Spare tire

Skeeter McSkeet · March 17, 2018

Will an oem 20” fit in the spare space? Found a deal and thought about getting one to put there if I ever need it. I run up a size at 275/60/20, any idea if that tire will fit in there too?

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Donstar · March 17, 2018

I wouldn't bother. I haven't removed an under mount spare from a truck for over 20 years. The type of emergency that would compel me to use my spare would have the "look" of the wheel being the least of my worries. If I was doing the type of driving (off-road etc.) where a flat may be expected then I'd have a spare matching wheel and tire to keep in the back of the box for such occasions.

geswek · March 17, 2018

I agree too.

Spare isn’t needed unless you are off road away from civilization or you don’t or can’t afford tow truck.

If I’m out in middle of nowhere and my spare was my life line I’d have one that fit and in bed of truck.

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dcarl · March 17, 2018

Yes it will. I have a spare matching wheel with a 285/60R20 mounted and there is still plenty of room. I also use a spare saver locking system as well as a cable lock to secure it to the frame. That way if I get a flat I have the same size spare and wheel to go back on and don't have to worry about an odd size on an axle.

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Donstar · March 17, 2018

One way to take advantage of an identical spare is to include it into your tire rotation. I'm curious if members are actually finding flat tires to be a problem. I have found that tires have improved so much that the last time I had to change a tire at the roadside was in 1982! I've had tire issues since then but always had enough warning to drive to a tire service facility.

Skeeter McSkeet · March 23, 2018

I was just curious, I have not had to utilize a spare under a truck in my entire life, truth be told! I run 10 or even 8 ply and haven’t had any issues. I work for a forest management company and we get out on some old Jeep trails, coal haul roads, and a lot areas being graded off into a haul road. A lot of the work is no where near cell service and no where near civilization. You’d be hard pressed to even find a squatter or a camp near by in a lot of these areas. So, if you get a flat and you’re not near an active job or an active mine site, you could find yourself without a paddle. I don’t like the idea of coming back out of the woods with 3 20” wheels and that 17” donut praying it holds up out there.

The deal fell through, but it kind of got my mind going toward thinking it would be a wise idea to at least have a full size spare somewhere on the truck.

I usually have had trucks with 17 or 18 inch wheels, so a spare has never worried me. This is my first one with 20s. Still have ran them the last 3 years with no issues to any sets of tires I’ve had on them.

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geswek · March 23, 2018

I was just curious, I have not had to utilize a spare under a truck in my entire life, truth be told! I run 10 or even 8 ply and haven’t had any issues. I work for a forest management company and we get out on some old Jeep trails, coal haul roads, and a lot areas being graded off into a haul road. A lot of the work is no where near cell service and no where near civilization. You’d be hard pressed to even find a squatter or a camp near by in a lot of these areas. So, if you get a flat and you’re not near an active job or an active mine site, you could find yourself without a paddle. I don’t like the idea of coming back out of the woods with 3 20” wheels and that 17” donut praying it holds up out there.

The deal fell through, but it kind of got my mind going toward thinking it would be a wise idea to at least have a full size spare somewhere on the truck.

I usually have had trucks with 17 or 18 inch wheels, so a spare has never worried me. This is my first one with 20s. Still have ran them the last 3 years with no issues to any sets of tires I’ve had on them.

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In that case I would buy a full size wheel and tire.

That’s what I would do.

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Donstar · March 23, 2018

1 hour ago, Skeeter McSkeet said:

I was just curious, I have not had to utilize a spare under a truck in my entire life, truth be told! I run 10 or even 8 ply and haven’t had any issues. I work for a forest management company and we get out on some old Jeep trails, coal haul roads, and a lot areas being graded off into a haul road. A lot of the work is no where near cell service and no where near civilization. You’d be hard pressed to even find a squatter or a camp near by in a lot of these areas. So, if you get a flat and you’re not near an active job or an active mine site, you could find yourself without a paddle. I don’t like the idea of coming back out of the woods with 3 20” wheels and that 17” donut praying it holds up out there.

The deal fell through, but it kind of got my mind going toward thinking it would be a wise idea to at least have a full size spare somewhere on the truck.

