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Old 02-02-2019, 08:02 AM   #1
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Hitch mount spare tire carrier recommendation?

Our 88 Suncruiser had a spare, and I always carried a 3 ton floor jack and electric impact wrench. I think we needed the spare once, and I used the jack several times on the roadside in the slush to chain up.

Our 2014 came with no spare. While I don't know that I would carry one on shorter trips around the state, I would like one for longer trips and boondocking.


There is a dearth of room to store a spare in the basement. I was thinking of a hitch mount carrier. The only foreseen problem is interfering with the rear trunk door, so a swing away would be nice.


Any recommendations? Any thoughts?
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Old 02-02-2019, 09:10 AM   #2
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In our new Vista 29VE, there is no spare either. I looked up the weight of the 19.5" tire and it was 80 lbs without the weight of the steel wheel. I'm guessing that since none of these larger Class A's seem to have spares, they have decided that they are not a user changeable item any longer. I guess roadside service is the answer according to the manufacturers?
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Old 02-02-2019, 03:12 PM   #3
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A flat tire story...

I had a front tire go flat a few days after the purchase of a brand new 2018 INTENT. Luckily I was just driving it to work, but it was an all day event.

AAA doesn't have a roadside repair service anymore, just a tow.
All of the "roadside service" warranties that came with the new RV were all the same...
NO roadside service...the RV must be towed to tire shop. Not just any tire shop, only a commercial shop, because of the 19.5 wheels.

I didn't want to tow my brand new RV. I could just see the rear overhang dragging everything and the driver denying responsibility. No thanks.

I searched my tire while on the side of the road for any nail or obvious cause for the flat and found nothing. I called AAA back and had them send somebody that had a large enough compressor to fill to at least 80 psi. They sent a mini truck out with a Porter Cable compressor. It took the compressor overheating 3 times, but we eventually hit the correct psi. The driver agreed to follow me home to keep an eye on it. It was only 3 miles.

Made it home without losing any air. While calling all the local shop trying to find one that had the ability, or was aloud to by law (I was told)...the tire continued to hold air.

Later in the day I drove to a commercial shop where they removed the wheel and found no sign of leak.

It's held solid since. I believe that the RV dealer filled the tires before taking delivery and the valve stem must not have seated properly. So it had a slow leak for a few days.

Anyway, this made me realize that while I won't have the ability to change a tire on the road, HAVING a spare tire is the key to avoid delay and being towed. This way a roadside service can change it on the spot and I can carry on my way with minimal downtime.

Having no place for a spare, I'm going to weld on a rear bumper (cause the INTENT doesn't have that either) that I can attach a spare to.
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Old 02-02-2019, 03:25 PM   #4
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Having an on-board compressor like an RV Viair might be a good solution too. Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/d/Tire-Air-Co...=rv+compressor


This model is sold with less accessories for less money.
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Old 02-02-2019, 11:27 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ddaudelin View Post
Having an on-board compressor like an RV Viair might be a good solution too. Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/d/Tire-Air-Co...=rv+compressor


This model is sold with less accessories for less money.

I actually had that model for a stand up paddle board a while back. I did buy a much cheaper 12v/110v unit from Lowe's that does the job of the RV tires. Slowly. But it works.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-12-V...tor/1000092575
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Old 02-10-2019, 10:36 PM   #6
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Mount it on the front?

I just built a hitch for the front of our unit so I can mount another scooter or bikes. After reading your post I was thinking it would be a great spot to mount a tire. That would open up a huge area of storage and it would be much easier to acces the tire. Just pulling it out to check the air pressure is hard enough. You might have to consider air flow and appearance but .....
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Old 02-10-2019, 11:11 PM   #7
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New bumper is finished.
I welded 2 receivers to the outside of the existing hitch for attaching and then 2 additional receivers vertically behind the bumper...one for the spare tire and the other for a surfboard rack. The last picture keeps everything solid and rattle-free.
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Old 02-11-2019, 12:11 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by YGoHom View Post
New bumper is finished.
I welded 2 receivers to the outside of the existing hitch for attaching and then 2 additional receivers vertically behind the bumper...one for the spare tire and the other for a surfboard rack. The last picture keeps everything solid and rattle-free.
Great idea!

I've been brooding over the no spare situation myself. My last RV had room in the pass through basement for a spare. My new Vista pass through basement is about 2" too short to hold a spare the same way. I was astounded. Behind the gas tank there is almost enough room to fabricate a hoist up spare to bolt to the bottom of the RV, but this would require some minor non structural cuts to the chassis which I'd rather avoid. That design would be a huge engineering job, and expensive.

