the spare tire on my 2003 appears to be OEM from new. there is no DOT code like the new tires.

the tire looks to be new just dirty no cracks, holds air no problem looks good to go and being under the bed has not really seen UV rays like a regular tires.

I will be replacing the laredo tires, cracked and 50K plus miles with
michelin LTX MS2 and was wondering if this might still be a good spare.

 

Sounds ok. But to be honest, I rotate my spare into the tire rotation. So mine is worn equal to all my tires, and I replace all 5 at the same time. It is how its recommended in the manual under tire rotation. Most don't though. Its usually not on very long for a repair anyway, so if its not cracked or leaking. Its probably ok.

 

I would change it, my wifes excursion still had the stock spare tire, looked new but when she had a flat I replaced it and not even 15 minutes drive it blew up. Do what Absolute said rotate them.

 

Last time I had a flat fixed the tech told me it is now illegal to repair tires older than 8 years. Might just be a Peoples Republik of Kalifornia thing, or maybe he was plain wrong, I dunno. But I do know tires dry out and get old especially with disuse, and the chances of failure go way up. Personally I'd never use a tire older than 10 years for any heavy usage. But as a spare on a light duty grocery getter, sure.

 

Yep, what he said! ^^^^^

 

I have a DRW so when I get 6 new tires the best one out of the old six gets to stay as a spare. It's an incentive plan for all the tires to wear good and they "may" get to hang around awhile longer.

 

LOL
may have to look at existing tires to see if one can be used to replace old spare. I am not driving the truck daily and when it gets driven in around the city more or less.

Was wondering about what Z31 said.. when was the spare used. what year? and this was the 2000 show in sig?? any weight in truck at time of flat and spare blowing up?

 

As others have said, probably best to rotate them through. I investigated why tires crack several years back, and apparently there is a wax that is mixed throughout the rubber compound as a preservative, but if the tire is not used, flexed and heated up regularly, the wax doesn't get "rotated through" the rubber tire compound, which leads to cracking due to exposure to oxygen, ozone, etc. Apparently the wax acts as a shield against the ozone/oxygen, much like Armor All or wax on your car.

 

Blew up two years ago on labor day weekend, so 14 year old tire no weight just me, the wife and my son.

 

i still have the factory installed spare tire under my 79. and it still has air in it.
i am sure if i ever tried to take it off the truck the mount would need to be cut off with a plasma cutter.
still have the spare from the 89 out in the garage never used.

 

There should be a date, it has been required since 2000

 

It is good to see that others also know how to read tires.

 

This might help:


<table width="728" style="width: 546pt; border-collapse: collapse;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" x:str=""><tbody><tr height="51" style="height: 38.25pt;"><td width="728" height="51" style="border: 0px windowtext; width: 546pt; height: 38.25pt; background-color: transparent;">The British Rubber Manufacturers Association (BRMA) recommended practice issued June, 2001, states "BRMA members strongly recommend that unused tyres should not be put into service if they are over six years old and that all tyres should be replaced ten years from the date of their manufacture."</td></tr></tbody></table>

 

Here's another one:


<table width="728" style="width: 546pt; border-collapse: collapse;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" x:str=""><tbody><tr height="34" style="height: 25.5pt;"><td width="728" height="34" style="border: 0px windowtext; width: 546pt; height: 25.5pt; background-color: transparent;">Our experience has been that when properly stored and cared for, most street tires have a useful life in service of between six to ten years. Tirerack.com</td></tr></tbody></table>

 

Good information. I need to do something about my own situation, now that I've been reminded about my spare tire's age.

Incidentally, I just pulled my 2002 OEM spare from underneath the truck a month or so ago, and it looks beautiful in terms of no cracks and full tread depth, but it is also now 15 years old. My plans are to have that tire removed from the rim and sell the rim which is in perfect condition.

My actual spare, though, which has been riding in the truck bed, will not be rotated into regular street service because it has a plug repair (done by me) right at the corner of the tread. It still holds pressure, and is even on a matching stock alloy wheel, but it rides with me for only emergency service. This spare is also the same 285 size as what's on the ground, which the OEM spare does not match. I need to check the date and replace it with one of my existing front tires when I get a new front pair in the next month or so. Even though the current "spare" has plenty of tread life (nail happened within a year of purchasing), one of the more worn front tires is much younger and would probably suffice equally well as a spare.