I feel the same as The Pair. I guess the question comes down to "Are you willing to change a tire yourself, and get grubby and sweaty and scrape your knuckles? Or would you rather call for someone else to handle it, and pay the price in wasted time?"
I have also changed my share of tires, twice on the Explorers, and several times on the TM. Each time, I have changed the tire, cleaned up, and been on my way in 30-60 minutes. I can live with that.
The alternative? Each time I have had a flat, I have also called an Emergency Road Service, just because I have usually subscribed to one. And each time I called the ERS, I was told "At least two hours." If I had waited for the truck to arrive, the driver could have put on my spare tire in half an hour or so - if I had a spare. But if I didn't have a spare, the only thing he could have done is tow me to his garage, where I would have done more waiting.
Once at the garage, and once I've come to the head of the queue, they can repair and remount the tire in about an hour - assuming the tire is repairable. But at least half the time, in my experience, a damaged tire is not repairable. If I don't have a spare, and if the garage doesn't have a replacement tire on hand, I do more waiting, while they get it from a warehouse in the next town. So a blown tire would quickly get to be a half-day experience if I am lucky, and an overnight stay if it is late in the day, or Saturday afternoon, or Lord help me, Sunday. My Explorer has a weird size tire, which is seldom in stock at the local tire store. And in many places, it is even hard to get a TM tire, unless you are lucky enough to break down near a Goodyear store.
My wife and I generally travel at a fairly leisurely pace, so a wasted half day or full day or even overnight is not a critical problem. But we do hate wasting time sitting on a hard plastic chair in a garage for hours. Our dog (and until recently our cat) are not very enthusiastic, either, though they try to behave. So I take care of my tires, check the inflation each morning, check the sidewall temp each time we stop for gas or food or a pit stop. And I keep a fully inflated spare, and tire changing tools, close at hand. Changing a tire is not hard, though it is a good idea to practice once in the driveway, rather than learning how to do it in the breakdown lane.
I can't imagine not having a spare. But as PopBeavers has said so often - your choice may be different.
Bill
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