IS IT WORTH HAVING A SPAIR WHEEL ON A 4X4

[Davyo]

Dealers try and tell you its all about eco rubbish & that's the reason they are now putting in a tin of foam stuff. The truth is they save on average £100 on every car they sell.

[iano]

Dealers try and tell you its all about eco rubbish & that's the reason they are now putting in a tin of foam stuff. The truth is they save on average £100 on every car they sell.

 

yep, heard that one also from a mechanic. Saves money and gives a bigger boot so popular on the smaller coupes

 

I've a 3 series that doesn't have a spare, instead comes with run flats. Took out AA membership when I saw this...

[Vince Green]

A lot of people will tell you you shouldn't use tyres more than six years old

 

my son clouted the kerb and buckled his wheel. The tyre garage said they would order a new wheel and put the emergency spare on which looked like a bicycle wheel. They told him it was perfectly safe and legal to use the car with this on till the new wheel arrived.

 

I wasn't at all happy with this because he does drive quite long distances. so I phoned the insurance company to see how he stood.

 

They were very clear, the emergency wheel on a car is only to be used to drive to a place of safety/repair. Any further than that and your insurance is invalid.

Edited July 19, 2016 by Vince Green

[TONY R]

At one time i would never run a 4x4 without a spare tyre, then i got a jeep cheroke with a space saver spare in the back.

Great no weight on the back door but it took up a fair bit of space in the back of the truck, then one day on a shoot in scotland i met a game keeper who had a cherokee he had no spare space saver in his, and i mentioned i had often thought about taking mine out, how did he handle puntures, he had a can of tyre inflator repairer, and a valve to valve air pipe like lories have, he said he had always managed to move enough air around with the pipe to get him home or to a garage and he said he would never cary another spare on the 4x4 again.

I did the same and never looked back, i will carry a pipe and cheap electric pump and finalec now, its all i need i will cross the strandeded at 4am bridge when i come to it, a lot more things can happen besides a tyre to leave me stranded, i do thousands of miles an a motorcycle all over the world, in places so remote its a worry finding petrol, but never have a spare tyre.

In the uk a lack of a spare on a 4x4 is a risk so low its imeasurable.

[Fisheruk]

It depends where you drive. If you are off road and burst a tyre on a rock a can of goo isn't any good, you need a new wheel.

[Grandalf]

Can't see what the problem is. Any 4 x 4 is capable of carrying a spare wheel. If it isn't then get rid of it and buy a proper one.

Wouldn't go anywhere without one.

[mrwabbits]

If the police say pulled up behind you because you'd had a flat,say on a very busy road or motorway.Would they not see it as irresposable not to carry a spare?

I can answer that imo, - No - the irresponsible thing is not to ensure you have a current form of breakdown cover as a safeguard, should it be required if not a spare carried.

.

Saying that, many people - and i mean Many , either do not know how to change a spare / or feel uneasy to change it - or are physically unable to change it or think its illegal to change it,

,

- OR - the location / situation / position deems it through thought process /events /time /location Unsafe to make that attempt at that time/location.

or the equipment they are carrying is not useable/suitable.

.

That said, it is not a requirement nor a legal requirement to carry one.

( here, i will use a motorcycle as an example - thus, giving car/vehicle manufacturers a precident not to fit one). as well as space limitations / weight reduction/ want to charge you extra for accessories, blah blah.

.

As mentioned above prior, many marques of vehicles and manufacturers no longer fit and supply a spare wheel within the vehicle, beit full size or a space saver.

Even hire car company vehicles often come with that silly can of spray and a compressor - no spare tyre/ wheel.

.

On a M`way, where there is a likelyhood of a hard shoulder in some areas / or a safety refuge area - a reasonable time period may be allowed to make your own arrangements for recovery and to be gone. ie 2hrs ,

but as now, many Motorways are being revamped and turned into Smart M`ways - thus illiminating a hard shoulder because there isn`t one on that stretch of road.

If the vehicle cant move to a refuge under its own steam safely - the vehicle and its occupants and contents will be removed at your cost irrespective of cover or not for roads safety reasons.

