Spare tire or not?

To each his own. I carry one as well as a tire repair kit and a small compressor. Years of training to be prepared for every conceivable situation is part of my ethos. I don't believe relying on someone else should be the reason one does not carry a spare. That option should be used only when absolutely necessary as in an accident or other. Again, my own way of doing business.
 
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I ran over a pop rivet one day in my Mustang a few years back, and I'm awful glad I had a spare- it left a huge hole. Why would I not keep a spare on the Jeep? You never know what might happen. I keep a tire repair kit and small a compressor on me as well for emergencies, but having the spare is just more insurance. Rotating all five of them increases the time between tire changes too. It also looks more complete with one!

I understand if you can't afford a fifth wheel, but, I mean, if you can't afford one more wheel and tire, maybe you shouldn't have bought the first four to begin with. 🤔
It does crack me up when you see a Jeep with bigger tires and aftermarket wheels with a stock spare though, I don't feel bad poking fun at those folks lol.
 
It always kills me to see a Jeep with say 33's/35's and still have the original 30" on the back.
Its ok to just not run the spare in that case, imo.
 
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I have a spare in/on all of my cars. Murphy keeps a close eye on me and lets me know he is watching. Also, gives my wife a place to hang all her "LIFE IS GOOD" Tire covers.
 
I had a flat in an airport parking lot once. It was 1am, it was cold, and I really wanted to get home. I swapped the tire in 15 min and was on the road. Im glad I had the spare with me. Another time my CPS/CAM sensor went south, again early in the morning, maybe 2-3 am. Cold. I couldnt fix the issue then and there so I had to call a tow truck, took him over an hour to get there. I realize that its not a flat, but waiting over an hour for a tow truck when all I wanted to do was get home. I wouldnt want to wait that long for somethign as simple as a flat.
 
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FWIW, if I drove off road I would carry a spare. You can really get a slice in a tire off road. Haven't had a flat on any Jeep with big tires on it ever and that is over 12 years and over 200K miles, so for me I feel it is overkill. Not worth all that weight considering how light my rig is and how much rubber is between me and the roadways. Seems like being prepared for a lightning strike. Fear isn't going to run me to that level. :)
 
I don't run my spare because my spare has the stock tire on it, would be worthless with my 35's. I also don't go wheeling but a couple times a year if I'm lucky. It's nice not packing the extra weight and actually being able to see behind me. When my tires do get wore out I plan on buying the 5th tire and tire carrier as I'm constantly wondering what I'd do if I'd ever tear a sidewall. Luckily the load road range E thick ply tires are not very likely to go flat.
 
tworley said:
I had a flat in an airport parking lot once. It was 1am, it was cold, and I really wanted to get home. I swapped the tire in 15 min and was on the road. Im glad I had the spare with me. Another time my CPS/CAM sensor went south, again early in the morning, maybe 2-3 am. Cold. I couldnt fix the issue then and there so I had to call a tow truck, took him over an hour to get there. I realize that its not a flat, but waiting over an hour for a tow truck when all I wanted to do was get home. I wouldnt want to wait that long for something as simple as a flat.
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The only time we ever had to call AAA was when I was dating my wife and she had it through her parents. We spun off an icy interstate in her 2WD Mazda truck. It took them 2-1/2 hours to get to us and pull the truck out of the ditch. Luckily someone stopped and drove us to a gas station a couple miles away so we could call on a pay phone. This was back in the days before cell phones. I always assume calling someone for anything car related will be a minimum 1 hour wait before they get to me (worse if it's my wife and kids and I need to explain to them which tools to load up). It took us another 30 min to get to a phone and another hour to get to the truck, get it pulled out, and towed to a safe place so we could assess if there were any issues and get back on our way.

It brings up a similar question, what sort of tools do people here normally carry with them?
 
ranwilrw said:
I'm in cottonmouth, copperhead, and rattler country, I'm more likely to get snake bit than have a flat, but I don't carry a snake bite kit either, just watch where you're stepping with both foot and tire.
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And thats where you'd rip a sidewall in your tire? Seems like you'd turn around then too.

We have rattlers here too. Along with lots of other things that can kill you (although I carry a first aid kit too). Hasn't really effected the decision to go there or possibly get a flat.
 
Airjunky said:
And thats where you'd rip a sidewall in your tire? Seems like you'd turn around then too.

We have rattlers here too. Along with lots of other things that can kill you (although I carry a first aid kit too). Hasn't really effected the decision to go there or possibly get a flat.
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Yep, if I don't have to go there, and there's not a way around it, I turn around. I'm getting old enough to learn to take the easiest option.
 
ranwilrw said:
Yep, if I don't have to go there, and there's not a way around it, I turn around. I'm getting old enough to learn to take the easiest option.
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Better stay in bed then. I hear you can get a flat tire almost anywhere. Call AAA.

Found a black widow in the hot tub a few weeks ago. Didn't stop us from using it. Even though we're "old".
 
I ran without one for a month or so as an experiment and thought it looked okay at first, but it really didn't look "right" to me. So I reinstalled it. It just looks more balanced with a spare on the back. I did however remove the third brake light because that shit is hideous and pointless IMHO. But I've seen some that look cool with out the spare too.
 
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Airjunky said:
Better stay in bed then. I hear you can get a flat tire almost anywhere. Call AAA.

Found a black widow in the hot tub a few weeks ago. Didn't stop us from using it. Even though we're "old".
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Best plan I've heard all day😴.
 
I've never had to use it, but I always keep a spare because you just never know. I also love the look of TJ's with them mounted, they look kinda weird without them to me, but that's just personal preference lol.
 
EJD said:
It always kills me to see a Jeep with say 33's/35's and still have the original 30" on the back.
Its ok to just not run the spare in that case, imo.
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I do agree with you,, I wish they made or maybe they do, a skinny tire with same diameter as you drive on 33”, 35” whatever but were only 6-8” wide for the spare.. it would be less weight and less problems
 
I run a spare too. I’ve not needed it yet. But, for me, it’s better safe than sorry. I also prefer the look with the spare.

I was one of those guys that had the original spare on mine too. Only had 31’s at the time on the other 4. But that spare was 21 years old when I replaced it. Good thing I didn’t ever need it.
 
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