Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: General RVing Issues: Beware! Spare tire stolen

Print | Close

Topic: Beware! Spare tire stolen

Posted By: pawpaw47 on 04/01/17 11:30pm

Just a head's up everyone!
On our way home to Texas from visiting family in the Cincinnati and Indianapolis areas, we overnighted at the Hinton RV Park in Sikeston, MO. That night some low life stole my bumper mount assembly and spare tire. I can't believe we didn't hear anything - the SOB's knew what they were doing. I know it was stolen at this park because the day before I had put another coat of 303 Protectant on the spare tire cover.
I didn't notice it was missing until the next day when we had a flat and I went to get the spare. It was GONE! I called the RV Park to report the theft and left a message (no one answered the phone). They didn't even bother to return my call! Wow, how disappointing!
We were on I-55 headed south and had to limp along on the shoulder at about 10 - 15 MPH for about 4 miles until we got to the next exit. I called my emergency service company Coach Net. They were awesome and help was on the scene in about an hour with a new tire. The tech mounted a new tire on the rim on the scene and we followed him to their tire shop (about 7 miles away). After inspecting the other three tires very carefully, I decided to replace all of them with new 10 ply tires. The only brand they had in stock was Travel Star. I had no choice. I've never heard of them, have any of you?
My new spare tire will not be mounted to the bumper, I'm going to carry it in the covered bed of my truck.
Lesson learned!

2015 Starcraft Autumn Ridge 329BHU
2015 Starcraft AR-One 18QB
2014 GMC w/6.2L & max tow pkge.

Posted By: rk911 on 04/01/17 11:43pm

did they steal the spare FROM the mount or did they take the tire and mount? i protect the spare on my Jeep wrangler with a lug lock. might work for you.

Rich
Ham Radio, Sport Pilot, Retired 9-1-1 Call Center Administrator
_________________________________
2016 Itasca Suncruiser 38Q
'46 Willys CJ2A
'23 Jeep Wrangler JL
'10 Jeep Liberty KK
& MaggieThe Wonder Beagle

Posted By: wnjj on 04/01/17 11:49pm

A bumper mount spare seems more likely to be laying on the highway somewhere behind you than stolen.

Either way a bad deal. Glad you got back on the road.

Posted By: Old-Biscuit on 04/02/17 12:59am

wnjj wrote:

A bumper mount spare seems more likely to be laying on the highway somewhere behind you than stolen.

Either way a bad deal. Glad you got back on the road.

OP stated
'...bumper mount assembly and spare tire."

Sounds like it fell off....metal fatigue due to vibrations

Coach Net. A1 service

Is it time for your medication or mine?

2007 DODGE 3500 QC SRW 5.9L CTD In-Bed 'quiet gen'
2007 HitchHiker II 32.5 UKTG 2000W Xantex Inverter
US NAVY------USS Decatur DDG31

Posted By: RoyB on 04/02/17 04:46am

You would think the OP would be able to tell the difference of the Tire and Tire mount assy vibrating loose and falling off or not...

I know there are some photos online of the whole rear bumper mount assy coming off but you would think you should be able to see the localized damages caused by something like happening...

There really isn't much holding a tire assy to the bumper as shown in this photo... I only see a couple of bolts laying on the ground this guy removed to take his bumper and tire mount off.

[image]

Google Image

Glad he was able to get to safe place off of the road to get repairs.

Roy Ken

Posted By: colliehauler on 04/02/17 05:04am

I would agree with others and say it's probably laying along the highway somewhere. Seen a new RV spare in the ditch yesterday along 135 North.

Neighbor works for highway dept. He finds spares, bumpers and even a portable generator. He's found wallets, cell phones, and tablets as well. Turns it over to highway patrol. Most are never claimed.

Since the mount was gone as well I would say the bolts vibrated loose and simply fell off.

Forgot to add that I personally lost my license tag off my new 5th wheel when the cheap plastic bracket off the tail light broke off, first trip out.
Talking about a hassle to replace.

* This post was edited 04/02/17 05:57am by colliehauler *

Posted By: TomG2 on 04/02/17 06:14am

Since I have never seen a spare tire and mount along the thousands of mile I have traveled, but have had things stolen, I will disagree with the folks who go along with the "It must have fallen off" theory. Two minutes with a nine sixteenths wrench and the spare changed owners.

