I checked the spare tire on my Tundra yesterday. I don't do it often enough because it takes a while, and is a minor PITA. As those of you who owns trucks know, you generally have to get out the tools, assemble a segmented rod, insert it through a slot in below the tailgate and blindly into the winch receiver under the bed and crank the tire down to the ground. As is often the case with these things, the assembly was initially frozen, but released under torque with a bang. I wasn't exactly shocked to discover the tire pressure was 12 lbs lower than it should be and the tire is showing evidence of dry rot. I bought the truck used and the tire is old, possibly even be original.

This got me to thinking. I need to lube the winch assembly, and probably replace the tire, even though it's never been on the ground. I was toying with the notion of adding a tire cover, but I'm not sure that would achieve anything. Also curious about adding an 8" flexible tire valve extender to make it possible to check and add air without having to lower the tire. What do you guys do? How often do you check your spare? Suggestions? Experiences?

It is also good to check the spare tire to ensure that it has not been stolen.... guess how I know...

You could get a matching wheel and tire (and TPMS sensor) for the spare and introduce it into a five tire rotation. You extend the life of all the tires (each tire getting about 20% less wear when it's resting as the spare), and you have a matched wheel and tire that are if the same quality and age should you need to actually use it as a spare.


Otherwise, you can have the tire shop check your spare for you when you rotate the other 4 tires.

I checked mine after at least a year, completely flat. I do carry a 12v air pump but when you need to get going another ten minutes is a bit much.

I'm considering the extension hose and also Slime which requires running it for a few miles. Maybe the next oil change/tire rotation. And yes, the crank mechanism does need lube, a spray can of lithium is your friend. A cover may only trap more mud or ice inside it if installed face down.

For the most part I use tire plugs and the pump if I have a flat, with ceramic bead weights Slime is verboten. It would be a serious injury if a plug doesn't work.

I agree it's a PIA getting to the spare on most trucks. On my older Tundra I cranked it down every other oil change (which was about once each year) to lube the mechanism with Fluid Film, clean the salt and dirt off the wheel and spray it with silicone, and check pressure.

On my Ridgeline Honda places it on a slide out shelf inside the water tight trunk, the trunk itself being under the bed where the tire would hang on most trucks.

This doesn't necessarily work on all vehicles, but on two of mine, I made sure that the spare was oriented with the valve facing down and toward the rear of the vehicle, so you could just use a creeper to slide under to check the pressure.

I can't do that any more, I am too mobility-limited, so I ask the shop to check the spare at every oil change.

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You could get a matching wheel and tire (and TPMS sensor) for the spare

This, plenty of aftermarket TPMS systems, at a minimum, get a single point unit, connect it to your phone device by app, and installing a valve stem extension would be a good idea.

BT TPMS LINK

Lowering, cleaning and lubing is probably a good idea, especially if you live in an area with snow/ice/slush roads or drive off road such as farm, construction etc.

Word of caution about valve extensions. They can leak. BTDT on an inner tire on my truck.

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What do you guys do? How often do you check your spare? Suggestions? Experiences?

When I was young & lithe, I would attend to it myself, although in those days mostly the tire was far more accessible.

This past decade I've discovered the pleasantries of asking my local tire shop crew if they had time to check my tires INCLUDING the spare.

Every fall, I check the spare and the winch mechanism. The cable gets greased and wound up and down to lube the whole mechanism. The spare gets cleaned off and air checked. Typically I put an extra 10lb in it to account for inevitable seepage.


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I used to have a spare tire gauge that allowed you to snake the gauge to where it was convenient in the trunk and also to inflate it as needed. I guess no one makes it anymore.

It's my understanding that to save battery most TPMS sensors won't turn on unless the wheel is rotating; therefore, installing one on the spare would be moot as the sensor would remain mute.

The first time I lowered my spare, it took me a 45 minutes to figure out how. 40 minutes trying various sockets and extensions, 2 minutes to read the manual, 1 minute to find the special socket in the glove box and 2 minutes to lower it. For years, I wondered why Ford included what looks like one of those special lug nut tools with my truck when all of my lug nuts are normal.

Since I live in the road salt free zone, I have yet to maintain the winch.

I am a regular customer at Discount Tire and have them rotated every 5k when I get my oil changed. At that time I have the tech lower the spare and check the air pressure and lube up the mechanism if necessary. I give him a generous tip for that.

Made my own life easier. It rides in the bed, under the tool box. I only lost about a foot space for flat items like lumber and I can still go either side of it for 2x4 or similar. Atv has a wife enough spread to roll over it. I don't haul much else (gravel, sand, loose material) so I can get away with it. YMMV.
Theft is a non issue as most don't notice it's there and those that do see it's a 20 year old tire and steel wheel worth about bupkiss.

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Originally posted by V-Tail:
This doesn't necessarily work on all vehicles, but on two of mine, I made sure that the spare was oriented with the valve facing down and toward the rear of the vehicle, so you could just use a creeper to slide under to check the pressure.

Did that very thing with my truck and checked air pressure every so often. Unfortunately I forgot to consider the age of the tire and eventually woke up to the reality that my spare is 20 years old. Time to buy a new tire.

I've seen the extention for the air line, and recommend filling it 5psi over set point as they usually leak some and you will lose a little when removing it if you need to use the spare.

I choose to just bring a small compressor with me to top off my spare if I need to use it.

My bigger issue with my spare is dry rot. I usually take my best tire from the old set as I replace them for my spare, and the old spare usually shows signs of dry rot.
I can't justify the extra 200+ for a tire that I haven't used (and can't rotate in as it's a non- matching rim).

If it's possible, flip the tire over so the valve side faces down. Depending on your cars mounting system, you may or may not have that option.
To keep from investing in a tire you may never use, next time you replace your tires, take the best of the old tires and make it the spare, replacing the really old one. As long as it has some tread it should be ok for a spare and much newer than the original. Do that each time your tires are replaced.

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Originally posted by 220-9er:
If it's possible, flip the tire over so the valve side faces down. Depending on your cars mounting system, you may or may not have that option.
To keep from investing in a tire you may never use, next time you replace your tires, take the best of the old tires and make it the spare, replacing the really old one. As long as it has some tread it should be ok for a spare and much newer than the original. Do that each time your tires are replaced.

Exactly what I do.

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Originally posted by Johnny 3eagles:
Word of caution about valve extensions. They can leak. BTDT on an inner tire on my truck.

I have a hose on mine, steel braided extension so I can get to it easily and check PSI. The original stem that came with it from the truck mfr, well it was garbage. It would leak easily with the valve extension mounted so I had it replaced at DT with one of much higher quality and no leaks. I check the PSI in the spare every other month now with relative ease.

I thought about flipping the spare over to put the valve facing the ground, but the manual says otherwise. No explanation.

No cable in my winch, it’s chain, and it appears there’s enough of it to flip the tire even considering how the wheel is dished, so some other reason I guess.

I half expected there to be a TPMS sensor in the spare, as I had read somewhere that Toyota does that. I’m also not sure about the sensors only working when the tires are spinning as I have seen TPMS lights on when the vehicle is first started and not moving yet. New sensors use Li-Ion batteries, but even so, I can’t imagine they’re on all the time the vehicle is running and still get up to 10 years out of them.

Replaced my tires last year and frankly forgot to put the best take off on the spare. I used to do that regularly.