ddelsobral
New member
I'm just curious - for camper vans, how often do people need to change flat tires? And for those that have winches, how often do they get used?
How often do folks get flat tires (or need to use a winch)?
- Thread starter ddelsobral
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jim65wagon
Well-known member
Not to jinx myself but in 8 months of full time travel through the US, I've had neither a flat nor used the winch. Last time I used the winch was two years ago to move a tree from a forest road in virginia.
CaptainBuilt
Well-known member
I got stuck in the mud once. Lost a tire and broke my winch.
Since then, I've been more careful. But, I have used my winch a lot. Mostly for pulling people out of ditches.
Since then, I've been more careful. But, I have used my winch a lot. Mostly for pulling people out of ditches.
BritKLR
Kapitis Indagatoris
......Depends......
One can go 20 years without a flat, next day you get three. (friggin vandalized trail)
No way to foresee a flat, just a week ago I was on the beach with a rental Mustang, five minutes later I'm fixing a flat roadside...plan for it, deal with it, move on.
One can go 20 years without a flat, next day you get three. (friggin vandalized trail)
No way to foresee a flat, just a week ago I was on the beach with a rental Mustang, five minutes later I'm fixing a flat roadside...plan for it, deal with it, move on.
ddelsobral
New member
This is more a question about how to prioritize options on a build out.
For example, if flat tires are rare in most people's experience, maybe having a spare tire in the van, buried under a bunch of crap makes sense vs. buying a spare tire rack for the back.
Or maybe a winch and modified bumper aren't as important as a heater, if most people with winches hardly ever use them.
Or not - maybe they should be viewed as "essential equipment"...
For example, if flat tires are rare in most people's experience, maybe having a spare tire in the van, buried under a bunch of crap makes sense vs. buying a spare tire rack for the back.
Or maybe a winch and modified bumper aren't as important as a heater, if most people with winches hardly ever use them.
Or not - maybe they should be viewed as "essential equipment"...
deserteagle56
Adventurer
Flat tires will depend on what roads you drive. If you are mostly on pavement, chances for a flat are pretty remote. On the other hand, if you travel primarily dirt roads you'd better have some tires that won't get rock breaks. I've found that the more plies - not ply ratings, actual plies - in the tread of the tire makes a big difference when driving dirt roads. Which is why I finally ended up with the Toyos on my van, with an actual 7 plies in the tread. Haven't had a rock break yet. Last year I had to replace the OEM tires on my F150 with Load Range E because of flats (rock breaks) in the OEM tires.
Good, wide well-maintained dirt road. But a hundred miles of this stuff is not conducive to long life of an OEM P-rated tire:
As far as a winch - I have one but never had to use it to extricate myself. But it has come in handy pulling downed trees off the roadway.
Good, wide well-maintained dirt road. But a hundred miles of this stuff is not conducive to long life of an OEM P-rated tire:
As far as a winch - I have one but never had to use it to extricate myself. But it has come in handy pulling downed trees off the roadway.
Superduty
Adventurer
34 years of 4 wheeling I think the only flat I had was from breaking a bead in the rocks when aired down too low without beadlocks. Seated bead and was on my way.
As mentioned above modern tires are pretty darned good. I believe if you have a quality off road tire and pay attention flats are rare. They are very rare on the tread portion. More common is a sidewall and that is usually from brushing up against a sharp rock.
I have gotten nails and screws in my tires around town. A plug or patch solves that problem.
As mentioned above modern tires are pretty darned good. I believe if you have a quality off road tire and pay attention flats are rare. They are very rare on the tread portion. More common is a sidewall and that is usually from brushing up against a sharp rock.
I have gotten nails and screws in my tires around town. A plug or patch solves that problem.
AbleGuy
Officious Intermeddler
Maybe it’’s not so much how many flats you got, but rather where you got them (and in what in weather/at what time of day) ?.
And where you plan to drive is also a big decider.
If you haven’t had the privilege of experiencing the rural west, its good to remember that on the backroads here, your tires may encounter cactus spines (ocotillo are probably the worst), tire damaging volcanic pumice and cinders, and sharp broken rock surfaces. In some remote places, you may be driving on roads that include broken chert rocks and even fractured chunks of obsidian...both of which have razor sharp exposed edges. Lots of broken glass along of in the roads is just icing on the cake.
All of which are issues one might want to take into consideration in trip planning, especially in regards to the good point raised above by ddelsobral about need balancing in choosing the location for storing your spare tire.
And where you plan to drive is also a big decider.
If you haven’t had the privilege of experiencing the rural west, its good to remember that on the backroads here, your tires may encounter cactus spines (ocotillo are probably the worst), tire damaging volcanic pumice and cinders, and sharp broken rock surfaces. In some remote places, you may be driving on roads that include broken chert rocks and even fractured chunks of obsidian...both of which have razor sharp exposed edges. Lots of broken glass along of in the roads is just icing on the cake.
All of which are issues one might want to take into consideration in trip planning, especially in regards to the good point raised above by ddelsobral about need balancing in choosing the location for storing your spare tire.
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deserteagle56
Adventurer
One flat in 34 years? Wow! Wish I could say that. Rock breaks in tires are expensive - almost always have to throw the tire away even when it is darn near new and I've had to replace a lot of them.
On some of our Nevada dirt roads you'll see the below on the side of the road every mile or so.
deserteagle56
Adventurer
I do believe that frequency of flat tires depends on where you drive. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania, where if you were on a dirt road you were lucky to be able to drive 30 mph. But in Nevada, where miles of dirt road far, far outnumber any pavement we have in the state, the default dirt road speed limit is 45 mph...but on a lot of the dirt roads I find myself driving 60-65 mph. Hit a fist-size rock, especially if it has a sharp point on it, at 60 mph and you may have a problem. Typical road that I drive:
alanymarce
Well-known member
Our experience with our own vehicles is the following:
Day to day driving - no punctures in decades
"Big trips":
- South America - 5 punctures in 11 months/49,000 Km - 3 on asphalt ("pavement"), 2 on sharp rocky unsurfaced roads.
- Africa - no punctures in 10 months/45,000 Km
- Australia - 1 puncture in 10 months/45,000 Km - on a gravel road with lots of stones embedded in the gravel.
So - the same number on asphalt as unsurfaced roads - all nails or other junk on the road. Some highways are littered with sharp debris ("Pan American Highway for example).
Peter_n_Margaret
Adventurer
The Finke road south of Alice Springs.
No flats
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome
No flats
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome
Regcabguy
Oil eater.
Toyos are strong but my near new MT's ate it on I-5 south in San Diego. A piece of metal went in between the voids and instant destruction. I had to buy a new one. Cha ching. My Toyo AT2's picked up a pretty long screw. Same deal between the voids. This time I was able to patch it and Discount repaired it again with a new plug and a boot. Regardless,I'll get them again. Caca pasa. Stuff happens.