Posted By: tinner12002 on 04/02/17 06:33am

RoyB wrote:

Google Image

Glad he was able to get to safe place off of the road to get repairs.

Roy Ken

That bumper has broken off from where it had been welded on...not sure what the bolts are from but he didn't unbolt the bumper for sure!!

2015 Ram 3500/DRW/Aisin/auto/Max tow/4.10s,Cummins, stock Laramie Limited--Silver
Tequila Sunrise 2012 Ultra Classic Limited
2018 Raptor 428SP

Posted By: RandACampin on 04/02/17 06:34am

TomG2 wrote:

They must be the heaviest sleepers in the world to not hear a tire and carrier being removed from the bumper. I have removed mine to paint and it would be impossible not to make a major amount of noise, vibration, and trailer movement.

Posted By: Mich F on 04/02/17 06:54am

My first thought was that it fell off. According to captain obvious,the only thing we know for sure is that it's gone. [emoticon]

2014 Itasca Spirit 31K Class C
2016 Mazda CX5 on Acme tow dolly- 4 trips ~ 5,800 mi
Now 2017 RWD F150 with a drive shaft disconnect

Posted By: SoundGuy on 04/02/17 07:07am

TomG2 wrote:

Agree, hard to believe a spare along with it's mounting bracket could have simply fallen off and the OP not noticed. Likewise how could the OP not have noticed the spare & bracket was missing before he left the campground? One of my cardinal rules is to always do a quick walk around my rig before jumping in the truck to make sure everything as it should be - no forgotten chocks, all doors locked, TV antenna down, etc, etc. Had the OP done this he wouldn't have ended up in this surprise predicament - flat tire and no spare. [emoticon]

Posted By: Lantley on 04/02/17 07:15am

It is much easier for me to imagine the spare tire and mount rusted/vibrated or just fell off going down the road vs. believing a thief took the time to unbolt the mount from an occupied camper at a CG.
If the tire just fell off how would the OP know? Unless they heard it they would just keep on down the road, which is what I suspect happened.

19'Duramax w/hips,12'Open Range,Titan Disc Brake
BD3,RV safepower,22" Blackstone
Ox Bedsaver,RV760 w/BC20,Glow Steps, Enduraplas25,Pedego
BakFlip,RVLock,5500 Onan LP,Prog.50A surge,Hughes autoformer
Porta Bote 8.0 Nissan,Sailun S637
Correct Trax,Splendide

Posted By: midnightsadie on 04/02/17 07:24am

I,M with the stolen crew, you,d think that falling off would have been heard .or a person behind the rv would blown there horn. nobody knows for sure.

Posted By: RoyB on 04/02/17 07:25am

tinner12002 wrote:

That bumper has broken off from where it had been welded on...not sure what the bolts are from but he didn't unbolt the bumper for sure!!

Good catch - I wasn't looking to close it seems haha... The tools and the bolts laying on the ground gave me wrong impression I guess...

Roy Ken

Posted By: cbshoestring on 04/02/17 07:26am

Lantley wrote:

Easier to imagine it fell off, but not inconceivable it was stolen.

The effectiveness of battery operated tools, have led to some surprisingly quick thefts. A few years back, catalytic converts were being cut right off the cars sitting in their driveways.

A spare, bracket and all, could be removed from one bumber--attached to the thief's bumber---in a matter of a minute or two.

I know,you are thinking you would hear it....People never heard that battery reciprocating saw. If they walked away from that unit for just a minute or two.....GONE IN 60 SECONDS.

Posted By: K Charles on 04/02/17 07:34am

The OP said he didn't know it was missing till the next day so he doesn't know when he lost it.

Posted By: Lantley on 04/02/17 07:36am

cbshoestring wrote:

Lantley wrote:

You're right we are all guessing. But I would more likely hear someone with or without power tools working on my trailer if I were in it.
Trailers are just not that substantial that you would not hear or feel something going on.
But we really don't know what happened.
I could imagine someone stealing my spare out of necessity, but stealing spare and mount is a bit far fetched for me.
I agree it is possible, but am I believe they stole it to mount on their own trailer! Or they stole it to sell? None of those scenarios jive with me vs. the whole mess just fell off.

