Spare tire carrier

I have a 2018 Pleasure Way Plateau FL without a spare tire (which I knew when I bought the unit). Can anybody recommend an after market spare tire rack for this unit, that doesn't use the receiver hitch?
 
B

Brian T

Guest
Hi...just received a rear door tire mount kit from sprinterstore.com for use on our 2018 Ascent. Kit material looks very good, instructions straight forward. Installing it next week, think it’ll be very good.....Brian T
 

skipsteller

New member
I was able to get the "real deal" from PW as an add on when I got my 2016 Ascent. If interested, you may want to ask Michael Paulo at PW if they are still available through PW or their vendor.
 

HighPockets

Active member
Rocky Mtn, do you know why your Pleasure Way did not have a spare, i.e., was it a conscious decision by somebody? Maybe they assumed anybody with a Pleasure Way would call someone else for help anyway. That area makes a really good place for fresh or gray/black water. I'm sure off road enthusiast would always want a spare. The aforementioned may not care if their AAA is paid up. Just wondering, haven't done away with mine yet. :thinking:

Gene
 

Rock Doc

Active member
Rocky Mtn, do you know why your Pleasure Way did not have a spare, i.e., was it a conscious decision by somebody? Maybe they assumed anybody with a Pleasure Way would call someone else for help anyway. That area makes a really good place for fresh or gray/black water. I'm sure off road enthusiast would always want a spare. The aforementioned may not care if their AAA is paid up. Just wondering, haven't done away with mine yet. :thinking:

Gene
I think I may be able to answer that question. I visited the Pleasureway factory a couple of years ago and discussed the lack of the spare tire on newer units with Phil and Grant.

There's a number of reasons why Pleasureway has stopped including the spare tire. One is that the observed frequency of tire failures with modern tires is amazingly low. Second, there is a cost savings to not having a spare tire, which can be passed on to the customers. Third, there is a weight "penalty" to having the spare tire and carrier, which can be translated into improved fuel economy as well as increased OCCC. Fourth, the spare tire and carrier used by Pleasureway impedes access to the driver side rear door--and once lowered, it's pretty heavy to lift back into place. It's not something to just cavalierly lower and lift back up. Finally, for many of these same reasons, many OEM manufacturers are not currently including spare tires as a standard item, and instead are including a "fix-a-flat" type kit--which Pleasureway is now including with their units.

At any rate, these are their reasons.

For myself, this past summer I had failure of a flat tire due to a leak that developed with one of my extended rear valve stems, I found it a tremendous convenience to have my spare tire that I could swap onto the van to then drive where I could have the tire repaired. The big thing about having the spare tire is that it can turn a disaster into an inconvenience. My personal experience with flat tires (albeit mostly on trailers) is that when a tire fails, it often fails catastrophically, and no amount of fix-a-flat is going to allow me to use a tire that's delaminated and shredded a sidewall.

Now all this being said, I like the tire carrier that Winnebago has used on prior units. It hinges to the driver-side rather than lowering. To get it out of the way to access the driver side rear door, all you have to do is swing it to the side. Then, after closing the rear door, the carrier can be swung back into place rather than having to bodily lift the very heaving tire and carrier to put it back--as is the case with the Pleasureway carrier.

Hope this helps and answers a few questions!

Rock Doc
2014 Pleasureway Plateau TS in 2013 Sprinter 3500
 

HighPockets

Active member
Any travel trailer with dual axles will have regular flats, shredded usually. One that I hadn't noticed until someone passed me and brought it to may attention by sign language was shredded completely apart. Only the steel edges of the tire were left. My Lexus has had an unusually large number of flats but my previous truck with big heavy tires had none. Question: if the tire is too heavy to lift under the vehicle how do you get it up onto a rear door carrier. I know I'm now too weak to do it. :idunno:

Gene
 

bigpapaporsche

New member
I have a 2018 Pleasure Way Plateau FL without a spare tire (which I knew when I bought the unit). Can anybody recommend an after market spare tire rack for this unit, that doesn't use the receiver hitch?
We just purchased a 2017 PW Plateau XL TD and are planning to install a Spare Wheel Assy before the FMCA Rally this March in Georgia.

