# Worth Bothering with a Spare?



## Ebartone (Aug 18, 2019)

So my newly restored '69 came with a pristine trunk, splatter coated, but no carpet, or spare (or jack, etc.)

As I've been moving through the car fixing "little stuff" my plan was next to find a cheap rim, buy an Ames carpet kit with tire cover, etc.

But I see a lot of cars at shows and others that have not put in a spare. Yea, I do drive it around town on weekends, but no long trips really.

Have you "bothered" putting in / maintaining a spare / carpet, etc?

Huge resale impact? Not worth the weight? The trunk interior does look pretty nice all empty and splatter coated, I must say...

Ed


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## O52 (Jan 27, 2019)

To me it's critical to have a spare. I went eleven years without dropping the spare on my 06 Silverado. Then in a space of two weeks I went through three new tires. Two for road hazards and the third for a factory defect causing a sudden loss of air. The spare got a workout those two weeks 

I carry a small 205/78 - 14 Pep Boys spare in my El Camino. I normally take it on 350-700 mile road trips once or twice a year so again, its critical for my peace of mind.


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## BLK69JUDGE (Jun 10, 2010)

and
a spare
keeps your jack from rattling around ....

yah youlle probably never use it or even use the jack...

but ,,,, its nice to have when AAA shows up and they have to drag youre car on n off the trailer on the rim...

when they could put the spare on and your kinda back on the road ...

the trunks look odd to me with no spare or jack .... also Im not a fan of tire covers....

AAA road service ,,,is the way ,,,,

Scott


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## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

I run spares in all my cars. Because I drive them all over. No reason not to, there is plenty of room.


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## RMTZ67 (Mar 12, 2011)

Like the guys said, It makes sense to have a spare . Unless you want to wait hours on the side of the road for a tow truck just to drag your car up the ramp. Hydraulic jack is probably the quickest, with the less damage to your car if you don't mind the look. You can always take it out at the car shows.


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

AAA for me. Changing a tire is like work and you get sweaty & dirty. Waiting on AAA listening to the radio is much better.

And, if you do go with a tire & jack, make sure it is secure because should you ever get into an accident, loose items become missiles and projectiles. One of my brother's friends when we were young, had just had his starter rebuilt and he threw it in the floor of the back seat. He had had a few drinks and went off road at a curve and rolled the car. The starter became a flying projectile and hit him in the back of the head - killed him. The passenger got pretty bruised up from the roll over.

So don't think that the hydraulic jack in the trunk won't come through that back seat if the impact is hard enough. :yesnod:


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## RMTZ67 (Mar 12, 2011)

PontiacJim said:


> AAA for me. Changing a tire is like work and you get sweaty & dirty. Waiting on AAA listening to the radio is much better.
> 
> And, if you do go with a tire & jack, make sure it is secure because should you ever get into an accident, loose items become missiles and projectiles. One of my brother's friends when we were young, had just had his starter rebuilt and he threw it in the floor of the back seat. He had had a few drinks and went off road at a curve and rolled the car. The starter became a flying projectile and hit him in the back of the head - killed him. The passenger got pretty bruised up from the roll over.
> 
> So don't think that the hydraulic jack in the trunk won't come through that back seat if the impact is hard enough. :yesnod:


 I agree. made a mount for the spare, and jack is bolted thru with the spare tire mount and threaded rod.


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## cij911 (Oct 25, 2017)

I am very surprised with the answers so far....

No spare or jack for me. First AAA in SoCal is amazing and my cars have always been flat bedded by very knowledgeable and careful drivers. Secondly, the longest I have ever waited has been 15 - 20 minutes (which seemed to be an eternity). Thirdly, I have large wheels to accommodate large brakes, so a stock wheel would not work.

AAA for me....Now watch, I will get a flat this weekend and sit on the side of the road for hours :banghead:...


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## LATECH (Jul 18, 2018)

If you run a spare , be sure you have lugs to fit. Mag wheels have different lug nuts ,most of the time anyhow. A standard steel wheel uses basic tapered lugs nuts .

I carry a spare. Mini hydraulic jack. I dont want to mess up the slots in the bumper with a bumper jack. If I get a flat I dont want to be waiting around , and leaving the car set to get stuff to fix it is not gonna happen


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## Lemans guy (Oct 14, 2014)

I carry a spare and have used it on a sidewalk flat. I also carrying a screw type pickup truck style jack....it scissors up with a long rod under the frame, smaller than hydraulic jack but just as ez and easier than bumper jacks.

I carry wheel chocks too as you don’t know what the road level may be where your flat happens and jacking up the back for example is nice to have a chocks for the front.

One of the best things I carry is a small air compressor, all the auto parts have them, Walmart has them $39 bucks,...some even for $29 etc.

It comes in a little carry bag and will pump up your flat in 4 minutes, you can usually drive a hundred miles on a nail or a screw. I also carry these in all my cars and in each a blackjack tire plug kit,....

9 out of 10 flats are a nail or a screw, you can pump it up and drive away or pump it up and plug it, which is what I do, easy to find with a few squirts of water. And dishwasher soap, I have a little bag with that as well. Changing the tires is some work, pumping it up and plugging not hard..

I always break down the tire at home and put in an inside patch as plugs are emergency fixes only.

Nothing beats the pump, 9 out of 10 times 4 minutes and drive to the gas station and get it fixed.:nerd::nerd:


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## GTOJUNIOR (Aug 7, 2011)

If you drive your car you better have a spare. Waiting around for an hour + for roadside service for a flat is just plain ******* ****** 
I drive way to much to not carry a full size (matched tire size) and a real jack. Luckily never needed either.
Roadside service to for real issues not flat tires :rolleyes2:


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## cij911 (Oct 25, 2017)

GTOJUNIOR said:


> If you drive your car you better have a spare. Waiting around for an hour + for roadside service for a flat is just plain ******* ******
> I drive way to much to not carry a full size (matched tire size) and a real jack. Luckily never needed either.
> Roadside service to for real issues not flat tires :rolleyes2:


I love how you store your jack and tools! Now you have me thinking....


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## Guenthar (Feb 2, 2019)

*Personally, i don't have them*

When we go to rallies or shows the wife packs the trunk so damn full there isn't room!!! I would never use the bumper jack on an enduro bumper, I don't trust the brackets to hold the alignment and the soft material will probably spiderweb the paint. Definitely use a hydraulic unit under the suspension.


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## O52 (Jan 27, 2019)

Even better are the frame jacks used in GM cars of the 80s/90s. The jack pad fits into the large frame holes just before the rear tires and just behind the front tires.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-87-GM-...61d3be2:g:X64AAOSwe95c6JOt&LH_ItemCondition=4


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