Spare tire(s) placement

[kunstmilch]

I can certainly respect your concerns here, but you drive a Suburban and let's face it, GM didn't exactly build them with weight or handling in mind.

The biggest factor is going to be size. If you're running stock(ish) sized spares, neither roof or rear bumper is going to make all that much difference. A standard armored bumper would weigh more hanging off the back and I highly doubt you'd notice any more body roll from a roof mount than what you already live with on the beast.

I'd say secure it inside and see if you can live with it. If not, hang it on the back/front. Or buy a repair kit and a compressor and leave the second spare at home. ;)

Yeah, the tires are 33" so a bit bigger but nothing crazy. I think you are right...for a full expedition I might throw it on the roof but not for smaller getaways. I might experiment by finding a good trail and trying different setups to see the handling differences.

 

[AggieOE]

I'll second the question of the need for a permanent second spare. With all the repair kits, roadside assistance, and running E-tires that are less susceptible to punctures, I do wonder how needed it is for regular trips and daily driving. I've seen some people carry additional tires, axles, tools, replacement components and such and it seems like a lot of weight for a small what-if.

If you really want to run it, why not run it opposite the other spare?

 

[M Rose]

I only run one spare tire, and I have only needed to change a tire once on the trail… had I not been running street slicks (18 and dumb) I wouldn’t have even had to change that tire.

 

[kunstmilch]

I'll second the question of the need for a permanent second spare. With all the repair kits, roadside assistance, and running E-tires that are less susceptible to punctures, I do wonder how needed it is for regular trips and daily driving. I've seen some people carry additional tires, axles, tools, replacement components and such and it seems like a lot of weight for a small what-if.

If you really want to run it, why not run it opposite the other spare?

Im only running the second spare when on one expeditions, not weekend getaways.

 

[Alanymarce]

To play devils advocate: I will forever carry two spares when I’m going on a trip longer than 4 days or long routes. Here’s why; when we were racing pro & trophy trucks in Baja and NV, almost every time a chase truck got one flat….it got a second. I have no idea why, but it seemed like one of those things. As soon as someone called out on the radio “had to fix a flat”, we all knew a second was coming. Just one of those superstitious kind of things.

The worst was when you’d get one on the road either to the race, course, or during the race. Cause then you were like F, the next one’s coming in the dirt….hopefully.

So, I only say this because we had all the flat fixers etc and you could do exactly what you say, BUT having that second spare was always heaven sent. And so I will forever carry two spares and tire repair gear on my longer trips.

Cause good ‘ol Murphy, he’s out there, and he wants to find ya! My $.02 and my experience only, so I definitely don’t think this a bad idea and would highly recommend to people.

Thanks for letting me speak, I hope everyone never needs them and wish everyone safe travels!

I'd be interested in why this was. I realise that the chase vehicles are not racing, however they do have to keep up...

I mentioned the Africa and Australia experience - both ten months and 45,000 km or thereabouts, much of which on tough "roads". In Australia we had one puncture and no need for a second spare; in Africa we had no punctures at all.

 

[El-Dracho]

I mentioned the Africa and Australia experience - both ten months and 45,000 km or thereabouts, much of which on tough "roads". In Australia we had one puncture and no need for a second spare; in Africa we had no punctures at all.

I agree with you from experience that one spare is enough. I have a full spare wheel with me, so same rim, same tire, same size. And a very comprehensive tire repair kit. On long trips, an additional tube comes along just in case. I run decent, robust brand tires. Never had a flat tire on the rig (once on the motorcycle). I have also taken another tire (only the tire) on trips, but that was completely unnecessary, a spare wheel in good condition is in my experience for many routes absolutely sufficient.

Please also always keep in mind that a second spare wheel means additional weight and additional weight means more load for the vehicle and theat means more wear and possibly damage. Often I see that spare wheels, at least a second, is transported on the roof rack. This increases the center of gravity and makes for poorer driving characteristics and less safety.

 

[94Cruiser]

There's always this concept...

OMG WTHWYT <<<<<<-----

 

[kunstmilch]

There's always this concept...

