Replace the spare tire, or not?

[JDgreen227]

I am having new load range E tires installed on my Y2K Yukon XL 2500 this Friday, the OEM Firestone Steeltex tires still have decent tread at 41,000 miles (!!!!) but are beginning to need inflation too frequently. The full size OEM spare has never been lowered from it's carrier except to check inflation pressure, and I am wondering if it's worth the extra $180 to have a new spare installed also. If it means anything, the annual mileage of this truck will probably never exceed 2,000 again. Thanks for any input.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I would not. The spare is only for limited use, 15 miles or so, so you can get it fixed. Even a full size spare is for temporary use.

Chris

 

[CurlyDave]

Seldom-used tires can "age-out" long before the tread wears-out.

There is a code on the tire indicating the year and week it was made. Ask your tire dealer for help reading this, or look it up on the net.

If a tire is more than 5 years old I would replace it, no matter how good the tread looks. I had a 7 year old tire blow out on the highway. A chunk of sidewall about the size of my hand broke away on 3 sides.

I bet that when you get the new tires, no one is going look at the spare for another two years.

 

[David_Kb7uns]

Not sure what vehicles you have but what we have, the spares are the same as what is in full service on the other 4 wheels and one even has the same alloy rim for the spare with TPMS on it also.

David Kb7uns

 

[milkman636]

That was the nice thing about the old steel wheeled trucks. My old van has 5 identical steel wheels and 4 hub caps, so even at 60k miles there is still nice tread on its E-ranges from having the spare being worked in the rotation. After seven years the sidewalls are showing slight signs of aging, but since it gets almost equal use it make more sense to replace.

Based on your track record I would probably opt to just lower it down and check it one more time. If it still looks good, I put it back up and check it again next year. Even if I did replace it I'd look possibly at a take-off instead of new anyway.....

 

[zzvyb6]

If your spare tire has the same wheel as the other 4 tires (steel vs. alloy), I would consider it only if you make it a practice of rotating the spare into the mix. If its not the same wheel, I would NOT buy the spare. I have a Tahoe and run Bridgestone Blizzak snow tires year round. My spare is the OEM tire (which did NOT match the OEM white letter tires I ordered the truck new with. My truck is very low usage though, so the snow tires have kept their treads intact. I really like the ride of the snows. I keep them at 40+ psi and watch for center wear out.

So, I live with out a spare for long range use. If the spare doesn't match the rpm (revs per mile) of the other tires, you introduce possibilities of premature 4wd, ABS, and differential wear because the tires have different rolling radii.

I keep a 12v air pump in the truck and make use of the real time 4 tire pressure readings to watch what's going on. Nails are my only concern. I tend NOT to run over ladders, broken bottles, steel beams, crash parts and other hazards in the road when I drive. I tend to not wander onto the shoulder, either. (That means I don't drive impaired or text and twitter when traveling).

BTW, I run Blizzaks on my Vibe and CTS, too. In those cases, I have them on their own sepeate wheels and TPMS units. You can then reset the TPMS yourself after changing over the tires/wheels. When winter arrives, I can swap the summer tires to winters at a whim.

 

[JDgreen227]

Thanks to all for your input, the truck came with four alloy rims and the spare is on a steel rim, although it's the same size tire as the other four, because of the difference in rims I didn't use it in the tire rotations. I will pass on replacing the spare tire based on the advice given here. Thanks again !!!

 

[RalphVa]

When I had a vehicle with a full size spare, I rotated it among the other 4. Then I only replaced 4 of the 5. Have NEVER used the spare on my 2005 Tacoma since buying it about nearly 10,000 miles ago. I certainly don't plan on replacing it. If it was a spare donut, would you replace it? No.

Ralph

 

[tlj87]

On my old F-150, when I replaced four tires, I would keep the best one and stick it on the spare rim. I always replaced tires before they were completely shot, and they were never more than 3 or 4 years old.

 

[Bird]

My '01 Ford Ranger has a spare with lots of tread. It was in the spare rack when I bought the truck nearly 9 years ago. A little over 2 years ago, I went out one morning and found the truck had a flat tire in the garage. I first thought I'd air it up and drive down to Discount Tire, but the bead was loose from the rim. Since I'm paying for my AAA membership, I called and let them send someone to change the tire.:laughing: Only time I ever had someone else do that for me. So I drove nearly 2 miles then to get the flat fixed and put back on. I have no idea how old that spare is, but it still looks good and is holding air. I wouldn't want to trust it for any distance, but like Diamondpilot said, it's good enough for an emergency.

