Go check your spare tire lol

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

madtrucker2016

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2019
Posts
1,661
Reaction score
930
Location
New York
Ram Year
2023
Engine
5.7 Hemi
Think I might check my soon. It has never been off my truck.
What size tire did you have under the truck? I have gone up to 35"x12.5" BFG and have yet to get a correct spare. Was wondering what actually fits under the bed.
I think they give you a 16 inch temporary tire that is what I got on my 2016 Laramie crew cab Also I tried to put a 20 inch full size tire up in their and it would not fit because of the exhaust pipes to close would burn the **** out of the tire
 

buddy guy

Senior Member
Joined
May 22, 2019
Posts
2,559
Reaction score
2,116
Location
alberta
Ram Year
2018
Engine
5.7 hemi
you couldn't put a full size spare under? stock size? did they give a reason why? seems there's conflicting stories on whether you can put a full size spare under..or not.
 

madtrucker2016

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2019
Posts
1,661
Reaction score
930
Location
New York
Ram Year
2023
Engine
5.7 Hemi
you couldn't put a full size spare under? stock size? did they give a reason why? seems there's conflicting stories on whether you can put a full size spare under..or not.


their is a heat shield in the way so full 20 tire a no go
 

Jendsley06

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2018
Posts
155
Reaction score
125
Location
Southern Illinois
Ram Year
2018
Engine
Hemi 5.7
my bighorn is standard with 20 inch wheels-yet the spare wheel is 17inch? Maybe a 20 wont fit or maybe the 20 inch was an option on the bighorn-either way a 17 wouldnt be very safe to drive on for very far. The way it is under the truck-the mechanism is probably so rusted by now that I probably couldnt get it out now anyway.

A 20 will fit. I have a stock size 20" under mine on a stock size steel wheels. Mine came with the 17" steel wheels and my son's ( both my18) came with aluminum 17" spare. My son-in-law had a stock spare sitting around from a 3rd gen and let me have it. So it will fit. Heavier, but not afraid to trust it to get me home though.
 

pacofortacos

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2017
Posts
3,564
Reaction score
4,341
Ram Year
2016
Engine
5.7
I have a full size new LT285/70/17 tire on my 17" stock aluminum spare rim.
This is a perfect size spare for the stock 20's imo.
The tire size is just about the size of a half worn 275/60/20 tire - which in my experience, most flats will occur on a used tire.

New 285/70/17 = 32.7 or 32.8"
New 275/60/20 = 33"

I went with an LT because of the price and also I have XL 20's on the truck for towing and wanted the heavier capacity. The diameter is the same though whether LT or not.

Also, I tend to travel in in areas that may not have a store open at all hours and would not feel comfortable running loaded on a temp tire like the stock spare.

It fits underneath no problem.

On the plus side, at least they still give a spare - many cars now come with fix a flat and a compressor!
 

buddy guy

Senior Member
Joined
May 22, 2019
Posts
2,559
Reaction score
2,116
Location
alberta
Ram Year
2018
Engine
5.7 hemi
thats good to know. i would rather have some kind of full size spare that will fit under then a temp tire. i wouldn't run it for long. that's not the reason why. i just don't like temp tire spares.
 

pacofortacos

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2017
Posts
3,564
Reaction score
4,341
Ram Year
2016
Engine
5.7
their is a heat shield in the way so full 20 tire a no go


You just adjust the heat shield to give that extra space needed :)

Though I have a single exhaust, maybe it is tighter with the dual??

It's possible the heat shield are in a different location but doesn't seem probable - I do only have one heat shield though.
 

pacofortacos

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2017
Posts
3,564
Reaction score
4,341
Ram Year
2016
Engine
5.7
thats good to know. i would rather have some kind of full size spare that will fit under then a temp tire. i wouldn't run it for long. that's not the reason why. i just don't like temp tire spares.

Yeah, me neither. Just reading the sidewall is enough to realize they are really just a very short term temp spare and definitely not meant to be run at highway speeds.
 

Badger 13

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2018
Posts
1,165
Reaction score
1,130
Location
North Idaho
Ram Year
2013 Dodge Ram 1500
Engine
5.7 Hemi
I replaced my 17" temporary spare with a 20" steel wheel and a 20" tire that matched my tire size. It fits just fine with a couple of inches to spare. Even though the 17" spare was the same diameter of the 20" truck tires, I did not like the idea of a "temporary" spare tire.
 

madtrucker2016

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2019
Posts
1,661
Reaction score
930
Location
New York
Ram Year
2023
Engine
5.7 Hemi
You just adjust the heat shield to give that extra space needed :)

Though I have a single exhaust, maybe it is tighter with the dual??

It's possible the heat shield are in a different location but doesn't seem probable - I do only have one heat shield though.

I was under the truck and trust me no room for a full tire unless you remove the heat shield. Also Ram had a recall about the heat shields not being on some trucks, the spare tire was melting so I don't think I want to mess with it and have a melted spare tire
 

pacofortacos

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2017
Posts
3,564
Reaction score
4,341
Ram Year
2016
Engine
5.7
My tire is close to the 3.5" tailpipe (6.4 hemi tailpipe) I have on there now, but had plenty of clearance with the stock (5.7 hemi) 3" tailpipe.

A hammer adjusted my shield.

I have a 2016 but single exhaust, maybe that is different??

Don't get me wrong, I couldn't go much bigger, there is barely enough room and I know what you mean with the shield.

There is literally a total of about 3/4" between the tire/shield/tailpipe and there is no sign of damage to the tire BUT the 6.4 hemi tailpipe also has some shields on it and my stock 5.7 tailpipe left a lot of room between the shield and tailpipe.
 
Last edited:

Sly Dvl

Junior Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2018
Posts
14
Reaction score
4
Location
Ontario, Canada
Ram Year
2014
Engine
5.7
On the heels of checking your spare tire, check your tire jack!!! Mine (like most I assume) is under the passenger side seat. Great place to put it, however, the wingnut / stud holding things in place protrudes through the floor and as a result it's exposed to all the underbody environments!
I tried to take mine out while vacuuming the truck and it was rusted SOLID! Had to use a beefy pair of pliers to free it up. Not something I'd want to have to deal with if I was changing a tire on the side of a road somewhere. Bad design Ram...
:chair:
 
Last edited:

Latest posts

Staff online

Forum statistics

Threads
194,926
Posts
2,864,180
Members
155,296
Latest member
VLG6963
Top