OMG WTHWYT <<<<<<-----

I really like how old vehicles had the spares like that (but importantly in between axles) but I couldn’t do that to my vehicle. Kudos to this guy for going for it but if I were going to do it it would just be like stock inside but both sides.

I also have the two tires for rotating in so there’s that. I haven’t needed two spares on the truck ever, on my car I did though lol.

 

[KAIONE]

To play devils advocate: I will forever carry two spares when I’m going on a trip longer than 4 days or long routes. Here’s why; when we were racing pro & trophy trucks in Baja and NV, almost every time a chase truck got one flat….it got a second. I have no idea why, but it seemed like one of those things. As soon as someone called out on the radio “had to fix a flat”, we all knew a second was coming. Just one of those superstitious kind of things.

The worst was when you’d get one on the road either to the race, course, or during the race. Cause then you were like F, the next one’s coming in the dirt….hopefully.

So, I only say this because we had all the flat fixers etc and you could do exactly what you say, BUT having that second spare was always heaven sent. And so I will forever carry two spares and tire repair gear on my longer trips.

Cause good ‘ol Murphy, he’s out there, and he wants to find ya! My $.02 and my experience only, so I definitely don’t think this a bad idea and would highly recommend to people.

Thanks for letting me speak, I hope everyone never needs them and wish everyone safe travels!

I'd be interested in why this was. I realise that the chase vehicles are not racing, however they do have to keep up...

I mentioned the Africa and Australia experience - both ten months and 45,000 km or thereabouts, much of which on tough "roads". In Australia we had one puncture and no need for a second spare; in Africa we had no punctures at all.

It was all from experience. We started with a basic list, then we raced and things happened, we adjusted. Like I said, it was a weird occurrence; when someone got a flat whether it be on or off the road, they’d always get a second. So that became the standard. A few reasons may be the chase trucks we had were all outfitted with tool box beds, so they were under load. We carried tools, race/chase fuel, tires on custom built roof racks, spare parts for the race truck, things for the pit, camping gear, coolers etc. We were fully loaded. Had a tractor trailer the whole 9. And a lot of the time we were on the road, but then a lot off, especially when we had to get to the truck. Another reason was time. If u got a flat, we didn’t have time to patch a tire during the race. Chasing for pre running, sure no problem. Even then, when you pulled down a patched tire and replaced a flat…it wasn’t comforting to know that you had to haul ass to your next destination and then had 7-10 days left in the desert or maybe drive all night back towards the border if you were south enough and then on to Vegas, where we were based. So it’s quite a bit different from what you’re talking about in Africa & Aus; at the same time, it’s all the same. Just comes down to experience and personal preference, I think.

In your trips to Africa & Aus, did you have any major complications that made you adjust your gear?

 

[Alanymarce]

It was all from experience. We started with a basic list, then we raced and things happened, we adjusted. Like I said, it was a weird occurrence; when someone got a flat whether it be on or off the road, they’d always get a second. So that became the standard. A few reasons may be the chase trucks we had were all outfitted with tool box beds, so they were under load. We carried tools, race/chase fuel, tires on custom built roof racks, spare parts for the race truck, things for the pit, camping gear, coolers etc. We were fully loaded. Had a tractor trailer the whole 9. And a lot of the time we were on the road, but then a lot off, especially when we had to get to the truck. Another reason was time. If u got a flat, we didn’t have time to patch a tire during the race. Chasing for pre running, sure no problem. Even then, when you pulled down a patched tire and replaced a flat…it wasn’t comforting to know that you had to haul ass to your next destination and then had 7-10 days left in the desert or maybe drive all night back towards the border if you were south enough and then on to Vegas, where we were based. So it’s quite a bit different from what you’re talking about in Africa & Aus; at the same time, it’s all the same. Just comes down to experience and personal preference, I think.

In your trips to Africa & Aus, did you have any major complications that made you adjust your gear?

No real complications

- In Africa we had a roofrack and carried the second spare (never needed either the first or the second) as well as fuel tanks which were usually empty, sand ladders, and some additional kit in the "we'll probably never need this" category in a box fitted to the rack; inside we had a fridge, bed, personal kit, and not much else, so the overall load was not that high. We tend to be minimalist in terms of kit, so this was more than usual. The LC had a 50 mm lift, winch, bullbar, snorkel, awning, and was otherwise more or less standard. No problems other than one would expect on a 20 year old vehicle, and no reason to adjust anything during the trip.