On any other road (a - b road) , providing you can park it safely out of harms way and off the carriageway - beyond the white line markings vergeside if there is one, extended periods - even many days.

Abandon it where there is a safety/security risk, and you will find it gone asap at your cost.

.

In a high proportion of instances, just because the tyre has deflated / delaminated/ sidewalled/holed , does not mean the vehicle is not moveable to a safer location beit a vergeside / layby / gateway / refuge area / services / road exit.

Yes , one does not want to possibly damage a rim ( they are expensive) but a rim can be replaced - a life cannot.

.

.Think ! Be safe ! Be covered !

[four-wheel-drive]

I can answer that imo, - No - the irresponsible thing is not to ensure you have a current form of breakdown cover as a safeguard, should it be required if not a spare carried.

.

Saying that, many people - and i mean Many , either do not know how to change a spare / or feel uneasy to change it - or are physically unable to change it or think its illegal to change it,

,

- OR - the location / situation / position deems it through thought process /events /time /location Unsafe to make that attempt at that time/location.

or the equipment they are carrying is not useable/suitable.

.

That said, it is not a requirement nor a legal requirement to carry one.

( here, i will use a motorcycle as an example - thus, giving car/vehicle manufacturers a precident not to fit one). as well as space limitations / weight reduction/ want to charge you extra for accessories, blah blah.

.

As mentioned above prior, many marques of vehicles and manufacturers no longer fit and supply a spare wheel within the vehicle, beit full size or a space saver.

Even hire car company vehicles often come with that silly can of spray and a compressor - no spare tyre/ wheel.

.

On a M`way, where there is a likelyhood of a hard shoulder in some areas / or a safety refuge area - a reasonable time period may be allowed to make your own arrangements for recovery and to be gone. ie 2hrs ,

but as now, many Motorways are being revamped and turned into Smart M`ways - thus illiminating a hard shoulder because there isn`t one on that stretch of road.

If the vehicle cant move to a refuge under its own steam safely - the vehicle and its occupants and contents will be removed at your cost irrespective of cover or not for roads safety reasons.

On any other road (a - b road) , providing you can park it safely out of harms way and off the carriageway - beyond the white line markings vergeside if there is one, extended periods - even many days.

Abandon it where there is a safety/security risk, and you will find it gone asap at your cost.

.

In a high proportion of instances, just because the tyre has deflated / delaminated/ sidewalled/holed , does not mean the vehicle is not moveable to a safer location beit a vergeside / layby / gateway / refuge area / services / road exit.

Yes , one does not want to possibly damage a rim ( they are expensive) but a rim can be replaced - a life cannot.

.

.Think ! Be safe ! Be covered !

I now always have breakdown insurance as with my bad joints I do not think that I could get down and put the jack under the axle to lift it up to enable me to change the wheel add to that the fact that the wheel nuts are usually done uptight with air tools and unless you have a 4 foot long breaker bar you would be hard pushed to get the nuts off jut another good reason not to bother with a spare wheel.

[rodp]

At one time i would never run a 4x4 without a spare tyre, then i got a jeep cheroke with a space saver spare in the back.

Great no weight on the back door but it took up a fair bit of space in the back of the truck, then one day on a shoot in scotland i met a game keeper who had a cherokee he had no spare space saver in his, and i mentioned i had often thought about taking mine out, how did he handle puntures, he had a can of tyre inflator repairer, and a valve to valve air pipe like lories have, he said he had always managed to move enough air around with the pipe to get him home or to a garage and he said he would never cary another spare on the 4x4 again.

I did the same and never looked back, i will carry a pipe and cheap electric pump and finalec now, its all i need i will cross the strandeded at 4am bridge when i come to it, a lot more things can happen besides a tyre to leave me stranded, i do thousands of miles an a motorcycle all over the world, in places so remote its a worry finding petrol, but never have a spare tyre.

In the uk a lack of a spare on a 4x4 is a risk so low its imeasurable.

I'd like to see you bury that and hook the winch to it

 

 

:lol:

[bornfree]

We run several double cabs at work and most of the drivers leave the spare wheel in the back rather than underneath as they get some many punctures. They are used off road quite a bit though.

