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When you’re driving out to a local campground for the weekend, you don’t think much about having tire failure. You just imagine campfires with s’mores, hikes, and beautiful sunsets. But you need to prepare for an inconvenient tire blowout no matter how close or how far you’re traveling.
Let’s look at some of the best RV spare tire mounts available. These are all easy to install and worth spending your money on to have a spare on board. Let’s get started.
Do RVs Come with Spare Tires?
RVs typically come with a spare tire. Sometimes, it rests underneath the RV, and other models have the spare on the back. It’s really important to have a spare because tire blowouts are common.
Unfortunately, experiencing problems with tires is just part of camping, and having an extra tire at all times offers peace of mind.
Why You Might Want Two Spare Tires for Your RV
If you can carry the additional weight and have the space, consider having two spare tires. There’s no such thing as being over-prepared when traveling in an RV. If you have two spare tires, you can change out the damaged one and also the adjacent tire on the other side of the RV. We recommend this even if you have excellent traction and a level drive.
If you’re just going a short distance, it’s not that big of a deal to change out just one tire. But if you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere and the nearest tire shop is 100+ miles away, you’ll want to change out the tire on the other side as well. So if you boondock off-grid often, consider carrying two spare tires.
Pro Tip: For the avid boondocker, we have 25 items you should always have with you.
Can You Mount a Spare Tire on Any Kind of RV?
You can mount a spare tire on most RVs. Some Class Bs may be too small to store a spare tire, even underneath the vehicle. But most other travel trailers, fifth wheels, Class As, and Class Cs will have a place on the rear of the RV or underneath the RV for an RV spare tire mount.
Hide-a-Spare tire storage mounts (discussed in more length below) get the tire out-of-sight under the RV, but your RV must have enough clearance where the spare tire isn’t in danger of scraping against the road going over uneven terrain or back down into a sloping campsite. Other tire mounts can fasten to the ladder of the RV or the rear bumper.
Easy to Install RV Spare Tire Mounts
Installing an RV spare tire mount isn’t tricky. In fact, it only takes a few minutes. We wanted to offer a few of the easiest tire mounts to install. Depending on your rig’s setup, one may be better for you than the others.
Consider the space you have and how your RV is configured. Also, consider whether or not you want to mount two spare tires.
1. CURT Hitch-Mounted Spare Tire Mount
- VERSATILE. This spare tire mount has slotted holes and a 24-inch height to fit a wide range of tire and wheel sizes...
- STANDARD FIT. This trailer hitch spare tire mount is equipped with a standard 2-inch shank to fit any industry-standard...
CURT is a popular manufacturer of hitches and accessories for RV travel. This model fits any standard 2in x 2in hitch receiver. Some RVs feature a receiver hitch in the back, so you could attach this CURT spare tire mount there. You could also attach it to the front of your truck if you have a receiver there.
It’ll fit various tire and wheel sizes and features a black powder coat finish that prevents corrosion. For models with no receiver hitch, this particular RV spare tire mount won’t work.
Quick Tip: To learn even more about RV tires, check out our Ultimate RV Tires Buyers Guide!
2. CAMCO Eaz-Lift Spare Tire Carrier
- Spare Tire Trailer Mount: Provides a great way to create an exterior spare tire location on your trailer
- Trailer Tongue Fit: Fits trailer frames up to 6-inches tall and 3 ½-inches wide
CAMCO is another popular manufacturer of RV gear. This particular spare tire carrier fits on the tongue of a travel trailer or rear bumper. It’s only five pounds, so it doesn’t add much weight to your RV.
This carrier fits trailer tongues and bumpers up to 6in tall x 3.5in wide and is compatible with tires with a 4 lug x 4in diameter hole pattern, 5 lug x 4.5in diameter hole pattern, and 5 lug x 4.75in diameter hole pattern. It also features a black powder coat finish.
3. BAL 28240 Retract-A-Spare
- Telescopic design fits frame widths of 52” to 72”
- Mounts under frame rails for better location versatility
A different option is to mount your RV spare tire underneath your rig with this retract-a-spare by BAL. This is a good option if you don’t have a bumper or a hitch receiver that can hold a spare tire.
It features a telescopic design to fit frame widths from 52in to 72in. The mount has a rust-resistant finish because of the dirt and debris that can get caught underneath your RV. It can hold a wheel and tire up to 16.5in.
4. BAL Hide-a-Spare Tire Storage
- Hide-a-Spare' Tire Storage System allows you to mount the bulky tire beneath your trailer and out of the way
- Easy to mount
This hide-a-spare tire is another RV spare tire mount option. It also fastens underneath your RV, but this particular unit requires drilling through the I-beams. The previous retract-a-spare mount fastens to the frame on either side of the RV.
When you need your spare tire, you simply loosen the knob and pull the carrier to you to access the spare. Just make sure you attach it to the passenger side of the RV so you’re not pulling the spare tire out with traffic zooming by you.
5. Extreme Max Heavy Duty Tire Carrier
- Spare tire carrier fits most 4, 5 and 6 lug wheels up to 16.5"
- Easy bolt-on installation for boat trailers, fits all trailer tongues 1.75" to 3" wide x 5" high
A final RV spare tire mount that’s easy to install is this Extreme Max heavy-duty tire carrier. Like the above option by CAMCO, this model attaches to the trailer tongue or rear bumper. It fits most four, five, and six lug wheels up to 16.5in. However, this RV spare tire mount fits a smaller size tongue or bumper, only up to 5in tall x 3in wide. It features a heavy-duty zinc-plated steel construction.
Pro Tip: If you’re getting prepared to set out on your first road trip, we have 5 tips for a cross country RV trip.
Don’t Get Stranded
When traveling, one of the worst things that can happen is mechanical failure or a tire blowout. These problems can cause an accident and seem to occur at the most inconvenient times.
But don’t be left stranded on the side of the road waiting for Good Sam or AAA roadside assistance. Have a spare tire with you so you can change out the damaged one and safely get somewhere you can survey the damage.
It’s not the glamorous, Instagram-worthy image of RVing we all imagine, but it’s something all RVers need to prepare for. Do you have a spare tire? How is it mounted?
Last update on 2024-04-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Hi Jason- we ‘had’ a spare mounted to our 5th wheel rear bumper – provided by the RV maker but it was a piece of channel iron attached to the bumper with U bolts. We discovered the channel iron rusted through and we lost the tire along I-80 in Wyoming somewhere! Inspecting the manufacturer’s provided mount for defects might have saved our brand new tire & rim. We also upgraded our tires from ‘China bombs’ to a good quality tire, increasing the weight, so we suspect that contributed the the post breaking. Thanks for the informative article!