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Old 04-07-2019, 06:26 PM   #1
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Arrow Axis / Vegas - Show us your spare tire solutions

Hi gang,

We’re about to take delivery of our new-to-us 2017 Vegas 25.5 and have been making myself busy looking for appropriate solutions for carrying a spare tire.
Our particular configuration will be pulling a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited - so a conventional 2” receiver mount is probably out of the picture.
Also notable is that the Axis / Vegas does not have the more conventional 4” square rear bumper to clamp or bolt to.
But please do share any and all experiences here as I am sure it will pop up in searches (which I did before posting this thread)..

Thanks!

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Old 04-09-2019, 01:04 AM   #2
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Welcome to the forum!

Spare tires and wheels have been discussed thoroughly on this forum. Try the search tab. Then get out your gold card!
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Old 04-09-2019, 01:25 AM   #3
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Welcome!

Do a search for "spare tires" and "wheels" and you'll be beset with loads of info.

Really don't want to lug around a spare, heavy duty jack, compressor (and hose and fittings), and tire irons for changing out a tire. They would be taking up valuable "essentials" storage space.

As for me and my 24.1 Vegas - I pack a credit card and a roadside assistance service phone number.
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Old 04-09-2019, 02:07 AM   #4
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In 22 years of traveling in a class A RV,, I have had to use road side service for a failed tire four times. The first question asked "Do you have a serviceable aired-up spare with you?" Try to find a 245/70-19.5 tire on any dealers shelf, to say nothing of a 6.75-19.5 steel rim. Took me two months to find a spare rim for $175. My Ford car dealer want $695 to order just the rim. Just my take....
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Old 04-09-2019, 12:38 PM   #5
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In 22 years of traveling in a class A RV,, I have had to use road side service for a failed tire four times. The first question asked "Do you have a serviceable aired-up spare with you?" Try to find a 245/70-19.5 tire on any dealers shelf, to say nothing of a 6.75-19.5 steel rim. Took me two months to find a spare rim for $175. My Ford car dealer want $695 to order just the rim. Just my take....
I would think any truck tire service company would be awash in 245/70 19.5 tires as they are common on medium duty trucks.
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Old 04-09-2019, 12:55 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by apr67 View Post
I would think any truck tire service company would be awash in 245/70 19.5 tires as they are common on medium duty trucks.
225/70-19.5 is the common light truck tire. 245/70-19.5 is fairly rare in stock. Even my Ford truck dealer (Red McChombs Ford) does not stock any tires in that size.
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Old 04-09-2019, 01:13 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by Beau388 View Post
225/70-19.5 is the common light truck tire. 245/70-19.5 is fairly rare in stock. Even my Ford truck dealer (Red McChombs Ford) does not stock any tires in that size.
I see that now. Well if you know your weights, you might be able to (worst case) , you put the 225 on the front and rotate the front to the bad dual. The 225 is a little shorter (.5 inches) and narrower (.75 inches).

It looks like you lose about 400lbs of carrying capacity with the smaller tire however, so again, you would have to know your weights. Perhaps I need to find someones castoff tire.
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Old 04-09-2019, 01:58 PM   #8
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Hi guys,

As I posted on my original message, I had done a search and the search engine came up empty. Now when I search it does have a few more hits when I searched “by post” rather than “by thread”. I think vBulletin may be hiccuping as it did on another forum that I’m an Administrator on. We ended up migrating to Xenforo software there.
We can either leave this thread and contribute links to other threads as well as posting fresh content, or a moderator can go ahead an nuke the thread.
I travel in some pretty remote areas where there simply is no cell phone coverage, so using Roadside Assistance is simply not a wise choice.
Thanks for your contributions one and all..
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Old 04-09-2019, 02:08 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by Big-Foot View Post
I travel in some pretty remote areas where there simply is no cell phone coverage, so using Roadside Assistance is simply not a wise choice.
Thanks for your contributions one and all..
Have you ever tried to change a Motor home tire? I have to tell you, I am not in good enough shape to do it myself any more, but I did it once when I was in my 30's. Blew an inner dual on a class C (only a 16" tire). I changed it using a bottle jack, and quite possibly that is one of the stupid things I could ever do. If the jack failed I would quite probably be dead.

So if you (any of you, not picking on the OP) are going down the route of having a mounted spare you can change yourself make sure you have good equipment, jack, jack stand, 1/2" breaker bar with the right deep well (impact type) socket and probably a 6" extension, and a 4 foot cheater bar. I also usually bring a large chunk of card board or carpet, so that I don't have to sit my little white bum on the asphalt and fry like a piggy.
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Old 04-09-2019, 02:30 PM   #10
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Thanks for your note.
I’m in pretty good physical shape and have changed my own tires - even my larger truck tires for years. I do agree that having the RIGHT equipment is necessary and should be rolled into this thread.
A nunber of years ago, I had the unfortunate blow-out on the left front of our 92 Airstream Land Yacht DP. I had been injured in a racing incident and we were on the road afterward. Roadside Assistance from AAA-RV Plus showed up 4 hours after our call in the form of a 70+ year old fellow that could barely walk. He had a cross-bar and bottle jack in his corn-popping Chevy Luv pickup truck. Suffice to say, I ended up breaking out the correct tools from my trailer and had to use the leveling system to get the LF up in the air to change the tire. He watched.
Like a few others here, I rely on no one unless I absolutely have to. Even if you do want to use Roadside Assistance, unless you want to really elongate your downtime, you better be carrying a spare tire.
BTW, the Vegas and Axis use incredibly small 225-75 R16 LR-E tires...
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Old 04-09-2019, 02:36 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by Big-Foot View Post
Thanks for your note.
I’m in pretty good physical shape and have changed my own tires - even my larger truck tires for years. I do agree that having the RIGHT equipment is necessary and should be rolled into this thread.
I'm a racer too (less now than I used to however)..