Edited July 30, 2016 by bornfree

[four-wheel-drive]

We run several double cabs at work and most of the drivers leave the spare wheel in the back rather than underneath as they get some many punctures. They are used off road quite a bit though.

Just out of interest why are they getting so many punctures driving to fast on stony tracks.

[hawkfanz]

i think the op has been lucky,ive had blowouts in my car and when i was an hgv driver,i still get punctures now and then in my mondi estate,,but first thing i do is ditch the wheel barrow wheel and replace with steel the same size as my alloys,,,wouldnt dare leave home without one but i have clocked up 10,000 miles since my mot in dec,

[bostonmick]

I really can't see why you would not have one.as far as I can see all pick ups have them under the bed so no loss of loadspace there. Disco and defender's the back door.if you get a decent blow out or if your tyre is off the rim there is not one of those aerosols that's going to get you home and sitting for a couple of hours waiting for somebody to come and sort it for you is no fun.ten minutes to change a wheel so what's the sense in not having one.

Edited July 30, 2016 by bostonmick

[TONY R]

It's not just punctures. I confess that I don't bother now as I drive an XTrail (with a spare and wouldn't go anywhere without one) and a mud plugger it ain't. However, I once got in a tangle with the Defender and managed to separate the tyre from the rim momentarily. A flat. With or without a spare, inner tubes on a mud plugger can save a lot of heartache.

In principle this case is often aired as a plus, but in reality its not such a good idea especialy if you drive in sand and run low pressures, tubes can creep and either get nipped or rip valves out you can see this when the valve ends up at a crazy angle after deflting your tyres even for a short distance to get out of soft sand, the tyres creep and you end up in trouble.

A nail in a tubbed tyre is a flat a nail in a tubless is anoying, but its not nessasrily a flat untill you pull it out, the tube will go down super fast.

On big old 750 crossply firestones ok but on typical supple walled modern 4x4 tyres i would say no run tubless if you can, you can keep a tube folded up in the truck to help out if a tyre goes down or a small hole nail etc, if you were say crossing mongolia its handy then, but anything here on these shores its just not worth it.

[bornfree]

Just out of interest why are they getting so many punctures driving to fast on stony tracks.

Driving to fast, oh yes they certainly do that. But not stony its sandy about here.

[rovercoupe]

I had a puncture today, pump fell apart and had put the breaker bar in the other car last week so had to limp it home and fix it there!

[four-wheel-drive]

Something that has not been mentioned is weight a spare wheel with a A/T or Mud tyre is going to up your fuel consumption they do not put lots of plastic parts like bumpers even wings etc on cars/trucks just for fun it saves a lot of weight and over time that adds to your MPG.

[TONY R]

Fuel is an aspect here, but it will be negligable just how much it will make.

But the weight esspecialy on the back door is anoying, and wears the hinges i dont care what anyone says, swing away wheel cariers are the solution but add yet more weight, air transfer pipe and a cheap electric pump will re inflate most tyres if still on the bead, if off the bead you need to elivate the truck, and although a spare i feel in the uk is largley unessasary i must say a jack is a handy tool for recoverey or maintainance on the road and its weight probably worth carying, how many 4x4s are running around with spare tyres on the back with no jack or wheel brace to even stand a chance to change the tyre?

I dare gamble 25% at least one here on this thread above and its not rare in motoring any AA or RAC man will tell you that.

If you live in outer mongolia Richardsons station in New south wales or some other remote part of the world fine carry are.

But over here on the close traveling to briggs engineering or alen an sons etc and you own a mobile phone is it really a problem, i mean truthfully a problem.?

If you go out playing on a sunday i guess it might be handy, but hell i went out the other day on the DRZ 400 over a remote track not too far from kettlewell and i was playing hard let me tell you and i will say a puncture never crosed my mind, you can hole tyres but its rare ive been at this crawling about off road lamping and shooting thing in my own trucks over 40 years and never knocked a hole in a tyre yet, i had a flat and no i never changed the tyre even though i had one, i blew it up enough with a foot pump till it could move and crawled out to the compressor at the farm. I did jack it up though, as i said a jack for what it weighs and how much room it takes up is handy to have i have even used a jack to bend bodywork away from a tyre after i slid into a hole hooking up the front wing on a rock, so yes i get where its rough now and again.

