Has anyone used their spare tire?

[Harumph]

Just curious how many of us on this forum have had to actually use their spare tire. I'm all for preparation and definitely do not want to be stuck needing a spare.

I noticed many people with 1G Broncos aren't carrying a spare tire when rock crawling. Same for some Jeeps.
True, that Off roading scenarios are the most likely to cause side wall damage for truck tires?

And most 6G Broncos I've see off road carry the spare.

On road, I expect fewer instances of side wall damage for truck tires. No doubt car tires can and do have sidewall blowouts.

So who here has a real life experience with their Bronco needing to use the spare on or off road?

Any opinions or experience with the OEM tire's sidewall durability?

Sponsored

 

[Kevin W]

Mine is used, but it was for the 5 tire rotation. A Spare tire delete would worry me.

 

[nabronco21]

I'll be rotating mine in shortly and it will always stay on there. Spare tire delete looks pretty dumb anyways.

 

[nomnom]

Rotated in. (Don’t forget to deflate the spare too)

 

[DefNotBuddyLee]

I am running the spare right now. Chunk of metal fit between the tread on the Goodyears and cut a nice 2 inch tear that was unrepairable. Works just like the other tires as expected. Replacement tire took a while to get but now rides as my spare. Took a small amount of road time for the Bronco to start reading the tpms once switched over, but pretty standard stuff.
No comment on durability, as this scrap metal would have likely destroyed pretty much any tire most of us would have used.

 

[Wraithracing]

I had to use my spare about 2 weeks ago due to a nail in my tire. I do have the crappy Duelers so I don't expect much from them. Definitely would have sucked for me at the time to not have the full size spare. The nail or whatever punctured the tire came out when I jumped on the highway to head back to the house. Once it came loose the tire lost all air pressure in about 3 minutes. Barely made it to an exit to make the swap.

Hopefully I can get the custom paint color sorted out for my wheels and get some decent tires installed here in the next couple of weeks.

 

[HeliPilot]

Used mine for a screw on the Highway. Mine are the Goodyear’s

 

[Loubiz90]

I used mine, had a big screw get stuck in RR tire from outside of a scrap yard I work near. Got an inside patch done. 2 Dr basesquatch

 

[Kos]

I think the OP is getting at off road use. On road, if you get a flat without a spare it’s inconvenient but road side assistance can be called. Most new cars don’t even have a spare. Just a can of fix a flat.

To answer the off road question. A lot of guys doing the extreme off roading go the spare delete route to shift the vehicles center of mass forward. If you’re running big tires, you have a 80-100+ lbs counter weight sitting back there. They are counting on using a patch kit if they get any tire damage to get them off the trail. Worse case scenario they get their rig off to the side and remove the tire, leave the rig to go get the tire repaired (doing that kind of off-roading you should never be alone) and then return with the repaired tire. That or they call Matt’s Off-road Recovery .

Long answer short, if I was doing a solo trip I wouldn’t go anywhere without a spare. Doing the aggressive off-road stuff where that CoM makes a difference Id go the delete route but I’d never be by myself. That said I never intend to do the crazy stuff.

 

[Razorbak86]

To answer the off road question. A lot of guys doing the extreme off roading go the spare delete route to shift the vehicles center of mass forward. If you’re running big tires, you have a 80-100+ lbs counter weight sitting back there.

I don’t understand this logic, but I am happy to learn more. The engine is one of the heaviest components of the vehicle, so unless the vehicle is carrying a heavy payload in the cargo bay, it seems like the center of gravity is already forward of the midpoint of the vehicle, especially with a 2D, unless the back half of the body is much heavier than it appears. Therefore, the weight of the spare on the swing gate should help move the CoG back closer to the middle, unless you have a heavy payload in the cargo bay. Wouldn’t you want the weight distribution to be as equal as possible for maximum traction on a 4WD vehicle off road?

 

[Boreal]

Ate a 8” centre punch and killed a 5000km old tire… already rotated through the spare once!

 

[BigMeatsBronco]

17,000 miles and no spare needed yet!

My plan is to delete the spare completely, AFTER I buy new DOUBLE beadlock wheels.
Double beadlocks are very different and superior to the half-ass bead rings crap most 4x4s run.

Double beadlocks allow you to remove the tire while the rim is still on the truck, because there is no "lip" once the ring is removed the tire will slide right off by hand!
So then trail repair patch or plug can be made easily enough, remount tire and air up and your good to go!

Also Double beadlocks have an internal plastic bead donut that keeps the tire clamped between the bead ring and donut.

Far superior design.

Oh , and as an added bonus, they just happen to be DOT legal! That should give folks an idea how much better they are!

 

[Harumph]

I had to use my spare about 2 weeks ago due to a nail in my tire. I do have the crappy Duelers so I don't expect much from them. Definitely would have sucked for me at the time to not have the full size spare. The nail or whatever punctured the tire came out when I jumped on the highway to head back to the house. Once it came loose the tire lost all air pressure in about 3 minutes. Barely made it to an exit to make the swap.

Hopefully I can get the custom paint color sorted out for my wheels and get some decent tires installed here in the next couple of weeks.

Have you considered carrying a tire plug kit? ARB makes a good one, but is on the expensive side. That and a compressor.

 

[2021AreaFiftyOneOBX]

First flat at 200 miles from running over some very sharp metal object under a foot of snow. I put the brand new tire on the tailgate and kept the spare on the truck.

 

[Harumph]

My plan is to delete the spare completely, AFTER I buy new DOUBLE beadlock wheels.

Following your build and looking forward to seeing those wheels. Didn't know they are DOT Approved.

Sponsored