Euro Road Trip without a spare wheel?

[Mossypossy]

7 week trip to south of Spain. inflator gunk already past sell by date!

BUT, spare wheel takes up space.

What would you do?

[Boomer54]

1 minute ago, Mossypossy said:

7 week trip to south of Spain. Inflator gunk already past sell by date!

BUT, spare wheel takes up space.

What would you do?

"What would you do?"

Just make sure you take the wife. "Can you help a lady in distress", actually as always worked so far.

[Tomtit]

3 minutes ago, Mossypossy said:

7 week trip to south of Spain. Inflator gunk already past sell by date!

BUT, spare wheel takes up space.

What would you do?

One of my runflat tyres is currently losing pressure. I suppose this can happen at any time. Runflats are designed to run for about 100 miles after a puncture. If you are going to get a puncture it will happen at weekend when the repairers are closed. I would rather enjoy the drive in the knowledge that I had a useable spare wheel in the boot.

[Neil E]

I would take a space-saver or a full size spare if possible but I travel a lot so the risk increases. Definitely take a plug-in inflator.

If all 4 tyres are the standard 245 40 18 and in very good condition and you are staying on good smooth tarmac, it might be worth the risk. In the last 160k miles I've suffered 5 tyre failures that necessitated a wheel change.  

In my experience a space-saver gets you to a garage or overnight stop, slowly, hopefully.  A can of spray gunk isn't worth having.  

[wharfhouse]

I don't have a spare wheel / space saver and do a decent mileage each year. Had one puncture in 100k miles. I always carry a tyre inflator that plugs into the 12v aux socket. Many punctures are things like nails in the tyre that cause a slow leak and so the ability to quickly add air means it's often possible to get to a tyre shop by adding some air ever hour or two. Don't need to be highly accurate at that point - in the past when this has happened I inflates a bit over and then ran until it's underinflated a bit. Chances are a repair can then be done too. 

[Scotlex]

I would really like to have a spare wheel but unfortunately very few new cars now even offer a spare wheel.

Punctures are normally very rare and have breakdown cover as a backup.

[Spock66]

You'll be fine as long as you get out of pot-hole infested UK, European roads are much better than than the UK.

[Bob King]

4 hours ago, Mossypossy said:

7 week trip to south of Spain. Inflator gunk already past sell by date!

BUT, spare wheel takes up space.

What would you do?

Well your boot will be full of luggage so you may as well have a space save wheel . Or are you planning luggage on back seat and have the roof down ?

[Mossypossy]

After the wise advice I think I will chance it without a spare wheel.

Roof up for journey down and back, but will have 30 days of open top driving when we arrive at our fixed destination. Boot and rear seats will be stuffed!

[Bob King]

33 minutes ago, Mossypossy said:

After the wise advice I think I will chance it without a spare wheel.

Roof up for journey down and back, but will have 30 days of open top driving when we arrive at our fixed destination. Boot and rear seats will be stuffed!

Get a new tyre repair kit 👍🏻

 

[IS300FSPORT]

- 12v Tyre inflator is a must

- Tyre plug kit seen them used will get you out of trouble 

(Temporarily lets you continue with your journey) 

- Locking wheel nut key/jack/nut removal spanner 

Pray & hope for the best. As long as your tyres are in decent condition over 5mm thread & not aged rubber you should be fine just depends on road debris.

https://youtube.com/shorts/-UTnDheAMcE?si=1CXETAHinut72Kn-

[Mossypossy]

9 hours ago, Bob King said:

Get a new tyre repair kit 👍🏻

 

Have one from a 2018 car that I am not using. Will swap that.

[Malc1]

Spare wheel essential 

a bust tyre from a pothole isn’t reinflatable and can’t be fixed and RAC etc cover can’t get you going again with a tube of gunk  …… neither when your tyre blowout happens with bad timing and no tyre place open to get anew …. Sunday. In the night. Bank Holiday etc 

Spare wheel, even a spacesaver essential 

Malc 

[Neilo]

Do you have a luggage rack that fits on the boot... might help a bit either way.

