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Share the Spare [tire that is]

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gonzo

Jedi Knight
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There’s no doubt that having a spare tire in the trunk is just good insurance, but it’s a real hog for valuable space – especially on extended trips. So, what’s an acceptable trade off?

Pitch the spare for: a can of Sealant / Inflator or an inner-tube with pump (or CO2 cartridges). How practical is it to attempt replacing an inner-tube with hand tools (tire irons) roadside like on a bicycle? Would it be difficult to break the tire bead from the rim and re-seat? What other difficulties would be encountered?

These above options would not work in the event of a blow-out, so another option would be to keep the spare and install a Luggage Rack. One that installs temporarily would be preferred. What’s the load capacity of one of these, 30 or 40 lbs? Could a good LR be sourced from the usual suspects?

Yet another option is to drive with a group of Healey’s and agree to share the spare(s) or call for a tow.

And, of course, to affect any tire-related repairs the beast must be lifted with a jack. Any suggestions on a good scissors jack? This is the start of my travel check-list in preparation for Conclave 2006, Nelson, BC /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/canpatriot.GIF. Thanks all! GONZO /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/patriot.gif
 
Hi Gonzo, Reparing a puncture along the side of the road is not too much of a problem but can be dangerous.Whether you can break the bead or not depends on how long the wheel has been assembled on the car they can be a bugger to break.
Utilizing the standard hand tools to replace an innertube is also easy and only requires that one side of the tire be lifted over the wheel rim.To get a jack under the car requires a good sized rock or a short piece of 4X4 which you drive the bad tire up on.Luggage racks are used on all my cars,if you use the one that rests on the rear bumper there is virtually no weight limit. Those that bolt to the boot lid probably limit you to about 50Lbs.Tire sealant may work but it makes a mess and You usually dicard the tube later. Thats about it.--Keoke
 
I've actually done this by using a bumper jack from a good samaritans pick-up to break the bead. Just put the base of the jack close to the rim and jack against the vehicle. Of course you could always have the good samaritan take you and the tire to a service station. Has any one considered fabricating a spare by welding a splined center from an old wire wheel into a small donut spare? Would save some room.
 
Gonzo--

Though my car is a two-seater and therefore has a larger boot I have nevertheless gone to some lengths to gain extra storage space:

1. I use a Tupperware cake container that fits very nicely in the void under the spare wheel and it is an excellent place to store electrical and other moisture-sensitive small parts.

2. I replaced the two-six volt batteries with one twelve and have another Tupperware tall container in the space gained. Since the area is exposed to road spray I use the container to carry a spare inner tube and radiator hoses and other parts that are not moisture sensitive.

There's a lot of spare space under the boot floorboard in six-cylinder cars and one could probably carry many lots of sand or multiple pingpong balls in the recesses.

Seeya at Akron.
 
Michael thanks for the reiteration on cubby-holds and accessible spaces. These were noted earlier and I plan to visit a Sailboat Shop for weather proofed tote-bags, small boxes etc. to keep related items together and to save on weight.

I’ll probably purchase a lightweight sail cloth tarp (10 x 10) to be used as a car cover/drop cloth/ emergency shelter. Sail Boat shops are an excellent, albeit expensive, source for multi-purpose items.

Keoke, I know that you have had good success with your Luggage Rack, but if the legs on the rack happen to fold, then what prevents the whole assembly from slamming down on the trunk lid? GONZO
 
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I’ll probably purchase a lightweight sail cloth tarp (10 x 10) to be used as a car cover/drop cloth/ emergency shelter. Sail Boat shops are an excellent, albeit expensive, source for multi-purpose items.GONZO

[/ QUOTE ]

Save your money and go to Walmart to buy one of the Tyvek car covers that they sell in their auto department for about $50. A small sized one fits my 100 tight and a medium fits a 3000 comfortably. If you can find a compression stuffsack you can squeeze it down to the size of a football.
 
My one experience of trying to break the bead without the aid of the proper machine has meant that I have never tried again! - It was NOT EASY - I certainly would not want to be doing it in the dark, in the rain at the side of a motorway!

You could always sell the A-H and get a real Healey - they have lots of space ;-)

John (1951 Healey Tickford)
 
Keoke, I know that you have had good success with your Luggage Rack, but if the legs on the rack happen to fold, then what prevents the whole assembly from slamming down on the trunk lid? GONZO

[/ QUOTE ]

The legs are made from very strong tubular steel and folding is not an issue Gonzo.---Keoke /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nonono.gif
 
gonzo,tubless radials,whats with the tube? braking the beed is the easy part,if you need to remove whatever it was that caused the puncture from inside,or have to remove one side of the tire for any reason with hand tools,you better have some good dental insurance! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif
 
I wonder if an MGTC wheel would fit on a Healey hub. That could be fun. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif
 
I have a set of Dayton wire wheels that do not require an inner tube. I have elected to go without a spare and take a cannister to fill a flat if needed-hasn't yet.
 
hmj6854,yes you can buy the daytons with sealed inner spokes that dont require an inner "rubber band" (as i did) and take along a small plug kit and a small cannister of compressed air,saves a lot of space. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif
 
gonzo,most of the other type racks require that you drill into the trunk lid oops,boot lid and permanently afix the rack,limiting the amount of weight you can carry to the weight the boot lid is able to withstand,the type keoke and i have can carry a far greater amount of weight and are easily removable. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif
 
when I replaced the spare recently, I downsized the tire a bit to a 155/16 and found that it fit a whole lot better and gained some room. It's not a donut, and can be used like a real tire, but the 10mm really made a difference.

I was all ready to install a trunk rack, but I had bought one that required drilling into the boot lid, I mean trunk lid, and everybody got on my case about not drilling so I gave it up. I think trunk racks make a lot of sense, and I like the way they look, but that's me.

Of course, I also carry that tire filler gook just in case, but my biggest issue would be that I can never quite tell for sure when I'm going to run out of gase because of the wonderfully accurate fuel gage, and I really hate the clicking sound of a dry fuel pump.
 
BMW "M" cars do not have a spare tire from the factory. Instead, a small compressor (with a contained cannister of sealant) is neatly packaged in the trunk. While available separately, they're not cheap. You have the option of just using the compressor if you're not trying to seal a puncture. Great for pumping up the tires (very quickly too) at autocrosses & driving events.
 
shg,the continuous "clicking" sound is to let you know your out of gas,who needs an accurate guage? ,downsizing the spare was a good idea. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gifi had a tr4a irs,and three tr6's they all had luggage racks and i used them often,if you put one on get the one keoke and i have been pitching,ill post picts if you want,layda bro!
 
[ QUOTE ]
shg,the continuous "clicking" sound is to let you know your out of gas,who needs an accurate guage?

[/ QUOTE ]

that's like yelling duck about 2 second after the trigger is pulled. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Thoughtful, yet ineffective.
 
all this talk about downsizing the spare...here's an out-of-the-box idea, how about downsizing your luggage! a wise person once advised me that just before leaving on a trip to "half the luggage and double the money you take"
hope that helps...doubt that it does.
 
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