What Did You Do With Your Spare Tire?

stlavsa · October 3, 2009

Right now I am still running 305/55/20s on my truck (and waiting for them to wear down) and I still have the stock spare tire mounted under the truck. I dont plan on using it, and have a can of fix of flat and a tire plug kit in the truck at all times.

I never thought about it but I guess theres no reason to even be riding around with that spare tire under there..

What do you guys do for spares if your running 33, 35, 37" etc tires? I seen allblackedout has the spare mounted in the bed, looks cool, but thats about it, renders the truck useless I use mine for moto-x bikes and for work sometimes. So do you guys actually have spares or what would you do if you got a flat out on the highway a hundred miles from home?

Theres tires are pretty tough, but I have to take mine in steel mills, and various manufacturing environments, and i also do alot of highway traveling. I have already had to plug one of my pro-comp exteme a/ts (e range) and it worked but it was a pain in the ass, these steel belts are tough on these tires. I needed to get a drill and do ALOT of drilling to get the plug to go in. The reemer with the plug kit proved futile against these beefy tires.

AllBlkdOut07 · October 3, 2009

Yeah remove the spare since it's sort of useless as a spare for 33, 35 and 37" tires.

They make several cool tire mounts that hang off the rear of the truck which replaces the tailgate, pre-runners use this design, and you'll have full use of your bed too.

There are 4-5 different styles I've seen, gives the truck a very off-road look though which you may not be going for, I for one think they're real cool.

stlavsa · October 3, 2009

Yeah remove the spare since it's sort of useless as a spare for 33, 35 and 37" tires.

They make several cool tire mounts that hang off the rear of the truck which replaces the tailgate, pre-runners use this design, and you'll have full use of your bed too.

There are 4-5 different styles I've seen, gives the truck a very off-road look though which you may not be going for, I for one think they're real cool.

I really like the one in the picture u just posted do u know what its called?

AllBlkdOut07 · October 3, 2009

http://www.tiregate.com/prerunner_0.shtml

Matt_ · October 3, 2009

You can fit a 33" diameter tire under your truck. I put a mud terrain 33" tire on the spare tire wheel and kept that under my 2005.

Unless you have a locker, a 33" spare will work fine with up to a 35" tire... Fix a flat and tire plugs will work for nails, but if you get your sidewall cut you're SOL.

You can still limp your truck home with a 33" spare even if you're running 37" tires, unless you're on a road trip and really far away from home....

AllBlkdOut07 · October 3, 2009

You can fit a 33" diameter tire under your truck. I put a mud terrain 33" tire on the spare tire wheel and kept that under my 2005.

Unless you have a locker, a 33" spare will work fine with up to a 35" tire... Fix a flat and tire plugs will work for nails, but if you get your sidewall cut you're SOL.

You can still limp your truck home with a 33" spare even if you're running 37" tires, unless you're on a road trip and really far away from home....

Getting the spare down from under the truck is a PITA and a lot of guys have had trouble getting it completely off, plus I think the truck looks hell of a lot better without the stupid spare under the truck.

Matt_ · October 3, 2009

I've never had a problem getting the spare down. But still, my point was that a 33" spare is still usefull.

If someone doesn't like how it looks so they want to take it off- OK, thats their risk and their decision. But if someone is going to take it off solely for the reason of "its not usefull", then I wanted to correct them so they understand that it is still usefull even if they're running 35s.

Not everything on our trucks has to be about looks

Edit: a spare tire carrier w/ a full sized matching tire and wheel is ideal. but... not everyone can pull that off. That's why i kept the 33" spare under my 2005.

stlavsa · October 3, 2009

I've never had a problem getting the spare down. But still, my point was that a 33" spare is still usefull.

If someone doesn't like how it looks so they want to take it off- OK, thats their risk and their decision. But if someone is going to take it off solely for the reason of "its not usefull", then I wanted to correct them so they understand that it is still usefull even if they're running 35s.

Not everything on our trucks has to be about looks

Edit: a spare tire carrier w/ a full sized matching tire and wheel is ideal. but... not everyone can pull that off. That's why i kept the 33" spare under my 2005.

that is good to know I wasnt sure if it would be ok to run a 33" spare on a 35 or 37.. Right now I still have 305/55/20s, so it would seem that i could still use the stock spare in case of an emergency? (It will fit on the truck with the lift because I have 2" wheel adapters). IT would make sense that if you can run a 33" with a 35 or even a 37 that the stock one could still be useful with my 305/55s..

Once these wear and I go to 37s I will just buy a 33" spare then. Seems like the easiest way to do it. I like those aftermarket spare mounts but I dont think they are very practical and I use the truck for work sometimes. If I was just as show truck I would absolutely go that route, but I also wouldnt be so concerned about the spare if I wasnt so far away from home for work..

stlavsa · October 3, 2009

I've never had a problem getting the spare down. But still, my point was that a 33" spare is still usefull.

If someone doesn't like how it looks so they want to take it off- OK, thats their risk and their decision. But if someone is going to take it off solely for the reason of "its not usefull", then I wanted to correct them so they understand that it is still usefull even if they're running 35s.

