Spare Tire

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regulator213

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I have been looking into what to do with my spare tire once I move up to some bigger tire sizes. It looks like keeping the tire in the factory location is not a realistic option for the most part so that leaves me with really one of two options. Roof mount it on a roof rack or get a spare tire carrier swing out bumper.

Putting the spare tire on the roof seems like a nightmare though seeing how heavy it can be (and I'm fairly short at 5'7"). But I'm not sure I want to have the extra weight of the swing out and tire on my rig all the time for daily driving.

Are there any other options that I'm missing?
 
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regulator213 said:
I have been looking into what to do with my spare tire once I move up to some bigger tire sizes. It looks like keeping the tire in the factory location is not a realistic option for the most part so that leaves me with really one of two options. Roof mount it on a roof rack or get a spare tire carrier swing out bumper.

Putting the spare tire on the roof seems like a nightmare though seeing how heavy it can be (and I'm fairly short at 5'7"). But I'm not sure I want to have the extra weight of the swing out and tire on my rig all the time for daily driving.

Are there any other options that I'm missing?
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Trunk mounted. Lot of OEM suv's had this as an option. Your pretty much stuck with those three options.
 
A compressor, a repair kit, and a AAA card is all i carry for Daily driving. Ironically Im setup to run on the roof, a swingout and underneath, bit choose to go without. Knock on wood, ro regrets yet.
 
A 265/75R16 will fit as well as a 235/85R16 for the same (31.7") height with less hang down. When I was thinking of going with larger than that I was going to try deflating the tire, stuffing it under there, and carrying a compressor.
 
blaze17 said:
A 265/75R16 will fit as well as a 235/85R16 for the same (31.7") height with less hang down. When I was thinking of going with larger than that I was going to try deflating the tire, stuffing it under there, and carrying a compressor.
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That's how I carry mine. I run 285/70/17 Duratracs. With low air, it just fits. It really gave me a good excuse to buy my compressor.
 
CdaleR4000si said:
That's how I carry mine. I run 285/70/17 Duratracs. With low air, it just fits. It really gave me a good excuse to buy my compressor.
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I guess I may do that for now then. At least until I go with a different option later on. I already have and carry a compressor, I just didn't realize that a larger tire would fit. Thanks guys.
 
I just ordered a hitch mount knucklebone rear tire carrier from detours fabrication(no affiliation) I'll let you know how it turns out as soon as I get it.
 
4runinva5 said:
I just ordered a hitch mount knucklebone rear tire carrier from detours fabrication(no affiliation) I'll let you know how it turns out as soon as I get it.
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I've seen this before and wondered about it...... did you get the version that still allows you to use the hitch?
 
blaze17 said:
A 265/75R16 will fit as well as a 235/85R16 for the same (31.7") height with less hang down. When I was thinking of going with larger than that I was going to try deflating the tire, stuffing it under there, and carrying a compressor.
Click to expand...

This is not true for all 3rd gens, depends on which hitch yours came with factory. My 2001 won't fit a 265/75/16 in the factory spot.

CdaleR4000si said:
That's how I carry mine. I run 285/70/17 Duratracs. With low air, it just fits. It really gave me a good excuse to buy my compressor.
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Your's has to be touching the panhard bar. No way a 285 doesn't. I don't know if that can cause serious issues or not, but it's not something I would do...

JayRolla said:
Mine is on stock location. I don't mind keeping a smaller tire just can't use 4x4 when installed.
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This is exactly what I do. It's even better for me since I have multimode I can stay in 4WD so long as I don't have the center diff locked.
 
ralatkins said:
I've seen this before and wondered about it...... did you get the version that still allows you to use the hitch?
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http://www.detoursusa.com/images/knucklebone-main.jpg
No I didn't go that route. Mark from Detours was extremely nice to deal with. He asked for a few measurements and a couple pictures so he can custom build my carrier. I told him that departure angle was a major priority and he advised me that adding the ability to use the hitch would stick out much too far. As far as recovery points, he makes these mounts called C3R'shttp://www.detoursusa.com/images/c3r_main.jpgthat attach to the hitch that i will be using. He is also making it with a slight angle/pitch since the rear of the 4 runner kind of slopes inward and it will have to support 35's. The side drop is an option but I wanted the full rear drop down-to-the-ground version so I can make-shift a table when I have the rear tire folded down(Beer Pong).
 
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I'd suggest just sticking it in the back. It does take up quite a bit of space (I ran mine back there for a few months), but if/when you need it, it's at a convenient level and easy to get out.
 
[MENTION=116387]Unner[/MENTION]

Actually, it normally would hit the panhard, if I just winch it up like you normally would. If the tire is under inflated enough, and I pull it slightly toward the rear bumper, it will draw up with about 1/2" gap from the panhard.
I was worried about it rubbing at first, but after checking it at various times, I found that it did not move. I've been running it up there for 2 and a half years now.

I also remove it when I go off road. Under rough conditions, I would imagine that it would hit.
 
Keep the stock tire. Most passenger cars' spare tire is smaller as well ,it doesn't hurt anything and our spares are already very large all things considered.
 
derpiful said:
I'd suggest just sticking it in the back. It does take up quite a bit of space (I ran mine back there for a few months), but if/when you need it, it's at a convenient level and easy to get out.
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This is what I do. If I know I'm gonna need the full cargo area for something around town, I just leave the spare at home.
 
gamefreakgc said:
Keep the stock tire. Most passenger cars' spare tire is smaller as well ,it doesn't hurt anything and our spares are already very large all things considered.
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If you put the small spare on the rear I think you could damage your diff. The small wheel will want to spin faster. But it can't because you are going in a straight line. I recall hearing from [MENTION=116470]Tyler James Inc[/MENTION] if I'm not mistaken that if you put on a different size spare it should go on the front left.
 
If you put the small spare on the rear I think you could damage your diff. The small wheel will want to spin faster. But it can't because you are going in a straight line. I recall hearing from @Tyler James Inc if I'm not mistaken that if you put on a different size spare it should go on the front left.
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This is a point of contention every time I have brought this up to someone. Is there a definitive answer on this? I've always thought it was a bad idea to put a different sized spare on the rear axle, and I've had people vehemently argue that a different sized spare is SUPPOSED to go on the rear axle.
 
I run factory spare in stock location. My tires are only 275/65/16 so I don't worry about size difference, but 33-31 will probably be the limit of what I'd do. I have been in a rig on 40's that lost air while driving and that was wild, slow speed and not a sudden loss so we were ok. I put a full size 275/65/16
on and it did hit the pan hard, great tip to " let the air out".
 
Holy thread revival spam bot!

Most FWD cars have smaller tires and work fine even though their front end is like our rear end. The whole point of a spare is to just get you home. For a more extreme example, some people weld their rear diffs to have an "always locked" rear end. When making turns the diff doesn't explode, it just chirps the tires as one travels farther than the other so having a smaller tire will essentially do the same thing, since one is travelling a shorter distance than the other tire. Not ideal, but not worth dropping $200+ for a 5th tire and then trying to stuff an over-sized spare in the back.
 
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