Best Practice 5 Tire Rotation?

[mtap]

That reminds me of when my 6 year old asked me about "why is that tire on the trailer, it does not touch the ground". She was referring to the spare tire mounted to the side of the utility trailer. And they say there are no stupid questions.

So do you rotate the “spare” on your trailer as well?

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[toymaster]

So do you rotate the “spare” on your trailer as well?

Nope, they usually dry rot before the tread wears out. On my bigger trailers, with better tires, they wear the same, unlike on a vehicle.

 

[Pancho Kornwallace]

But that was kinda might point...you will have an “odd ball” no matter what...even your first rotation, 4 will have more miles than the spare...that spare will not catch up to the other 4, however you do the math...

If you rotate properly and often, that will not be a big deal. Being 1/16th off is not an issue. Being an 1/8 or more off is.

 

[shieldsy]

Good idea. Found these, too. Color coded

Careful with aluminum valve stems. If they seize up, you will NOT be have a good day.

 

[ramblinwreck]

The correct answer is to not rotate it! However, when you need a new set, rotate the best one up to the spare and then you only need to buy 3 new tires!

 

[Pancho Kornwallace]

incorrect perception...your spare is only supposed to get you home or somewhere to get broken tire fixed. That’s why donuts are smaller on other cars...let’s say the messed up tire cannot be fixed and you end up getting a new tire for it, now that tire is not the same as the rest.

A mini-spare tire on a different vehicle is not the same as on a Bronco. You are not paying for a full wheel and tire on those vehicles.

By not using your spare, it is not considered "new" when it is time to replace tires. It degrades to a certain extent just sitting there. So not using it causes you to get to your second set 20% faster AND leaves you with an old, but unused "tweener" tire.

Also... your scenario is like saying "let's say you had a lock to your house door, but you left it unlocked, then someone could break in and take everything, so why have a lock?"

 

[NotApplicable]

Sometimes I rotate it in, sometimes I don’t. #winning

 

[ZackDanger]

The amount of disagreement should be an indication that either approach is totally fine. The thing to remember with a clone spare on the Bronco (like on the Jeep), if you get a flat you just swap it out, and you’re not in as much of a rush to repair or replace the flat tire. It’s not like a donut that’s limited to certain speed

Here’s some anecdata: I’m a wrangler owner who always intends to rotate all 5 but only ever does 4.

Pros of all 5:

-20% longer between tire replacement
-All tires same tread depth for minimal problems if swapped out (especially problematic for deep tread tires like AT/MT)
-All tires need to be replaced at the same time, making changing to a different tire size or type easier
-Only have to jack up one corner/side of the vehicle at a time.
-Gets use of the 5th tire instead of allowing it to age out without use

Cons of all 5:

-20% More work to rotate.
-20% more expensive tire replacements
-spare tire looks used (i don’t think this is a problem but someone mentioned it)

Pros of only 4:

-less complicated tire rotations
-only replacing 4 tires
-Can use a tire cover to hide a mis-matched 5th to save cost upgrading wheels and tires
-keeps the 5 tire on the back looking minty fresh (cool I guess?)

Cons of only 4:

-If you have to use the spare, could be a significant difference in tread depth towards the end of life.
-5th could dry out and die and you never utilized it... so you overpaid for a prop
-If you want to upgrade tires, you can’t sell your existing ones as a matched set or you have an unused 5th tire you never utilized. Market for an old, used, but not used AT tire isn’t as big as one hopes

Like I said. I’m my experience I always intended to rotate all 5 through because I felt it made more sense overall... but I never actually ended up doing that... and have just ended up with a 5th tire that was unused that I took a bath on when I inevitably changed to a different tire.

And then there’s this baller move at the first change:

I would just buy 3 tires that match, replace them and take the tire that is left over that has the most tread and replace the spare with it.

Moral of the story: https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/tire-rotation-with-spare-tire.8594/

 

[dcg2]

Thanks everyone.

5 is my favorite number so I'll be having whoever I pay to do the rotations do that.

And will mark the tires to avoid lazy techs.

 

[mtap]

A mini-spare tire on a different vehicle is not the same as on a Bronco. You are not paying for a full wheel and tire on those vehicles.

By not using your spare, it is not considered "new" when it is time to replace tires. It degrades to a certain extent just sitting there. So not using it causes you to get to your second set 20% faster AND leaves you with an old, but unused "tweener" tire.

Also... your scenario is like saying "let's say you had a lock to your house door, but you left it unlocked, then someone could break in and take everything, so why have a lock?"

What????? Your lock analogy doesn’t even make sense...here let me simplify it for you...i also own a truck with a full size spare, should i rotate those too or does that just apply to jeeps and Broncos?

It’s called a”spare” for a reason...

 

[mtap]

How many people rotate their “spare” keys?

 

[mtap]

“Spare” bulbs in your house do you rotate for even use? “Spare” batteries, do you put them in circulation too? C’mon....

 

[Techun]

The amount of disagreement should be an indication that either approach is totally fine. The thing to remember with a clone spare on the Bronco (like on the Jeep), if you get a flat you just swap it out, and you’re not in as much of a rush to repair or replace the flat tire. It’s not like a donut that’s limited to certain speed

Here’s some anecdata: I’m a wrangler owner who always intends to rotate all 5 but only ever does 4.

Pros of all 5:

-20% longer between tire replacement
-All tires same tread depth for minimal problems if swapped out (especially problematic for deep tread tires like AT/MT)
-All tires need to be replaced at the same time, making changing to a different tire size or type easier
-Gets use of the 5th tire instead of allowing it to age out without use

Cons of all 5:

-20% More work to rotate.
-20% more expensive tire replacements
-spare tire looks used (i don’t think this is a problem but someone mentioned it)

Pros of only 4:

-simpler tire rotations
-only replacing 4 tires
-Can use a tire cover to hide a mid-matched 5th to save cost upgrading wheels and tires
-keeps the 5 tire on the back looking minty fresh (cool I guess?)

Cons of only 4:

-If you have to use the spare, could be a significant difference in tread depth towards the end of life.
-5th could dry out and die and you never utilized it... so you overpaid for a prop
-If you want to upgrade tires, you can’t sell your existing ones as a matched set or you have an unused 5th tire you never utilized. Market for an old, used, but not used AT tire isn’t as big as one hopes

Like I said. I’m my experience I always intended to rotate all 5 through because I felt it made more sense overall... but I never actually ended up doing that... and have just ended up with a 5th tire that was unused that I took a bath on when I inevitably changed to a different tire.

And then there’s this baller move at the first change:


Moral of the story: https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/tire-rotation-with-spare-tire.8594/

It's actually LESS work to rotate all 5. You can just use a single jack and move the tires around, instead of having to raise multiple corners up at the same time.

 

[ZackDanger]

It's actually LESS work to rotate all 5. You can just use a single jack and move the tires around, instead of having to raise multiple corners up at the same time.

Your are absolutely correct.

But the reason why I want to do 5 but only ever do 4 is because the dealer only does 4 during my service appts and I’m too lazy to figure out where I need to swap the 5th

So really, in that case, doing 5 is 100% more work than 4 for me.

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