How to protect exposed spare tire from the elements??

[PcDBronco]

When I worked at a Goodyear plant they told me when a tire sits the tread bond degrades. They described it as oil leaching from the rubber. I'm not a chemist but after 4 years I learned the hard way trailer tires treads will separate at highway speeds.

Of course thats the point of inspecting spares after a few years, they tend to be out of sight out of mind. With the broncos case theres no reason to not rotate them all together. Thats where his concerns become a non issue. Your tires life will be slightly longer and the spare will be worn just as much as the rest so you wont have different grip levels when you actually need it. Honestly though if the guy doesnt want to rotate all 5 which would eliminate his problem, then whats the point of worrying about a tire you would never use besides an emergency? Throw a cover on or make it shine with whatever you want just keep a rag to wipe treads of any residue before putting it on in an emergency.

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[Hellion10]

All of the tires are “exposed”, no?

^THIS^ LOLOLOL....my second favorite was PPF Wrap!!!! LOL.......my gawwwwwd

 

[jh3113]

Just rotate it in with the others?? I'm confused here. Whats the point of keeping it new and shiny? You want it to look like all the others once you actually rotate it in.

 

[PcDBronco]

But it's not like a motorcycle. A bit of UV shit on the tread rubber will be gone after 20 miles or so, and it's a truck that is heavy and has 3 other tires with seasoned tread.

All tires come new from the factory with mold-release compound on-in the rubber. When you get new motorcycle tires, the professional shops make it very clear to ride conservatively for the first 50 - 100 miles or so until the mold-release compound gets released from the rubber (from heat).

The OP can lather the tire sunscreen all up on the spare and it will not affect the grip one bit after a few minutes.

The shit people worry about.

Thats my point it honestly doesnt matter in the grand scheme of things, especially if hes not rotating spares. Cover it, shine it, do whatever you want his worries are for nothing.

 

[feralc]

Of course thats the point of inspecting spares after a few years, they tend to be out of sight out of mind. With the broncos case theres no reason to not rotate them all together. Thats where his concerns become a non issue. Your tires life will be slightly longer and the spare will be worn just as much as the rest so you wont have different grip levels when you actually need it. Honestly though if the guy doesnt want to rotate all 5 which would eliminate his problem, then whats the point of worrying about a tire you would never use besides an emergency? Throw a cover on or make it shine with whatever you want just keep a rag to wipe treads of any residue before putting it on in an emergency.

I never said I didn’t want to rotate all 5
I am going to but as I said earlier for me the spare tire is something that increases the appeal and having it perfectly shine and clean and at the same time providing UV protection seems like a no brainer

 

[ABorges]

Not that I am “worried” but because the tire dressing has UV protection I was wondering if I could apply it on the tread
When I removed the excess of the sidewall the microfiber cloth had some on it (it is like baby oil) and I just wiped the whole tire with it. If it doesn’t help at least the spare tire looks pretty amazing.
I will recommend this product though, pretty easy to apply even on aggressive tire with a lot of sidewall tread and because it is like baby oil you can spread it around pretty easily

I was wondering this because I have never had an exposed spare tire. I purchased Meguiars endurance tire sprays which has UV protection. Instructions say obviously to avoid tread (only spray on sidewall) because the tires can get slippery. But what about the spare?? Should I spray on the tread to protect it from UV? I will be eventually rotate that tire but I’m the meantime spraying a tire dressing with UV protectant on the tread doesn’t sound as a bad idea. What do you guys think?

If you rotate your spare with the other tires you will be fine. You can detail the tread if you want it isn't going to hurt anything.

 

[feralc]

Just rotate it in with the others?? I'm confused here. Whats the point of keeping it new and shiny? You want it to look like all the others once you actually rotate it in.

I will rotate them I never said I wouldn’t, and you can keep it shiny even if you rotate it, that was my point. And I wanted to know everyone’s opinion about applying it on the tread, maybe it is not advisable from a chemical point of view.

 

[thatspecialbeat]

When I was a kid, our friends got one of those big inflatable slides for their Y2K party and we hit it with ArmorAll because we would slide faster.

I am honored I could contribute to this thread.

 

[sage729]

I went with a cover.

 

[RimrockPaul]

I was wondering this because I have never had an exposed spare tire. I purchased Meguiars endurance tire sprays which has UV protection. Instructions say obviously to avoid tread (only spray on sidewall) because the tires can get slippery. But what about the spare?? Should I spray on the tread to protect it from UV? I will be eventually rotate that tire but I’m the meantime spraying a tire dressing with UV protectant on the tread doesn’t sound as a bad idea. What do you guys think?

Use whatever you use on the other 4. Not sure why the spare is considered for special treatment. I do the 5 wheel rotation so all 5 of mine will age at the same time.

 

[Calm horse]

I feel dumber for reading this thread.

 

[Taltyman]

I guess I may one of the few that had an exposed spare rear tire explode on my old Bronco. I never rotated it in. Heck I never rotated anything back in the 80's. Lesson learned.

 

[ABorges]

I was wondering this because I have never had an exposed spare tire. I purchased Meguiars endurance tire sprays which has UV protection. Instructions say obviously to avoid tread (only spray on sidewall) because the tires can get slippery. But what about the spare?? Should I spray on the tread to protect it from UV? I will be eventually rotate that tire but I’m the meantime spraying a tire dressing with UV protectant on the tread doesn’t sound as a bad idea. What do you guys think?

If you are rotating it in every time you rotate your tires, you will not have any problems.

 

[BlueBronco]

Use whatever you use on the other 4. Not sure why the spare is considered for special treatment. I do the 5 wheel rotation so all 5 of mine will age at the same time.

You would like to think that after almost 2 years that the OP finally got this figured out. However, thanks for bringing a classic thread back to the surface just in case there were some lingering doubts.

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