Flat Tires & Spares in the Van

[van_350sd]

Well,

I did it. I bought the extra Classic Rim from SouthwestWheel.com and I'M taking it to Costco to have the new michelin installed.

Those Alcoa rims are very sweet. I think it's 19 lb.s . and 209.00 is a great price. They have 17" rims also, does anyone have 17" tires on the van?

I'M going to weight the new rim and the steel rim as I have four naked rims in boxes. The steel rims are like brand new because I removed them when I bought the van. I ordered the steel rims from the factory because I like the Alcoa rims vs, the Ford Aluminum rims. The Alcoa's have the highest tow/weight rating for the 350 vans, so they say.
The Alcoa Classic Truck or Trailer Wheel

So now I get to lower the original spare tire and do a trial run for a change.

Happy Days...

[Kaliburz]

I have a 20 ton jack in my van. Granted, they put a tire carrier on the rear door. Always have a spare tire for your vehicle (and I usually get rid of those 'emergency' types for my cars and shove a full size in somewhere....been lucky so far). If I buy a new set of tires (2 or 4 at a time), I keep which ever one is the 'best' for the spare (if it's better condition then the spare).

Buddy has a 92 F250.... spare was still in the under side carrier. He doesn't like them there. We pulled it out.... the rim still had paint on the lug holes. No one ever took the thing out.... looked like the OEM tire from 1992. Still held air though....

I still recall swapping a tire on my Sable in college. Side was sliced from something, wouldn't hold air. Using the OEM screw jack and wrench...I think it took me 30 min or longer. After that, I kept a 2nd OEM jack w/ the built in handle removed- used a socket and ratchet to raise it fast, then a breaker bar to lift the last few. Takes longer to use the jack then anything else..... uggg.

[yaric008]

Just about a month ago I ran over this stud sticking out of the ground at my buddies house trying to pull into his back yard. I kept asking if i was clear then all of a sudden, BAM-SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Basically the entire side wall was torn, about a 5 inch gash wide open. That tire was trashed. Just pulled the truck out of the yard and over a side walk and changed the tire, went pretty easy I suppose. I was about to get new tires the next day but unfortunatly the one that I ripped was one of the ones that was fairly new and I wanted to keep.

[monteman1978]

I keep a 3-ton floor jack in the van along with the spare. The device under the van is shot. I use a 1/2" ratchet and 7/8 deep well socket to change my tires.