Not everything on our trucks has to be about looks

Edit: a spare tire carrier w/ a full sized matching tire and wheel is ideal. but... not everyone can pull that off. That's why i kept the 33" spare under my 2005.

that is good to know I wasnt sure if it would be ok to run a 33" spare on a 35 or 37.. Right now I still have 305/55/20s, so it would seem that i could still use the stock spare in case of an emergency? (It will fit on the truck with the lift because I have 2" wheel adapters). IT would make sense that if you can run a 33" with a 35 or even a 37 that the stock one could still be useful with my 305/55s..

Once these wear and I go to 37s I will just buy a 33" spare then. Seems like the easiest way to do it. I like those aftermarket spare mounts but I dont think they are very practical and I use the truck for work sometimes. If I was just as show truck I would absolutely go that route, but I also wouldnt be so concerned about the spare if I wasnt so far away from home for work..

ok I am looking at those spare mounts and they def look awesome I would love to get one of them either the pre runner style or the Horixontal mount. How do I prevent someone from taking a 20" rockstar off the damn thing tho? Wheel locks?

Matt_ · October 3, 2009

Steve,

exactly. hell most "new" 33s are the same diameter as "worn" 35s. If you have a LS rear or the G80, you'll want to watch your speed so you dont burn out the clutch in the LS and/or cause the G80 to engage. If you have either type of rear you can throw the "undersized" spare on the front of the truck where the only downfall of the wheel speed differential will be that the truck wants to pull left/right.

A 33/37 combo will get you home in an emergency. If you're 100+ miles from home, then it should at least get you into a town or shop.

And yes, the stock spare will work fine with your 305/55/20s. Again, for piece of mind it'd probably be worth the extra few minutes to put the spare on the front as opposed to the rear since all front diffs are open (not to mention they're not even engaged when you're in 2wd mode so its really no big deal then)

And those spare tire carriers are pretty awesome... i considered one for my 05 too, but saw the price tag and it also doesn't allow you to completely seal the bed so it wasn't worth it to me.

VMax2007 · October 3, 2009

Steve,

exactly. hell most "new" 33s are the same diameter as "worn" 35s. If you have a LS rear or the G80, you'll want to watch your speed so you dont burn out the clutch in the LS and/or cause the G80 to engage. If you have either type of rear you can throw the "undersized" spare on the front of the truck where the only downfall of the wheel speed differential will be that the truck wants to pull left/right.

A 33/37 combo will get you home in an emergency. If you're 100+ miles from home, then it should at least get you into a town or shop.

And yes, the stock spare will work fine with your 305/55/20s. Again, for piece of mind it'd probably be worth the extra few minutes to put the spare on the front as opposed to the rear since all front diffs are open (not to mention they're not even engaged when you're in 2wd mode so its really no big deal then)

And those spare tire carriers are pretty awesome... i considered one for my 05 too, but saw the price tag and it also doesn't allow you to completely seal the bed so it wasn't worth it to me.

The G80 will not engage above 20-25 MPH.

Matt_ · October 3, 2009

Good point. But if the difference in tire size is enough to cause it to engage prior to 25, i wouldn't count on it disengaging (i hate G80s...). Get our yer calculatamadors; 33" tire on L/R, 37" tire on R/R, vehicle speed = 15mph and making a relatively sharp right turn... would it engage?

Edit: regardless. I wouldnt run a 33/37 combo on a rear axle with the G80. not worth the risk IMO.

VMax2007 · October 3, 2009

Good point. But if the difference in tire size is enough to cause it to engage prior to 25, i wouldn't count on it disengaging (i hate G80s...). Get our yer calculatamadors; 33" tire on L/R, 37" tire on R/R, vehicle speed = 15mph and making a relatively sharp right turn... would it engage?

I am too comfy and lazy to grab a calculater. But based on the circumference of a 35" tire (35 x 3.14). I seriously doubt there would be a 100 RPM difference under 25 MPH. And yes, G80's will disengage at 20-25 mph.

Matt_ · October 3, 2009

It doesn't take much of a speed difference to get it to engage... the specs posted are not accurate.

I used to have a video showing this because so many people claimed to "know for a fact" that the G80 wouldn't engage under a certain wheel speed. So I went outside and shot a video showing that it would indeed engage at far less than 100rpm difference. Unfortunately, that was hosted on putfile and it looks like I lost all my files since I haven't uploaded anything in years.

VMax2007 · October 3, 2009

It doesn't take much of a speed difference to get it to engage... the specs posted are not accurate.

I used to have a video showing this because so many people claimed to "know for a fact" that the G80 wouldn't engage under a certain wheel speed. So I went outside and shot a video showing that it would indeed engage at far less than 100rpm difference. Unfortunately, that was hosted on putfile and it looks like I lost all my files since I haven't uploaded anything in years.

How can you tell an rpm difference from a video? It happens nearly instantly once the speed differential is reached.

G80's are just fine when used as they were designed (on-road and mild off-road with OEM tires/suspension). The only people that hate them or have trouble with them regularly are the people who expect them to perform when used with larger then OEM tires and severe off-road useage.

Oh, they are also not designed to be engaged under high-traction situations i.e. doing burnouts on dry pavement.

My point is...don't blame the device when it fails when used beyond it's designed intent.