Posted By: ksbowman on 04/02/17 07:55am

We just stayed in The Hinton RV park about 3-4 weeks ago in Sikeston on our way back from Florida and I thought it was a good park in a safe area. Even marked it as a place we want to stay at again. I would like to think it fell off in transit. I have found bolts loose on the 5th wheel spare on the bumper before and retightened them.

Posted By: cyntdon2010 on 04/02/17 08:15am

"That night some low life stole my bumper mount assembly and spare tire. I can't believe we didn't hear anything - the SOB's knew what they were doing".
He had me thinking what kind of campground was he at...I Never
had anything stolen..

2010 lacrosse T.T 318 bhs 34 ft,blue ox-tow bar,2005 FORD F-150 larait super crew,Firestone ready rite-air bags lift kit

Posted By: RedRocket204 on 04/02/17 08:24am

midnightsadie wrote:

I,M with the stolen crew, you,d think that falling off would have been heard .or a person behind the rv would blown there horn. nobody knows for sure.

How would someone have heard a spare tire assembly falling off the rear of a RV trailer while travelling down the road?

Likewise, you are assuming someone was behind the trailer when it fell off.

But you are right about "nobody knows for sure".

I love me some land yachting

Posted By: Ed_Gee on 04/02/17 09:36am

midnightsadie wrote:

I,M with the stolen crew, you,d think that falling off would have been heard .or a person behind the rv would blown there horn. nobody knows for sure.

Some RVers are quite dense. I followed a motor home towing a Honda CRV that had come loose from its ball hitch and was wapping back and forth behind the motor home on its safety chains. The driver never noticed. I backed way off and followed at distance. Finally the safety chains broke and the tow car flew off the road and hit a tree head on. Thankfully it had not veered into the oncoming traffic! Still, the driver never noticed and kept on driving. Miles down the road we came to a four lane passing stretch where I could pull along side and my wife signaled to the driver ....pointing back. Finally we saw the biggest round mouth on the driver when they realized what happened.

Ed - on the Central Oregon coast
2018 Winnebago Fuse 23A
Scion xA toad

Posted By: Dick_B on 04/02/17 11:39am

Call me crazy but we carry TWO spares for the RV; one on the back and one in the vehicle. Since we started using Michelin XPS Ribs we have not had a flat tire in several years. But I do rotate the tires every couple of years and incorporate the spares in the mix.

Dick_B
2003 SunnyBrook 27FKS
2011 3/4 T Chevrolet Suburban
Equal-i-zer Hitch
One wife, two electric bikes (both Currie Tech Path+ models)

Posted By: Old-Biscuit on 04/02/17 11:51am

HEY OP........

How about a picture WHERE mount and tire use to be??

Posted By: colliehauler on 04/02/17 11:59am

SoundGuy wrote:

TomG2 wrote:

When they fall off at highway speeds they don't usually stay on the road but slide into the ditch or feild. The spare I found yesterday was approximately 50 yard's from the road in a wheat feild. Aluminum wheel with 14" tire. It's all speculation at this point anyway. Even if you don't believe they can fall off call your DOT office and ask how many they pick up every year. I will agree with SoundGuy statement that it is wise to do a walk around and check. I myself have found the bolts on my spare tire carrier loose. It would be wise for others to check their's.

Posted By: toedtoes on 04/02/17 03:56pm

For me personally, I think I would be more likely to hear someone right outside my trailer in the middle of the night and take notice than I would hearing something go bang behind the trailer while I'm driving down the road and take notice.

