Replacing tires

[Victor Benz]

Originally Posted by gordon2

In either event, inflate to 10 PSI and only fully inflate when it is put into service.

Gordon;

I agree completely with almost everything you've listed; however I have not heard the bit about having an under-inflated spare before. Its a given that it needs to be fully inflated upon installation. What is the rationale for this?

Vic

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Victor Benz

Gordon;

I agree completely with almost everything you've listed; however I have not heard the bit about having an under-inflated spare before. Its a given that it needs to be fully inflated upon installation. What is the rationale for this?

Vic

To me, its the same as the advice to take the pressure off the main (mounted) tires as recommended by a number of manufactures such as Goodyear (bullet point #4).

But I should add that this recommendation does not seem to be universal and I am open to debate on the question.

I have heard the the higher pressure on the inside causes more rapid oxidation on the inside than if they tires were, for example, unmounted. That however might just be snake oil.


EDIT: Another valid point is that when you have a flat and need to use the spare, you might be in a place where you do not want to wait on your inflator to does its job. So in that case, a fully inflated and ready to go spare would be better.
--end edit--

Also, on the question of just buying new tires already mounted, I would only do that if I could get them with metal valve stems.

[floyd]

Then if you have a flat on the tow vehicle, crank the filthy neglected spare down from underneath and scrape the mud, gravel, flake rust etc from it.
( that is if the cable will let it down!
Put the half flat thing on your vehicle (even if it is a minispare) and make your way to the nearest tire service place. (provided you can follow the convoluted jack instructions)
BTW... this is a great time to add a whole new list of words to your vocabulary or to find the limits of your self restraint and attempt to extend them!

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by floyd

Then if you have a flat on the tow vehicle, crank the filthy neglected spare down from underneath and scrape the mud, gravel, flake rust etc from it. ( that is if the cable will let it down!
..

Yes, its a great van, but the spare tire mount and placement is atrocious. I'm lucky that I don't have "salted" roads here but still after a few years I might end up carrying both the tug and trailer's spare in the trunk.