Spare Tire Carrier?

[planovet]

As long as we're on the subject of spare tires, does the spare have to be the same diameter as the original tire? I don't really have room for a 15" spare, so I was wondering if I could get by with a smaller tire, as long as it had the same bolt pattern. Kind of like the "donut" spare that some cars use.

My thoughts exactly. I have 15" tires but would like a smaller spare. I've wondered if a smaller diameter would be ok for for short way. I've looked at some places but can't find a "donut" spare with my bolt pattern. (hope we aren't hijacking this thread...)

[Micro469]

As long as we're on the subject of spare tires, does the spare have to be the same diameter as the original tire? I don't really have room for a 15" spare, so I was wondering if I could get by with a smaller tire, as long as it had the same bolt pattern. Kind of like the "donut" spare that some cars use.

My thoughts exactly. I have 15" tires but would like a smaller spare. I've wondered if a smaller diameter would be ok for for short way. I've looked at some places but can't find a "donut" spare with my bolt pattern. (hope we aren't hijacking this thread...)

Nope... not hijacking it...it's all related. I wasn't going to put a full size under either. I don't want to go to the expense of another rim and tire. I still got the original 12" tires hanging around, and was going to use one of them. I figure that should be good enough to get me back to civilization if I drive slow.......

[brian_bp]

I've looked at some places but can't find a "donut" spare with my bolt pattern.

I'm not surprised. I've never seen a trailer with a compact/skinny/donut/space-saver spare, and the other vehicles using the same bolt pattern and offset are typically either very old (and thus their parts are not common), or they're trucks (and trucks don't use compact spares).

If you have 5-on-4.5" hubs, and a very wrong offset works for you, then the compact spare from a common minivan or car-based SUV (probably a Honda or Chrysler van) might fit, and same some weight and bulk compared to a full-sized spare.

[rbeemer]

IMHO for a trailer I would be careful about using a smaller tire as a spare for the simple reason is that you are now tilting the frame which includes the tongue and I am not sure that if you went over a bump on the full size wheel that you would not bend something. I think it is worth checking out. I could be talking from the left field bleachers.

[angib]

I can see no problem at all in towing a trailer with severely mismatched wheel/tyre sizes. Sure it'll look wrong, but it'll work. Definitely no strength issues.

If a really big mismatch was achieved - say, a 16" wheel one side and an 8" spare on the other - then it might tow a little off straight. No problem for a 50 mile tow to a repair place, but maybe not good for the wheel bearings if you did 10,000 miles like that......

Andrew

[brian_bp]

A bigger concern for mismatched tires due to using a small spare might be that many trailers have tires loaded so heavily than a minimum-sized adequate spare might not be much smaller than the full-sized tire. In contrast, my minivan has P215/65R16 regular tires and a much skinnier (T145/90R17, I think) spare (which runs at higher pressure to be adequate). Other vehicles with more oversized regular tires have an even greater difference.

Since Dean's trailer has 15" wheels, it likely has generously sized regular tires, and a skinny/small spare might be usefully smaller and still have adequate capacity.

[john]

The spare I used was a mini spare. I mounted it under the trailer with an eyelet screwed into the wood and a threaded hook from the donor car hooked through the eyelet. The donor car also gave up its' giant wing nut to hold the spare tight to the trailer frame.

So as to keep the offset correct with the mini spare I only explored rear drive cars. Front drive cars have an offset that puts the lugs too close to the out side of the wheel and may cause the inside of the tire to rub the frame.

I don't have an easy to use set up for the spare. I doubt that I will use it much, though. In the end I would rather have the truck spare tire lift under the tear.

[planovet]

I have 15" tires, 5-on-4.75 hubs. I can't find a small spare to fit. Mght just have to suck it up and buy a full sized spare. I'm mounting it under the tongue so I wanted to keep the weight down.

[b.bodemer]

Off topic a little but can't find the post with a picture of a spare tire under the trailer held by straps????? Ca anyone point me in that direction.

thanks in advance,
Barb

[Ken Fincher]

John
Back to the original question, I would use it, it will not wiegh enough to cause any problems if you have to worry about putting an extra 5lbs. on you trailer your trailer probably should not be on the road due to it is already overloaded.

Like I said I would install it.
(hopfully you never have to use it,there are many of us out here that do not bend like we use to, & and what seems useless to some is a great asset to others.)
(Now all you need is a 12volt motor & a wireless control)

And in reguards to the smaller spare.
Go for it . (temporary fix,no excessive speed,you will be fine)

The Sin City Teardropper.(s)
Ken F.

[brian_bp]

The spare I used was a mini spare....

So as to keep the offset correct with the mini spare I only explored rear drive cars...

What hub (bolt pattern, etc) does the trailer have, and what car did you find with a matching compact spare wheel?
Just curious.

[john]

My bolt pattern is 5 on 4.5. The spare I got was off a late 80's to early 90's Mazda RX7. It matched the over all diameter of my wheels just thinner. I also scored an aluminum jack and folding wheel chocks off the same car. $15

Jeep liberty's have the same bolt pattern and I liked their 16" wheels, (I was trying to fill out my fenders) but the stamped metal wheels seemed expensive. I think some of the jeeps with interior mounted spares had mini spares in them but the ones I found were rusty or the rubber was worn.

But back to the OP's post, I like the truck spare crank idea and wanted to do it on my trailer but time was limited. I was leaving the next day for the beach. So the hanger seemed the way to go.