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Old 08-20-2018, 10:54 AM   #1
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Towing and spare tires

After last years debacle with Ram and my non full sized spare, I purchased a matching wheel and tire and now carry it in the truck bed. That said, this time of year due to new vehicles changeover, one is inundated with reasons to purchase a new tow vehicle. Toyota, Nissan, Ford and Ram are all sending their emails. What I have found is most SUV's and even some trucks do not have 5 full sized matching tires. There are temporary spares as well as emergency spares, and even full sized spares now being installed. Can one tow using these spares? Everything I have read is NO. These wheels and tires are for temporary, emergency use only to get you off the road to a repair place. The tires nor the wheels are nowhere near the capacity of your regular sized set up. In addition they can impact your 4 wheel set up, your ABS system, and other safety features. Your axle capacity is also reduced and any use is recommended to be on the front axle vs the tow load bearing rear axle. FWD vehicles provide their own set of issues. Check your spare tire for it's specifications and to see if it can be used towing, otherwise you may have to leave your Escape along the road! https://www.doityourself.com/stry/5-...ut-spare-tires
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Old 08-20-2018, 11:02 AM   #2
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If I were faced with that situation, I wouldn't leave the trailer. I'd just limp the whole rig to the nearest tire shop using the temporary on the tow.

Having said that, I would not buy a tow vehicle without a full size spare, or I'd have the dealer add it. Mine came with one, so no worries.
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Old 08-20-2018, 11:10 AM   #3
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My 2018 F-150 comes with a full size spare but the tire size is slightly different than the stock tires. My manual says the following about towing with the dissimilar size spare:

When driving with the full-size dissimilar spare wheel and tire assembly additional caution should be given to:
Towing a trailer.
Driving vehicles equipped with a camper body.
Driving vehicles with a load on the cargo rack.

Drive cautiously when using a full-size dissimilar spare wheel and tire assembly and seek service as soon as possible.
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Old 08-20-2018, 11:19 AM   #4
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My 2018 F-150 comes with a full size spare but the tire size is slightly different than the stock tires. My manual says the following about towing with the dissimilar size spare:

When driving with the full-size dissimilar spare wheel and tire assembly additional caution should be given to:
Towing a trailer.
Driving vehicles equipped with a camper body.
Driving vehicles with a load on the cargo rack.

Drive cautiously when using a full-size dissimilar spare wheel and tire assembly and seek service as soon as possible.
Good points. It may be full size, but dissimilar. I specified same size but did have to pay extra for it.

I would not run it for long even if the tires were the same though - mainly because it would look ugly with one steel wheel and three 20" Chrome mags. [emoji23]
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Old 08-20-2018, 11:41 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
After last years debacle with Ram and my non full sized spare, I purchased a matching wheel and tire and now carry it in the truck bed.
I had the tow package on my Ranger and was disgusted when I found it labelled as not suitable for towing. I had asked the salesman if it had a full sized spare. He said "yes". It was, only not suitable for towing. I wasn't impressed. I ended up going to an auto wrecker and buying a wheel and tire.

What spare tire was going to come with my new F150 was a discussion point before I completed the deal.

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Old 08-20-2018, 11:51 AM   #6
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Yeppers, I went out and purchased a matching wheel, so that it would look the same, but the tire is my old one. I ran into that issue with the Escape and the spare, now all 5 match on both the truck and trailer.
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Old 08-20-2018, 12:28 PM   #7
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A truck that doesn't come with a full size, matching spare is insane. I had a blowout at 45mph a month ago - not towing - fortunately I pulled to the shoulder quickly without additional damage. On dirt but slight incline. I dropped the full size spare. My owners manual said "This spare tire should not be driven on over 55mph when pulling a trailer." - So if it ever happens when towing I'll be good.
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Old 08-20-2018, 12:31 PM   #8
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my 2008 Tacoma 4x4, and my 2002 F250 4x4 both have standard sized spares, but mounted on steel rims, instead of the alloys like the 4 wheels. plus side, standard tire, standard load rating, no problems towing our hauling. downside, kinda ugly if you rotate the spare.
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Old 08-20-2018, 01:08 PM   #9
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My truck spare came with a steel rim but the 4 other tires are all on fancy aluminum (?) I guess, rims. Once jacked up that flat tire flat refused to budge off the wheel drum. It was frozen on. Nothing short of calling my neighbor Charlie to bring me his "persuader" could break the bond. After that I bought one at Harbor Freight for $5 and keep it under the seats.
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Old 08-20-2018, 01:12 PM   #10
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Okay, I'll bite, what does the persuader look like
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Old 08-20-2018, 01:20 PM   #11
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Quote:
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My truck spare came with a steel rim but the 4 other tires are all on fancy aluminum (?) I guess, rims. Once jacked up that flat tire flat refused to budge off the wheel drum. It was frozen on. Nothing short of calling my neighbor Charlie to bring me his "persuader" could break the bond. After that I bought one at Harbor Freight for $5 and keep it under the seats.
tires /should/ be rotated every 10k or so miles, this should prevent them from getting frozen on.

