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As soon as I get to home base, I plan on removing the spare in my '90 Dolphin and not carrying a spare at all.  I have an air compressor and a plug kit in case I get a flat.  I don't really off-road my RV all that much (and I think you're silly if you do).  I also have a PMS on the rear two tires and I'm meticulous as far as monitoring the health and pressure on my tires.  I think I can catch and fix my own flats - how hard can it be?

What could possibly go wrong?  (I'm not very risk-averse)

Anyone have any experience not carrying that lead weight on the back of your rig?  Pros and cons?

Thanks!

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Some carry them some do not, personal choice.  I have not used a spare in decades, opps, I have.  The day I brought my Toy home I had a blowout and road service changed for me.  Almost home when the thing blew, not just a flat a catastrophic failure,  no tools nothing, but the spare was good. 

Recently was reading a thread on another RV forum and guy with no spare was provided one by emergency road service for FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS! $120 anyplace else.    His is a common size tire, readily available, unlike our size which is hard to find.    So I carry a patch kit, compressor and a spare.  

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I have a spare that only fits on the front in my 1986 so in my case I kind of need it. You have all wheels the same so if you get a flat on the back you can still drive it for a while to get to somewhere to fix it. Some flats can't be fixed. I had mine shredded by steel in the road once. In your case you could move a rear tire to the front and again drive until you can get a tire somewhere. Granted you shouldn't try to drive too fast but I have gone 250 miles cause I didn't want to pay huge price for a tire in a little town. Made it fine

Linda S

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With dual tires on the back it is certainly possible to manage without a spare.  You have to be willing to carry the proper jack(s), tools and air compressor needed to swap or remove a tire should something go wrong. 

One consideration about the risk of leaving the spare behind in your case would include the quality and age of the tires and how carefully you maintain them.   When I first got my rig it had seven different tires on it with different age and tread wear.  I would swap out with a new one as they went down.   And they did go down - like three times I had to change a tire on the side of the road.  I had enough of that and now I have seven new tires that I monitor carefully and take care of.  While I do have a spare (it's tucked up underneath - out of sight out of mind I suppose) I have enough confidence in my tires now that I could manage without one.  Like Linda said,  with the same rim on front and back you can drive on one tire in the back to get to a shop where you can get another one should a tire go down.   I'd guess that you might put higher air pressure on the rear tire that is running as a single if you had to drive this way to a tire shop.

You can generally catch a problem before it gets serious.  Pressure monitoring will help there, but one of the most common tire failure causes on these light truck tires is from a tire getting 'out of round' or developing a bulge from delamination.   You can feel this by simply being aware of when a vibration starts.  A tire about to go down from delamination (which can happen to old ties that sit for too long without moving) will be hot to the touch and have a speed dependent vibration.   

 

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13 minutes ago, AtlantaCamper said:

I'd guess that you might put higher air pressure on the rear tire that is running as a single if you had to drive this way to a tire shop.

No guessing. Essential since even inflated to 65psi, a single is only rated for 1875lb, well below 2000lb+ a rear axle end often carries. If you were running @ 50psi, it's only ~1600lb.

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3 minutes ago, Derek up North said:

inflated to 65psi, a single is only rated for 1875lb, well below 2000lb+ a rear axle end often carries

Would you go to the 65 psi max rating for the tire if you ran as a single or would you go higher to like 70 psi while driving to a place to get a new tire?

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10 hours ago, Derek up North said:

you're exceeding the maximum design specs of the tire,

An excellent point.  If you run with one tire on a rear axle then you are going to be asking a more of that tire than it's designed for.   This idea of 'to carry a spare or not' is a matter of how much risk you are willing to accept.  It's ok to exceed the specifications on a tire for a short run, but be aware of when you are pushing the envelope.  Go slow and carefully for a reasonable distance and you will be fine.  If you push it and over-burden a single on the rear then you can end up stuck with a problem.

I tend to be on the more conservative side of things when it comes to risk of being stranded.  I have not only a spare tire, but a spare of pretty much everything that I have determined to be a critical liability.  One day on a back road I had the fuel pump fail and I would have been in some real trouble except, by sheer dumb luck,  a fellow took pity on me and drove me a long ways back and forth to a part store so I could buy the tools and parts I needed to get going again.  If he had not come along I would have been in trouble for who knows how long. It takes one bad experience to change your viewpoint.  I like to be self-sufficient, even it it means a little extra weight since I do like to take dirt roads and get out there where nobody would know where I am...  So, I'll keep my spare on board.

 

 

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