I am curious as to why you don't want a Hitch type mounted Spare Wheel.

Our plan is to replicate the mounting hardware that Roadmaster sell through eTrailer. They want $500.00 for their, I should be able to do it for much less! I've found a used Rim/Tire on Ebay for around $200.00 plus shipping. I'll use a Hard Cover (Painted the body color) with a Stainless Steel Band and then modify a Mercedes Emblem and mount it in the middle of the cover. This should look very professional! Their Hitch Adapter also doubles as a regular Reese Type coupler so you can still use the Hitch to pull anything. I don't see much of a down side to this configuration. The Reese receiver will be used to attach either a Bike Rack or a Storage Trunk.
 

Westham

New member
I removed my spare wheel from my 2008 PW TS as it struck out over the side walk and also prevented the drivers side door from opening unless lowered, if you have ever tried to lift one back into place you will understand why I removed it. I have air ride springs on the rear and a compressor with air line so if I get a flat or a soft tire I can add air all day long, if it won't hold air then it's a phone call and a wait for the repair man with another tire (fingers crossed this won't happen.
 

vidwize

New member
All, great comments about spare tire or no spare tire. I have a 2005 PW Plateau which had several owners before me. Very low engine miles, I drove it to Ohio from New Orleans first trip, 10 minutes after arriving a rear tire went flat... being a holiday I was glad I had a underside spare tire, Drove it to a tire store to find out that rim had one pin hole ! The past owner had filled rear tires with 100lbs of air, Because his firestone air ride bags would not hold air, I myself replaced one, after both of these bags would not hold air for long ! What I did was put some Green tire Slime tire sealant ( Pep Boys) in each bag through the shredder valve, added air and drove around town, Now every six months it will need 1lb per bag. The van now drives a lot more stable... I like the rear under belly spare tire, I used a jack to restore the tire back up into place.

I don't want problems in the remote areas I fly fish, I would rather be fly fishing !
 

Westham

New member
All, great comments about spare tire or no spare tire. I have a 2005 PW Plateau which had several owners before me. Very low engine miles, I drove it to Ohio from New Orleans first trip, 10 minutes after arriving a rear tire went flat... being a holiday I was glad I had a underside spare tire, Drove it to a tire store to find out that rim had one pin hole ! The past owner had filled rear tires with 100lbs of air, Because his firestone air ride bags would not hold air, I myself replaced one, after both of these bags would not hold air for long ! What I did was put some Green tire Slime tire sealant ( Pep Boys) in each bag through the shredder valve, added air and drove around town, Now every six months it will need 1lb per bag. The van now drives a lot more stable... I like the rear under belly spare tire, I used a jack to restore the tire back up into place.

I don't want problems in the remote areas I fly fish, I would rather be fly fishing !
If I had room I would go for the spare under the van but there is no room as the propane tank and generator take up that space.
Happy trails and fishing, and fingers crossed for me. :cheers:
 

vidwize

New member
Westham

I see few options on shorter or reconfigured units, I would keep new tires on camper, I also would never patch a tire, Also Replace tires if aged out ( Every tire has an age of manufacture stamped into them ) This would be your best option ! I do now even with a spare.

Good luck my friend, My last fly fishing trip was a few weeks ago to the Little Red River in Arkansas, (Robert F Kennedy US Corp. campground base of dam ) Rainbows were biting adult Midges on the surface, 1.5 foot rainbows were jumping 2 ft. out of the water ....... Very exiting ...caught a few....nice ones
 

bigpapaporsche

New member
I'll be adding a Spare Tire Carrier as soon as it arrives, ETA 2 weeks. Roadmaster has 2 models available depending on your tire/rim size, both mount using the Rear Trailer Hitch Receiver. Our "PleasureWay" uses 16 inch rims, so their newer model p/n 195125 will work and I'll be able to save about $150.00 as compared to their larger model. My original plan was to replicate their design, but when I put a pencil to it, it just wasn't worth the effort, all thing considered! I will attach pictures and more info when completed. BTW, I will be attaching the "Stowaway-2," (to store out 2 Folding Bikes) to this Carrier to complete the total job.
 

