Who checks the air in their spare tire?

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  • Carlos
    Veteran Member
    • Jan 2004
    • 1893
    • Phoenix, AZ, USA.

    #16
    It's hanging off the back of my Jeep, so I check it all the time. The wife's car has no spare, so...

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    • Jim Frye
      Veteran Member
      • Dec 2002
      • 1051
      • Maumee, OH, USA.
      • Ryobi BT3000 & BT3100

      #17
      My '65 Corvair Corsa had the spare tire mounted on top of the engine. Plenty of room with the flat six, but it was hot as heck in the engine room. I feared premature dry rot of the rubber. I discovered the full sized spare would fit in the bottom of the front trunk and if you over inflated the tire a bit, it would wedge itself in the cavity and stiffen the unibody some. It also moved some weight to the front in an already heavily rear biased car.
      Jim Frye
      The Nut in the Cellar.
      ”Sawdust Is Man Glitter”

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      • Pappy
        The Full Monte
        • Dec 2002
        • 10453
        • San Marcos, TX, USA.
        • BT3000 (x2)

        #18
        Spares mounted in a recess in the trunk floor are mounted valve stem down for a reason. Like Loring said, the jack and its assorted parts are stored on top of the tire. People tend to consider this to be bonus storage area. If the stem was facing up there would be a good chance of it getting broken by something laying on it.

        Wife's van is a ramp conversion and the spare is behind the rear seat, standing up. My '06 f150 like was said before is on a cable winch under the rear of the bed. Like others I flipped it over so the valve stem is down.
        Don, aka Pappy,

        Wise men talk because they have something to say,
        Fools because they have to say something.
        Plato

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        • twistsol
          Veteran Member
          • Dec 2002
          • 2893
          • Cottage Grove, MN, USA.
          • Ridgid R4512, 2x ShopSmith Mark V 520, 1951 Shopsmith 10ER

          #19
          Tire rotation on my truck includes the spare every 5,000 miles, so the air is checked about every three months or so when I do a tire rotation. My wife's car has a donut spare and I don't think I've ever checked the air in it. I'm probably about to jinx myself, but haven't had a flat tire on a car or truck since the last millennium. Tractors, trailers, wheelbarrows, and lawnmowers are a completely different story.
          Chr's
          __________
          An ethical man knows the right thing to do.
          A moral man does it.

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          • Mr__Bill
            Veteran Member
            • May 2007
            • 2096
            • Tacoma, WA
            • BT3000

            #20
            Our Toyota is still under the free service so the tire gets checked each time it's in. My Tahoe has it under the deck and I check it with a hammer as the valve stem is on the top. I used to carry a can of fix a flat in each car until I had to use one once. It was flat! Seems they have a shelf/trunk life and then are not useable.
            I keep a 24" flex wrench with a socket sized for the lug nut in the trunk sprayed with an anticrosive and sealed in a plastic bag. Also work gloves and orange rags in a Ziploc bag. Most importantly a roll of TP in a plastic bag, nothing like finding the way-side-rest is out of TP.
            Then there is the seasonal stuff.

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            • WoodcraftBen
              Handtools only
              • Jan 2020
              • 3

              #21
              I agree that the best way to avoid even having to think about the air in the spare tire at all is to keep a portable pump in the trunk. That way, you can air up a tire anytime, just plug it into the lighter outlet and you've got all the air you could ever need, even if it's for the regular tires. It also comes in handy if you want to pump up a bicycle tire, balls, or anything else. Funny tho, as I write this I'm remembering the fact that my current car doesn't even have a spare tire. I guess a lot of cars do that now to make for more storage space. I guess they figure you can call for a tow if you get a flat. I'm old school though, I like the security of having a spare.
              "It's a dog eat dog world, Sammy, and I'm wearing Milk-Bone underwear."—Norm Peterson, "Cheers"

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              • leehljp
                Just me
                • Dec 2002
                • 8429
                • Tunica, MS
                • BT3000/3100

                #22
                While this thread was just before Christmas, 3 days AFTER Christmas, we were on the way to my wife's sister and mother in S. Mississippi. We stopped at one of those stores that sell a plethora of vegetables and jellies and candies. Within two miles after getting back on the road, and with no store of ANY kind in front of us for about 15 miles, the low air light came on. I got out and noticed the left front tire low. I ran my hand around it and I could feel air coming out of a small puncture hole. I did not want to get the donut out, nor spend time at a repair shop.

                I got my Ryobi 18V air pump out and pumped it up to 40PSI and headed back to the nearest store, (a dollar store) and bought one of those plug kits. I turned the tire so that I could get to it easily and plugged it, filled it back up to 35PSI and went on my way. I checked it daily and it was steady at 35psi. I need to have it patched from inside but since it it holding its own, I will wait till our next oil change,

                At sure in nice to have an air pump in the car and a plug kit for emergencies.


                Hank Lee

                Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

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