15 inch tires

gulfarea

I have a 2018 320 with 15 inch tires, as they can handle more weight and speed I am wondering how they hold up on 320 only as the 320 are lighter trailers. Carting around a spare if I don't need to would be not in my best interest. I keep AAA roadside just in case. I just made a 3,000 mile trip with it with no problems. I know this subject  has been talked about many times but I would like to here real data from folks with 15 inch wheels only as to how many flats you have had or if you have had none.  Please reply only if you are running 15 inch tires. Yes anything can happen someone could shoot out your tires which means you would need to carry TWO! What I am interested in is real data on how many 15 inch tires have had flats, not on what might happen, Thanks in advance for your reply's Art  

N7SHG_Ham

Size of tire does NOT really matter in your risk tollarance in spare or no spare. The vast majority of tire failures result from low pressure, followed by overheating followed by failure. Sure there are some unexplained catastrophic failures, but likely not before some other indications.

Regardless of tire size the best insurance against needing a spare is careful inspection before a trip and regularly during a trip and monitoring tire pressure. I would invest in a TPMS for trailer tires, especially if you are not going to have a spare, that may allow you to air back up and get to a repair facility.

Some of the decision is also based on type of camping. AAA will NOT normally do anything off a paved road, if you Boondock or go to a lot of campgrounds NOT served by a paved road I wouldn't count on roadside rescuing you. You can probably get someone, but not a covered service of many roadside plans, for a fee I am sure most anything is possible...

ScottG

I don't fit your criteria either but I'll offer my $0.02 anyway since that is how forums work...  ;-)

I've changed or repaired lots of flat tires on various vehicles. Virtually every failure was the result of a puncture or similar road damage.

While the larger tires may be a bit more robust in terms of load and speed rating, I doubt that will make a real difference when a stray roofing nail decides to go belly up just as you roll over it.

I agree that carting around a spare when you don't need it is a bit of a pain, but IMO a bigger pain is not having a spare when you do need it! YMMV.  :-)

falcon1970

Unless you are seriously pushing either the max gross weight or the tongue weight on your trailer I doubt the added weight of a spare tire will be much of a factor in towing--either in gas mileage or in your tow vehicle capabilities.  If you are pushing weight limits you have a greater chance of tire issues.
I think a bigger concern than the tire size should be the manufacturer of the tire.  Most RV's are fitted from the factory with Chinese tires--some may be excellent tires and some may not be. I put Goodyear Endurance tires on my TAB 400 just for the peace of mind.  Still, stuff happens.  A spare seems to be cheap insurance.

Bayliss

@gulfarea, your question states that you have a 2018 320 S, but your signature line indicates it is a 2019 Boondock Edge.  I have a 2019 320 S Boondock Lite with the boondock tub and platform.  I have the ST235/75R15 Boondock tires with about 9,000 miles on them.  No flats or other problems so far.  I did add high pressure valves and valve caps with seals to prevent air loss.  I carry the spare on the front of the T@B without any problem.

It is unclear what your concern is with carrying a spare, unless you don't want the extra weight.  Personally, I would not travel without a spare, especially since it will likely be hard finding a compatible replacement tire on short notice.  I too have AAA, but it won't do me much good if I can't locate a replacement tire easily.

MuttonChops

ScottG said:

. .  carting around a spare when you don't need it is a bit of a pain, but IMO a bigger pain is not having a spare when you do need it!

Bayliss said:

. . .  I would not travel without a spare, especially since it will likely be hard finding a compatible replacement tire on short notice.  I too have AAA, but it won't do me much good if I can't locate a replacement tire easily.

You are in Nevada, 70+miles to the nearest town, 100+ to a town with a AAA tow service.  And you have no cellphone service.  Think you would be glad to have a real spare when needed.

Can't believe the East Coast Big-3 Car companies and several imports now sell new vehicles without a spare, just an air pump.  Never had a tire failure that a simple air pump with sealer would fix.

Have any of these auto company folks ever driven in the western USA ???

gulfarea

Thanks for your reply's but the bracket on my 2018 320 is so flimsy I don't want to take a chance of the tire coming off while going down the road and causing an accident. My bracket is just an aluminum pipe that they poorly threaded each ends then put nuts on. Even after I tighten them the tire and rim wiggle badly. I heard they may go to mounting the spare under the tong which seems like a much better idea.

MuttonChops

gulfarea said:

Thanks for your reply's but the bracket on my 2018 320 is so flimsy I don't want to take a chance of the tire coming off while going down the road and causing an accident. My bracket is just an aluminum pipe that they poorly threaded each ends then put nuts on.

Sounds like you should investigate fixing/changing how the spare is mounted.

On my 2018 320S, I added a spare tire mount to the Jack Post. It is solid and tire also rests on the trailer frame.

COHiker06

Fix A Flat and plug kit can only cover tread punctures. Angle iron or rock slices in to the sidewall where it flexes require a tire replacement. I've never had a blow out but I've sliced three tires on vehicles. Cell phone coverage is going to be your bigger concern. From Colorado Springs to Yellowstone, Colorado Springs to Moab, Colorado Springs to Durango the signal drops repeatedly. Heck just from my house there are dead zones around the town. Colo Spgs Police Dept had to request a tower install in some zones because of no signal in certain areas of town. Toss a few 13k foot tall mountains in the mix and you have a long walk or a lot of worrying about your trailer being there when you return. A spare is cheap insurance even if you have to put it in the back of the TV