Its a shame that these road side service deals for RV's don't call actual truck tire roadside service, or at least they do not seem to. Going to have to ask my roadside service how that would be handled.

I agree with you on self sufficiency. I did not realize how less than common the 19.5's used on RV's typically are. I wouldn't mind having the tire and rim to shorten the cycle, I'm just not getting underneath that 22k lbs rv without a good 6 ton jack stand.
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Old 04-09-2019, 05:15 PM   #12
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BTW, a 19.5 wheel weighs about 65 lbs, and a G670 (for example) weighs 70 lbs. 135lbs in an awkward package.
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Old 04-10-2019, 03:01 PM   #13
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I was amazed that the Axis & Vegas are using such small (LT225x75 R16) wheels and tires.. Fairly light in comparison to the 22’s on our last coach.. Still running pretty closely to the edge when it comes to load vs. capacity I would think...
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Old 04-10-2019, 04:15 PM   #14
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We purchased a Roadmaster for our Vegas. If you decide to tow another vehicle it's capable of adding the towing equipment. Click image for larger version

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Old 04-10-2019, 08:06 PM   #15
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Curt spare mount to a bolt-on 2" reciever (ears reversed). Others have fabbed behind the gas talk-in front of the hitch mount.


Thor Forums - Search Results


https://www.google.com/search?q=spar...w=1152&bih=535
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Old 04-10-2019, 09:56 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by cherylfair View Post
We purchased a Roadmaster for our Vegas. If you decide to tow another vehicle it's capable of adding the towing equipment. Attachment 16602


I have the Roadmaster as well. It is expensive but it’s beautifully designed and made and will outlast several RVs. I was planning to use it when I tow a car but I find I cannot. I need a drop adapter due to the difference in height between the hitch and the tow bar. But that would mean having three adapter hitch pins and is not permitted - at least with my tow equipment. Still, it’s a great choice if you don’t tow or you don’t need a drop/rise adapter. Haven’t found a way to carry a spare on my F53 MH.
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Old 06-07-2019, 02:47 AM   #17
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Installed the Roadmaster tire carrier. This thing is a beast but just whats needed for a spare 19.5 wheel and tire. Spare tire 245/70R19.5 Goodyear 670RV online for $425 and rim was $189 including shipping. Tire cover by The Coverguy on Etsy custon silkscreen $98 including shipping.[ATTACH]
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Old 06-07-2019, 02:24 PM   #18
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I have a 24.1. I keep spare in compartment above generator and use it to hold cords. Sometimes if I need more storarge, I put it on racecar trailer.
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Old 06-08-2019, 01:07 PM   #19
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Originally Posted by Yvonnemarc View Post
Installed the Roadmaster tire carrier. This thing is a beast but just whats needed for a spare 19.5 wheel and tire. Spare tire 245/70R19.5 Goodyear 670RV online for $425 and rim was $189 including shipping. Tire cover by The Coverguy on Etsy custon silkscreen $98 including shipping.[ATTACH]


Cool! Where’d you find a rim for such a great price? I have the Roadmaster beast as well but not currently using it for want of a spare. The carrier is a fine piece of gear that will outlast us all.
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Old 06-08-2019, 01:45 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Big-Foot View Post
Hi gang,

We’re about to take delivery of our new-to-us 2017 Vegas 25.5 and have been making myself busy looking for appropriate solutions for carrying a spare tire.
Our particular configuration will be pulling a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited - so a conventional 2” receiver mount is probably out of the picture.
Also notable is that the Axis / Vegas does not have the more conventional 4” square rear bumper to clamp or bolt to.
But please do share any and all experiences here as I am sure it will pop up in searches (which I did before posting this thread)..

Thanks!
I just ordered the New! 16” rim on Amazon ($80, no tax, free ship), a bit cheaper than anywhere else. I couldn’t find a used rim and was not willing to wait
I got a good buy a on a just used Michelin LTX 225-75-16 MS2 ($107, no tax, free ship). It matches my other 6 tires.
Rim & tire will arrive this week

I’ve analyzed the “under-coach” mounting position between the gas tank and the trailer hitch.
It looks very do-able based on measurements, plenty of room.
I’ll probably incorporate a couple of pieces of 2” channel iron, side to side, using existing holes already in the frame (look underside to see the location).
Others on this Forum have laid the groundwork for this mod.

The only thing that needs to be moved (6” to the passenger side) is the hitch/trailer electrical connection, as the wiring loom will be damaged otherwise.

I’ll post photos when job is complete
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