I usually have had trucks with 17 or 18 inch wheels, so a spare has never worried me. This is my first one with 20s. Still have ran them the last 3 years with no issues to any sets of tires I’ve had on them.

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Your truck came with a full sized spare. Check to see the tire size on it to determine how close you are in diameter. If you have a 17" spare, putting a 285/70/17 tire on it will give you a spare with a very close diameter to your current 20's. However, the stock 32" will certainly get you to safety!

Mike GMC · March 23, 2018

Agreed, tithe stock spare is not a donut, space saver, limited use fake tire. It is a real stock quality tire. If you've changed to LT tires then it may be a bit of a downgrage but would still likely get you out of trouble. If that's not enough, replace the tire on the spare wheel with one you trust in your situation. No need for fancy wheel that lives under the bed.

aseibel · March 23, 2018

On 3/17/2018 at 11:44 AM, Donstar said:

I'm curious if members are actually finding flat tires to be a problem.

I've driven probably 500,000 miles in my adult life and never needed to change a flat tire on the side of the road. I know that pales in comparison to some of your experience.

I've picked up a few nails that needed patching, but I always got home before I discovered a slow leak. I think I've put on 2 donuts on in my life and that was helping out an elderly lady at church and a girl in my high school.

Skeeter McSkeet · March 23, 2018

Your truck came with a full sized spare. Check to see the tire size on it to determine how close you are in diameter. If you have a 17" spare, putting a 285/70/17 tire on it will give you a spare with a very close diameter to your current 20's. However, the stock 32" will certainly get you to safety!

I’ve never taken it out and looked at the spare. I’m running 33” tires, so it will be a tad undersized from the get go. I’ll honestly probably just keep rolling like I always have, the deal in the spare wheel fell through anyway, that’s the only reason I even mentioned it.

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wforrest08 · March 24, 2018

The real problem is once you change tire size. Almost all GM trucks come with the same size Circumference tires from factory regardless of rim size. That’s how they get by with the one size fits all spare and no need for reprogramming speedos if you buy/upgrade factory/GM accessories wheels/tires. When you upgrade tires to something that changes the overall Circumference and then get a flat on the rear with a locker the spare has to go on the front (non drive axle) to avoid damage to the posi/locker (if so equipped). Not sure if this is the case with a G80 or not but every locker I’ve read the instructions on say damage may occur with mismatched tires. So then you run into the whole how to change two wheels with one jack in the mud on the side of the road in the rain at night etc...

9 hours ago, aseibel said:

I've driven probably 500,000 miles in my adult life and never needed to change a flat tire on the side of the road. I know that pales in comparison to some of your experience.

Your a lucky man I put 4 new Pirelli tires on a S-10 Blazer years ago had 2 of them completely shread less than 2 weeks a part, both literally rolled the tread off the belts. Needless to say I’ll never buy anything ever again with that name on it.

Donstar · March 24, 2018

7 hours ago, wforrest08 said:

Your a lucky man I put 4 new Pirelli tires on a S-10 Blazer years ago had 2 of them completely shread less than 2 weeks a part, both literally rolled the tread off the belts. Needless to say I’ll never buy anything ever again with that name on it.

Damn! I recently had Pirellli's put on my wife's car! I thought I'd try something different than Michelin's. I wonder if she can change out a flat?? ;-)

Grumpy Bear · March 24, 2018

Wife picked up an eight inch length of 3/4" angle iron in the right rear of her work Colorado. Paved street in Rockford Illinois. Raining cats and dogs and didn't see a thing. That one didn't hold air. Then a few years ago we drove to Ft Wayne Indiana for her fathers funeral and hit something flat on the off ramp that kicked up and knocked a 12" square chunk out of the belly pan that sailed under the, again right rear, and cut a 7 inch wide smile in the entire width of the tread. Sounded like a quarter stick going off.

The first one the AAA guy plugged with about a dozen kits that got her to the tire shop. Why didn't he just use the spare? Because it had never been down and the threads were galled. When is a spare not a spare? When we got it back to the shop we used a gas axe to bring it down.

Donstar · March 24, 2018

^^ Great point (as usual), Grumpy! We should at least try accessing our spare wheel periodically - sort of emergency preparedness. We hope we don't have to use it, but it is there just in case!