1975 American Clipper RV with Dodge 360 (photo in profile)
1998 American Clipper Fold n Roll Folding Trailer
Both born in Morgan Hill, CA to Irv Perch (Daddy of the Aristocrat trailers)

Posted By: pawpaw47 on 04/02/17 04:13pm

Thanks for all the comments guys.
I'd like to clear up a a couple of things:
1) I always do a walk around before I leave the the campground. When I did it on that morning, I felt that something wasn't right but I just couldn't figure out what it was. I check and rechecked all my usual stuff (jacks up, chocks removed, power cord stowed, etc) and all was well. I just didn't notice that the entire spare tire assembly was gone. How many of you really check to see if your spare tire is still there? I guess I just took for granted that it was still attached.
2) If it had fallen off, I'm pretty sure there would be some scrapes and scratches on the bumper from it bouncing around before it fell off. There were none of those. The bumper didn't have a scratch on it.
3) We didn't hear a sound because the A/C was running and our bedroom is in the front of the trailer - far removed from the rear bumper.
I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else. It sure put a damper on the whole trip.
Happy camping everyone - stay safe and be aware!

Posted By: mich800 on 04/02/17 04:50pm

I don't know why it is so difficult to believe it was stolen. It is not unheard of to have catalytic converters cut off when parked. So a very accessible spare tire would be simple.

Posted By: DutchmenSport on 04/02/17 05:28pm

I'm in the group that believe the OP, that it was stolen. We almost had a propane tank stolen from our pop-up in a town called, Normal, Illinois, many years ago. Stopped at a restaurant right down town, "Normal" and when we came out, the cover of the tank was pulled off, and the hose unhooked. They couldn't get the tank off though because of the way it was it hooked in. I even had to fight the thing to get the tank off, and I knew how to do it! Reported it to the local police who said it was not uncommon for RV to have propane tanks stolen for meth labs. We were luck they didn't get it. So you know ... I believe the OP that it was theft.

When we purchased our Outback, the first thing I did was remove the tire from the trailer bumper. Our bumper came factory equipped with a hitch, so the bumper is welded very well, and welded the hitch frame and the bumper together. So I felt very comfortable taking the tire off and putting this (below) on. That meant the spare tire now rides in the back of the pick up truck. With all the stuff we carry in that pick-up truck bed, it would take a lot for someone to take the tire!

[image]

Posted By: Lantley on 04/02/17 06:06pm

toedtoes wrote:

Exactly my point. WE may need Columbo to get to the bottom of this one [emoticon]

Posted By: westernrvparkowner on 04/02/17 06:25pm

I don't think we will ever know what really happened. However, stealing a spare tire and rack in the middle of the night, in a RV park where such activity would likely be noticed (RV parks are high density and usually sites aren't very private) sure isn't a sign of a criminal mastermind. The tire rack would likely have no value, and a spare tire very little though both would have some weight to them. That's a whole lot of work, for little reward. Most tire and wheel thieves target more valuable aluminum wheels on popular vehicles. Twice in my Lifetime I have come out to find my truck on blocks (not in Montana, but back when I lived the corporate life), but the spare remained untouched. A set of 4 tires with expensive wheels have resale value, a single trailer tire spare, not so much.
As for falling off, physics would dictate that if it fell off the back of a moving vehicle, it would not hit the vehicle since the tire and carrier would begin decelerating once it became unattached while the vehicle would maintain it's speed. Furthermore, any sound would be blocked by the trailer and the vehicle and muffled by other road noises. I've had things vibrate loose over the years and disappear into the side of the road abyss.

Posted By: 1968mooney on 04/02/17 06:31pm

I think the thieves snuck up under the dark of night, loosened the bolts holding the spare, and then followed the OP down the road to retrieve the tire, wheel, and carrier when it fell off. Only scenario that makes sense. [emoticon]

Posted By: colliehauler on 04/02/17 06:46pm

I'm sure there is a hot market for cheap steel offset wheels and crappy st tires.

Posted By: TomG2 on 04/02/17 08:47pm

There are people out there who will steal anything. Given that the OP does not know exactly when it disappeared, it could have been snatched when they stopped for a burger or for the night.

Posted By: slickest1 on 04/02/17 09:03pm

Next time they will get the slinky out of the bumper!

1998 Holiday Rambler Imperial 40 ft.
Dennis and Marcie and Pup the Jack Russell

Posted By: Old-Biscuit on 04/03/17 01:05am

Lantley wrote:

toedtoes wrote:

Exactly my point. WE may need Columbo to get to the bottom of this one [emoticon]

Although I have faith that Colombo would get to the bottom of this mystery he would take to long.........

