Killed a tire in southern Utah, what to do?

[Gartenmeister]

So on a Thanksgiving road trip with the family, towing small trailer, flatted hard. Smooth gravel road and taking it easy, thinking maybe a sharp piece of metal? Big old hole in the tread, pretty sure it is DOA.

Got the spare on and made it to our destination but now not really sure what to do. Anybody in Dixie got a spare spare they want to sell?

So here's the 200 question: how "bad" is it to run on the spare? Regular tires are LTX 285/60R18. Spare is a Dunlop Grandtrek in the same size. Wife's best measurements show them having the same overall height as they sit. I'm tempted to just run it as-is but I've got 1K miles to go on this trip. Good idea or bad idea?

Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks

 

[manofthewoods]

So on a Thanksgiving road trip with the family, towing small trailer, flatted hard. Smooth gravel road and taking it easy, thinking maybe a sharp piece of metal? Big old hole in the tread, pretty sure it is DOA.

Got the spare on and made it to our destination but now not really sure what to do. Anybody in Dixie got a spare spare they want to sell?

So here's the 200 question: how "bad" is it to run on the spare? Regular tires are LTX 285/60R18. Spare is a Dunlop Grandtrek in the same size. Wife's best measurements show them having the same overall height as they sit. I'm tempted to just run it as-is but I've got 1K miles to go on this trip. Good idea or bad idea?

Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks

View attachment 3779137

Assuming it's not rotten from age...
You'll be fine

 

[gaijin]

Assuming it's not rotten from age...
You'll be fine

I agree. As long as your spare is in good shape, you should make it home without any issues.

HTH

 

[liv2bike]

I would evaluate age of the spare and what kind of roads I’d be running without a spare. I’d probably come out and get a new tire. And replace an old spare with the same tires I’m running.

 

[TheIcemanCometh]

It is Sunday yer in Zion and you are posting to MUD so you have wifi. Find a tire shop in Springdale or Hurricane by that may be open and have them eval a fix. If the tire cannot be fixed see if they can get a replacement tire - most places can get a tire in 2-3 days and schedule to have it replaced.

Worst case, have Matt's Off-Road Recovery on speed dial

 

[Gartenmeister]

It is Sunday yer in Zion and you are posting to MUD so you have wifi. Find a tire shop in Springdale or Hurricane by that may be open and have them eval a fix. If the tire cannot be fixed see if they can get a replacement tire - most places can get a tire in 2-3 days and schedule to have it replaced.

Worst case, have Matt's Off-Road Recovery on speed dial

Updating this thread better late than never, with a question at the end.

Despite the spare being solid I wanted to be back at 5 tires. I followed your instructions Iceman. Called around on Monday looking for any new or used tire in stock- nothing to be found in 285-60. So went into town to Hurricane Tire Pros who confirmed damaged tire was DOA. They were able to get a similar replacement (M/S2) overnight and reassured me (as you all did) that I'll have no problem running one at 11/32 with the others around 7-8/32. I'm not sure where I got the idea in my head that tires need to be replaced as sets. Probably some warning about our AWD Sienna. Anyway, HTP price was reasonable and service was excellent, highly recommend. They are clearly used to helping visitors who kill tires in the desert.

I'm not really into YouTube so I'd never heard of Matt's Off-Road Recovery. The family had some fun checking that out on a couple rainy evenings in the campground.

So for those who have read this far, I now have a new problem: I tried to reset the TPMS system while I had the spare on- held the reset with ignition on/engine off until the light flashed 3 times. After this I have not received ANY individual tire pressure numbers at all. After getting home it went to the dealer for an oil change and I asked for the system to be reset. They were able to get rid of the TPMS warning light but I still can't see any pressures numbers. Any ideas?

 

[manofthewoods]

Updating this thread better late than never, with a question at the end.

Despite the spare being solid I wanted to be back at 5 tires. I followed your instructions Iceman. Called around on Monday looking for any new or used tire in stock- nothing to be found in 285-60. So went into town to Hurricane Tire Pros who confirmed damaged tire was DOA. They were able to get a similar replacement (M/S2) overnight and reassured me (as you all did) that I'll have no problem running one at 11/32 with the others around 7-8/32. I'm not sure where I got the idea in my head that tires need to be replaced as sets. Probably some warning about our AWD Sienna. Anyway, HTP price was reasonable and service was excellent, highly recommend. They are clearly used to helping visitors who kill tires in the desert.

I'm not really into YouTube so I'd never heard of Matt's Off-Road Recovery. The family had some fun checking that out on a couple rainy evenings in the campground.

So for those who have read this far, I now have a new problem: I tried to reset the TPMS system while I had the spare on- held the reset with ignition on/engine off until the light flashed 3 times. After this I have not received ANY individual tire pressure numbers at all. After getting home it went to the dealer for an oil change and I asked for the system to be reset. They were able to get rid of the TPMS warning light but I still can't see any pressures numbers. Any ideas?

don't know about your vehicle, but mine takes some driving time before I get a pressure reading. Not too long, never really worried about it - well, I did the first time, but not any more. Hopefully you'll get a reading by the time this reply bounces back to you.
Happy holidays!

 

[TheIcemanCometh]

Glad it worked out. Regarding the tread difference. The rule for AWD that I learned is that best to have no more than 2/32 difference front to back. And no difference side to side. When we had a tire blow out on our AWD buggy we ran the spare for 800 miles to get home (unlike you could not get a replacement tire). The tread difference was no big deal short term. Once home I replaced two tires, the blown and one other. Those became a left-right set one. The original tires became left-right set two. I should note with these tires one does not do the X rotation as they have specific rotation direction.