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Old 09-06-2017, 06:14 PM   #1
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Donut Spare on Two vehicle

I was advised to read my tow vehicle owner's manual and found it a wealth of info on towing. Tow vehicle is a 2011 Honda Pilot-EXL and the owner's manual said to use a full size spare when towing. Just tried getting it switched out and found that it requires a factory wheel to fit on the device that stows the tire under the vehicle's back end. New they are $700 here with tax and the Les Schwab guy found an aftermarket one for $200+. He said he thought the donut would probably work fine with such a light-weight trailer. What are your thoughts on having just the donut spare on a tow vehicle?
Connie
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Old 09-06-2017, 06:17 PM   #2
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This is about the Tow vehicle!
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Old 09-06-2017, 06:24 PM   #3
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Look into AAA RV Plus, which will cover the tow vehicle and the trailer, should you get a flat. Make sure you check tire pressures before you drive and do a walk around the trailer and tow each time you stop.
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Old 09-06-2017, 06:37 PM   #4
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Check with an auto junkyard for a wheel
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Old 09-06-2017, 06:47 PM   #5
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My 2014 Ram has the same issue . The spare is a limited mileage, limited speed and limited load tire . My trucks tires are 20" and the spare is 17" plus a the standard 20" won't fit into the spare tire holder / space. I guess it's better than a can of "fix a flat" but not by much.
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Old 09-06-2017, 06:50 PM   #6
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Tough question. With regular tire care and maintenance, flats are a relatively rare occurrence, and as Glenn says, with a good road service plan you may never have to use a spare even if you do get a flat.

What are the odds you'll get a flat out in the boonies with no cell service? How about a non-repairable flat far from a good tire dealer?

I towed with my 2011 Pilot LX for 3 years with the donut and never had a flat. I do have a full-size spare now, and it didn't cost me a dime. I was rear-ended a while back and the old donut was trashed. Turns out a full-size rim and tire actually cost less than a new donut (LX has steelies), so the body shop was happy to order and install a real spare. The challenge was convincing them it would actually fit as the owner's manual said. It did.

Can you use the cheaper steel rim? If it's a different tire size that your stock alloys, it might create issues for sensitive stability and 4WD systems. That's a question for a Honda dealer.
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Old 09-06-2017, 06:55 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by steve dunham View Post
My 2014 Ram has the same issue . The spare is a limited mileage, limited speed and limited load tire . My trucks tires are 20" and the spare is 17" plus a the standard 20" won't fit into the spare tire holder / space. I guess it's better than a can of "fix a flat" but not by much.
I have the same issue Steve, 2012 Ram, 20" tires, 17" temporary spare. I just bought two new tires and kept the old ones. I just did some measuring, and it looks to me like a 20" spare will fit under the truck in that space. The temporary spare may be a higher profile tire to closer match the 20" tires. Now to find a good used rim.
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Old 09-06-2017, 07:09 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by mary and bob View Post
I have the same issue Steve, 2012 Ram, 20" tires, 17" temporary spare. I just bought two new tires and kept the old ones. I just did some measuring, and it looks to me like a 20" spare will fit under the truck in that space. The temporary spare may be a higher profile tire to closer match the 20" tires. Now to find a good used rim.
Thank you for the heads up . I recently put 4 new tires on my truck . Maybe I should have kept one of the old tires for a spare .
It still irritates me that they can charge you almost $50K for a truck and then supply you with a spare that is basically useless.
There is a lot of electronic wizardry on my vehicle that I never use and would gladly trade for a good spare tire.
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Old 09-06-2017, 07:18 PM   #9
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Well, I have a full size spare on the back of my RAV4, and if I ever get rear ended, or back into a post, the repair bill will be substantial, since the spare sticks out beyond the bumper and is attached to the rear hatch.
Next vehicle, if I get one, will have a back-up camera.
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Old 09-06-2017, 07:40 PM   #10
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Steve; note that I haven't actually tried it yet, but using a long bar clamp as a giant caliper to measure the 17" spare and a mounted 20" tire it looks like the 20 is only an inch or so larger diameter so should fit. I'll let you know when I do it. For now I have one of the old tires in the truck bed. If they know ahead of time, road service can mount that tire in place of the flat, just can't balance it, but at least I'll have a matching tire on
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Old 09-06-2017, 08:46 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by steve dunham View Post
It still irritates me that they can charge you almost $50K for a truck and then supply you with a spare that is basically useless.
There is a lot of electronic wizardry on my vehicle that I never use and would gladly trade for a good spare tire.
Someone had plugged a large hole without installing a patch in one of the tires on my pre-owned Audi. Naturally, it chose to spit the plug(s) out when I was in a fairly remote location well off the Interstate on a hot summer day. I had fortunately bought an aftermarket 12V compressor to replace the one that was mysteriously not included with the car. And, fortunately, I was not towing.

