Is a full size spare tire necessary?

I am upgrading from factory tires to 285/70/17
In the event of a flat will the stock spare tire be alright to temporarily run until I get the 33s fixed or replaced?

I was able to gain a 5th wheel in my purchase of some used SCS Stealth 6s so 5 matching shoes is an option although I do not have a good way to haul the 5th wheel without spending some extra money.

 

nope - people want full size spares for offroad and what not.

So as long as you don't offroad, you don't need a full size spare

 

And as long as that spare doesn't go on the rear, your fine, but if you put a smaller wheel on a drive wheel location, you may encounter problems.

 

Short term, no, it won't cause any damage. It may throw your ABS sensors off, though, so if you do get a flat and have to drive any sort of distance you'd want to pull the fuse to keep it from triggering false readings.

On the front, it will probably cause a steering pull. On the rear, you'll get all sorts of weird traction control oddities if you don't pull the ABS fuse. But it won't damage your truck if you use it in the short-term

 

Thanks for the quick responses and tips. Makes sense as well
I will probably eventually get the 5th mounted and in the tire rotation but for now I think I'll save the money.

 

It will work, but given the size difference I would only want to do so in a no other choice situation. As far as carrying the tire some people have had success fitting 33s in the oe spare location with a little tweaking. Search around and you will find a few threads about it. In the mean time you do have a 5-6 foot void behind the cab that can hold your full size spare.

 

I dunno.....ripping down the freeway with two different size tires in the rear has to be wreaking havoc on your poor differential. Am I wrong?

 

I'd get the full sized spare, but just toss it in the bed while off roading or on long road trips. Or you can massage the stock spare tire holders back and you should fit the 285.

 

It puts some extra load on your spider gears, but nothing that'll damage them in the short term. They're designed to handle different input speeds anyway; it's what they're there for.
I wouldn't go doing any burnouts or drag races with two different sized tires, obviously, lol.

 

Yup.. no issue with a smaller wheel, front or back.

That differential is there to handle the different rotational speeds.

As long as he doesn't use it while locked

 

I think in most cases I would typically drive to the nearest tire shop available if I was to have to use my spare.

I've already had two flats within 7000 miles on stock tires which has inspired the upgrade in the first place...I had full intentions of running the stocks as long as i could then upgrading but I am tired of changing tires on gravel roads. I understand flats can happen with any tire but hopefully those chances decrease with Ridge Grapplers