Spare Tire Replacement

[cruisin10]

Having "a trusted mechanic" is so important. I've been to three mechanics these past two years:

(1) Mechanic #1 left the starter relay off the engine, so after some driving, I turned the key and it would not start again. Not even go "Click-Ka". After a tow to another garage, a different mechanic quickly found the problem and sold me a new relay. When I told the first mechanic what he'd done, he just looked at me strangely and said nothing, not even an apology. For that reason, I never went back to him.
(2) Mechanic #2 was frustrating because my vehicle was doing all kinds of strange things intermittently for months. But each time I took it to him, it ran perfectly. So each time he only told me "Bring it back when you can show me the problem."
(3) Finally, I took it to Mechanic #3 -- of course, showing no problem at all when I presented it to him -- but he chose to get behind the wheel and take down the road himself. BINGO! He easily discovered the motor was overheating because two hoses were leaking, a belt was stretched, and a sensor was bad. Then once back in the shop, HE ACTUALLY FIXED IT! I've used him several times now, and he always does a great job at both diagnosing and fixing.

My conclusion is that the first two mechanics were honest but not very bright. They both had some of their own screws missing upstairs. And the third mechanic was just as honest as the first two, but in addition to honesty, he also had a working brain! Honesty alone is not enough; intelligence is also required.

So does anyone know a reliable method to find a mechanic with both honesty and intelligence? Counting stars on a google search and reading the reviews didn't help me. ALL THREE of the above mechanics had 5 stars and 100% glowing reviews! So how can I discover the truth about any new mechanic in the future?

 

[cruisin10]

I agree with rotating your spare along with your tires, seems the best way to get the most out of the $ you spend.
As far as mechanics go with both smarts and skills, when you find one treat them really well, they are becoming a rarity in today's workplace.

 

[Oldwolf]

My wife just had a blow out in our Prius with tires that have less than 10k miles on them. The side wall was damaged and the tread was perfectly fine. She must have hit something in the road to rip the sidewall like it was. This is the first tire failure we have had for probably 15 years. I wasted no time and upgraded my minivan to a full size spare. I certainly don't want to be deep in a National Forest with only a space saver to traverse back to civilization!

I say to find a decent used tire for your spare.

 

[Nomad X]

First: The rubber compounds in a tire deteriorate with time, regardless of the condition of the tread. A tire that's inflated and mounted under a vehicle is considered "in use" and subject to heat/cold, dirt, etc., as well as the ordinary aging of the compounds. See this article for the rundown: https://www.edmunds.com/car-maintenance/how-old-and-dangerous-are-your-tires.html. I would NEVER want to ride in a vehicle with even one 24 year old tire on it. Assuming it would hold air long enough to drive anywhere anyway.

Next: Even if you have roadside assistance, you WILL need to have a "functional spare" tire in order to drive away from the breakdown location instead of being towed or leaving your vehicle there for the time it takes for someone to take the wheel/tire into a tire shop and return with a usable tire mounted on that wheel. I don't know what you think a "roadside assistance" person can do for you if you don't have a functional spare tire/wheel on the vehicle. I suppose they could sell you a spare tire on the spot but that sounds costly, assuming they were carrying something that would work.

Just a few months ago on a road trip, my minivan had a tire blowout. I pulled onto the shoulder of the interstate, not a fun place to hang out, BTW, and called AAA. I assumed I'd need a tow, but when the driver arrived he was able to inflate the "doughnut" spare tire in my 2008 minivan which allowed me to drive slowly to the nearest tire store. (The doughnut spare lives in an enclosed space inside the back of the vehicle but it's getting a little long in the tooth for reliability, sigh.) Oh, as to the tow. It happened that due to a boom in COVID cases, the tow company was NOT allowing passengers in their tow vehicles so if the van had to be towed I'd have been SOL on the side of the road. If you're happy to have a tow, that's your choice. It wouldn't be mine.

My roadside assistance includes towing - and towing on a flatbed since I drive a Class B motorhome - which would be to a tire shop to buy a new tire.

Carrying a spare is just dead weight to me. And dead weight is lost miles per gallon.

 

[bebewanna]

I traded my van seats for a full size spare wheel and put 4 all terrain tires on and put one of the 4k mile front tires on the new wheel....

 

[user 423]

My roadside assistance includes towing - and towing on a flatbed since I drive a Class B motorhome - which would be to a tire shop to buy a new tire.

Is there a limit to how far they will tow you? On the road a tire shop might be a long ways away. Then there's the chance they wouldn't have a tire in the size you need.

 

[WanderingRose]

Regardless your roadside assistance provider, there are places in this country where “towing” is considered “recovery”, and where what you need is just not available, for whatever reason.

Unless you only travel on major roads and stay in densely populated areas, I would not travel without a working spare tire.

You could pick up a nail, screw, chunk of glass, etc., on a dirt road somewhere, or find yourself stuck in snow in Missouri where “the roads are too bad”for a truck to come out, and then you’re in a mess.

Been there, done that.

“Never dare the devil” is a first rule of travel, in my experience.

Plan for what you reasonably can, is my motto, without trying to outline any possible eventuality.

A spare tire is a basic need, IMHO.

 

[user 423]

Carrying a spare is just dead weight to me. And dead weight is lost miles per gallon.

My Class B weighed 7700 lbs. and got 12 MPG at best.

Eliminating the spare to reduce that weight by 40 lbs. would yield virtually zero gain in MPG.

Also, think of the waste involved with requiring a tow. Instead of you or the tow truck driver simply changing out your flat tire, X number of gallons of fuel would be burned to tow your heavy rig X number of miles to the nearest tire or repair shop. Completely unnecessary.