[A/S] Spare tire for Airstream

[Terry Tyler <tylerbears@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi J. Henry,

You asked about carrying a spare tire for our Airstream. Yes, I ALWAYS 
carry a spare tire.

In our '69 27', there was no spare tire carrier so I went to the 
factory and they created a space under the A-frame by chiseling out the 
foam insulation. That worked slick - although during cold weather the 
floor above the spare tire was considerably cooler than the floor 
elsewhere. But, there was a place for the spare tire and it wasn't in 
our Station Wagon.

In our '77 31', there was no tire carrier under the A-frame so I 
carried the spare in the back of our Van. I didn't want another cold 
floor under the A-frame. During those years, we did a lot of Winter 
camping. Now, years later, I wonder what possessed us to do that.

In our '67 22', I created a steel carrier behind the propane bottle for 
our spare tire and when I realized how easy it would be steal, I bought 
a fancy coated cable with an odd lock on the end of it and with an 
equally odd looking key. We still have this Airstream.

Throughout those years, I didn't carry two spare tires for the 
Airstream. It took one snag when I couldn't find a matching spare tire 
(dual axles) to convince me that carrying two would make sense. That's 
what I now do. One is tucked away in the carrier of our '89 32' and the 
other is in our Van's customized compartment for spare tires (all three 
of them).

As an aside, it took another snag before I realized there are different 
carrying capabilities among wheels of the same size and same number of 
lug nut holes. When I finally found two spare wheels with the maximum 
carrying capacity for our Van's tires, we carry two spares.

Related to the topic of tires, this would be a good time to locate a 
set of hub studs for your particular Airstream. Why? If by chance, the 
lug nuts are not as tight as they should be (for whatever reason) and 
the wheel comes off and rolls away while you're driving along the 
Interstate, it's very likely the hub studs will be buggered up beyond 
repair. New lug nuts won't spin on. You might consider repairing the 
hub studs with a tool and die. In my book, that would be a poor last 
resort.

It would be better to knock out the hub studs (2# hammer) and insert 
new ones, then install the wheel (if you can find it) and be on your 
way with a first class fix. Why buy a set of hub studs ahead of time? 
You know that answer. Wherever you are when you need them is exactly 
where none will be available at the local parts store, which 
incidentally, closes in 10 minutes for a long weekend.   <grin>  Been 
there, done that - but never again.

The upside was I called Oasis RV in Tucson because they hadn't closed 
yet and they sent me the new hub studs overnight. That experience among 
many others endeared them to us.

You asked one other question. What do we do about handling tire changes 
on the trailer? Like many men (and women), I fancy myself as someone 
who can do anything, anywhere, anytime under any circumstances. 
Generally, that's true. <cough>

That was until recently, when I learned I don't have the capability for 
changing a blow-out on the left rear tire of our Van while going up a 
steep grade on a narrow bridge with corrugated metal (can see the water 
below) connecting the bridge to the shore line pavement and trucks 
whizzing by me so close I knew I would NOT be knocked off the bridge 
into the river if I stood straight up and didn't move.

That's when I called the 800 number of our Emergency Road Service 
(ERS). They came with their huge truck and blinking lights. They 
arranged for a bridge authority vehicle with a big arrow on the back to 
position itself at the beginning of the bridge upgrade  - forcing 
drivers into the center lane.

And best of all, they had a pneumatic jack to lift the combined weight 
of our Van with the Airstream connected and change the tire - for me. 
The jack could do this in spite of the steep grade involved. The only 
thing I did was call ERS on our cell phone, pull the spare tire out of 
our Van (and check the PSI) and then, 10 minutes later, push the ruined 
tire and ruined wheel into the Van.  The cost of our ERS more than paid 
for itself with that one incident.

I think this covers your questions - and then some - but that's the 
chance you take when posting on this list,

Terry
'89 32' Excella
'67 22' Safari
'63 22' Flying Cloud
'75 Mercury Wagon
'78 Ford Van
'87 Suburban