5 Tire Rotation

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Bigskyroadglide

Bigskyroadglide

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I've never done it either but going to try it with the 35s on my new truck, don't want to get caught replacing tires with a spare that is a different size.

 
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bcbouy

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I get mine done once every year,but only the 4.i don't do the spare.it's an ugly steel rim.my tire shop does free flat repairs,rotations and retorque when you buy tires from them.they even did my travel trailer for free.
 

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I did 5-tire rotations for several years….and found that all it accomplished was …it put unnecessary wear/tear on my spare…. I still had to buy new tires about the same time as usual…..and Then had to decide if I was going to buy FIVE ….or only 4 and let the spare be nearly worn-out.

My eventual choice is to only perform 4-wheel rotations, and let the spare be a spare….only checking it for proper pressure.

(In 55 years of driving my own vehicles …despite living on a rough-road-ranch and off-roading…..I’ve only needed a spare tire twice….and then only for short mileage to a tire store. I’ve certainly had flats…but, except for those 2-in-a-half-century-events…..I’ve never needed the “spare”….. a shot of air will get me to a tire-store or repair location where the one on the ground is fixed. A screw or nail has always been the cause of flats for me….never a worn-out-tire from lack of rotation or age.)

PS: My vehicles All have a decent* compressor on board.

* “decent” means a real compressor…not one of those plug-into-the-cigar-plug-to-inflate-a-child’s-toy types. There’s nothing as worthless as those little toy compressors. An inverter (or the OEM 115 VAC outlet) and a HF 3-gal “hot-dog” compressor is $50 well-spent!
 
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Daw14

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I do not rotate my tires , I do not get alignments unless there is odd wear patterns .

However now at 11 years old ,It would probably be a good idea to drop the spare and have a look for dry rot.
 

Tom Davis

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I do it on my Jeep, as all the rims match, but have never one it on any other vehicle I have owned.
 

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I don't do it on my JK and I don't do it on my Ram either , for the simple fact that when it comes times to buy a new set of tires you have to buy five and 37s Toyo MTs are expensive AF same for my 35s AT3s on the JK
 

62Blazer

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Most vehicles do not have a matching spare tire and wheel. An even if the spare tire is the same, often the spare rim is a non-matching base steel wheel. This means at minimum you would need to dismount and mount tires and wheels each time you rotated, which adds a lot of complexity (I mean, it's not that huge of a deal for a tire shop to do, but way more work than just move tires to a different axle position). If you do have a matching spare tire and wheel I do recommend rotating it in. One of the few vehicles I know of that does this is the Jeep Wranglers. My dad has one and I do rotate in the spare. I've owned multiple new trucks, and friends and family have had several that I work on, and don't think I have personally seen any that came from the factory with a matching spare. On anything that doesn't have a matching spare I just rotate the 4. I've had upgraded aftermarket tires and/or wheels on my last several vehicles and I only buy a set of 4 in that case. I will often buy a used spare tire of at least similar size (height being the most critical) if I can find something decent on Marketplace, just so I have something to use as a spare. For example I have 37x13.50R17 on aftermarket 17x9 rims on my current Ram 2500. I was able to find a decent single same size, but different brand and make, rim and tire combo used I throw in the truck bed on long trips.
For the 5 tire rotation, on paper you should be able to go 20% higher miles before the tires need replaced. Of course you need to buy 5 new ones when they wear out, so it's a wash. The majority on the Jeep Wrangler forums, that come with matching spares, is to do the 5 tire rotation.
 
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Bigskyroadglide

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Well I've got a JL and it's has 5 matching wheels, so I'm gonna try it out, not certain it's the right solution but, I'll try it out. Also have 35s on the Ram and 5 matching wheels and tires, so I'm gonna try it there as well.

At least once......gotta try everything at least once.

Since I only rotate every 10k, should be reasonable to accommodate unless a belt rolls up in a tire, like in the old days
 

tap4154

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I do not rotate my tires , I do not get alignments unless there is odd wear patterns .

However now at 11 years old ,It would probably be a good idea to drop the spare and have a look for dry rot.
It's also a good idea to occasionally inspect the cable mechanism that holds the spare up. I had a 2000 Ford F150 and I never did that, and then at about 15 years old the spare just fell off one day. Luckily it happened on a surface street, when I was just taking off at a stoplight. If it had happened on a freeway it could have been deadly to someone behind me.

I replaced the mechanism, and added strong straps to hold the tire up in case it failed again, until I sold it.
 

tap4154

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By the way, this is what I have on my Ram. The hoist is in perfect shape, and I do check it occasionally, but I put one ratchet strap diagonally across, and if I back off the hoist it's strong enough to hold the tire up. Just a little bit of insurance. The strap I'm using has spring locks on the hooks, so if the strap broke, they wouldn't fall off.
 

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RJL1

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I've done a 5 tire on our 2010 JKU that we bought new every oil change at 5K miles. Doing it now on our new to us 2020 JLUR as well. It certainly seemed like we got quite a bit more miles out of every tire.

I'm planning on doing a 4 tire rotation on my 1500 at the 5K oil change this upcoming week, weather permitting . It'll be the first rotation since I put on the 325/60R20 tires on new 20x10 rims. Interested to see how heavy these new tires and rims are gonna be.
 
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Bigskyroadglide

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Since I put 315 70 17 on my 24 Warlock classic, I have done 1, 5 tire rotation, not difficult and didn't take more time than a 4 tire. I understand the mechanics of it, I just mentally have trouble with reversing the direction of a tire, like. putting the right front on the left rear.

But we will see, so far so good.
 

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I still have the original spare on my 2005. I haven't noticed any signs of dry-rot.
 
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I still my the original spare on my 2005. I haven't noticed any signs of dry-rot.
The original spare on my 2015 still looks new as well. (I figure the only way that spare will ever get damaged…..is if I ever put in into-service! LOLOL)
 

olyelr

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I still have the original spare on my 2005. I haven't noticed any signs of dry-rot.
The original spare on my 2015 still looks new as well. (I figure the only way that spare will ever get damaged…..is if I ever put in into-service! LOLOL)
Any tire over i think 6 years old is considered to be unsafe, regardless of the tread depth. Even if its brand new never been down the road.

Years ago i tried having discount tire install some used mud tires on my truck for me. The tires were basically new as far as the tread goes (just a few laps on an off road race truck), but they were almost ten years old. No dryrot or cracking, great tread depth. Discount wouldnt even touch them because they were over 6 years old.

I soon found out that even tho the tire tread was in great shape, they were absolutely junk as far as performance went. I think the rubber was just too hard/dry/aged.
 
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