I inflated the collapsible spare to 50 psi as labeled, then sat on the edge of my seat trying to balance the labeled 50-mph maximum speed with a steady stream of semis and other traffic hustling along on a two-lane highway at near 70 for several hours. It was not a pleasant experience.

The next morning, I was looking forward to spending an extra night or two in Klamath Falls as the Q5's tires are not very common and I figured the hole would be declared unrepairable. However, I had a great experience in the local tire shop with an Iraq war veteran who patched the tire with an over-sized slow-curing truck patch.

So, this episode did give me the side benefit of meeting an interesting person. In fact, after watching the work he did, I ended up trusting it for another 6,000 miles before I bought a full set of new tires.

Fast forward to now, I was prepared to buy a Q7 to tow our new Escape 21. Then I found out that the Q7 has been produced with no spare at all since the 2015 model year. That got me to thinking about the earlier experience. I briefly considered outfitting the vehicle or the trailer with a full size spare. Then I studied my options and bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee which comes equipped with a full size spare.

Our plans envision doing more travel with the trailer in the next couple of years. Even with the AAA Premier RV membership. I was not prepared to go through another adventure like that. In the end, though, I probably will. But, next time, I fully expect that it will be because the failure of some of that blessed electronic wizardry Steve mentioned.
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Old 09-06-2017, 09:04 PM   #12
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I don't like space saver spares and would not like to rely on one on a trip out into the unknown.

They are different than comparing a 17" tire to a 20" tire. A 17 and a 20 could be very closely matched in diameter and about the same load carrying capacity. The 20" is much wider and will stick down farther underneath in the spare position, but it may be no better suited to the task than a 17". Many trucks have 17" tires on them.

If you are really stuck somewhere and only have a space saver spare, hopefully you'll also be in a rear wheel drive vehicle. If this is true, put the space saver on the front and keep the better and equal sized tires on the rear to do the towing load.

I have a hard time believing a Ram truck will not fit a spare tire that is equal in diameter to the tires on the ground. The spare might be narrower, but the same diameter and load carrying capacity. Space savers are just not a good thing for trucks and while towing.

A good place to get wheels is ebay. You can find factory takeoffs and the specific model that matches the ones you have. Search a bit and you'll find it. I have done it a number of times. I used to buy takeoff Hummer wheels with tires and run them on my Ram truck. And I've purchased brand new wheels where I had four and wanted five. Then I outfitted my triple axle trailer with new aluminum wheels to replace the 8 bolt trailer steel wheels that came on it, Then I set up a set of desert wheels and tires I could bolt on my Ram for Death Valley trips. No problem getting wheels.
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Old 09-06-2017, 10:12 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by mary and bob View Post
Steve; note that I haven't actually tried it yet, but using a long bar clamp as a giant caliper to measure the 17" spare and a mounted 20" tire it looks like the 20 is only an inch or so larger diameter so should fit. I'll let you know when I do it. For now I have one of the old tires in the truck bed. If they know ahead of time, road service can mount that tire in place of the flat, just can't balance it, but at least I'll have a matching tire on
Different sized tires can be fun. When I was a poor college student I bought the cheapest used tires I could find when needed for my car. It could go uphill on left hand turns really fast, but on downhill right turns I really had to slow down...3 different tire sizes.
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Old 09-07-2017, 03:04 AM   #14
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Interesting thread. I'm not a fan of the small temp tires and fortunately have never had to use one on the few cars I had that had them. Really surprised to hear of trucks not having a full size spare because of the load and use of trucks. I agree with Steve D about the overboard tech electronics....I'd like to see the key back on the dash and the high beam switch back on the floor. Dang, I just gave my age away .
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Old 09-07-2017, 06:12 AM   #15
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..I'd like to see the key back on the dash and the high beam switch back on the floor. :.
I still have some vehicles like that, range in years from '43 to '76. Much simpler to work on but not as comfortable to drive.
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Old 09-07-2017, 07:06 AM   #16
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I do see the point. Tires are so much better, flats so rare, and used tire disposal so problematic that eliminating the full-size spare does make sense. Saves weight and space, too. The first vehicle I owned with a donut was a 1993 Subaru. Shortly after I bought it I swapped the donut for a full-size spare, which fit in the spare tire well. I got the rim at a junkyard and the tire used. In 14 years and 205K miles, it never got used. Several years after I sold it I found the donut still lying around my shed. Nobody wanted it, so I ended up paying to have it disposed. Kind of wasteful, really.

