spare wheel

[rickboy]

2 "J" clamps

Noticed you only mention 1 clamp, mine has 2 "j" clamps !!!

Working upside down have you missed a clamp?

 

[biggirafe]

Yep you should have 2 and you do need to use the Jack to take the weight. I can just manage without using it but I'm built like Geoff Capes. When I got my MH I spent a weekend underneath with Hammerite. One of the jobs was taking the spare wheel frame off and painting it then greasing up the brackets. Its well worth the effort when you come to use the spare.

To help your problem I would support the spare wheel and put a rachet spanner on the clamps put a load of easing oil on them and fully open and close them a few times. Then grease them up well.

 

[Deleted member 8468]

We have the run flat kit instead of a spare for our 2009 Ducato campervan. I was quoted £150 for a spare which I may get in due course. There is nowhere to put it other than to simply carry it in the back.

If the supplied kit did not work in the event of a puncture (if tyre came off the rim, etc) we would have to call out the RAC as we do not have the tools to do the job. I understand they will charge for breakdown assistance if a spare is not carried.

 

[Channa]

Noticed you only mention 1 clamp, mine has 2 "j" clamps !!!

Working upside down have you missed a clamp?

Yes There are two j clamps the offside one is not a problem.

The problem appears to be..that the bracket will not clear the jaw of te j on the nearside, even with the bracket fully extended... where it fits in its housing, their is an internal block which doesnt appear ro be jammed and is moving freely.

Thanks for everyopnes advice

Channa

 

[maingate]

Hi MollsPhot,

I have just sourced a 16" rim as I do not have a spare with my Burstner. The Fiat dealerships wanted £113 for a new rim. I managed to get a practically brand new one for £35.

It came from a Citroen dealership locally. They do the Pre Delivery Inspections of motorhomes for the local Discover Leisure branch. Sometimes, when people fit alloy rims, they do not want the steel ones back.

I have priced some budget camping car tyres locally for around £75 - £80 each.

I am lucky in that I have plenty of room to store the tyre "indoors" but I will have a look underneath as well. There is no cradle for the spare but I expect the holes will be there and I could always retrofit a cradle to the AlKo chassis.

ps If you need a 15" rim you will easily get one from a scrapyard. Look for Iveco vans as well as Fiats as they use the same rims. If you are lucky, you will even get a good tyre with it.

 

[rickboy]

Yes There are two j clamps the offside one is not a problem.

The problem appears to be..that the bracket will not clear the jaw of te j on the nearside, even with the bracket fully extended... where it fits in its housing, their is an internal block which doesnt appear ro be jammed and is moving freely.

Thanks for everyopnes advice

Channa

Try refitting the freed clamp and tightn it up a bit to take the pressure off the other one and square thing up a bit.Then work on the one which is stuck.
Check the cage towards the front of the van to make sure its not out of position and locking things up.

By the way Geoff Capes could not get under the van.

Good luck

 

[Channa]

By the way Geoff Capes could not get under the van.

Good luck

I struggle with my lithesome adonnis like carcass


Channa

 

[rickboy]

Ramps

I struggle with my lithesome adonnis like carcass


Channa

Could you go onto levelling ramps at the back?

 

[biggirafe]

Could you go onto levelling ramps at the back?

Leveling ramps are a good way to do it. I have also jacked the rear end up 1 side at a time and stood the wheels on short lengths of builders plank slowly lifting it up to about 6-8inches. I should point out I also use axle stands for saftey when I have done this, axle stands are a good investment if you are going to spend any time under your vehicles.

 

[rickboy]

Jack

Leveling ramps are a good way to do it. I have also jacked the rear end up 1 side at a time and stood the wheels on short lengths of builders plank slowly lifting it up to about 6-8inches. I should point out I also use axle stands for saftey when I have done this, axle stands are a good investment if you are going to spend any time under your vehicles.

If you use the standard jack you would need to place it on on some chocks first to get the wheels up high enough.Easier to drive up onto the boards via some stepped bits of wood.Each to their own I quess.

 

[biggirafe]

If you use the standard jack you would need to place it on on some chocks first to get the wheels up high enough.Easier to drive up onto the boards via some stepped bits of wood.Each to their own I quess.

True enough but I only had one plank and I would not have had enough to make a ramp let alone 2
I like the proper ramps but can't justify buying them to be used once a year, now if someone rented them out that would be cool

 

[rickboy]

Ramps

Keep your eye out for a 2nd hand pair(not left out in the rain so the welds go rusty) . But make sure they are heavy duty not light car ramps.It's not possible to use many of these ramps on modern low fronted vehicles so there must be a few lying around unused.Ask Santa!!

 

[Channa]

The standard jack is a scissor jack, for safety reasons not to sure I would want to be crawling underneathe a 3.5 tonne van with out axle stands.

Channa

 

[rickboy]

Not done it yet!!!!

