Spare Tire Replacement/Upgrade

[gofastdan]

I finally upgraded my spare tire today.

When I bought the Tacoma ('24 Off-Road) almost a year ago one of the first things I did was replace the stock tires and wheels with BFGoodrich KO3 tires (285/70 R17) on Method MR705 wheels. I'm very happy with this set up and intend to keep this size tire as long as I own the truck.

That said, the "convenience" spare obviously was no longer remotely close to the same size as the KO3's. It's been on my list to replace the spare with a real tire. I didn't want to just buy another KO3 for two reasons. The first is the cost. I didn't want to spend that much on a tire that hopefully will just sit under the truck for the next ten years and never get used. More importantly though, the 285/70 is a pretty wide tire and when I tested it under the truck it hung WAY down. Unacceptable.

Fast forward to today. I bought and installed a Venom Power Terra Hunter XT in LT255/80 R17 on the spare rim. It's ~1/4 larger in circumference than the KO3, which is close enough for me, and just as importantly it's over an inch narrower so it sits up in the spare tire bay nicely. The Venom Power was also the cheapest tire I could find that still seemed to be something I won't dread putting on in the middle of nowhere. I have no illusions about it being a quality tire but for the price ($158 from Giga Tire and installed by Pep Boys for $25) I'm more than happy with it. I think this pretty much completes the "recovery" portion of my truck build.


The 33" tire fits, but just barely. You won't get a bigger tire in there.

Yes, that's my rear view mirror camera mounted in the receiver. Love it! ;o)

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[Delta1Seven]

Thanks for the info! Hopefully this doesn’t need to get used!

2 questions:

1. What happens if you keep the OEM spare instead. Could you drive on it for say 25 miles until you could get to a repair shop? (Or would the difference in tire height of the other 3 tires cause issues on road?)

2. Have you tested the OEM bottle jack to see if you can lift your truck, or do you have different means? I have falkin wildpeaks but haven’t tested to see if I can actually replace my tire using only the OEM tire changing kit.

 

[gofastdan]

Thanks for the info! Hopefully this doesn’t need to get used!

2 questions:

1. What happens if you keep the OEM spare instead. Could you drive on it for say 25 miles until you could get to a repair shop? (Or would the difference in tire height of the other 3 tires cause issues on road?)

2. Have you tested the OEM bottle jack to see if you can lift your truck, or do you have different means? I have falkin wildpeaks but haven’t tested to see if I can actually replace my tire using only the OEM tire changing kit.

I'm sure you could use the OEM spare but I think there are caveats.

For one thing I think you'd almost have to have the spare on the front. If you get a flat on the rear and use the OEM spare with an inch difference (32" vs 33") the truck would think one side is spinning due to the size differential and try to "fix" it. Turning traction control off might help but I still think it would be hard on the truck. I haven't tested it but having the OEM spare on the front shouldn't (?) be as big a deal, but still not great.

As an example we have a '06 Infiniti M45 with a saver spare. I got a flat years ago on the freeway and used the spare on the rear. The spare is a different circumference than the stock tire for some reason. I limped to the nearest exit but the car wouldn't go more than about 30 mph and then the electronic nannies would shut the fun off. It was a long drive...

The other reason is simply that I tend to be alone and drive a lot on remote forest service roads and whatnot. I assume if I get a flat it's probably going to be in the middle of nowhere in a rocky environment and I don't want to have to rely on a spare that has almost no capabilities to handle that type of terrain. It would be beyond frustrating to get a flat and then destroy the spare and be stuck!

To your second question, I have a Harbor Freight bottle jack I carry along with a couple of blocks. If you think about it, with a 1 inch plus size tire compared to the stock tire the axle is only 1/2 inch further off the ground, but I still don't like relying on the stock bottle jack, although it's certainly better than the normal scissor jack that comes with most vehicles.

I also carry a compressor (Thor's Lightning) and patch kit so I'm really trying to be prepared for anything. Your needs (or irrational fears) may not be as extreme! ;o)

 

[Goriders]

Thanks for the info. It has been on my list to do something similar. Good to actually see what will physically fit.

 

[Delta1Seven]

I'm sure you could use the OEM spare but I think there are caveats.

For one thing I think you'd almost have to have the spare on the front. If you get a flat on the rear and use the OEM spare with an inch difference (32" vs 33") the truck would think one side is spinning due to the size differential and try to "fix" it. Turning traction control off might help but I still think it would be hard on the truck. I haven't tested it but having the OEM spare on the front shouldn't (?) be as big a deal, but still not great.

