Does anyone have any input on 5 tire rotation? The Dodge manual only mentions 4 tire rotation, yet we all have a full size spare. I hate to see an expensive tire go to waste, as is the case with my spare. It's probably seen no more than 1,000 miles of tarmac, but is shot. The tire wall has deep cracks. I was thinking about getting a 5th rim and rotating all 5 every 5,000 miles

 

It sure wouldnt hurt, my 06 spare has been under the truck since I ordered it, so its been there for 7.5 years, all I do is check the pressure twice a year, I have had great luck with my Michelin`s though, but I think I better check it, I have to tow 12k lbs for 3k miles coming this Friday.

 

Well, by the time you buy an extra "nice" rim and an extra "matching" tire, it'll cost more than just picking up another decent tire for the spare, IMO. Not to mention the pain in the #%&^$* taking down the spare couple times a year or however often you rotate.

I prefer a 4 tire rotation because if you do alot of highway miles, sems the front tires always get slightly feathered tread and reversing them onto the rear straightens the tread out, whereas you'll lose that continuity with a 5th tire in the mix.
If you do go with a 5th then in general, rotate the most worn tire to the spare location to give the others a chance to catch up!

 

I've seen too many spare tire winch mechanisms stripped by tire places to be willing to chance the 5 tire rotation.

 

I have a 5th polished alloy rim with the same size tire as the ones on my truck. I plan on rotating it in and replacing the rim/tire that appears to have the most wear on it.

 

If you're concerned about cost, just buy a used tire for your spare.
I picked up two used Toyo M/Ts, 35x12.5x17, for under $50 apiece.

Sure, there's not much tread on them, but they're spares, no patches or plugs, and they hold air.

 

The first tire change was in 3 years and 70k miles and I bought 3 tires of the same brand and tread and put a chrome valve cover on the old one so that I could know which was the older one. Tire wear was the same for all the second set. Most tires should be replaced after 5 years for safety. The manufacture date is on the tires. It is a 4 digit number with the first 2 digits are the week of the year (01 to 52) and the next 2 is the last 2 digits of the year.

I was given a matching chrome clad rim at the time for a new set of tires. I put in the log book a diagram of the rotation that I now use. Just added the spare to the diagram in the manual. It doesn't matter where you add the spare, just make sure it is done the same for each rotation.

 

I do a five tire rotation on both my vehicles. Got 50K out of my last set of tires, Nitto TG 285/75/17E, and two of the tires had another 5k on them. I rotate the spare into the curb side rotation and leave the street side rotation alone to themselves. If I start seeing wear differences, the best tread goes on the front. I never have winch issues because I do all my rotations myself. I know it's done right.

I have since moved to Dura Grapplers, so my expectation is that this set will last a loooong time.