Great feedback. I went with the 5 Compomotives and 265/65 R18 BF Goodrich A/T KO2,s and love them. Perfect for my application. Tire shop did not believe one would fit in the spare location. If you are all sure it will fit underneath, I’ll buy one more tire and do it. Otherwise, it’s going on the pro speed roof rack which I prefer not to do so as to keep the storage space.
Now it’s on to the lights!
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Nobody, including myself who is very fit, enjoys dealing with an 80lb item above your head onto and off a roof rack. Aside from that you can actually feel it's effect on the vehicle handling being so high.
The BFG 265/65-18 will absolutely fit but you 'might' just have to remove or bend the arms holding that shield - or just deflate partially the tire. Deflation shouldn't sound like a bad thing seeing as you should always have an air source with you anyway and often a spare is unused for so long it needs to be topped off.
However, it's also best practice to rotate in the 5th tire every oil change or so for even wear. There are a few benefits to 5 tire rotation and almost none to leaving it unused on purpose:
1-increases mileage of overall set by 20%. That's a lot when you think on the math. My first bfg set I got over 80k and had 1/4" depth left by using 5 tire rotation. This also delays the time you have to worry about it and from what I've read, is best for wearing down the spare so it's tread stays in optimal traction properties too when needed.
2-you are probably aware that if you have a non-repairable tire that has worn past a certain %, which isn't much in terms of overall life, you'll be told to replace both tires on that axle to not damage the differential. When you have an equally worn spare, you just pop it on and put the newest one in the back with the hope that you don't get another non-repairable flat while doing only a 4 tire rotation until next new set.
3-last thing is about tire age. Ever seen a spare that hasn't been used in 10-15 yrs? Not a good thing to be having to rely on an old cracking tire when you're in serious need to depend on it out in the middle of nowhere or on a tough trail. 5 tire rotation eliminated the old spare issue plus it has you see each tire more often and notice any potential bad cuts or the odd carcass issue.