New Tires

[humblerb]

Another question as I am preparing to replace tires on my fifth wheel.
I am replacing due to age, not due to wear.
Question is with regard to the spare.
I know the best thing to do is replace all 5 with the same tire.
But, does it make any sense to replace the spare with a cheaper tire or leave the existing spare on (zero miles on it), with the thought that it would only be used until I can reach the next town?

[Splashers3]

I kept my 6 yr old Westlake "G" rated spare under my 5ver. However, I bought a new tire and wheel, along with replacing the 4 tires on the rig. Replaced the Westlakes with Hercules H-901 STs. So I now have 6 "G" rated tires. I carry the new 6th tire in my rig's basement. I hope the Hercs perform as well as the Westlakes did.

[TXiceman]

Not only do tire age and deteriorate due to UV damage, ozone causes tire deterioration. Ozone is in the air and can get to the spare even under the trailer.

Ken

[fj12ryder]

IMO if those were "E" rated Westlakes, you were lucky you got them to run as long as you did. Those tires are some that should be retired (HAR) early. Six years is about 2 years too long.

[johndeerefarmer]

Had three blowouts on one trip with 6 year old Westlakes. Spare was brand new and mounted under the trailer and it blew too..

Buy all 5 new!

[valhalla360]

MarkTwain wrote:
RVing is %100 guaranteed to have "breakdowns" i.e. blown tires. Buy a new tire for the spare!!!!

Never had a blowout. 15yrs traveling by rv, around 6 months per year. Dad never had one and he was cheap with tires....so not exactly 100%.

We typically tell the shop to put the best old tire on the spare rim, when getting new tires. That avoids 20yr old spare but saves money.

[Thermoguy]

After a blowout and realization that I had problems with other tires (all due to age, tried to squeeze 1 more season) I had to use my spare which was also old. It worked fine for the remainder of my trip, a couple hundred miles and was still OK, but I replaced all 4 with new and used one I had to buy to get me through as the new spare. I think you will be OK with your spare, or use one of the 4 for a new spare and change 1 out each time you put new ones on the ground.

[larry_barnhart]

Because the tire you might need on the road to replace the blown tire tells me to buy the new spare then if needed you buy what you can get.

chevman

[fj12ryder]

The spare on our last trailer was never lowered in the six years we had the Sailun tires on it. I just replaced the rolling tires on our new-to-us 5th wheel with Sailun tires, kept the spare as a spare. Hate to waste money. 🙂

[JIMNLIN]

Also depends on the type of tire used. If the tires are 5-6+ years old and the usual load C/D/E ST maypops then they don't make a good reliable spare at that age.
If the tires area LT or a commercial grade load G or H ST then they make good spares for several more years....assuming their protected from the sun.
Now if the trailer sees maybe 1500 miles a year then cheap quality low cost tires may work best.

On the rv trailers I've owned and several GN or bumper pull service trailers I never buy a new spare.

Run a quality tire on a road trailer and the spare may never roll on the ground.

[MarkTwain]

RVing is %100 guaranteed to have "breakdowns" i.e. blown tires. Buy a new tire for the spare!!!!

[MFL]

Agree with above, as to need to replace spare. Age matters, and a tire not being used, can become rotted, more so than one being run at highway speeds.

Only you know, how your spare has been treated. Out of sun, properly inflated, and not more than 10+ years old? Are you towing long distances, or full timing? IMO, unless you fall under one of above, I'd use the current spare, rather than buy new, just to hang on the trailer.

Jerry

[Likes_to_tow]

My belief is that since the spare usually but not always is kept out of direct sunlight it should be good enough to continue being a spare for a while. My trailers have all had the spare underneath the frame and on the rare occasion that I needed to use or inspect it I found no cracks or obvious signs of deterioration. Age of the tire figures into the equation because after around 6 years they are not supposed to be used as a permanent tire. As with everything in our world right now tires are very expensive and buying 5 just to put one underneath as a spare is wasteful. But it depends on your financial situation and peace of mind. All of my spares on my RV and both boats are older tires that I have either pulled out of service or they came with the unit when new and I never replaced. I do however once a year check for dry rot and obvious knots or bulges or signs of separation. Keeping the lug nuts checked for proper tightness is more important than keeping new rubber as a spare!!