I just put Dayton tires on my 19.5 inch rims, set of 5 including spare.

With these heavy tires, regular rotation will minimize cupping.

Should I include the spare in my rotations? And if so, should it go into the driver or passenger side sequence? And should the spare always go on the front first, or the rear?

And finally, if I have to use the spare on the "wrong" side, how long until it is damaged from running counter to it's "set"?

 

For me, I do not include my spare in the tire rotation. Although, I am fully aware that if I have a tire blowout and use the spare, it will go on the front and the front hubs will not be locked in until the original tire has been repaired or a new pair have been bought.

I will drive as little as possible to get to a repair shop on the spare, because I know full well it is a different size due to wear of the primary.

I would not want to run 2 tires with slightly different overall diameters on the rear (drive axle). Maybe that is my OCD kicking in, but I don't think it is a good idea.

 

I do not recommend running the spare. When I purchased a new tire for the spare years ago I had the same idea to get some use out of it and extend the life of the set. The shop said the spare should be the spare on matter what you spend on it. Swapping it between storage and continuous rotation was not good for the tire. You can throw the BS flag if you'd like but I tried to incorporate the spare in the rotation on my last set and had a tire separate at highway speeds. Whether it was coincidental or not, I only use my spare for emergency use from that moment on.

 

I'm with the spare is simply the spare.

If you run it regularly, it will change a handful of games.

Stay with the team.

Denny (but do drop it clean it and grease the cable every oil change and check pressure, saved my *** a few times and have lent it to other supers on the interstate because they couldn't get they're tire down)

 

If you change your wheel and tire size you're going to have to change your spare. On both my DD and my parts truck it looks like they have the factory spare still in the pocket. That tells me something.

 

With My 4" exhaust it would be tight to increase diameter from stock.

 

 

Good Idea tying it over

 

I have a 285/76-16 BFG AT KO2 on the spare now and it's close. It has never been used and has full tread (bought it new). My 4" MBRP wasn't lining up so I cut it just upstream of the rear hanger to fix the problem but the spare is still a tight fit. Haven't had any melting issues so far.

 

From tirerack

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret....jsp?techid=43

 

Sorry I will throw the flag. If this was the case what about all the summer cars that are stored all winter and never salt? Come spring all 4 tires go from storage to continuous use. Or people that run a second set of wheels/tires for winter/summer?

 

Some tire shops will not install a tire if it is older than 2 years old, no matter if it has been in service or not. Last year when I cracked a rim on the truck, then bought an OEM rim from a local junkyard I took the new to me rim to a tire shop. I happened to be in Charleston SC at the time and went to an NTB because it was the closest.

The tech looked at the tire that was on the truck on the bad rim and said you just made it. I guess the tires were 20 months old or something and when I asked what he was talking about, he told me that if the tire was 24 months or older they could not swap it. I didn't question it because the tire was not past the age limit, but I thought that was BS.

Here locally there is a "cash only" shop that I go to that will do whatever you want them to for dirt cheap.

In regards to running the spare into the rotation. I still disagree. Maybe I am wrong, but a tire that is even 1/2" taller in diameter I would think would not be good for a differential on the drive axle. I have always been told to put a spare on the non-drive axle, even if the wheel with the flat is on the drive axle. So, you would basically be changing 2 tires if you get a flat on the drive axle.

Maybe that is wrong, but that is the way I have done it and will continue to.

I don't like TireRack anyway. They were good years ago, but their prices, shipping and customer service has gone down the toilet.

 

Could have been a case of CYA from the shop. Regardless, I won't do it again with the spare.

Agreed.

 

I may be missing something but as I read it the op bought 5 new matching tires at the same time. If that is the case all tires would be the same size and would wear evenly as a set over time (also lasting longer as the miles are spread out over 5 tires not 4). This would the op to continue on the remaining 4 tires after a failure as if they were the original 4.

If the spare is only to be used temporarily then the op may have been better off using the best of the old tires for a temporary spare If he felt they were roadworthy.

edit. Myself I rotate what is on the truck side to side occasionally. I normally do not carry a spare as I need to make a mount for it. I will toss it in the bed for longer trips or if I am hauling the equipment trailer. Driving around empty I always planned on driving home with one of the duals singled out. Last time I got a flat I just drove home on it as I was close and not loaded.

 

All 5 tires could not possibly wear at the same rate because 1 out of the 5 would consistently be free of wear because it is mounted under the vehicle. The only real way I see to keep all 5 tires at near the same wear level is to do a rotation once a month or every 1K miles or so.

The 1K miles is just a guestimate due to tire softness and road surface conditions. Either way, I think that in order to keep all 5 tires even would involve a lot more wheel swaps than I care to do.