsprec.com
Lynwood Harrell
323 RL HC 2008 F250
mlh is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Montana RV, Keystone RV Company or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:16 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.