Include the spare in tire rotation?

[Tricky Mike]

Just got mine done at the dealership and basically straight out of the manual, service tech said they only rotate four due to the spare never being used and a different diameter than the other four, and to just use the spare in case of flats

Clearly that yahoo was looking at the manual for another Ford because all that is untrue for the Bronco.

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[Moto26]

Anyone find it ironic that exactly 20% of voters say they don’t rotate in the 5th tire?

I just find that numerically funny.

 

[Brian_B]

I can’t think of any good reasons to not use the 5th - it’s identical to the other 4, on the same rim. May as well get your money’s worth out of it.

If it were on a generic steelie rim, or were a donut, or a mismatched tire; then I could see leaving it out - but they don’t come from the factory that way, and I don’t see any good reason to get it that condition.

Rotating it gets you overall longer tire life (about 20%), so yeah a tire change costs more with 5, but it lasts longer too, so net no real added cost.

The only other case I could see that may make sense is just removing the spare all together and rolling with just a compressor and some patch kits

 

[AZ_Liberty]

I just went through this during my first service. Be aware your spare does not have a TPS. Hope it helps.

All 5 have TPMS. If your dealer told you otherwise they either lied or are really bad at their job. Not sure which is better.

 

[bravely]

Always. Why leave a tire to dry rot on the tire carrier? You will also get more tire life by adding the spare into the rotation since you are wearing 5 tires versus 4.

Seems a lot of folks aren't aware that tires dry rot. I don't drive a lot & usually have to get new tires because of dry rot way before the tread is gone.

 

[Pressurized]

Directly from the Owners Manual.


"For the best tire life, a five tire
rotation is recommended that
includes the matching spare tire
mounted on the back of the
vehicle."

It's just being lazy if you don't do a 5 tire rotation. Not to mention the vast majority of people don't put OEM tires on their vehicle when they purchase new tires so then they would have a mis-match.

Use the Rearward Cross pattern...

 

[TheShark]

Yep, I rotate all five.

 

[BudgetBronco]

So many good reasons to do all 5, many of which are noted above, but I will add one: it is so much easier to do if you are like me and do it yourself. You only have to jack each corner once, make the tire switch, and then move on to the next.

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