Tow vehicle spare tire

[cpaharley2008]

This issue came up in another forum and I thought it would be beneficial to discuss it here. If your tow vehicle came with a factory tow package then more than likely you will have a full size spare. But for those members who added a hitch to their tow vehicle, check your spare tire. If it is a emergency donut spare then you should not be towing with it. This tire will not handle the stress of towing as a spare. You should obtain a full size spare to carry in the advent of an emergency. Just wanted to pass on some good advice.

[mcbrew]

Also, be careful if you have all-wheel-drive.... in some cases, it could cause extensive damage if you use a tire that is a different diameter than the others. Make sure your spare matches, whether it is a "donut" or full-size.

[Loren G. Hedahl]

Ideally the wheels/tires on your tow vehicle and trailer would be interchangeable.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Loren G. Hedahl

Ideally the wheels/tires on your tow vehicle and trailer would be interchangeable.

Ideally, good idea... good luck with though because of the offset. If you're going to try it, don't assume! See if the spare will fit before you absolutely need it.

[BCDave]

Not an awful of cars use the 5 bolts on a 4.5 inch circle bolt pattern (also known and referred to as as "5 on 4 1/2") A lot of Fords use it (Mustangs, etc) so the wheels are easy to find, but GM, and Fiat (formerly known as Chrysler) do not.

Small Ford pickups like the Explorer also roll on the 5 on 4 1/2

Larger vehicles generally have the bolt circle much larger and many use 6 or (for many trucks) even 8 bolt wheels, while most 'glass eggs use the common Dexter 5 on 4 1/2

My son's Surfside 14, my Boler 1700and my Bigfoot 21 are all that bolt pattern. None of my cars or trucks can use that wheel pattern

[Greg H]

My Jeep Cherokee is the only vehicle I have with the pos doughnut spare, everything else has a full size spare, and none of them will ever fit the egg that's why it has it's own spare tire.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Loren G. Hedahl

Ideally the wheels/tires on your tow vehicle and trailer would be interchangeable.

Not really since "Bolt pattern" is not the whole story. trailer tires are almost all "0" offset and narrow often 5".
TV wheels will nearly always have a pronounced offset, which would alone prevent mounting it to most trailers, not to mention that TV Tires are commonly gargantuan compared to their trailer counterparts.
A common bolt pattern may help on the rare occurance that the Trailer tire would fit the TV.
To address tire size difference... It takes some time at speed for wind-up to cause any real damage and mini-spares are meant to get you to the nearest repair shop. Note most say "limited to 50miles at under 50MPH" or some such. this applies to towing a tiny trailer as well.
A full sized spare of course , eliminates any concern.

[Borden]

Our trailer has ST205r15" C rated trailer use only tires with 1760 lb rating each at 50 lb max but set at 25/30 lbs boler recommends, the car has 195-65r15" car tires 1369 lb each set at 28 lbs and as stated by Floyd the rim offset is different

P.S. Prefer to use tires made for the job just seems safer and yes ours did come with a full size spare and trailer package

[cpaharley2008]

Not sure if my point was properly stated, I'm not suggesting you use your car spare as a spare for your trailer. The point is, if you do not have a full size spare and instead a donut emergency spare, then you should not be towing any trailer. This emergency spare can not handle the additional stress of towing. So you would have to leave your trailer on the roadside if your did get a flat on your tow vehicle and have to use a donut spare.

[Greg H]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Not sure if my point was properly stated, I'm not suggesting you use your car spare as a spare for your trailer. The point is, if you do not have a full size spare and instead a donut emergency spare, then you should not be towing any trailer. This emergency spare can not handle the additional stress of towing. So you would have to leave your trailer on the roadside if your did get a flat on your tow vehicle and have to use a donut spare.

I knew what you meant, get rid of the little mini spare and get a full size tire and rim to fit the tow vehicle.

[Borden]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Not sure if my point was properly stated, I'm not suggesting you use your car spare as a spare for your trailer. The point is, if you do not have a full size spare and instead a donut emergency spare, then you should not be towing any trailer. This emergency spare can not handle the additional stress of towing. So you would have to leave your trailer on the roadside if your did get a flat on your tow vehicle and have to use a donut spare.

Good point cpaharley, I for one would have missed checking to see if we had full size spare! Have not needed the spare but as stated we had a tow package check tonight and it came with a full size spare

[Daniel A.]

Good point made cpaharley, one could also carry Fix-a-Flat.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by Daniel A.

Good point made cpaharley, one could also carry Fix-a-Flat.

I'm not sure I would tow with a tire "fixed" with fix-a-flat, I think you need to have a regular sized spare if you are towing!!

[Daniel A.]

It's an alternative to running a donut emergency spare I don't think I suggested it as a permanent fix for towing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Casita Greg]

That fix-a-flat stuff is crap. Oh, and please let me know how it works out for ya when ya blow out the tire sidewall too! Get, and maintain, a proper spare. I have two!

[Daniel A.]

Originally Posted by Casita Greg

That fix-a-flat stuff is crap. Oh, and please let me know how it works out for ya when ya blow out the tire sidewall too! Get, and maintain, a proper spare. I have two!

Anyone of average intelligence should be able to figure out that for anything more than a nail puncture it won't work.

I run good tires and a full size spare, I do have enough confidence in my tires that I don't need more than one spare for the TV.

Why would anyone carry two spares

[honda03842]

"Why would anyone carry two spares?"

I buy the best tires I can but on occasion I have carried two spares.

For example on our cross Labrador trip, virtually a 1000 mile dirt road, we had two spares because on that road you may drive for hours without seeing another vehicle and the nearest source of any tires can be 100 miles.

A friend did the cross Labraddor highway and simultaneously blew 2 tires on his Lexus SUV. You can be sure there are no Lexus dealers in Labrador (nor Honda dealers). The low profile tires had to be flown in. (Kudos to Lexus they did it free of charge.)

I do also carry a compresser and a puncture repair kit, generally capable of fixing the typical tire failure.

[Chris Z]

I always carried a can of fix-flat on my touring motorcycle. I was hoping that I could limp along to somewhere that I could replace the tire. It worked! never had a flat.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Daniel A.

Why would anyone carry two spares

I've heard where people are heading for Alaska carry a couple of spares... not mounted on wheels. Especially important if your tug or tow has uncommon sized tires. It may be a trip-ender if you can't get the size tire you need when you need it. At least you could get a tire store to mount the tire, even if they can't sell you the size you need!

[Borden]

Most of us have trailer and car spare tires and full size spare will fit in most of our TV's but have had cars that did not have the room for a full size spare. Lock the hitch and trailer and off to the service station we go?