We've only had our '02 Ford Crown Vic for nearly 5 years. It's spare "looks" pretty good, too, and is holding air, but hasn't been used since we've owned the car. I think I've checked the air pressure twice in the last 5 years.

 

[Gary Fowler]

One of the Wife's cars is a 2003 and spare has never been on the ground, air has never been checked other than whacking with a hammer to see if it has air. The SUV has an onboard air compressor for emergency use and could be use to air up the spare if needed. My 2007 Chevy has never been on the ground either. I have never had a flat on the road on any of my vehicles. I (actually wife )have ran over a nail or two and caused a slow leak that I have always been able to air up a bit and go to a tire repair place. When I changed out my trucks tires at 48K miles they had never had a repair so I feel it would be a total waste to buy an new spare tire. What with cell phones and roadside assistance so readily available, there isn't much need to even have a spare except for really dire emergencies and then a 10 year old tire should get you to a tire shop.

 

[deepNdirt]

On my old F-150, when I replaced four tires, I would keep the best one and stick it on the spare rim. I always replaced tires before they were completely shot, and they were never more than 3 or 4 years old.

This is the way I do as well, No need to buy a new tire just to have as a spare never getting use and only to dryrot over time, Using "the best tire left from a new tire change " or even buying a good used 1/2 worn none dry rotted tire will work for a spare, After-all a spare is to get us back on the move and into a service station, right!

It use to say in most owners manuals, when rotating tires/wheels to install the spare as part of the tire rotation process, However this doesn't work for those of us who run another brand of tread design or oversize tires,or after- market wheels, so the spare never makes it onto the vehicle, thus being dry-roted when it is needed,
On another note: Every now and then when gas prices go sky-high, the Talk comes up of how consumers can get the most mpg from their cars, and can you believe someone mentioned by removing the spare eliminating the extra weight would help save on gas, Said that most people would not change their own tire anyway, and that they are members of AAA and will have them come get the car,
So if you are one of the AAA members no need to even have a spare tire

 

[jwstewar]

I'm going to go through this same dilemma next year. My truck is a '99 with the original spare underneath still with approx. 250 miles on it as I had a tire go down on me once on my way to work and it took me a couple of days to get to the shop. Any way, the tires on the truck are about 7 years old and needing to be replaced, when I did it the first time I went from Load Range C to D. I will probably stay with D again as I'm not sure my wheels will handle E. Since we tow the camper (and other trailers as well) that weighs in close to 10k and 1400 lb tongue weight, if I were to have a flat I don't think the C would handle the trailer - let alone being old and down a weight range. So I really think I will have to be replacing all 5 tires when I do it this time. Like others have said, it may be a used or take-off if I can find the right tire/size for the right price for the spare.

 

[David_Kb7uns]

This is the way I do as well, No need to buy a new tire just to have as a spare never getting use and only to dryrot over time, Using "the best tire left from a new tire change " or even buying a good used 1/2 worn none dry rotted tire will work for a spare, After-all a spare is to get us back on the move and into a service station, right!

Not around here, see them driving around for weeks on one of those tiny temp spares, at least put it on a non drive wheel so your now hard on the differential

David Kb7uns

 

[cockeyedMFer]

I tend NOT to run over ladders, broken bottles, steel beams, crash parts and other hazards in the road when I drive. I tend to not wander onto the shoulder, either. (That means I don't drive impaired or text and twitter when traveling).

I've taken it one step further and leave the radio off, refuse to engage in conversation with passengers and ignore billboards and those wacky inflatable waving arm advertising signs as well.

 

[aczlan]

I'm going to go through this same dilemma next year. My truck is a '99 with the original spare underneath still with approx. 250 miles on it as I had a tire go down on me once on my way to work and it took me a couple of days to get to the shop. Any way, the tires on the truck are about 7 years old and needing to be replaced, when I did it the first time I went from Load Range C to D. I will probably stay with D again as I'm not sure my wheels will handle E. Since we tow the camper (and other trailers as well) that weighs in close to 10k and 1400 lb tongue weight, if I were to have a flat I don't think the C would handle the trailer - let alone being old and down a weight range. So I really think I will have to be replacing all 5 tires when I do it this time. Like others have said, it may be a used or take-off if I can find the right tire/size for the right price for the spare.

I would swap the best one to the spare (or install a takeoff).
Worst case if you get a flat on the back while loaded, put the spare on the front and put the current front onto the back that blew.

Aaron Z