Spare to match, rotate 5.

My TT spare matches....vanity!

Have never rotated a spare. And have never had a spare on the ground more than 2-3 times in the last 25 years. And then just long enough to get to a tire store.

We carry two spares and rotate them into the mix every couple of years. Review www.michelinrvtires.com with regard to spares not being used.

Still have my original 16 year old spare on the steel wheel. Have used it twice temporarily.

I had a matching aluminum wheel lined up and was ready to buy five tires that match last time. Wheel auction closed cheep and seller gave some story that it was bent and could not sell it. Was not meant to be. Maybe next time I will try again.

Had a flat the other day in my wife's 1999 Honda so I pulled out the original spare and put it on. Got about a mile down the road and that tire blew up. Went to a tire store and bought two tires. When the tech looked at my blown out spare he said that tire is a 1999 and is just no good anymore even though it has never been on the car. The tire was on a spare rack on the back door covered....Sun and heat killed it !!

I find rotating in a 5th tire a pain in the ..... Besides it throws off rotation IMO unless one is literally rotating before any noticeable difference in wear front to rear is present. Even still they wear different and putting fronts on the back rotating the right way will shape them back up and vice versa.

Spare tire if needs replaced, literally costs as much as a couple cases of beer buying off Craigslist. Same deal if you really want a matching rim. There are tons of sets and single take off wheels for sale cheap. A single factory rim of most any sort is relatively worthless and can be had cheaply. No need to buy new.
Just a couple suggestions.

I'm of the 'best out of the old set of 4 is the new spare' school.

But I guess sun is a big factor. I once drove 250 miles on a donut that had been stored underneath the rig for 25 years, untouched. It did fine

I kinda laugh at the people who drive around in jeeps with 5 new looking mud tires that have clearly never seen mud and never will.

I like the idea and have done it on one vehicle but keep in mind that on newer vehicles with tire pressure monitoring you will need get a tire pressure monitor if you are planning to do a 5 tire rotation. I also got a programmer for the TPMS to facilitate changing them out.

I have used the 'best out of the old set of 4 is the new spare' on some vehicles with success but I have seem many new vehicles that use a different diameter rim for the spare, forcing you to either fork out the money to replace an essentially unused tire every few years or risk a failure as some have described when you do use it. I have also seen a lot of unused spare tires get pulled out of storage only to find that they too are flat.

A lot of new cars are just giving you a compressor for minor leaks and a phone number for road service for major issues. As few flats as I have had in the last 20 years and given the fact that I always carry a cell phone now I am on the border of saying that is the way to go these days. I hope that it works because my motorhome doesn't even have a place to carry a spare tire.

What really got me thinking about this was I was 100 miles from home, which ain't much, but we absolutely had to be back early Sunday. I was just gonna rent a car and send the wife, she could handle what was needed at home. Truck is a 2007, no TPMS, but it is a diesel, about 4300 on the front axle all the time. Truck is primarily for towing or hauling, just turned 73,000, so I did not think a ten year old spare would be unsafe. This will be my last serious truck, as I get closer to full retirement, we will be on the road more. Those cracks on the spare are I what I thot I would see on a sunbaked field find at 30 years, not a barely used spare.

RideSlow wrote:
What really got me thinking about this was I was 100 miles from home, which ain't much, but we absolutely had to be back early Sunday. I was just gonna rent a car and send the wife, she could handle what was needed at home. Truck is a 2007, no TPMS, but it is a diesel, about 4300 on the front axle all the time. Truck is primarily for towing or hauling, just turned 73,000, so I did not think a ten year old spare would be unsafe. This will be my last serious truck, as I get closer to full retirement, we will be on the road more. Those cracks on the spare are I what I thot I would see on a sunbaked field find at 30 years, not a barely used spare.

When in doubt I always buy new tires. I really don't wait for that to happen as we all know how bad stopping along the highway can be. My wife thanks me often for doing the things to keep her safe. This makes me proud to hear.

chevman