As an example we have a '06 Infiniti M45 with a saver spare. I got a flat years ago on the freeway and used the spare on the rear. The spare is a different circumference than the stock tire for some reason. I limped to the nearest exit but the car wouldn't go more than about 30 mph and then the electronic nannies would shut the fun off. It was a long drive...

The other reason is simply that I tend to be alone and drive a lot on remote forest service roads and whatnot. I assume if I get a flat it's probably going to be in the middle of nowhere in a rocky environment and I don't want to have to rely on a spare that has almost no capabilities to handle that type of terrain. It would be beyond frustrating to get a flat and then destroy the spare and be stuck!

To your second question, I have a Harbor Freight bottle jack I carry along with a couple of blocks. If you think about it, with a 1 inch plus size tire compared to the stock tire the axle is only 1/2 inch further off the ground, but I still don't like relying on the stock bottle jack, although it's certainly better than the normal scissor jack that comes with most vehicles.

I also carry a compressor (Thor's Lightning) and patch kit so I'm really trying to be prepared for anything. Your needs (or irrational fears) may not be as extreme! ;o)

These are the responses I like! Very informative. I think I will add this spare tire to my list of mods I need to purchase.

Not sure if it makes a difference, but my Methods required extended lug nuts. I would assume these lugs would work with the OEM Spare rim/wheel but I may just keep 5 oem lugs in my patch kit just in case.

Also, you mentioned you have blocks for your bottle jack. Are these something specific, or just cut 2x6's or something?

 

[gofastdan]

These are the responses I like! Very informative. I think I will add this spare tire to my list of mods I need to purchase.

Not sure if it makes a difference, but my Methods required extended lug nuts. I would assume these lugs would work with the OEM Spare rim/wheel but I may just keep 5 oem lugs in my patch kit just in case.

Also, you mentioned you have blocks for your bottle jack. Are these something specific, or just cut 2x6's or something?

Good point concerning the extended lugs. I haven't tried them with the spare but I'm not chancing it. I carry a wheel's worth of the OEM lugs with me as you suggest.

For the blocks, I carry some leveling blocks for when I'm camping to help level the truck but cut 2x6 would work fine. I'm more concerned with having a stable surface to put the jack on than I am the actual height. The only nice thing about store-bought leveling blocks is that they usually can be interlocked together to create more lift if needed whereas if you stack pieces of wood it's not going to be very stable...

 

[BearTacos]

I finally upgraded my spare tire today.

When I bought the Tacoma ('24 Off-Road) almost a year ago one of the first things I did was replace the stock tires and wheels with BFGoodrich KO3 tires (285/70 R17) on Method MR705 wheels. I'm very happy with this set up and intend to keep this size tire as long as I own the truck.

That said, the "convenience" spare obviously was no longer remotely close to the same size as the KO3's. It's been on my list to replace the spare with a real tire. I didn't want to just buy another KO3 for two reasons. The first is the cost. I didn't want to spend that much on a tire that hopefully will just sit under the truck for the next ten years and never get used. More importantly though, the 285/70 is a pretty wide tire and when I tested it under the truck it hung WAY down. Unacceptable.

Fast forward to today. I bought and installed a Venom Power Terra Hunter XT in LT255/80 R17 on the spare rim. It's ~1/4 larger in circumference than the KO3, which is close enough for me, and just as importantly it's over an inch narrower so it sits up in the spare tire bay nicely. The Venom Power was also the cheapest tire I could find that still seemed to be something I won't dread putting on in the middle of nowhere. I have no illusions about it being a quality tire but for the price ($158 from Giga Tire and installed by Pep Boys for $25) I'm more than happy with it. I think this pretty much completes the "recovery" portion of my truck build.


The 33" tire fits, but just barely. You won't get a bigger tire in there.

Yes, that's my rear view mirror camera mounted in the receiver. Love it! ;o)

Thank you for this information, im waiting for information on the 18" rim spare tire. I may just go to tire shop and get the biggest that will fit then replace my tires with that size.

 

[DogsandaTruck]

I finally upgraded my spare tire today.

When I bought the Tacoma ('24 Off-Road) almost a year ago one of the first things I did was replace the stock tires and wheels with BFGoodrich KO3 tires (285/70 R17) on Method MR705 wheels. I'm very happy with this set up and intend to keep this size tire as long as I own the truck.

That said, the "convenience" spare obviously was no longer remotely close to the same size as the KO3's. It's been on my list to replace the spare with a real tire. I didn't want to just buy another KO3 for two reasons. The first is the cost. I didn't want to spend that much on a tire that hopefully will just sit under the truck for the next ten years and never get used. More importantly though, the 285/70 is a pretty wide tire and when I tested it under the truck it hung WAY down. Unacceptable.