What we need is someone like 'Sipowicz' . He would cut to the chase and have the culprit sweating it out in the box

Posted By: DutchmenSport on 04/03/17 06:00am

Although I really do feel for the OP and appreciate his post (and all the interesting comments on this thread), I am a bit bewildered about one thing.

Regardless of where we are camped, if it's just an over night and trailer never gets unhitched, or if we've been somewhere for a week, before moving the rig one inch, I walk around the entire rig at least once and check everything. sometimes I circle the entire rig twice (which drive my wife batty, so I just smile at her). I check to make sure the locks are all locked, antenna is down, all the caps are on everything, everything bungied down, tied down, locked down, hitched right, tires look good, all the pins in the hitch are in place and a pranskter did not pull one on us. I even do this when parked in a parking lot and we've gone inside to eat something when on the road. If we stop at a rest area, before leaving, I walk around. There again, checking to make sure a prankster did not pull the pin on the hitch, or leave a glass bottle under the tires, or anything out of the ordinary.

Call me over protective, but I do this so routinely now it's just part of doing business. Too much can happen on the road. Not to mention what a thief or a prankster may do to your camper at a campground (which IS possible).

My question is? Didn't the OP do a walk around the camper when he pulled out of that campground? If he did do a walk around, wouldn't he have noticed the tire gone?

I never though about it until someone hit the idea on a post (above). More than likely, it happened by a thief when the camper was parked in a parking area, when traveling, and he was inside a store.

Most RVers know the value of tires and such. But some kid or redneck gang of kids might not know the difference. It's possible they took the rack and tire because a bolt cutter can easily cut through those bolts very quick, where-as taking the time to unscrew the 2 lug nuts holding it onto the rack probably takes longer.

If it was "kids" that took the tire, I bet they were disappointed when they found out the RV rim is attached with 6 lugs, whereas most autos use 5 lug rims!

Posted By: WTP-GC on 04/03/17 07:26am

pawpaw47 wrote:

I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else. It sure put a damper on the whole trip.
Happy camping everyone - stay safe and be aware!

OP, don't feel like it put a damper on your trip. Instead, see the bright side of things. I'm one of those people that believes everything in this entire world happens for a reason, so things like luck and coincidence are not concepts I believe in.

So you didn't have the spare tire, which meant you weren't going to be able to fix it on the side of the road. Considering that only a few weeks ago, a family of 5 that was passing through our area died when the driver of their vehicle veered off the road and collided with a disabled tractor-trailer...perhaps not having the option of replacing the tire on the side of the interstate wasn't a bad thing.

Here's another one. Its safe to say that so many RV'ers don't pay any mind to their primary tires, let alone their spare tire. So (without presumption) what if the spare tire was bad and you went on your merry way after putting in on...only to have a major blowout down the road that might have caused several thousand in damage to your rig.

pawpaw47 wrote:

After inspecting the other three tires very carefully, I decided to replace all of them with new 10 ply tires.

So lookey here...you determined that your tires needed to be replaced as a result of this. What if you had the spare, installed it, and got on your way without noticing that the other tires were bad. Let your imagination be the guide as to what could have happened in the event that one or more of those tires failed.

I'm not in the guessing game of stolen vs. fell off. OP believes it was stolen, and since I'm not there, that's good enough for me. Either way, I'm sure the OP was not a happy camper at the moment, but sometimes blessings come out of unfortunate situations...even those blessings which you're unaware of.

Duramax + Grand Design 5er + B & W Companion
SBGTF

Posted By: jnharley on 04/03/17 09:34am

When we lived in a house, a police helicopter just about landed in my back yard and the neighbor was pounding on the door-police were chasing a suspect that was hopping over fences in neighborhood back yards. We were all asleep including the 2 dogs and 2 teenage boys and did not hear a thing.. So I can imagine not hearing something being stolen off the back of the RV.

2015 Dodge Dually
2012 NuWa Discover America 355CK

Posted By: toedtoes on 04/03/17 10:16am

If you read through the posts, the OP came back and stated that he DID do a walk-around before leaving the campground. He said that he sensed there was something "off" but couldn't identify it. He double checked all his "before driving away" checklist items, but the missing tire/holder didn't register.