This "side hitch" idea is much easier, cheaper and straight-forward. Thanks!
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Old 02-11-2019, 08:23 AM   #9
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Thanks! You're welcome! The main reason I did this was to put the stinky slinky inside the bumper and out of my utility bay. Anything else is a bonus!
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Old 02-11-2019, 05:33 PM   #10
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Thanks! You're welcome! The main reason I did this was to put the stinky slinky inside the bumper and out of my utility bay. Anything else is a bonus!
Interesting motive to your idea. For 30yrs I have always left my drain hose connected to the outlet and folded the hose up in the dump compartment. It never stinks, but I do use gray water chemicals. I guess I started doing this because I use the RV so much. Dumping so often, it saved time and seemed to work. When I dump the RV, I do the black first, then dump the gray last (like most). When I start the gray to flow, I always jiggle the hose up and down to help any solids out of the hose that might otherwise get hung up. When the last bit of gray is coming out I'll shut off the valve and jiggle the hose again to get the last ounces of gray water out of the hose. This is done with the hose VERTICAL during the jiggle, going all the down to the end of the hose to the dump hole. I shake the hose-end 90 degree fitting real good in the hole, then put the 90 in the hold compartment first, then I pile the rest of the hose in after that. It's rare my hands ever get wet, but I always wash them anyway. It's such a clean process that I don't use gloves. It seems to work fine and never had any issues. I think it's less messy than having to disconnect and put the hose somewhere else.

However, in my new Vista there's less room for the dump hose because of the 50A power cord, being to bulky and difficult to work with. That's going to be fixed soon, as I just got a Marinco exterior 50A connector to install on the RV. I plan to install that to the right side of my gas filler. This will allow me to store my 50A cord somewhere else (which I'll seldom use). I will likely use a 30A cord with my 50A connector most of the time, since it's lighter and adequate for most of my needs. But I'll have the 50A cord for hot day with two ACs running. Without the 50A cord, there's enough room in the Vista to keep the dump hose connected, like I prefer.

Sorry to wander off the thread subject matter. Back to spares.
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Old 02-11-2019, 06:04 PM   #11
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I hear ya. My previous Class C's didn't have a dump bay. All the plumbing hung below and the hose went in the bumper.
My new INTENT 26m doesn't have a huge bay with the electrical also being housed in there, along with water hoses, cable, etc. In my case, getting the hose in the bumper frees up space.
The 30 amp cord took up quite a bit too, still not as much as your 50 amp!

I made this to help organize a bit.
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Old 02-19-2019, 04:24 PM   #12
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I have a 2005 Sightseer. My spare tire is stored in a compartment on the bedroom slide out. It is too high to reach and muscle it to the ground. I don't know if I have the space for it yet, but I am looking into building an under carriage tire mount. They make them for travel trailers, but I see nothing for Class A RVs. If space permits, I will make a drop down (hinged) tire carrier that attached to the RV frame and pins or locks to the outer frame. I can use my leveler jacks and some 4x4 blocks to raise the RV, and a Harbor Freight Special electric impact. My only travelling flat was a blowout on the driver's front tire in 1998, on a 1983 Pace Arrow 31' Class A. It took me 1/4 mile to stop! My jack was not big enough to lift the front of the RV. I was half way between Salt Lake City and Grand Junction (in the middle of nowhere USA)! My Roadside Assistance plan from Allstate Insurance was the best $59 I ever spent! I called, they dispatched a local tow truck. He changed my tire. I signed a receipt and drove away! It would have been a $500 tow bill from where I was at in Utah!
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Old 02-19-2019, 05:14 PM   #13
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I have a 2005 Sightseer. My spare tire is stored in a compartment on the bedroom slide out. It is too high to reach and muscle it to the ground. I don't know if I have the space for it yet, but I am looking into building an under carriage tire mount.
My 2018 Vista 32YE, using the F53 Ford chassis doesn't have enough room between the chassis frame members to fabricate a hoist spare setup in the rear. The diameter of a 245/70 195 tire is 33". The space between the channel frame members is about 30". In my particular length RV, it's feasible to cut off the bottom lip of the channel to make room. . It wouldn't impact the integrity of the chassis at all, since this area doesn't support much, and the channel is massive. However, besides that difficulty, there is some plumbing of propane line to the space heater that's in the way. That would also likely need to be re-engineered. With enough brute force it could be done on my 32YE, but it wouldn't be cheap, or easy. Plus, the engineering time to figure out where to exit the crank rod is another problem, unsolved.

Because of the difficulty, I have plans to do the added receiver hitch to the left side, welded to the left end of the stock hitch, with the added 2nd receiver in place, the spare can be mounted above the bumper on the left side. But I need to confirm clearances with my toad first, making a tight left turn. That solution is way easier, if the clearances are good, and I'm pretty sure they are.
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Old 02-20-2019, 06:16 AM   #14
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Spare tire mount

I have too much other junk mounted on the rear of my RV to add a spare tire! If the under slung carrier is not feasible, I may have to leave it where it is.
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Old 04-01-2019, 10:30 PM   #15
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I finished the spare tire mount. I added a 3rd brake light too. The mount is off center to leave room for the wire plug for towing, but the wheel is centered on the body.
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