As i said mongolia Middle of australia perhaps in the leafy shires or 10 miles up the glen over here, your never far enough away to worry about no spare far more things top worry about on a modern car than tyres. keep them properly ninflated to begin with, and in good condition you will get by just fine without the spare. .

[bostonmick]

My trucks have to earn their keep and with a couple of ton on the trailer behind an aerosol just ain't going to cut it.as for the gain in mpg for not carrying a spare what are we talking about 1/10th of a mile gain on every gallon.if you buy a 4x4 and expect it to carry a bit of weight tow a decent load and then get you over rough ground.dont expect to get fiesta mpg from it

[Grandalf]

Amen...

[TaxiDriver]

I can answer that imo, - No - the irresponsible thing is not to ensure you have a current form of breakdown cover as a safeguard, should it be required if not a spare carried.

.

Saying that, many people - and i mean Many , either do not know how to change a spare / or feel uneasy to change it - or are physically unable to change it or think its illegal to change it,

,

- OR - the location / situation / position deems it through thought process /events /time /location Unsafe to make that attempt at that time/location.

or the equipment they are carrying is not useable/suitable.

.

That said, it is not a requirement nor a legal requirement to carry one.

( here, i will use a motorcycle as an example - thus, giving car/vehicle manufacturers a precident not to fit one). as well as space limitations / weight reduction/ want to charge you extra for accessories, blah blah.

.

As mentioned above prior, many marques of vehicles and manufacturers no longer fit and supply a spare wheel within the vehicle, beit full size or a space saver.

Even hire car company vehicles often come with that silly can of spray and a compressor - no spare tyre/ wheel.

.

On a M`way, where there is a likelyhood of a hard shoulder in some areas / or a safety refuge area - a reasonable time period may be allowed to make your own arrangements for recovery and to be gone. ie 2hrs ,

but as now, many Motorways are being revamped and turned into Smart M`ways - thus illiminating a hard shoulder because there isn`t one on that stretch of road.

If the vehicle cant move to a refuge under its own steam safely - the vehicle and its occupants and contents will be removed at your cost irrespective of cover or not for roads safety reasons.

On any other road (a - b road) , providing you can park it safely out of harms way and off the carriageway - beyond the white line markings vergeside if there is one, extended periods - even many days.

Abandon it where there is a safety/security risk, and you will find it gone asap at your cost.

.

In a high proportion of instances, just because the tyre has deflated / delaminated/ sidewalled/holed , does not mean the vehicle is not moveable to a safer location beit a vergeside / layby / gateway / refuge area / services / road exit.

Yes , one does not want to possibly damage a rim ( they are expensive) but a rim can be replaced - a life cannot.

.

.Think ! Be safe ! Be covered !

Speaking as a vehicle recovery operator who's only recently been struck down whilst attending a broken down vehicle on a major A road there's a lot of sense in the above post.

[The Heron]

When you are sat there on a winters night in the middle of nowhere with no mobile signal and its ******* down you just might wish you had that spare.

[four-wheel-drive]

When you are sat there on a winters night in the middle of nowhere with no mobile signal and its ******* down you just might wish you had that spare.

But even if you have a spare that does not mean that you can change the wheel with the way that wheel nuts are tightened with air guns I have tried once to take just one nut off on each wheel to put security nuts on and even with a two foot tube on the nuts and standing on it I still had to take the truck in to the garage to get them to put the things on if I had had a flat my only option would be to call the breakdown people out.

[Alycidon]

`I picked up a screw in a BFG a few weeks ago, amazingly it picked a tyre with 140k on it and about knackered. While it was repairable I opted for a pair of new tyres.

 

So yes carry the spare.

 

A

[Jay_Russell]

I picked up a puncture down the shoot a couple of weeks ago on my cooper at3's. Luckily enough I have a compressor on board so got enough in it to get to a garage. Turned out to be a snipped bit of fence wire. Bought a new tyre anyway and now had the puncture repaired and had it put on my spare rim so I have 5 decent At tyres all the same size .