He also said that the TT bedroom is in the front and that they had the A/C going all night.

So, it still doesn't prove stolen over lost, but makes stolen less "unbelievable".

For me, in situations like this where it really could have been either way (stolen or lost), I choose to believe the one that is less negative towards other folks. It feels better to me.

Posted By: 1968mooney on 04/03/17 10:30am

4 pages discussing if stolen or lost. What difference does it make? It's gone. Preparing for either is quite simple. Keep the attaching bolts tight and be very observant of all the thieves that hang out in campgrounds.

Posted By: mgirardo on 04/03/17 01:40pm

DutchmenSport wrote:

My question is? Didn't the OP do a walk around the camper when he pulled out of that campground? If he did do a walk around, wouldn't he have noticed the tire gone?

He said he did do a walk around and he did not notice the spare was gone.

OP's second post.

-Michael

Michael Girardo
2017 Jayco Jayflight Bungalow 40BHQS Destination Trailer
2009 Jayco Greyhawk 31FS Class C Motorhome (previously owned)
2006 Rockwood Roo 233 Hybrid Travel Trailer (previously owned)
1995 Jayco Eagle 12KB pop-up (previously owned)

Posted By: TomG2 on 04/03/17 02:09pm

mgirardo wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:

My question is? Didn't the OP do a walk around the camper when he pulled out of that campground? If he did do a walk around, wouldn't he have noticed the tire gone?

He said he did do a walk around and he did not notice the spare was gone.

OP's second post.

-Michael

If he missed it on the walk around, who is to say that he did not miss it the evening before? Could have been stolen hours or even days before.

Posted By: DutchmenSport on 04/03/17 03:18pm

TomG2 wrote:

mgirardo wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:

My question is? Didn't the OP do a walk around the camper when he pulled out of that campground? If he did do a walk around, wouldn't he have noticed the tire gone?

He said he did do a walk around and he did not notice the spare was gone.

OP's second post.

-Michael

If he missed it on the walk around, who is to say that he did not miss it the evening before? Could have been stolen hours or even days before.

I missed that I guess. But supposing the OP did just overlook the tire missing, I suppose everyone is entitled to a brain fart every now and then. How many times have you started to pull out and someone yelled across the campground ... "Antenna UP! Antenna UP!" or "Black tank cap open! Black tank open!" Or... This actually happened to a poor fellow last March. I yelled to the top of my lungs and couldn't stop him ... "Jack still down! Jack still down!"

I still think it was stolen though and did not fall off.

Posted By: Lantley on 04/03/17 04:12pm

TomG2 wrote:

mgirardo wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:

My question is? Didn't the OP do a walk around the camper when he pulled out of that campground? If he did do a walk around, wouldn't he have noticed the tire gone?

He said he did do a walk around and he did not notice the spare was gone.

OP's second post.

-Michael

If he missed it on the walk around, who is to say that he did not miss it the evening before? Could have been stolen hours or even days before.

I think he mentioned adjusting the spare tire cover the night before.
Maybe he should have checked the bolts as well? [emoticon]

.....
Maybe the nice neat cover attracted the thief

Posted By: K_and_I on 04/03/17 06:51pm

WTP-GC wrote:

pawpaw47 wrote:

I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else. It sure put a damper on the whole trip.
Happy camping everyone - stay safe and be aware!

pawpaw47 wrote:

After inspecting the other three tires very carefully, I decided to replace all of them with new 10 ply tires.

I'm old enough to remember this:

No That's Good

K_and_I
2011 Rockwood 2604
Nights Camped in 2019: 85
Do we have time for shortcuts?

