Posted on 22/08/2016 15:33
New van has spare wheel suspended under the van
Cannot decide if it is better to leave it exposed, thereby getting wet and dirty but drying out quickly, or getting a waterproof bag to enclose it
As it is inspected very rarely there is a risk that a "waterproof bag" may be subject to condensation thereby causing unseen deterioration
Opinions and recommendations please
Posted on 23/08/2016 07:34
If you have a fixed bed I would follow cyberyacht. It will be readily available and clean if needed. Never thought of putting the spare in a bag but doubt it is worth the effort.
When it comes to removing a wheel that is punctured and covered in road grime a bag could be handy! In our Yaris the road wheel would not fit easily in place of the skinny spare and so we have a very large, very strong plastic bag on top of the spare for such a pupose
Posted on 23/08/2016 14:35
Agree with Hitchglitch - in 35 years of towing a van I've never had a puncture and the tyre comes out once a year - if indeed they bother at service time! Wouldn't bother covering it and if we do puncture its definately going to be someone elses mucky hands!
Posted on 23/08/2016 14:54
I've often wondered why Alko have not made the cradle to be accessed from the back of the caravan. It would mean that the nose of the caravan could be tipped down and provide very easy access regarless of which side of the road one was driving on.
The general design could be similar, just a bit longer with an added retaining cross-member to hold the free end. Now there's a business opportunity! I'll take a modest commission if someone does it ! You've seen the idea here first.
Posted on 23/08/2016 15:05
Paul56, likewise 35 plus years of caravaning without a puncture until this year in Germany on stretch of the auto bahn teeming with rain at first then stood still in traffic jam, A Chap behind knocked on my window to inform me I had a big bleb in the caravan tyre. It was obviously too dangerous to travel far and needed changing. We crawled in traffic jam a few miles to a rest area and changed the tyre, fortunately I had decided before we went away to put the spare in the boot. Traffic moving, all changed we made our site before closing. Had we to wait for breakdown or whoever to come to our aid it would have been very late, The campsite next day took us to a nearby tyre company who replaced the tyre. So as we thought, it was better to be prepared for the unexpected. Taking the tyre off the carrier on my drive at home was a complete bxxxs ache and I would have hated to do it in Situ.
Posted on 23/08/2016 15:18
Unlike a lot of other 'vanners - I have had TWO tyre destructive blowouts in the last four years - the last time Mayday had to move the 'van quite a way from the kerb of hard shoulder to remove the Alko Underslung carrier - putting himself in more danger than would do normally .
That's when I took the decision to remove the carrier - flog it on Ebay - and now carry spare in nice wheel cover and travels over the axle inside the van - on site just roll it it out down the step and stow under van till going home -
Haven't had a puncture since !!!
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