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Spare wheel???


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Is there a need to carry a spare wheel all the time?

Would having a couple of the tubes of tyre inflator gunk be adequate to get out of difficulty.

BTW this one is for my shy friend with a 110 Td5 not The Beastie!

My instinct is better to have the wheel but I said I would ask.

Thanks

Malcy

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Legally I don't think there is a requirement - not in the UK anyway. I guess it depends on the sort of driving you're doing, if it's minor road work not too far from home then maybe not, I wouldn't risk it on the motorway though, far too much hassle if you get caught out. Depends how much of an inconvenience it would be, I'd have thought there's less chance of a chunky LR tyre getting a flat than a normal car tyre, but obviously not impossible.

I've never tried the inflator gunk so can't comment on that, would be interested to know if it's any good though.

John

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Tyre inflator gunk won't work very well if your tyre wall is flexed or deformed. It also only works for small puncture holes, not rips that might occur on rocks etc.

In other words - it won't work off road.

On road, it might be OK if you run over a nail but I'd rather carry the spare - especially with all the room in a 110.

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Legally I don't think there is a requirement - not in the UK anyway. I guess it depends on the sort of driving you're doing, if it's minor road work not too far from home then maybe not, I wouldn't risk it on the motorway though, far too much hassle if you get caught out. Depends how much of an inconvenience it would be, I'd have thought there's less chance of a chunky LR tyre getting a flat than a normal car tyre, but obviously not impossible.

I've never tried the inflator gunk so can't comment on that, would be interested to know if it's any good though.

John

Not a legal requirement.

My old BMW didn't have a spare - just the tyre inflator goo. However, it had very low profile tires and stiff side walls.

Messy stuff, that goo. If you do have to use it and manage to limp home - remember to tell the poor mechanic that changes your tyre. They don't take too kindly to getting unexpectedly covered in the stuff.

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Is there a need to carry a spare wheel all the time?

Would having a couple of the tubes of tyre inflator gunk be adequate to get out of difficulty.

BTW this one is for my shy friend with a 110 Td5 not The Beastie!

My instinct is better to have the wheel but I said I would ask.

Thanks

Malcy

i wouldnt risk using the gunk in a large 4x4 tyre,and getting stuck in the middle of a down pour is not nice especially up your neck of the woods,with all the spaces for carrying a spare on a landy i would sat carry one,if the puncture is repairable your going to knacker up a repairable tyre with all that stuff and driving on it too,my 2p ;)

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Guest diesel_jim

I agree that the gunk self sealing stuff is rubbish. my sister had a flat in her BMW, and using the (stupid) little air pump you get with the bag of goo, after 15 minutes nothing seemed to happen. turns out she'd split the edge of the tyre.

when i go off road, i usually carry 2 spares.

/Irish accent/ to be sure to be sure :lol:

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Hi Malcy,

You don't have to carry a spare wheel under UK regs but, if you do, it has to be legal i.e. legal tread, propoerly inflated, roadworthy etc.

The gunk inflators might manage a motorcycle tyre or a small/low profile car tyre but I'd be surprised if they had enough capacity to inflate a Landy tyre from flat.

In all my punctures the tyre has been trashed by the time I stopped so always had to be replaced. Any off-road damage is also likely to be beyond a gunk job.

My RAC membership requires that I carry a spare or they can refuse to recover the vehicle.

You could use the gunk system where the goo is blown into the tyre while inflated (these will stop minor punctures) but this will be expensive for 4 large tyres and will not please your tyre fitter: http://www.tyreprotect.co.uk/assets/orderform.pdf. You might find lowering the tyres for off-road use a bit tricky as well.

If your chum has a 110 carrying a spare won't affect the weight much and it will look a bit odd/tatty without one. If the door hinges are sagging it would be worth getting a wheel carrier to take the weight.

The recommended life of a stored tyre is just 6 years whereas a tyre in use is recommended for replacement before 10 years so, it would probably be wise to include the spare when you rotate your tyres. If your spare is new and the rest of your tyres are old, when you stick the new one on it may upset your ABS due to its different diameter (assuming you have ABS). I read a while back that the EU was considering age limits for tyres which would encourage owners of older cars not to carry them.

Probably easier just to carry one and be done with it...

Cheers,

Steve

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Thanks guys

You have confirmed 100% what I thought.

What is the point of a King of Beasts if it might only be left with three wheels :unsure:

Best wishes

Malcy

Now that would be something - an off-road Reliant Robin

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Guest otchie1
You don't have to carry a spare wheel under UK regs but, if you do, it has to be legal i.e. legal tread, propoerly inflated, roadworthy etc.

I've heard that many times but I have to suggest that it's wrong.

The spare isn't part of the MoT and, surely just after you've changed your flat for a spare, then the flat becomes the spare and therefore illegal as it's flat, if you follow me.

Plod only care about tyres in contact with the road.

Early tyre gunks were junk but I've heard that more modern stuff not based on rubber but some modern goo are quite good. Supposed to be fitted before the puncture though so that it stops you going flat in the first place. Let me know if you try them though :P

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:unsure: I tried that Gunk once on a Mercedes clk 200.. I got is all over the tyre.. my shoes and took many days getting the stuff off the side of the car... After driving over to the repair shop we needed to buy a new Alu Rim... Best to have the Spare on no matter how much it adds to suck the diesel..... :P..... Over here in Norway you will freeze off in case of a puncture...
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