Originally Posted by
SparkyGA
Seriously I don't think you even need to worry that much about your wheels. A 4-6 month tour is nothing for a decent set of rims and rubber. I'm on 4 years on my front rim and wouldn't hesitant to get a few more years out of it (re: I have never had a rim come out of true nor break a spoke).
Your are a lot more correct about the odds of that happening then a wheel breaking, but some people are a bit more cautious and want the security of knowing that if in the unlikely event something happened to a front wheel then they have an extra one instead of being stuck somewhere for a long period of time. For me I just happen to like the Extrawheel trailer for what it can do for a person touring in regards to carry most of the weight that would be on the front wheel and transferring that to the rear making the bike more stable, the fact that it has an extra wheel that could be used is just there.