Spare tire... front of wheel facing the road or truck bed?

[danielspivey]

Is there a right or wrong way? Is there anything you do to stop the wheel from getting scratched?

I have a matching fifth Rubi spare and put it facing up/towards the bed and it got a little scratched

On a side note, does anyone rotate their matching spare into the tire rotation? I finally put on a matching size tire because I didn’t want to get stuck on a long trip with the camper having Mismatched size tires if I had a flat.

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[Phljeeper]

I assume facing up toward the bed will result in less damage if you wheel the truck at all. I get mud and rocks hitting my spare all the time. Maybe put a sheet of foam over the tire before pulling it up?

 

[danielspivey]

I assume facing up toward the bed will result in less damage if you wheel the truck at all. I get mud and rocks hitting my spare all the time. Maybe put a sheet of foam over the tire before pulling it up?

I don’t wheel... only minor off-road stuff. I was thinking of putting two pieces of a swimming noodle so there would be no rub points

 

[MrFahrenheit]

Factory setup is the front of the wheel facing the truck bed.

 

[LostWoods]

Unless you have some super narrow tire, the tire should contact the frame and the wheel should be fine.

 

[danielspivey]

Factory setup is the front of the wheel facing the truck bed.

Yea that’s what I recall also. There is a downward facing bolt that I’m not sure what the heck it goes to. If you align it wrong it will definitely hit the front of your wheel and scratch it up.

 

[danielspivey]

Unless you have some super narrow tire, the tire should contact the frame and the wheel should be fine.

Even if it’s tight, wouldn’t the face of the wheel touch the face of the frame cause some wear of the wheel? My wheel isn’t exactly recessed... the face is close to the edge of the tire. And where the tire mounts to the frame it comes downward a bit. That’s why I was think of putting something between the two

 

[LostWoods]

Even if it’s tight, wouldn’t the face of the wheel touch the face of the frame cause some wear of the wheel? My wheel isn’t exactly recessed... the face is close to the edge of the tire. And where the tire mounts to the frame it comes downward a bit. That’s why I was think of putting something between the two

I konw mine was recessed and didn't have issues stock or now with 35s on the stock tires. If you're running a wide wheel or narrow tire, it's possible but you really don't need to crank it down... just snug should suffice and it shouldn't push on the tire all that much.

 

[whiteglad]

I am using a matching aluminum wheel for the spare, and facing down so I can check air pressure occasionally. I also run a chain and bolt around the cross member and through two spokes so the spare can't fall onto the road if the winch fails.

 

[chithead]

Did this today with ours - picked up a set of 5 Rubicon Wrangler wheels, and mounted the 5th underneath. But as you said, I did check to make sure that bolt or any of the bed frame bars made contact with the wheel face. Also put some foam weatherstripping on the winch bracket to hopefully prevent any scratching.

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