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Old 06-24-2020, 02:54 PM   #41
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Hi Jim
The Bandag company was founded by Roy Carver in Muscatine Iowa. Carver was an industrialist and owned a patent on vulcanizing tread to casings. Growing up we would acquire used tires from folks when they bought a new set. If the old tires were not too badly worn, with no patches and of reputable manufacture we would set them aside. About August one of Carver’s employees would stop by and pick up the casings and take them to become retreaded snow tires. They were honest to deal with and one of their guarantees was that you’d get your same casings back. We did not have cause to doubt them and often sold the retread pair to the original owner for the cost that Bandag charged us plus a couple bucks. Most people were happy with those winter tires. We would always be on the lookout for popular rims so the customer wouldn’t have to pay for flipping the tires each spring and fall. In those days it was just good customer service and you made the money from their continued patronage. I remember cleaning up and painting some pretty rough looking rims. If I got a couple done on a slow night it was profit for the owners. It was always said about rereads you either swore by them or at them.
Carver became extremely wealthy and endowed many foundations and philanthropic causes. Born in Illinois, he became a favorite son in Iowa.
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Old 06-24-2020, 03:02 PM   #42
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Better to have it and not need it , than need it and not have it.
True of many things......
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Old 06-24-2020, 06:11 PM   #43
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Better to have it and not need it , than need it and not have it.
True of many things......
I completely agree with this especially cold weather clothing, rain protection and fresh water.
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Old 06-25-2020, 03:20 AM   #44
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Fix-a-flat's better than nothing, but not much help if the tire deflates and shreds. It also makes a huge mess that's apparently a pain to remove from the wheel to get the new tire on. I've only had to use my spare once and could have gotten away with limping or fix-a-flat, but it's still good to have.
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Old 06-25-2020, 09:52 AM   #45
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I've only had to use my spare once and could have gotten away with limping or fix-a-flat, but it's still good to have.

i had a can of that stuff in my tool bag in my vehicle. Somehow, the can expelled all it's contents in the bag. I threw many of the tools away. Not worth the effort to clean.
Never replaced the can of fix-a-flat.
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Old 06-25-2020, 10:31 AM   #46
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One big thing the pandemic has made me reconsider - my preference for efficiency over redundancy. On a trailer, the tires seem to be to be rather vital to the operation and safe use of it. You certainly can go without the spare tire but to what benefit? Your best case scenario is you're saving 30-40lbs of weight and the worst case scenario is you're stuck for hours/days without a functioning trailer.

My personal calculation of the risk vs the reward is low reward for potentially high risk. That's easy in my eyes - keep the spare.
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Old 06-25-2020, 11:00 AM   #47
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We took 2 spares to Alaska. Did not need either but slept like babies knowing we had them. A spare is the fastest way to get back under way.
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Old 06-25-2020, 11:07 AM   #48
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You could always change your tow vehicle tires to match the trailer, that way one spare would fit both.......
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Old 06-25-2020, 11:48 AM   #49
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You could always change your tow vehicle tires to match the trailer, that way one spare would fit both.......
One problem is that the vehicles have hub centric wheel centers, the trailer drums are not hub centric. Wheels are centered and held in place by the lug nuts. Taper on the nuts matching the taper on the trailer wheel. Nut torque specs are often different also. And a vehicle road tire is not a trailer tire and vice versa.
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Old 06-25-2020, 11:59 AM   #50
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I knew there had to be a reason............actually I was just joshing with my comment......
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Old 06-25-2020, 12:07 PM   #51
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We took 2 spares to Alaska. Did not need either but slept like babies knowing we had them. A spare is the fastest way to get back under way.
Don K.
I didn't but I debated doing so. In the end we only cut one tire and wouldn't have needed the second spare. But if you're in the middle of nowhere and have to use your spare tire it would be nice to have a backup. Of course that's a discussion for another day. No spare, not a discussion at all.

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Old 06-25-2020, 06:26 PM   #52
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Cpaharley

Wish I’d thought of that! We could have lightened the load!

