Chinook RV

After toying with a variety of options for getting the spare off the bumper I'm thinking of just not carrying a spare. I know some of you already don't carry one but I'm interested to hear some of the reasons why you don't and what you would do in the event of a flat.

I've considered moving the spare to the front but I'd prefer to shorten the rig and not have anything protruding beyond the bumpers. I'm considering mounting the spare above the rear storage compartment by reinforcing the rear wall with plywood and/or metal plates to mount a spare carrier but I'm wondering it that's a sound idea given the weight of the spare. I have seen some older Class B's with this type of mounting but I don't know if there's metal frame to attach to or not.

Paul

Nope, no metal frame, but hmmm... what if we modified the rear storage compartment to take most of the spare, something like this: Ah, never mind. The bath sink gets in the way, methinks.

For some reason I feel like there might be enough room to store it underneath the chassis on the forward driver side, but need to go look when all this rain stops.

I've considered not carrying one at certain times, but never gone through with it. Those would (theoretically) be times I'm always on pavement, with cell reception. Or I suppose if you're traveling in tandem with someone else who runs the same wheels/tires you could share a spare. I've also heard of people carrying just the tire (much lighter so could go on roof or elsewhere), figuring they could have it mounted in an emergency. This was on Born Frees which traditionally came with no spare (Ford E-350/E-450).

I guess the reasons I have never actually left the spare behind come down to feeling like a doof if I had a flat and no spare, no real need to shave off the length, and I rarely do any trip that's *only* on pavement and not in the boonies. But it's something I'd still consider.

Mine is mounted on the front. That moved a nice chunk of weight from the rear axle to the front, and it is out of the way of the door and storage compartment (I don't often do ferries or parallel parking where it would matter).

I've thought about it, but I don't really miss the space and it's a handy place to set things down when I'm messing with the back door.

The one time I had a flat, the spare did me no good because I couldn't remember how to get it open. I'd barely gotten the thing, and in trying to learning about all the various systems, I'd forgotten how the salesman showed me to lower the spare, and the tire guy who came out to help couldn't work it out, either. So he jacked up my rig, took off the wheel, and hauled it into town for repair, while I sat on the shoulder twiddling my thumbs. So... the places I tend to go, probably not end-of-the-world stuff to have a flat and no spare.

I had a flat, blowout, delamination at 70 mph on the highway in Utah. It was scary and I'm extremely thankful that it was on the rear duallie. I abruptly realized that the spare that came with my rig (probably not original) was not rated as a duallie and wouldn't carry the load. We limped 15 miles (very slowly, maybe 20mph tops) to the nearest town and got a used tire that was better than what we already had. If you've been through Utah, you know that we were lucky to be that close to a town. Much of our trip was nowhere near civilization and not in cell coverage. As soon as we got home, I had a new set of Michelins along with a matching spare. I've used the jack once for an unexpected flat on a dirt bike, I'm not comfortable jacking such a heavy vehicle, I'm not convinced that I could turn the lug wrench with enough torque even though I'm a reasonably competent shade-tree mechanic.

That being said, I'm not leaving home without my properly rated spare and basic tools.

To each his own.

Hi all - thanks for the input. Colorider's post hit home as I do have a habit of finding roads in the middle of nowhere. Earlier this year we were driving for hours on the worst paved road I've ever been on - down next to the Arizona/Mexico border. The only people we saw were Border Patrol agents. So, it looks like I'll keep carrying a spare (even if I may not be able to change it). I'm still wondering if that rear wall could be reinforced to take the weight of the spare tire. At this point Blue's solution is the most obvious and cheapest as I do have a front mounted hitch receiver so I could hang it out there.

However, I see that Kevin (kdarling) is thinking about it. As we know, Kevin never stops modifying his rig so I'm hoping it stops raining so he can explore the "under the chassis" option and report back!

Paul

Roof mount? I don't think the tire would be any taller than the AC. You just have to find the real estate.

Most people don't want to bring the 100# tire/wheel down from 10 ft up if they mount it on the roof.

Colorider wrote:I've used the jack once for an unexpected flat on a dirt bike, I'm not comfortable jacking such a heavy vehicle, I'm not convinced that I could turn the lug wrench with enough torque even though I'm a reasonably competent shade-tree mechanic.

Which reminds me:

A couple of weeks ago I decided to install air stem extensions and a set of screw-on tire pressure monitors. (I also used it as an opportunity to paint the hidden Ford rims and use a drill with Mother's metal polishing stuff to shine up the simulators.)

I tried first to jack up one rear side of my Concourse using the long handled crank bottle jack that came with the Chinook. Ugh, no way. Then my 3 ton floor jack. Still no go. Couldn't get leverage.

So I ran over to Sears and they had a short 12 ton hydraulic bottle jack (people use them to lift house corners!) for like $35 on sale. Even has a twist up extension. Brought that bad boy back home and a few hand pumps easily lifted each rear side like it was nothing. Then I put jackstands and my floor jack as backup.

Guess which jack I now carry in the Chinook?

Also that made me include a jackstand, and my 110v impact wrench and the sockets needed for the simulator jam nuts and Ford lugs. I figure I can run the generator for the wrench if needed.

Alternatively, it is tempting to buy one of those ~$120 force multiplier lug wrenches designed so even a child could break tight truck lug nuts free. Anyone have one?

Kev

Never used the original bottle jack on the Chinook yet. So it is completely useless because it is underrated for the weight? If it is no good, I'll want to get a better one. I see that some Chinooker used a jack-stand/bottle-jack combo. Is 3 ton jack stand strong enough? The one I have in my garage is 6 tons, but I afraid it maybe too tall.