Squished rear spare tire

[ururk]

We recently purchased a 2000 RT Versatile, and the rear spare tire is being squished in the bracket it's bolted to. All of the tires have sidewall cracking, and haven't been changed in 8-15 years, so we presume they need to be replaced, the spare as well. They have about 1,200 miles on them, if that.

For the rear-door spare tire bracket, are there spacers I can add that accommodate the full width of the spare tire? Or is it supposed to be squished against the rear bracket? When we have the tires looked at, I'd like to address the issue with the new spare so it doesn't get damaged, assuming this will damage the tire. Not sure if the tire place we take it to will know any better.

[peteco]

Originally Posted by ururk

We recently purchased a 2000 RT Versatile, and the rear spare tire is being squished in the bracket it's bolted to. All of the tires have sidewall cracking, and haven't been changed in 8-15 years, so we presume they need to be replaced, the spare as well. They have about 1,200 miles on them, if that.

For the rear-door spare tire bracket, are there spacers I can add that accommodate the full width of the spare tire? Or is it supposed to be squished against the rear bracket? When we have the tires looked at, I'd like to address the issue with the new spare so it doesn't get damaged, assuming this will damage the tire. Not sure if the tire place we take it to will know any better.

You should be able to add spacers, or modify the bracket. I purchased a matching 5th aluminum rim to replace the steel spare on my 2006 210, but the new offset is different. The aluminum rim did not fit the bracket properly. I had the bracket modified by cutting off the tire mount and a welding shop rewelded it in the proper location.

[mkguitar]

I had something similar on my spare carrier where I could see the sidewall was contacting and slightly compressed by the supports for the mount


I bought a few extra nuts and washers an put them onto the mounts to space the tire away


for tires, I have posted my positive experience with the michelin agilis crossclimate for my chev based rv


Mike

[Bert M]

Originally Posted by ururk

We recently purchased a 2000 RT Versatile, and the rear spare tire is being squished in the bracket it's bolted to. All of the tires have sidewall cracking, and haven't been changed in 8-15 years, so we presume they need to be replaced, the spare as well. They have about 1,200 miles on them, if that.

For the rear-door spare tire bracket, are there spacers I can add that accommodate the full width of the spare tire? Or is it supposed to be squished against the rear bracket? When we have the tires looked at, I'd like to address the issue with the new spare so it doesn't get damaged, assuming this will damage the tire. Not sure if the tire place we take it to will know any better.

I purchased a Dodge 2002 RT Versatile and noticed the same squished and cracked spare tire as you did. I bought a new tire and when I remounted it I flipped the wheel 180 degrees and it gave me an inch clearance between bracket and tire. I could not find reliable information if it makes a difference which way the tire is mounted.

[booster]

Originally Posted by Bert M

I purchased a Dodge 2002 RT Versatile and noticed the same squished and cracked spare tire as you did. I bought a new tire and when I remounted it I flipped the wheel 180 degrees and it gave me an inch clearance between bracket and tire. I could not find reliable information if it makes a difference which way the tire is mounted.

It would have the typical acorn nuts on it I think, which are for countersunk style wheels. When you turn it over the c-sink is on the wrong side so you can do some damage to the nut and wheel with the narrow point of the nut hitting a flatter surface. If you turn it around on a carrier, you aren't concerned about exact location, so the best thing to do is just put the nuts on upside down so the flat end hits the wheel. This is also the thing to do when you are temporarily holding on a rotor while doing a brake job or checking the rotor runout.

[ururk]

Good ideas all around - I like the idea of flipping it and ensuring the flat side of the bolt is touching the rim.

Depending on how much stud length, that is. If there is enough length I'll just space it out - if I can avoid it - I don't want to have to tell the techs when it gets installed to follow a set of instructions on how to put it back on.