been driving cars with alloys for decades, at least since the early 80s nearly every car we've owned had alloys, never had an issue.
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Old 08-20-2018, 03:31 PM   #12
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Okay, I'll bite, what does the persuader look like
🤔 A hammer......
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Old 08-20-2018, 03:33 PM   #13
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My FJ came with 5 identical wheels and tires, so no issues with driving on the spare while towing.

I do rotate my tires twice a year, and they will sometimes (usually) need a good kick after the lug nuts are off to get the wheel off of the hub.
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Old 08-20-2018, 03:36 PM   #14
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If I were faced with that situation, I wouldn't leave the trailer. I'd just limp the whole rig to the nearest tire shop using the temporary on the tow.

Having said that, I would not buy a tow vehicle without a full size spare, or I'd have the dealer add it. Mine came with one, so no worries.
We need to be smarter consumers. A real spare should be on every truck, period.
And I’d bet you could get it as part of the deal. Not many salesmen would lose a sale on the difference in their cost between a real spare and a not so real spare
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Old 08-20-2018, 03:40 PM   #15
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We need to be smarter consumers. A real spare should be on every truck, period.
And I’d bet you could get it as part of the deal. Not many salesmen would lose a sale on the difference in their cost between a real spare and a not so real spare
Agree, assuming a real spare fits in the available space.
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Old 08-20-2018, 03:42 PM   #16
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Agree, assuming a real spare fits in the available space.
It does on my 2016 F150😎
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Old 08-20-2018, 03:51 PM   #17
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It does on my 2016 F150��
Sure, if you want to drive those ancient trucks. My 2018 is over 700 days newer!!!

Edit: To be clear I don't see any reason why it wont fit on my truck also. Annoying the tires aren't an exact match.
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Old 08-20-2018, 04:04 PM   #18
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Rotating tires (between positions on the vehicle) is generally good, but note whether or not the tires have a directional tread pattern. If they do, they must be rotated only between front and back on the same side of the vehicle... and the spare will not match completely, because there is only one spare for both sides. This is less commonly a problem for pickups than for other light vehicle types, since the tires supplied with pickups are less likely to be directional; the 2018 F-150 manual shows a cross-vehicle rotation pattern, so I assume that none of the factory-supplied tires are directional.

A dissimilar full-size tire is probably lighter and less expensive (to the vehicle manufacturer) than one matching the regular tires, so it's not surprising that they use them.

It's only a cosmetic issue, but some wheels are directional in appearance, so left-side and right-side wheels look different (although they're functionally interchangeable). In that case, what would you use for the spare? In practice, the spare is typically a plain steel wheel because no one sees it.

I rotate front and back, and have not had a vehicle with a matching spare for many years (and the motorhome doesn't have a spare at all). While I would prefer a full-capacity spare of matching overall diameter, and would carry one if it fit, it isn't a big deal to me because (except for those travelling places such as remote northern highways) flats are rare.
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Old 08-20-2018, 04:11 PM   #19
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[QUOTE=MikeS;259678]Sure, if you want to drive those ancient trucks. My 2018 is over 700 days newer!!!

Yeah, mine is practically a classic😎
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Old 08-20-2018, 06:41 PM   #20
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Charlies' persuader had a long handle attached to a hefty steel hammer. My new one will be a softer touch though hopefully just as persuasive.
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