Spare wheel / tyre

• For all vehicles, caravans or trailers and motorhomes you must always carry a legal and serviceable spare wheel or a manufacturer supplied or approved emergency tyre inflation kit and equipment and keys for any tyre security devices when supplied by the manufacturer.

• Transport your vehicle, you and up to 7 passengers that are in the vehicle at the time of the breakdown to a local place of repair or to a destination of your choice if the fault
or damage cannot be repaired at the scene of the breakdown or locally by the end of the working day (we will not pay for any other recoveries); or pay a contribution towards
labour costs following agreement between you and us if a fault can be repaired locally

This is what Britannia rescue say. So no need to worry if the tyre repair kit doesn’t work they will take you to tyre depot. If 2pm on Sunday they will take you home or to your site. When on site call tyres on the drive Monday morning. Where is the problem. And also any caravan or trailer on the vehicle is covered.

Where is the problem.

The problem is if I drive to meet friends on a Sunday PM for a meal and come back to a flat tire I prefer to have the spare put on so that I have a serviceable vehicle. 

You could get a flat on the way home. If I had a flat and a spare  I would still call the breakdown. Why get dirty. Having a flat and no spare to me is a minor inconvenience

whereas I'd not even consider calling someone to change a wheel for me ... 😉

Does your Merc  have a spare then MM? I did Many years ago drive what then was a 32 ton truck, in those days we used to carry a spare and have to change wheel if we got a puncture even on the motorway.  As the days and years went trucks got bigger and went to 44ton. We got to the stage of not carrying a spare, so got out of changing wheels. If we got a puncture at 2 PM on a Sunday no problem, ATS would come and change the tyre.

It does have a spare .... a skinny steel rimmed spare. 

Back on topic .... I have to concede that the spare on my caravan isn't the easiest of things to access. It's on a sliding tube type carrier under the back of the caravan and not that easy on the safety of my drive let alone a motorway hard shoulder .... assuming you're lucky enough to have a hard shoulder to use instead of these stupid 'smart; motorways.

You could get a flat on the way home.

Indeed I could as I have had at least two in the last 25 years.

If I had a flat and a spare I would still call the breakdown.

So would I.

Having a flat and no spare to me is a minor inconvenience

For me a PITA

A pain in the backside for all of us but still minor to me.

Tell me about the Alko carriers pain in the backside. We struggled with it at ATS getting the wheel out to change the tyre. Going off topic it was on a Coachman caravan, at the 1st service done at Crossley caravans they told me that the tyres were 3 years old on a 1 year old caravan. Went to Marquis where I bought it, they in turn contacted Coachman who refused to do anything. So I told marquis it was their problem. To cut a long story short I threatened them with trading standards. They then agreed as a gesture of goodwill to replace the 3 tyres .  That is how I ended up at ATS.

Moral of story check age of tyres even on a new van

 Yes, I accept that my solution is somewhat OTT, but perhaps that's me! We had the opposite experience when a tyre on a boat trailer (that I had borrowed and didn't have a spare) blew on the M5. Shredded the tyre completely and damaged the wheel.  We were on our way to Dartmouth and after a lot of messing about by the recovery company, we spent a week on holiday in Dartmouth whilst the dinghy spent its holiday in a garage in Weston-super-Mare!

When we went to collect the boat/trailer, I was charged £150 for an 8" wheel and tyre that I could probably have sourced for £25 at home - but they knew I didn't have much option but to pay up.

I accept that there are other options/alternatives - but my way solves the problem at minimum inconvenience to me and I have always been of the belief that if it can go pear-shaped, it will!