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punctures a thing of the past


colleen

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I,ve never heard of a product that prevents further punctures Colleen, but I do carry a can of Holts Tyreweld. This is for emergency puncture repairs but is only meant as a temporary measure, enough to get you home or to the nearest tyre depot. I did see another product at the Shepton Mallet show that when injected found and repaired the puncture and which was permanent, but unlike Holts did not inflate. In both cases, neither of these offered protection against further punctures. Howard.
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Colleen, There are two suppliers: Ultra-seal and Protex. Both sell a solution that can be injected through the valve into an inflated tyre. They are at most open-air shows and will inject for you either at the show, at your home (they have mobile units) or you can buy bottles to do it yourself. See picture on page 246 of July's MMM - my own vehicle being done. The sealant lasts for the life of the tyre and can handle repeated punctures up to 6mm without the tyre losing pressure or requiring any attention. Both have been tested to 40,000 miles and 150 mph. They are not proof against total tyre destruction, however, such as running over a significant obstacle. They also claim to help extend tyre life by maintaining inflation pressure without needing 'top-ups' (I can vouch that top-ups are not needed) and also by helping to dissipate tyre heat more effectively to the wheel rim. We have done 12,000 miles since it was injected without carrying a spare wheel. It costs about £45 for a car and £60 for a motorhome.
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Sounds really good Mel, but I would still carry the spare if only for peace of mind. What if something happens and the tyre is a write off. Darcydog just mentioned the space for a gas tank etc. where the spare is kept and I often wonder why manufactures don,t place the wheel on the back doors as in the case of many 4x4s. Howard.
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Howard, We don't take the spare because we ain't gonna get puntures (they promised us!). If we do have a tyre write-off, I'm calling the AA (we have cover throughout Europe as part of our insurance). No way am I going to try and jack up a 3.5 tonne 'van with a shredded tyre. There are mobile tyre fitters in every town of any size in Europe. Wheel on the back door is a major problem for anyone using a 'van for deliveries which is why they don't do it. Also stops the door opening 270 degrees. Also no good for motorhomes as many people want to put bike racks on the back.
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One other point regarding the spare Robin. I recently replaced the two front tyres on my van, but instead of useing them direct I swapped the one with the spare which is now 3 years old. Even though the spare has never been used, most will agree that after 5/6 years there may be problems with regards to age. The rear tyres are good for another year or two, but when these are changed I shall use the same procedure. Howard.
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  • 2 weeks later...
Colleen I have a Honda Accord Tourer (04 reg)with no spare wheel, it comes supplied with a small compressor and a bottle of Sealing Fluid. (about 3kg total) The Honda Handbook says I can travel upto 50mph for upto 50miles with this used. Has anyone any experience of a similar system for Motorhomes. I assume I may need a larger bottle of fluid for the larger tyres. Our new Fiat Bessacarr E410 has very restrictive payload (310kg) and eliminating the Spare would give me precious extra capacity. Flicka (?)
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Howard I ran Bedford CF's in the 70's & 80's with the spare on the front grill (AKA 4 x 4 rear mounting). It was common practice in those days, especially on VX Combi's but appears to have died out. Are you aware of any reason (Construction & Use or similar) that now outlaws this practice. It saved a lot of struggling under the van and I now returning to Motorhomes, I am keen to use this system on my Bessacarr.
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Whoever decided the best place for keeping the spare, underneath the rear end of the van, where it is almost impossible to remove without the physique of Arnie and open to all the elements, and when there is a puncture, often no clearance to remove it anyway has obviously never had to go through this procedure themselfs on a cold, wet, dark and windy night Flicka. Apart from that i,ve never had that much of a problem with this particular setup. I did suggest different alternatives once, but these were so brutally rejected that I must admit that until my self confidence returns I am a little reluctant to raise the subject again. But go on then. I,ll give it try. With a little thought and ingenuity I see no reason why with a van conversion the spare cannot be mounted on one of the rear doors or even up on the roof. Placing it on the front grill may affect the air cooling systems on todays more sensitive vans (unlike the old CF,s) and if you have just spent a small fortune on your van unsightly as well. As for coachbuilts there is far more scope regarding this and a good example can be seen of this on page 154 of Octobers mmm. The best i,ve seen was on a Avondale caravan where the spare and jack were kept in a recess on the floor. Increasing your payload is tempting I know but I again refer you to Octobers mmm (page 252) where one correspondent advocated not carrying a spare wheel and the error of his ways was pointed out by one of the magazines technical experts. Exellent reading if I may say so. Howard.
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Flicka and Howard, The problem with a front grill mounted spare wheel, unless it is specifically designed in to the vehicle safety system, is that on vehicles with airbag systems it will interfere with the operation of the collision sensor system. Perhaps this is also why manufacturers stopped fitting spare wheels under the bonnet which seemed a sensible place to fit them. Surely it is not beyond the wit of the vehicle manufacturers to fit the spare into a slide out lockable tray either at the rear (behind the number plate) or nearside of the vehicle. not only would this make accessing far easier but also more secure from theft. I know, extra cost and would we pay it, personally I would. Regards, Mike.
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Hiya Mike. I think we all agree that having the spare located in its cradle at the rear is unacceptable and to some extent our fault for putting up with it for so long without complaint. Your suggestion of a slide out tray behind the number plate seems the best so far and even though this would have to be dealt with at the design stage it should prove a really good selling point and as you say well worth paying that little bit extra for. The recovery services must deal with this every day and i,m supprised they haven,t made their views known to the various manufacturers before. Howard.
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Thanks Howard & Mike Just the information I needed. A case of me not being able to see the wood for the trees regarding the Air Bag sensors. looking through the various threads I'm glad I found this site as it answers numerous questions I had after being away from Motorhomes for 20 years (much too long,) I should never have got away from them, but circumstances & opportunities in life change and you have to take them. Still , glad to be back on the road again now and eagerly awaiting our first shake-down trip. Hope our new van does not get any of the problems some of you have encountered from Brownhills. thanks again Flicka :->
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