bigpapaporsche

New member
Re: Necessity for a Spare Tire

There is a lot of conversation regarding the need for a Spare Tire on today's Vehicles/RV. Obviously the availability of Passenger Vehicles vs a RV Tires is much different primarily because of the availability of the Passenger Tires on every street corner, this is not true for RV Tires! If you are "On the Fence," in considering adding a Spare Tire to your RV, I would suggest that you ask Google, How many Flat Tires were in the USA in 2017? I seen the figure of 220 Million Flat Tires on several sites, although I find this hard to believe.
We consider a Spare Tire an essential piece of equipment for us to have on board our RV, although ironically we hope we never have to use it! We view it like you would a Boat's Life Preserver or House Fire Extinguisher, you hope you will never need it, but you better know how to use it should the time arrive. I'll be happy if we avoid the inconvenience from just one Flat Tire! We are in the process of "Fine-Tuning'" the installation of a "Roadmaster Spare Tire Carrier" on our PleasureWay XL as we speak. We found it necessary to make several modifications to the Carrier to better fit our application. A Custom Wheel Cover, with the Mercedes Benz emblem centered and painted the body color will finish off the installation. More info with pictures will be posted when completed.
 

Wirehead

New member
We have a 2018 PW XLTS on Alcoa forged rims. As noted in other posts, PW discontinued the spare tire several years ago according to PW. We had a front tire valve that cracked at Big Bend National Park while adding air before departing. Down there help comes from 120 miles away one way. The valve is white metal not nickel plated brass. PW did pay for my part of the road service call. I have since changed the other front tire valve to a nickel-plated brass unit as recommended by a truck tire dealer I use. (PS the tire valve extenders on the rear duallys are worthless and Mercedes and PW said the other is responsible- they are only good as caps - the truck tire dealer does not put them on any tire they install for any truck, SUV, you name it)

After that I wanted to get a spare tire... I looked at Roadmaster at $500+ and Overlander option that cost $700+....I was just about to order the Roadmaster recently when I came across Hornet Outdoors, a family-owned business, in Colorado. They made a unit that looked like it would handle a Mercedes Benz 3500 tire and rim. I ordered it.. U-4100 Universal Heavy Duty Receiver Hitch Spare Tire Mount with a Hitch Stabilizer..but it didn't quite fit the rim. I talked with the owners, sent them rim measurements and they offered to make one that would fit and eventually market it. They offered the new vertical piece for free if I would return the original vertical piece. The beta test unit came and was not a perfect fit but usable if I used some nylon and USS washers on one of the bolts. I am sure they will be tweaking the unit based on refined measurements I sent them.

The total price will come to about $180 plus $15 for grade 8 bolts, washers, nuts, etc. for mounting from boltdepot.com. It comes with one hitch pin. I bought hitch locks for the connectors.

But for less than $250, you can put together a very good tire carrier with the folks at Hornet Outdoors.
 

fans4cal

New member
I've just joined this forum and wanted folks to know that we have removed the factory installed tire mount on our (newly acquired) 2015 Pleasure-Way Plateau. It is in perfect shape and if anyone is looking for a tire mount just let me know.

Terry
 

fans4cal

New member
I have a spare tire holder (as well as a spare tire and nice tire cover) that was originally installed on our 2015 Pleasure Way. We took it off so we could open both rear doors. Would you be interested in purchasing it? I can send you lots of pictures.

We are in the San Francisco area so it could be a great excuse for a California adventure.
 

liveocean

New member
Has anyone tried a roof mount for the spare tire? I like the idea of a spare tire, but the rear mount gets in the way of my swing-up bike rack and impedes access to the rear door of my sprinter.
 

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