Graniterich wrote:TCJ wrote:OK, crazy thought; I'm almost embarrassed to ask it: what happens if I don't carry a spare at all?...Is this nuts?
It's Sunday, tire stores are closed, buy a spare. Cheap insurance
* I've always carried spares for my cars and trailers; I even carried three in my HHR Panel (one underfloor, two mounted upright on the inside walls), after I had two flats on the way to work one morning (I made the last 1/4 mile on the second one). My commute was 60+ miles each way, so I figured I had the space, the spare tires & wheels, so why not? I never had another flat on that vehicle again, but since my wife drives it around now (I retired), I still insist on the underfloor spare and one extra (much easier to access) tire mounted on the inside wall.
It also keeps her from buying too much stuff on any single trip.* I carried two sizes/types of tires for my racecar, two spares for the tandem axle trailer I hauled it on (yes, I had two flats at the same time on it, once), and a spare for my truck when I was drag racing. Then, when I switched to building & camping in the single axle trailer, the first item I used was the 14" spare I took from my wife's business trailer (only used to go to catastrophe sites, for insurance underwriting). Since it was free, and 14"... that's the size I converted my original frame's 8" wheels to.
* I've not yet had a flat on this trailer, but nearly did coming back from a long camping trip. My tow vehicle did get damage on the two rear tires (busted belts, on 10-ply LT tires), but the trailer just flew over the huge pothole, without damage. I slowly drove (50-55 mph, max, since the damaged tires were now out-of-round) the remaining 125-150 miles home, bouncing all the way, since it was late Sunday afternoon, and I couldn't locate a tire store in any of the towns off the highway.
* I would've put on my spare, but the mechanism that held it up under the truck bed was stuck (rusted), so the bouncing was twice as bad. I did pull off every 25 miles to check for more damage and heat problems (using my infrared laser sensor), but made it home just before a major T-storm I was racing against. I replaced all four tires (and the now-freed, but old, spare) the next day. I don't ever want to repeat that drive again.