Of course, when you need it, you may really need it. So... returning to the OP's question... I'm interested, too.

Most of the smaller SUVs commonly used as egg-tugs do not have a full-size spare and often no place to mount one. How important is it? Could you make do with a donut when towing a lightweight trailer? Would you mount it on the front or back, assuming a FWD/AWD crossover-type vehicle, or does it matter? What are the possible consequences of not having a full-size spare? What are the rest of you non-truck owners doing about it?

I've never owned a vehicle that did not have a place to mount a full-size spare, even if it did not come with one. But I can see the day coming...

I've also never had a road service plan. What will they do and not do? Where will they go and not go?
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Old 09-07-2017, 08:11 AM   #17
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At one time , trucks and vehicles with factory tow packages were required to have a fullsized spare. Every one of my truck related vehicles has had a spare of exactly the same type and brand as the four on the ground.
In fact my Ranger came with Firestones and Ford bought me 5 new BFGs to replace them on the day of the sale.

I understand that there were 47 vehicles in 2014 which had no spare at all but I assumed that none was tow ready.
My new "truck" has a fullsized spare just like the ones on the ground.

It would not bother me to tow my Scamp13 with a mini spare ,at 50MPH for 50 miles. YMMV (disclaimer?)
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Old 09-07-2017, 08:23 AM   #18
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Originally Posted by Connie Estep View Post
I was advised to read my tow vehicle owner's manual and found it a wealth of info on towing. Tow vehicle is a 2011 Honda Pilot-EXL and the owner's manual said to use a full size spare when towing. Just tried getting it switched out and found that it requires a factory wheel to fit on the device that stows the tire under the vehicle's back end. New they are $700 here with tax and the Les Schwab guy found an aftermarket one for $200+. He said he thought the donut would probably work fine with such a light-weight trailer. What are your thoughts on having just the donut spare on a tow vehicle?
Connie
Your spare doesn't need to have a wheel which matches the others in style, unless you plan to add it to the rotation.
It does need to be the same bolt pattern, width, and offset. So a cheap steel wheel will work just fine. The tire should be the same size and tread type, brand would be nice but not necessary.If you are replacing your tires, you can mount your best used tire for the spare.
Ask about lug nuts, while they are likely compatible, it can't hurt to check.

Here is the wheel listed to fit your vehicle at Discount Tire for $73...
https://www.discounttire.com/fitmentresult/wheels/
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Old 09-07-2017, 09:46 AM   #19
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Not much that hasn't been said. If you are camping at a nearby state park it is less important than if you are heading up the Alaska Highway. If so, consider two spares. Cheap steel wheels would do the job. Tire failures are much rarer.
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Old 09-07-2017, 09:50 AM   #20
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donut spare

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Originally Posted by Connie Estep View Post
This is about the Tow vehicle!
I put a total of around 1000 miles on a donut spare on a front wheels drive Saturn. Got a flat on the front R/S after leaving Florida heading to Michigan. Put the donut spare on and drove to the next exit to where I could switch the spare to the rear of the vehicle. I would not use the donut spare which is quite a bit smaller on a drive axle for very long. Hard on the transmission.
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