I just used a spare tire for the first time in my life 2 days ago. Changing it roadside went just fine. I was going to buy a whole new set in a few months anyway so that was accelerated. Unfortunately the ones I wanted were not available locally and it’ll be a week or so until they arrive. Not wanting to drive around for a week on a donut spare I found a used tire of correct size at a small tire shop in the hood side of town. Toyo coming off, Nokian going on.

I will have to replace the Yokos on my 73 Nova before it sees any more road time. They are probably 15 years old and showing definite sidewall cracks. Tread depth looks new, of course. It is a kick in the nuts but oh well.

Space saver is a euphemism for cost saver.

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
So on my 2014 Buick LeSaber front wheel drive ?

Yep, that's a FWD car. Also a forgery since they stopped production around 2005.

Sorry,
"04"
Fat finger

Should I be getting a new spare?

Everyone should check their trailer tires as well. Not for tread issues, as that will not be an issue even after years. Rather check for dryness and cracking.

It seems like this issue has more to do with storage conditions than anything. My pickup that I use for plowing is still on its original tires from 2001. No cracking or checking, but it is stored in a heated garage and doesn't spend much time parked in the sun. I'm finally getting down to about 1/2 tread, so will replace them soon for better snow traction.

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The spare under my truck came with the truck... 21 years ago.

If it is held up with a windlass mechanism, you may find it won't lower down, or lower down but not wind back up, or that the tire is flat and the wheel so rusted you're afraid to air it back up. I have seen all these conditions. Coming out here in 2008 after having lived in deserts, I was surprised to see all the rust problems.

I have a brand new full size spare under my 2006 truck that came with the truck. Next time I get tires I’ll have them swap one of the used tires for the spare that’s 18 years old at this point.

I will say the spare in my first car, 2006 Nissan Sentra, ruptured completely in the trunk after about 11 or 12 years. Sidewall was completely split open. When I rotate my tires, I always air them back up and check the spare so that is luckily how I found it, not with a flat on the side of the road. Maybe me keeping it aired up also contributed to the rupture later on since it spent its life at recommended pressure, for the most part. So I suppose I have first hand experience as to why they may be against old spares that are hardly used, if ever. It also makes me cautious of older tires.

When I replace my road tires I will have to replace the spare as well. More maintenance expense. I am getting frustrated with the near monthly issues.

Last time I put tires on my Ram Dually I had the best take off Michelin mounted on the spare, so replaced an 9yr old spare.

pg 277 2015 SUPER DUTY Owner's Manual:

"You should replace your spare tire when you replace the road tires or after six years due to aging even if it has not been used."

I mean it's right there in black and white. The manual is only 466 pages and half of it's pictures.

I rotate all five tires on the regular so all five get replaced when it's time to replace them. Gets expensive at replacement time, but I get a lot of life out of a set of tires when I rotate all five.

Good reminder for me to pull the spare tire out from under my 2005 pickup and check it over.

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Originally posted by rburg:
Might be true, but probably an income incentive at the tire store.

More like a prudent policy to avoid liability of they patch or rotate old tires that subsequently fail. Discount Tires has done right by me for years. I have a 1987 Chevrolet pickup that I drive less than 1000 miles a year. Discount wouldn't rotate the tires so I just left them on. Rarely exceed 45 mph for hauling stuff around the ranch and seldom driven in traffic. I will replace the tires soon as budget allows.

I took an elderly relative's car to have its oil changed today. Tire rotation is supposed to be included, but the shop declined to rotate due to rubber dry rot & cracking.

Her car is a 2015 Toyota, and in 7+ years, she's only put 26K miles on it. It's still on its original tires, but yes, due to age & deterioration, the tires are due for replacement.

(IIRC) For motorcycle tires it is recomended that a 6 year life span then replace even with low mileage. The rubber will degrade in elastic properties losing grip on road surface... Subject to dry rot and sidewall cracking just like auto tires........ A riding buddy ordered tires off the internet... Upon arrival the bike shop did not want to install because the born-on-date was 12 yrs old but did install and the bike acted like he was riding on ice skates. Tires were worthless and unsafe due to the rubber turning hard just due to age ................ drill sgt.

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Originally posted by steve495:
Everyone should check their trailer tires as well. Not for tread issues, as that will not be an issue even after years. Rather check for dryness and cracking.

Speak for yourself. The trailer with the 200 gallon water tank on it (low speed on ranch use only) has belt showing. One of these days I’ll have to find some non-split rim wheels for it and put fresh tires on it…

About a year ago I bought a 2003 BMW 1150GS motorcycle. Think it had about 13k miles on it. Extremely low for a BMW.
Checked tire mfr date, they were the original tires AND had very impressive adhesion to the road (at 20+ years old). So while I was careful riding on them, I was impressed. Enough so that the original Michelins were replaced with new Michelins.

For the second tire story - I recently bought another BMW. This time an ‘88 6 Series coupe. It is beautiful, lifetime garaged, 68k original miles. It has the original spare in the trunk. Whiskers still on the rubber. Still holds air. Original, full size wheel that matches the other four original wheels. It is a novelty. Will likely never use it. The car is a fair weather/Sunday driver that will never see snow, ice or salt on the roads. The tire is just another bit of evidence that reassures me about the mileage being original.

Absolutely in the world of RVing it’s common to replace tires before they wear out on anything from Class A motor coach to the pop up trailers. On our coach every six but no later then 7 years we put on a set of eight tires. 22.5 tires run 700-1000 each. I had a nephew buy a motorhome he wanted me to look at it before he bought it. I told him the tires needed replacing first thing if he bought it. He did not listen to his uncle. Two years ago he made a trip up from Louisiana to the Black Hills where we stayed during the Summer. He had three blow outs one of which tore the hell out of the coach. When I first saw him on his arrival and saw his damage, all I had to do was shake my head he knew.

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I'm having sticker shock looking at the prices and availability of new tires for my Motorhomes 295x75x22.5 required tire size.
I now have Michelins mounted with about 1500 miles on them.They are now approaching 8 years old and have timed out.
Its painful replacing tires that cost about $500 x 6, 7 years ago ( not including mounting and shop fees) and show no wear, especially since new tires will cost at least $500+ each.