Hey all! Asking a question I probably already know the answer too... The spare tire is the original factory spare with a 2001 date of manufacture - is it OK to use? It's been under a tire cover its entire life, so literally looks totally brand new and doesn't even appear to be used at all. Or should I get it switched out with a new one.

 

You should replace it with new. 20+ year old rubber is no good, even under the protection of a tire cover. The rubber is much harder than a new tire, so grip is compromised, plus at that age the rubber is brittle. Your tires are the only thing connecting your vehicle to the road, so why chance it?

 

Replace it. You have a spare to solve and emergency problem. What if your emergency problem solver immediately fails leaving you in the exact same emergency situation?

 

I installed a set of tires on my boat trailer. Triaxle. My dad said they were new tires.

For 4 weeks in a row I was replacing one tire on the side of the highway each weekend. In my swimming shorts and flip flops. 95 degrees in direct sunlight.

My dad responds, they're new you shouldn't be having issues. Those tires have been sitting in my shed for 10 years and were never mounted.

I spent 1k on 6 new tires and the problem went away.



Don't trust it. I did my science experiment and it drove me to drinking.

 

Cool cool, the validation I needed. Thanks all!

 

Have an expedition trailer with a spare that blew on its own while hanging on the spare tire bracket, simple failure due to age, only 8 years old.
Good that you will replace it.

 

I know you’ve received the validation, but I’ll pile on: boy I sure wouldn’t do it. My anecdotal evidence was towing a Pop Up we had a few years ago. On my way back from Death Valley on the 5, I got a loud BANG, and the old tire on the pop up failed at 55-60 mph. Fortunately I was able to safely get to the emergency lane and put the spare on (in driving rain of course after a long weekend of riding dual sports) and there was no damage to anything.

It was a well known deal that tires used on those Pop Ups were prone to fail when they got older. This was only a few years after the whole ‘Exploder” deal that put a big dent in Ford to say the least. Bottom line, you are making the right choice. When I did the fly and drive for my ‘00 D2, the tires were slightly expired and a little dry rotted. I took the chance for the drive back to UT and thankfully made it, but debated long and hard stopping to get new tires before I set out. I wouldn’t take that same risk today.

 

So after I replace it, assuming it's covered all the time, how often should the spare tire be replaced simply due to age rather than wear? 5-8 years?

 

Try to run 5 matching tires and go 5 tire rotation. Approximately 25% longer tread life from a set of tires

 

I thought about this but figured it might be odd having one with significantly more life than the other four at any given interval. What's the rotation pattern for that? I guess I can just google it too lol