I used to work in aviation and heard a nice saying while working on a very old aircraft "It got old by being safe"

 

[biggirafe]

If you have a puncture at the side of the road you may not have a choice as I doubt that many of us will carry axle stands in our vans all of the time.
The choice usually is call out assistance or crawl underneath yourself, but agree safety should be paramount.
I carry the standard scissor jack and a couple of smallish bottle jacks, and also 2 pieces of 1 inch & a quarter thick board about 12 inch X 15 inch to sit the jacks on. Still a struggle to get the spare off and that is without a flat tyre
I have little clearance at the side of the rear tyres and it has to be jacked up quite high to allow the wheel to come out from the skirt.
You must make it as safe as possible

edit
Well worth practising at home

All true enough, I can do it on the side of the road but 9 times out of ten now I call the RAC thats what I paid me money for.

Having said that my earlier post still stands as the RAC guy needs the spare to be in working order and he needs to be able to get it off or you might find he just gets you towed to a garage.

 

[Norris]

If a puncture is repaired using one of the tyre weld repair kits, and then you had an accident before you could get the tyre repaired properly I wonder if the insurance would pay out?

 

[Channa]

If a puncture is repaired using one of the tyre weld repair kits, and then you had an accident before you could get the tyre repaired properly I wonder if the insurance would pay out?

If the tyre in question was an attributable factor to the accident, third party claims would be settled that is pretty straightforward.

What is slightly more complicated is the area of maintaining the vehicle to a competent standard, Often this is where magistrates courts become involved.
from a police standpoint...However their judgement even when positive doesnt necessarily mean the action of a RK was within the terms of an insurance policy

All motor insurance has a 'subrogation' clause, this in simple terms means that after a third party has been paid ,the insurers reserve the right to pursue the individual that caused the loss. So in effect an insurance company could pursue you for their losses if they felt that you had introduced the 'proximate cause' that had triggered their loss.

Another principal of insurance is 'proximate cause' in other words was it your tyreweld that triggered off events. It is unlikely an insurer would pursue an insured execpt in the case of a drink drive drugs offence

Not a straightforward question I am afraid
channa

 

[biggirafe]

If a puncture is repaired using one of the tyre weld repair kits, and then you had an accident before you could get the tyre repaired properly I wonder if the insurance would pay out?

You should check with your insurance if you want to carry tyre weld. Our company car insurance does not allow us to make any repairs or allow the tyre company to make repairs. We had an engineer make a repair a couple of years ago and then take it to the authorised tyre company. When they called the lease company to get authorisation to replace the tyre they reported the use of tyre weld. I got a call 5 minutes later from our head of transport who made it clear we were not to do this. Basicly our insurance would not cover us with defective tyres and this would consitute a defective tyre.

 

[Channa]

You should check with your insurance if you want to carry tyre weld. Our company car insurance does not allow us to make any repairs or allow the tyre company to make repairs. We had an engineer make a repair a couple of years ago and then take it to the authorised tyre company. When they called the lease company to get authorisation to replace the tyre they reported the use of tyre weld. I got a call 5 minutes later from our head of transport who made it clear we were not to do this. Basicly our insurance would not cover us with defective tyres and this would consitute a defective tyre.

I fully take onboard your comments re your insurance companies t&c's and your point re a company policy is very valid.

Company policies tend to be ' blanket ' policies and there is a reasonable expectation as your transport manager demonstrated that an individual in the company is competant normally a CPC holder in understanding the T&C's of your insurance.

FWIW, I assure you had you had an accident in the affected vehicle the third party claim would have been dealt with,However they could have excercised subrogation rights against your company also your companies own losses were exposed.

Legally there is far more protection provided to an individual than a company.

In simple terms, a Transport Manager or Company secretary is more aware of implications than the indiividual.

Channa

 

[biggirafe]

I fully take onboard your comments re your insurance companies t&c's and your point re a company policy is very valid.

Company policies tend to be ' blanket ' policies and there is a reasonable expectation as your transport manager demonstrated that an individual in the company is competant normally a CPC holder in understanding the T&C's of your insurance.

FWIW, I assure you had you had an accident in the affected vehicle the third party claim would have been dealt with,However they could have excercised subrogation rights against your company also your companies own losses were exposed.

Legally there is far more protection provided to an individual than a company.

In simple terms, a Transport Manager or Company secretary is more aware of implications than the indiividual.

Channa

absolutley I understand that, but to go back to the quetion by Norris, Yes probably a third party claim would be paid but do you want to be hagling with your insurance company who may argue the case that they will not pay for damage to your vehicle if you have comprehaensive cover. Mine cost a lot of dosh and tbh I would rather carry a decent spare than risk a claim being argued because I used tyre weld. Again its another one about risk and what each individual person is willing to risk, I might come across as a boring non risk taker but thats not the case, My risk was spending what to me is a fortune on my MH to then get silly and take risks just seems lain daft to me

As I said I think people should ask their individual insurance comapanies what the position is regards tyre weld my insuarance states quite clearly roadworthy condition and I bet any expert will tell me that a tyre filled with tyre weld is not roadworthy, I would expect that the stuff also has a disclaimer on it to that effect as well.