Fast forward to today. I bought and installed a Venom Power Terra Hunter XT in LT255/80 R17 on the spare rim. It's ~1/4 larger in circumference than the KO3, which is close enough for me, and just as importantly it's over an inch narrower so it sits up in the spare tire bay nicely. The Venom Power was also the cheapest tire I could find that still seemed to be something I won't dread putting on in the middle of nowhere. I have no illusions about it being a quality tire but for the price ($158 from Giga Tire and installed by Pep Boys for $25) I'm more than happy with it. I think this pretty much completes the "recovery" portion of my truck build.


The 33" tire fits, but just barely. You won't get a bigger tire in there.

Yes, that's my rear view mirror camera mounted in the receiver. Love it! ;o)

You’ll find the 33 rubs in some spots while driving. It was enough to start to show wear on my sidewall that was facing up.

moved mine to the bed.

 

[BearTacos]

You’ll find the 33 rubs in some spots while driving. It was enough to start to show wear on my sidewall that was facing up.

moved mine to the bed.

Maybe buy a tire tube lay it on yop of the tire then raise it up. You could even cut the tube in half and it should only add a1/4" to the height which it turn would only make it a 1/4" lower. I may just stick with stock size tires for the spare tire issue. I've not pulled out a spare in 10 yrs but I like having the option when driving across Wyoming or Nebraska at night.

 

[gofastdan]

You’ll find the 33 rubs in some spots while driving. It was enough to start to show wear on my sidewall that was facing up.

moved mine to the bed.

Yeah, the OEM spare was showing signs of rubbing as well (16,000 miles on the truck) so I don't think it's specifically related to the larger spare. I also did consider cutting up a bicycle tire and laying it on the wear zones and may still do so.

My last truck was a 2016 GMC Canyon and there were actually reports of the spare tire blowing out just by rubbing on the underside of the truck so it seems like a common issue.

 

[gofastdan]

Thank you for this information, im waiting for information on the 18" rim spare tire. I may just go to tire shop and get the biggest that will fit then replace my tires with that size.

This is an indispensable resource for determining different tire sizes. Just plug in different tire sizes and you can see how they compare. If nothing else you can go into the store armed with some information.

33" is the biggest that will fit under the truck so, for example, you could potentially put a 255/75 R18 on, but then you have to shop around and see if that's even a real tire size (assuming you want an LT or AT tire).

 

[BearTacos]

This is an indispensable resource for determining different tire sizes. Just plug in different tire sizes and you can see how they compare. If nothing else you can go into the store armed with some information.

33" is the biggest that will fit under the truck so, for example, you could potentially put a 255/75 R18 on, but then you have to shop around and see if that's even a real tire size (assuming you want an LT or AT tire).

Thanks i was just on that site. I'm going with a 265/70r18 toyo at3 in the 10ply. I think the stock width should help on rolling resistance and fuel mileage.
Toyo also has a $100 rebate on 4 tires they are $1080 after rebate delivered and my local tire shop is installing for free and giving me $300 cash for the factory tires with 2k miles on them.

 

[gofastdan]

Thanks i was just on that site. I'm going with a 265/70r18 toyo at3 in the 10ply. I think the stock width should help on rolling resistance and fuel mileage.
Toyo also has a $100 rebate on 4 tires they are $1080 after rebate delivered and my local tire shop is installing for free and giving me $300 cash for the factory tires with 2k miles on them.

Nice. That sounds like an excellent deal and that tire will easily fit under the truck!

 

[BearTacos]

Nice. That sounds like an excellent deal and that tire will easily fit under the truck!

Thanks I'm heading to hunt Idaho, Wyoming and Montana for spring bear season. I'm wanting the tires, cali raised sliders on and need to make my mind up retrax pro tonneau cover or weatherguard toolbox before the trip. I was really wanting to have a stealth bumper with winch installed but none of the options I'm seeing are the greatest designs. I'm going to hold out and let the designs and styles get improved a bit begore cutting the truck up and being tied to a model

 

[gofastdan]

Thanks I'm heading to hunt Idaho, Wyoming and Montana for spring bear season. I'm wanting the tires, cali raised sliders on and need to make my mind up retrax pro tonneau cover or weatherguard toolbox before the trip. I was really wanting to have a stealth bumper with winch installed but none of the options I'm seeing are the greatest designs. I'm going to hold out and let the designs and styles get improved a bit begore cutting the truck up and being tied to a model

Your user name makes perfect sense now. . Best of luck!

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