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Old 06-25-2020, 06:47 PM   #53
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You could always change your tow vehicle tires to match the trailer, that way one spare would fit both.......
My tent trailer wheels matched my 2011 Ranger's wheels, and on one trip into Ollalie Lake, I got a carriage bolt through a front tire, and another puncture on a rear tire. Placed the trailer spare into emergency service on the Ranger. Had to drive 75 miles on that trailer spare and donut spare on the Ranger while towing the tent trailer. Not fun. (Replaced the donut with a full size spare.)
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Old 06-25-2020, 06:55 PM   #54
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Now that you mention it, my 2014 Ram 1500 did not come with a full sized spare. This was not uncovered until I replaced the original tires and questioned my spare. Boy did I hitail it out to the dealer and gave the sales manager a piece of my anger. He said he would try and locate a full sized wheel. I said forget about me and to forget that I ever bought a Ram from him. I purchased a fullsized matching wheel and had one of my old tires mounted and balance. It rides in the truck bed under my tonneau cover. The original temp spare is still underneath. So I'm carrying 2 spares for the truck and one for the trailer.
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Old 06-25-2020, 08:59 PM   #55
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
You could always change your tow vehicle tires to match the trailer, that way one spare would fit both.......
Quote:
Originally Posted by Iowa Dave View Post
One problem is that the vehicles have hub centric wheel centers, the trailer drums are not hub centric. Wheels are centered and held in place by the lug nuts. Taper on the nuts matching the taper on the trailer wheel. Nut torque specs are often different also. And a vehicle road tire is not a trailer tire and vice versa.
Iowa Dave
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I knew there had to be a reason............actually I was just joshing with my comment......
This is actually commonplace for off-road caravans in Australia. Manufacturers like Kimberley for example will match wheels and tires to the tow vehicles which are often Land Rovers or Toyota Prado’s (equivent is Lexus GX in N. America). Totally different suspension/braking system though than the basic Torflex axle on an Escape.
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Old 06-25-2020, 09:15 PM   #56
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This is actually commonplace for off-road caravans in Australia. Manufacturers like Kimberley for example will match wheels and tires to the tow vehicles which are often Land Rovers or Toyota Prado’s (equivent is Lexus GX in N. America). Totally different suspension/braking system though than the basic Torflex axle on an Escape.
Now you’ve done it. And you know Jim Norman’s propane switch out is near and his truck needs an oil change and detailing. He will probably use his stimulus check for a down payment on a rig like the Aussies run. I like having a little fun.
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Old 06-25-2020, 11:26 PM   #57
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One problem is that the vehicles have hub centric wheel centers, the trailer drums are not hub centric. Wheels are centered and held in place by the lug nuts. Taper on the nuts matching the taper on the trailer wheel. Nut torque specs are often different also. And a vehicle road tire is not a trailer tire and vice versa.
Iowa Dave
Hub-centric wheels with tapered seats or straight-shank bolts (not flange bolts) can used on bolt-centric hubs, as long as the centre bore is larger than the protruding hub portion, and of course if the bolt pattern matches. Some trailer hubs are hub-centric, but typically only when they have bolts rather than studs.

An ST trailer tire is not allowed to be used on a motor vehicle, but any motor vehicle tire is allowed on (and suitable for) a trailer; if it is an LT or commercial tire the load rating is the same for trailer use as for motor vehicle use.

In practice, the biggest issue is that the offsets are not the same. The Australian trailers matching wheels to their tow vehicles typically use hub assemblies that match the automotive spec including offset. One way to achieve the same thing with common cheap trailer running gear, if the tow vehicle has significant offset and the tow vehicle centre bore is large enough, would be to fit the trailer with bolt pattern adapters of a thickness to match the offset difference. For instance, my Sienna's stock wheels have a 45 mm offset, and my current trailer wheels have 6 mm offset, so the adapters would ideally be 39mm thick, and the bolt patterns on both sides of the adapter would be the same (5-on-4.5" or 5-on-114.3 mm); while the adapter would not likely be able to have the desired 60.1 mm centre and still fit over the trailer hub, the wheel might still clear the hub for lug-centric use. There is room for variation in offset (my Sienna is also available with 50 mm offset wheels in a different diameter, with exactly the same hubs), so the nearest adapter thickness would be fine. In this case the bolt pattern on each side is the same, so it may be described as a spacer, like this one in eBay.
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Old 07-01-2020, 11:07 AM   #58
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Yes, keep spare

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I have seen at least 100 trailers on the side of the highway with blow tires. A spare is absolutely essential.
Agree. Over the past 16 years, and 150,000 miles towing, we've had 4-5 tires go bad while traveling. Most problems were from foreign objects, including a toothpick stuck through the inside tire sidewall.

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Old 07-01-2020, 11:45 AM   #59
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Spare tire

Why carry a fire extinguisher...it you almost never need one? A friend of ours has a 19 Escape that recently blew out a tire and had the tread damage the fiberglass...they had a spare and came home safely. Last year a camping neighbor had a smart car with no spare.. just a repair kit...that failed and it took them half a day to find a repair facility because they were out boondocking in a remote area. Carry a spare tire that is properly inflated and a certified fire extinguisher would be my humble opinion.
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Old 07-01-2020, 12:17 PM   #60
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I’ve blown 3

I wouldn’t go without. I’ve blown 3 tires while travelling with my 19 and all for different reasons.
Nothing like the stress of freeways and no spare!
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