Spare tire age

Thanks, all.

I replaced the spare with a new one the same size as the ones on the truck. The 265 fits in the spare space with plenty of room to spare. I would love to rotate the spare with the others but the spare wheel is steel and the others are forged aluminum. I thought about getting another OEM aluminum but the spare wheel was all chipped up, I guess with road gravel and such.

Oh, and my spare was completely flat. I had last checked in the fall. Someone on here used to remind us to check air in the spare at the same time you change clocks. Good idea to check yours if you haven't.

This is the original 2003 spare and we did this in July 2013, spare was fine always in the shade

....it's not that the spare tire hasn't seen any sun in 10+ years, it is the ground-level ozone that is attacking that rubber 24/7/365 days a year AND that tires are meant to be driven on often, not stored (tires not driven for long periods will craze/crack and degrade, because the rubber compounding absolutely requires them to be used/rolled on/driven regularly).

IMO: change your spare when it hits 5~6 years of age (check that date stamp! a supposedly "new tire" you buy from a dealer, could have been sitting on their tire rack for 2, 3 or 4 years = nearly "stale rubber" = a hazard after only 3. 2 or 1 year of use: again, check and decode all your tire date stamps BEFORE buying them, and mark their dates in your maintenance records).

I rotate my spare into the tire rotation. They last a LOT longer that way.

I had a bunch of work done on my truck a few months ago and my mechanic told me my spare was bad. I looked at it and it had literally fallen apart. About half of the tread was missing and the rest was delaminating. I bought the tire new in 2004 and it has never even seen sunlight.

Mine is vintage 2001. Tire probably made in 2000. Been on the pavement once, no worries.

Last flat I had, was the first time I had the spare down since I bought the truck used. I called AAA since I was on a 4 lane that I didn't want to try and change it on and told them to bring air because it might be flat, it was low. When we got it down it turned out to be D rated and I had E on the truck and it didn't look great age wise. Instead of trying to find a replacement in a strange area I went to state roads and kept the speed down and limped home since I was only about 200 miles in to a weekend trip. I had two new tires put on the truck and put the good take off on as the spare. Now whenever I get new tires the best of the take offs go on as a spare, that makes sure the spare doesn't get to old.

Considering that is only the second time I have had a flat on the truck while on a trip in 40 years of hauling a camper around I don't consider having a perfect spare worth the cost, if I have a flat a long way from home I will find a tire store. In fact the first time I trusted the spare but didn't want to be without a spare for the rest of the trip so I stopped and bought a tire for a spare.

Jim...

805gregg wrote:
I had a problem with one of my rear tires at Crater Lake, I changed to my spare a 265/70/17, my other rear was a 315/70/17. I drove it about 100 miles to the next large town, not able to find a 315, I stopped at a rest area and put the 265 on the front and the front 315 on the rear, I then drove home about 1,000 miles. This is the original 2003 spare and we did this in July 2013, spare was fine always in the shade

I thought that would ruin the transfer case?

trail-explorer wrote:
Hopefully a 265 fits in teh spot where the current spare is.

G80's ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not to hijack the thread but I'm curious if it would fit also and what about mounting the spare on the lid of the TC?

Here's what G80 is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTGZOJQQBeE&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f31WBscnFh0

Hopefully a 265 fits in teh spot where the current spare is.

G80's ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

805gregg wrote:
I had a problem with one of my rear tires at Crater Lake, I changed to my spare a 265/70/17, my other rear was a 315/70/17. I drove it about 100 miles to the next large town, not able to find a 315, I stopped at a rest area and put the 265 on the front and the front 315 on the rear, I then drove home about 1,000 miles. This is the original 2003 spare and we did this in July 2013, spare was fine always in the shade

You were lucky. Tires age and even if you do not see glaring deficiencies, they are likely brittle with small cracks. No I do not sell tires, I am sure someone who does will chime in. Running a spare that is 2-3 inches smaller in height than your other tires on the back or front is not a great idea either, although sometimes you may not have a choice.

My understanding is that tires at 7 years of age are really pushing the envelope. My opinion, better safe than sorry.:)