Posted By: down home on 04/04/17 09:30pm

I haven't read all the posts but...When we had our Fifth Wheel until 2006, there were many reports of stolen trailer tires. Seems most of the tires from the factory didn't last long. Our's didn't; Goodyear Wranglers.
So I suspect that was the reason so many were stolen.
Batteries and boxes on the outside back then and even propane tanks and bikes on ladders etc.
And... we still see coolers and chairs and ladders and septic drain lines,but not so many tires, on the shoulders and more so in the medians of the Interstates.
Since his mount was missing too I would suspect theft. I haven't looked at many spare tire mounts on Trailers in a long time so I 'm not up on what might com loose or give way. Most new ones, tht I've seen have spares underneath somewhere or none at all.
If in fair health and a little time safety break cables could be ingeniously placed around a spare or things and underneath to a loud alarm and battery.
The better and or larger RV parks now have gates and no one in and out during the night. Of course a lot of these tales or instances seem to revolve round, some Campers laving as soon as they can and perhaps taking some of our goodies.

Posted By: Bucky Badger on 04/05/17 06:46am

TomG2 wrote:

mgirardo wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:

My question is? Didn't the OP do a walk around the camper when he pulled out of that campground? If he did do a walk around, wouldn't he have noticed the tire gone?

He said he did do a walk around and he did not notice the spare was gone.

OP's second post.

-Michael

If he missed it on the walk around, who is to say that he did not miss it the evening before? Could have been stolen hours or even days before..

Because this is in the first post

Quote:

I know it was stolen at this park because the day before I had put another coat of 303 Protectant on the spare tire cover.

2010 F150 5.4, 3.55, 4x4, Equli-z-er Hitch
2007 Forest River Salem 27RB LE
and
2009 Nomad 3980

Posted By: Mr.Mark on 04/05/17 08:56am

Whether it was stolen or fell off, it's gone now. I feel for the OP poster as well as it really wrankles me when people steal stuff.

Now back to the 'fell off scenario'. I've seen so many things fall off over the years and have dodged many things on the highway/freeway. It is so extremely dangerous when things fall off as you all know.

If it's possible that the bolts can come loose, that should be on the inspection list before departure.

Just the other day, I noticed a piece of metal in my driver's side tag tire. It did cross my mind that someone might have wedged it under my tire for me to roll over. I didn't pull it out as I made that mistake with my SUV once when a nail was in the side wall. I pulled it out and air started coming out so I put it back in and the air stopped escaping. I drove straight to the tire store.

While I was in for an oil/filter change on the coach, I had the tech look at the tag tire. The metal piece was just in the tread, no air loss (dodged $1000 bullet as Michelin 365's tires run about that at the Prevost shop).

Safe travel to all, keep everything glued down!
MM.

Mr.Mark
2021.5 Pleasure Way Plateau FL Class-B on the Sprinter Chassis
2018 Mini Cooper Hardtop Coupe, 2 dr., 6-speed manual
(SOLD) 2015 Prevost Liberty Coach, 45 ft, 500 hp Volvo
(SOLD) 2008 Monaco Dynasty, 42 ft, 425 hp Cummins

Posted By: Horizon170 on 04/05/17 12:43pm

A big thick chain and a large lock has solved the lost tire problem for me.

Marvin

2010 Coachman Freelander 22TB on a
2008 Sprinter/Freightliner chassis
1995 Geo Tracker (Toad)

Posted By: Mr.Beebo on 04/06/17 04:10am

I can feel our kids roll over in bed at the other end of our camper at night.
That said, I might confuse said vibration by the tire thief for someone stirring inside.

I would probably put a pillow case over the tire next time and keep it in my bunk. Problem solved and I'd have good neck support.

2010 Rockwood Roo 23SS
2009 Silverado 2500 6.0

Posted By: atwowheelguy on 04/15/17 07:53pm

My TT is a toy hauler with no rear bumper. The spare is mounted with a winch lift under the floor behind the axles. Out of sight, out of mind. Something to consider.

https://store.lci1.com/products/cargo-se........storage/cargo/spare-tire-racks-receivers

[image]

2013 F150 XLT SCrew 5.5' 3.5 EB, 3.55, 2WD, 1607# Payload, EAZ Lift WDH
Toy Hauler: 2010 Fun Finder XT-245, 5025# new, 6640-7180# loaded, 900# TW, Voyager wireless rear view camera
Toys: '66 Super Hawk, XR400R, SV650, XR650R, DL650 V-Strom, 525EXC, 500EXC

Posted By: pawpaw47 on 04/18/17 08:04am

atwowheelguy wrote:

Good idea. I'll check into it. Thank you

Print | Close