- In Australia we had a roofrack, where we carried the second spare (picked this up in WA prior to the GRR based on government advice, and never used it - we had one flat for which we put on the first spare and then bought a new tyre since the punctured one had too much dmage to be repaired), fuel cans which were usually empty, sand ladders, and ARB camp chairs (bigger than the ones we used in Africa so better on the roof). Inside we had the bed, fridge (lighter than the one in Africa), personal kit, and not much else. The vehicle has (still have it, in South America) a 50 mm lift, winch, snorkel, two awnings (one added in Australia), and was otherwise more or less standard. No problems other than a 4WD sensor failure, and no reason to adjust anything during the trip.

We are definitely not racing, or indeed travelling against a deadline, so the circumstances are quite different. In fact noew that we're travelling with only one spare, if we did find ourselves with more than we could repair on the road and were hence immobilised we'd wait for help from a passer-by (or call if somewhere where there were none), get the necessary repairs done somewhere and return to the vehicle.

 

[oldmopars]

What is funny to me is that I never hear of anyone carrying a tube. With a tube you can stitch up a sidewall or patch/plug whatever hole you get and put the tube in to get you to a place to get a new tire.
It is way lighter than a second tire. Easier to pack too.
I can from motorcycle overlanding and we always carried tube even if we ran tubeless tires. They are perfect for getting you out of trouble.
I guess the big issue is that most people just don't know how to install one.

 

[El-Dracho]

What is funny to me is that I never hear of anyone carrying a tube. With a tube you can stitch up a sidewall or patch/plug whatever hole you get and put the tube in to get you to a place to get a new tire.
It is way lighter than a second tire. Easier to pack too.
I can from motorcycle overlanding and we always carried tube even if we ran tubeless tires. They are perfect for getting you out of trouble.
I guess the big issue is that most people just don't know how to install one.

Good point. As mentioned above I carry a tube on bigger trips. Maybe its because I also travelled by motorcycle before 4x4 and therefore its more obvious to have a tube on board?

 

[oldmopars]

Even a large gash in a sidewall can be stitched together with bailing wire, then covered on the inside with a patch, or duct tape. Install a tube and it will get you to town to get a replacement tire. No, I would never try to do 75 MPH on a tire repaired this way, but 20 MPH on a trail and 35 MPH or so into town sure beats walking or spending $$$$ on a tow truck. Or, it could get you into cell service range so you can call for a tow from a main road where it will cost less. Every rig should have one if traveling far or alone.

 

[M Rose]

Even a large gash in a sidewall can be stitched together with bailing wire, then covered on the inside with a patch, or duct tape. Install a tube and it will get you to town to get a replacement tire. No, I would never try to do 75 MPH on a tire repaired this way, but 20 MPH on a trail and 35 MPH or so into town sure beats walking or spending $$$$ on a tow truck. Or, it could get you into cell service range so you can call for a tow from a main road where it will cost less. Every rig should have one if traveling far or alone.

I have always wanted to learn how to stitch a tire back together… I have only needed to do so once, but it would be a cool skill to have in my toolbox of tricks.

 

[ShadowXJ275]

I'm with you. I carry two spares when on long trips too. Too many times I was way out in the back country on sharp rocks and cut one side wall. Once I had my spare mounted in place of the cut tire I was sweating bullets and stressing the whole time I was getting out without cutting another tire. Although it is excess weight, I think it's worth it. For some reason I have a habit of cutting side walls and cutting them good. I do carry a tire repair kit but most of the time the damage was not repairable or there were a couple of cuts. I like redundancy. Two is one because one is none.

I know you said you don't want to mount it on the rear on a swing out or the roof. For me those are really my only options as I don't have the cargo capacity your Suburban does. I have a swing out tire carrier on the back and I carry my second on the roof ratcheted down in my cargo basket. The one on the roof came in real handy when I got stuck in a big mud bog in Northern NV recently. With no trees to winch to I had to dig and bury a dead man. With my primary spare on the rear in two feet of deep mud it was nice to have the tire on the roof easy to get to without fighting mud.