Having dutifully renewed all three caravan tyres on grounds of age (It was a shame to see so much unused rubber, but it just isn't worth the risk) I had to get the spare wheel holder back in place.
I am about as far from a muscle man as could be, and I ended up having to use my trolley jack to lift it high enough to secure properly.
Is there a particular knack to this task, or do I just have to start weight training ;-)
Chris
You mean the sort which slide in from the side?
I had one on my 1991 Bailey caravan which I owned until last year. They are extremely fiddly, and the sliding tubes of mine seized up on a couple of occasions and didn't want to slide in at any price.
Assuming that it *will* slide ok, you need to be on hands and knees, and slide it in most of the way with the outer end only just off the ground. If you lift too early, the spare wheel fouls on the chassis - so the whole wheel needs to be inboard of the chassis before fully lifting it. On the other hand, if you push it in too far before lifting, the metal bits foul and prevent lifting.
The main problem is that when you are in a suitable lifting position, you can't actually see what you're doing, in order to get the slot in the plate lined up with the bolt which extends out from the chassis. I could usually do it after much cursing and swearing, but once or twice I had to lie down for the final lift in order to see what was happening.
The only time I ever exercised it was when checking the tyre pressure and/or removing the spare for the winter - both in the relative comfort of my drive. I dread to think what would have happened if I had ever needed to use it in anger in the pouring rain in a muddy field!
I had exactly the same experience when I changed my tyres - used a bit of board as a lever to lift the carrier. If I ever have to change a wheel in anger at the side of the road, I would simply put the wheel inside the caravan and replace the carrier empty. They are the work of the devil, but unfortunately there is no other suitable place to carry the spare on my caravan.
John M
I wonder why makers don't fit a moulded "spare wheel well" accessible through a floor hatch inside the van?
Tim
I believe that it has been done on some models, but I guess that it all comes down to cost. Perhaps there is also the issue of meeting increasingly rigorous insulation standards for the floor structure.
Chris
Chris J Dixon was thinking very hard :
I tried to check my spare's condition and pressure on the van I bought at Christmas. Despite is having 6 service stamps in the book, it had obviously not been touched since Bailey originally fitted it. The only way I could get it to slide out, was with a lot of heaving and the help of a sledge hammer tied to it.
Once slide out I thoroughly greased the sliding tubes with copper grease, it then worked reasonably well. I managed to lift it all back into place with brute force, but I suppose a jack would have made it easier. Maybe a bit of rope through the chassis might have worked too, to take the weight with each attempt at lifting it. I would hate to have to try it at the side of a busy road :-[
I understand Avondale did. There was a lift up floor panel inside the caravan to access it, but I thought I read that there were issues with that.
n my caravan.
Well you could make your own. Even sell them!
Following this thread, it seems to be a remarkably complicated way to do things. The spare wheel on my box trailer is simply held onto a large stud with a bar that spans the central hole and is secured with a nylock nut.
Colin Bignell
And how long is your trailer? On a caravan, putting the spare wheel at either end of the van would not be good for weight distribution. Putting it under the floor near the axle is the best place from that point of view. It's just not the most convenient!
Tim
About 4m
Is it really that much of a factor, given that I've seen plenty of caravans with gas bottles and batteries over the tow bar?
If by best, you mean it save the designer having to think too much about the design, then possibly, but is that a good enough reason to have a complex system that seems to be of dubious practical value?
Colin Bignell
So, shorter than most caravans. Length matters when it comes to weight distribution.
Many car caravan combos already struggle with noseweight limits imposed by car makers. Adding more weight than necessary there isn't a good idea.
As I said, it's best for weight distribution. I'm not defending the crap storage solutions offered at present though. A "through the floor" access panel would be much better.
Tim
Distributing up to a couple of tonnes of internal load within a 4m trailer length is not something to be ignored either.
If putting it there is a problem, then it would seem that putting it at the back would be an advantage.
The only way I can see it being 'best' is that it does not involve a lot of thought by the designer and it would have a neutral effect if the spare wheel is not carried.
That is assuming that having it under the floor is the optimal position.
Colin Bignell
It is not simply weight, also rotational inertia, which has an effect on stability and susceptibility to snaking.
Ideally, heavy components should be nearer the axle.
Batteries were once in the front locker, with the gas, but current safety rules mean they must be separate. Even the gas bottles are no longer always at the front
Additionally, providing a sufficiently strong rear mounting for a spare wheel would be significant - caravan bodies aren't very beefy.
Chris
Thank you. That is a much more comprehensible reason than simply saying it is 'best'.
My box trailer body is only a sheet of plastic, admittedly fairly thick plastic.
Colin Bignell
Harry Bloomfield formulated on Thursday :
Yes the hatch is covered in carpet and by the time the whole family have marched over it for a season you cannot get it open with the finger sized pull ring they fit. Managed to break mine (the ring not finger) a couple of weeks ago by levering the thing up with a screwdriver through the pull ring.
The spare wheel is dry and rust free in there though.
My van has a mounting-point for the spare in the front locker. It's fine when the caravan is stationary, but puts too much downforce on the towing hitch. So I put the spare wheel in the van (over the axle) when towing, & move it back to the front locker once we've pitched.
It's a shame someone hasn't developed an under-floor carrier which also acts as a jack for wheel changing[1].
[1] But doesn't add more than 4 Kg to the van's weight[2]. [2] And doesn't cost more than £25.
My caravan has a mounting-point for the spare in the front locket - and mountings for two gas bottles.
With only one gas bottle fitted, I cannot get an acceptable towing hitch downforce[1] with the spare wheel in place - I have to move it inside the van, over the axle.
[1] OK. I _could_ balance it with heavy weights at the very back of the van, but that would be very silly.
Sorry for not making myself clear but I thought this was common knowledge.
Tim
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