Spare Tire ???

[drzjoint]

Spare tire ?
I am getting close to pulling the trigger on new tires. I just picked up a full size spare to go with my 18" rims. It looks like I am going to go with the 285-60-18 I know the best bet is to have the spare in the same size. But I would like to keep the full size spare stored underside, with the 285 it has to be partially deflated to fit. I was thinking of running the spare in the stock size or a 265-60 so I could keep it fully inflated. That way If I am driving on a family trip and we get a flat I don't have to pack the powertank just to drive down the road. My other thought is to keep the donut underside and mount the fullsize spare on the roof when I hit the trail but then no full size spare when on a family trip. What are your thoughts on this?
thanks
Ryan

 

[duckdive]

Ryan, a swing out tire carrier is a good option. I really like mine. But if you don't
want to spend the $$ on one I would just air your spare down a little and just stuff
it up underneath and get a portable air comppressor to air it up when you need it. I did this for about a year and eventually got tired of pulling the tire from underneath and putting it up on the rack then back again. I would not run a smaller spare though
it depends on where and how often you go offroading.

 

[drzjoint]

Don't realy want the swing out carrier. How much air do you have to let out to get the tire to fit under their? When I off road I have My CO2 tank for air. But when I am not off road and I got a flat would their be enuf air in the tire to get me home or to drive 60 miles to put more air in the tire to continue on my journey.

 

[duckdive]

Having not run the Coopers I couldn't tell you how far you should air them down.
I can tell you that I run Toyo Open Country A/Ts 285/60-18 and my spare fit
under the truck just fine. It required a little bit of shoving here and there, but I
made it work. One down side to pushing a tire that big under the truck was that
I couldn't use the trailer hitch receiver, not enough room. To tell you the truth,
I'm not sure how much difference it makes whether you air the spare down or
not.

DD

 

[drzjoint]

Did not think of the hitch ? anyone with the cooper deflated run into that?

 

[mustbeaudi]

Tires with less air don't look any smaller on the rim to me -- except at the point of road contact with 1/4 of a car's mass compressing that spot. Tires are not so pliable by hand, either. Not sure about the deflation strategy, unless I miss something. I have no experience with this, but I like the idea of a 5th rim and tire and a compressor. Don't drive on a deflated tire, but carry a small compressor. Further, rotate 5 ways and get more life from a set of tires. As tread wears off the tires, they'll fit better in the spare space, too!

 

[craiglud]

I have the coopers and the full size spare. In the spare wheel storage area there are several rubber bumpers that are about an inch or so in height. I took two of these out so that my tire would fit nice and snug in the opening. It barley hangs below the bumper and I have never removed it prior to getting in the dirt and I have not had any issues with it under there so far. I do take almost ALL the air out, down to about 5psi or so. I also have a compressor that I permanently mounted under the hood so airing up when needed is not a problem. I would say get the full size and get a $50 air pump to go with it.

 

[mustbeaudi]

Don't folks with a matching full spare tire rotate 5 ways? I get a sense that craiglud also does not.

 

[drzjoint]

CRAIGLUT where did you get the $50 pump how slow is it? I had one that would go in the lighter and it took it seemed like 30 mins for a car tire.
Not to worried as long as it can pump it up in 5-10 min's.

 

[craiglud]

Don't folks with a matching full spare tire rotate 5 ways? I get a sense that craiglud also does not.

I did not buy the full size spare with the original tires so there is some difference in tread wear, roughly 10k miles or a little more. I am just about to next oil change and I am going to see if I can rotate it into service. I actually have another wheel that does not have a tire on it yet. I am considering mounting another cooper and then just rotate 2 new coopers into the mix and have 2 spares.