[Boomer54]

22 minutes ago, Neilo said:

Do you have a luggage rack that fits on the boot... might help a bit either way.

Now you mention it I do believe I might have the only one? 😉 (thank you Stew)

As all know I hate posting pictures of my car, but here goes.

[GMB]

• Mix one part bleach to ten parts warm water in a bucket. Pour the bleach mixture onto the stained or mossy area and leave for fifteen minutes to half an hour. If required, use a medium-bristled brush to rub the solution into more stubborn stains.
• Spray the solution directly onto the driveway. Allow the solution to sit on the area for around 20 minutes. Then, wash it off thoroughly with water. Wait for a few hours for the moss to die. Then, use a scrubbing brush to lift the dead moss off the driveway.
• Mix around 20 ounces of bleach with 5 gallons of water. Add the mixture to a garden sprayer and apply it to the surface. Once covered, give the surface a good scrub. Leave for 15 minutes until the moss has turned yellow. Rinse off the area with a pressure washer (or garden hose).
• Clear the area of any objects. Use a metal brush to remove all the moss leaves. Brush block paving cleaner into the surface. Use a pressure washer to rinse the area.

[Boomer54]

4 minutes ago, GMB said:

• Mix one part bleach to ten parts warm water in a bucket. Pour the bleach mixture onto the stained or mossy area and leave for fifteen minutes to half an hour. If required, use a medium-bristled brush to rub the solution into more stubborn stains.
• Spray the solution directly onto the driveway. Allow the solution to sit on the area for around 20 minutes. Then, wash it off thoroughly with water. Wait for a few hours for the moss to die. Then, use a scrubbing brush to lift the dead moss off the driveway.
• Mix around 20 ounces of bleach with 5 gallons of water. Add the mixture to a garden sprayer and apply it to the surface. Once covered, give the surface a good scrub. Leave for 15 minutes until the moss has turned yellow. Rinse off the area with a pressure washer (or garden hose).
• Clear the area of any objects. Use a metal brush to remove all the moss leaves. Brush block paving cleaner into the surface. Use a pressure washer to rinse the area.

Or you can just go to the local Agri place near Garstang and buy a drum of Hypochlorite the farmers use in milking sheds and spray the cobbles instead. Which I do twice yearly and will do again just as soon as my daughter takes her doggie off to the new house. High strength Hypochlorite and doggie paws don't mix. Boom boom! (Yup he just drew a rise out of me !)

[Mossypossy]

Nowt wrong with moss.

[GMB]

4 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

Hypochlorite

10 out of 10 for sodium hypochlorite - environmentally friendly and effective anti bacterial bleaching agent.👏

[GMB]

1 minute ago, Mossypossy said:

Nowt wrong with moss

I like Moss too, my driveway is full of it and I can't be rsed shifting it. We also have grass and weeds and even escaped flowers - pansies and blue things, so I am doing my bit for Bees, insects, birds etc.

[Boomer54]

38 minutes ago, GMB said:

I like Moss too, my driveway is full of it and I can't be rsed shifting it. We also have grass and weeds and even escaped flowers - pansies and blue things, so I am doing my bit for Bees, insects, birds etc.

Moss is a 4 letter word to join others of similar ilk like dust and dirt. I don't like 4 letter words and no "lurve" (thank you Lenny Henry) is not a 4 letter word.

[Mossypossy]

After the huge turnout has been number crunched I went with the consensus and ordered a spare!

[Bluemarlin]

For that length of trip its worth it for the peace of mind. Not so much for the hassle of a flat, but imagine the grief you'd get from the wife if you got one and didn't have a spare (wheel I mean, not wife).

[Neilo]

Have a great time!  

[Mossypossy]

Company in Eastern Europe make spare wheel covers......

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264763726237?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ExFBlwPMQzC&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=-Xw-SSzkQbS&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY