I have 32" tires. Obviously I have a full size spare. I only put a few thousand miles on my jeep every year.

I am going to have my tires rotated and I am just wondering what everyone else does? Do you rotate 4 or 5 tires?

 

I always leave my spare alone.

 

i never rotate.mine
money saved on rotation goes for new tires.

 

I rotate my spare, why would I want 1 tire with a different amount of wear? I usually buy tires in sets of 5 if the vehicle came with a full size spare. My spare tire sits on a tire carrier bumper so that means that the rubber compound is being broken down by UV rays so I play it safe and swap all 5 tires. If you are the type of person that goes through tires like underwear and likes to stick to a specific brand and model of tire only rotate 4 tires.

 

If I have a matching spare tire/wheel I incorporate it into rotation. Rotating tires is free. Adding the spare to the mix adds longevity to the set. If not than when the four are worn you are left with one odd wheel wheel that may have UV damage.
Also, if you have an auto-locker and have to install a spare with full tread while the other tire on axle has well worn tread, there could be issues with the locker unlocking and popping when driving straight. Tolerances for circumference is about 3/8" if I remember correctly.

 

Ok I apologize because I wasn't clear haha..i don't incorporate my spare because it is always a different tire then the rest. I completely just forgot that many do have 5 matching. If you do then yes incorporate it in or you just waste money on it sitting there imo.

 

it's free and takes like 5 minutes?

 

Rotating my tires always takes like an hour, not no stinkin' 5 minutes. That's with no lift, no power tools, and just me LOL.

I leave my spare on the back of my Jeep too. Although most people say "use it or lose it," I still just use the four tires so that they have the most even wear possible. Only use the spare in emergencies. Rotating 5 tires means 1 tire is always different in terms of wear and tear from the rest. Probably very unnoticeable, but enough to set my OCD crazy.

 

yeah,5 minutes!
when i first posted i was on the wrong forum and had to delete some stuff.m i had 60000 mi on the hummer with even wear on 4.
i doubt that ill ever wear out a set on the jeep so i just said i dont rotate!! and wont.
also i dont see making looong runs in a straight line in lock mode. my lockers only run in lo lock on grass and at 4:1 its screaming at 10 mph!

 

I didn't bother rotating mine. Now my fronts are more worn than the rears but they've done 40,000 miles so I'm not hurting. Grabber AT2 235/75/15. I run in 4FT most of the winter if that makes a difference.
I'll probably retire them at 50k if they get that far.

 

Hmmmm even with my bros truck with 35s, I can get my jacks and a cross and have all 4 rotated in 10 minutes. With my jeep it's definitely 5 minutes. With my electric impact im done quick haha. Maybe cuz I'm still young haha!

 

My spare is an odd brand I picked up on CL for $40 or so. I mounted it myself on a spare rim I had laying around. BAM! Full size spare, only $40. It aint balanced, it aint the same brand, it aint but so road worthy. But, it will get me off the trail and home in the event I cut a tire. I have a cover on it, so the UV damage isn't so much of an issue. Should get the vehicle life out of the spare.

That said, I rotate the 4. Leave the spare hanging on the back of the jeep.

 

I rotate my own tires, so it costs me nothing. I have a set of 5 for spring-fall, and a set of 4 winter tires. I rotate them when I swap them.

I do a 5-tire rotation with the summer set. Why? It keeps my spare at the same wear level as the rest of my tires so that when it is used, it's not a dramatically different circumference which could be important in 4wd. It also guarantees that I'm aware of its condition.

People who never touch their spare are wasting a tire. They usually end-up with a mismatched spare that is underinflated and dry-rotten when they end-up needing it. By rotating mine in, I'll never have that problem, and it doesn't cost me any thing extra in the long run because while buying 5 tires at a time may cost 20% more, rotating 5 tires regularly means the set lasts 20% longer.

 

no criticism, im thinking for me its part of ageing. i just dont do things the same as "yesterday" i get boored easily with repetitive stuff and keeping track of what goes where next time would be too much mental work! id rather cruise around on my mower and cut grass!.
and honestly i wont wear out the jeep tires in a long time. the h3 tires are so even you couldnt tell what went where. and moving a 285/16 is a workout.
and, a spare? i have not had a flat in ??10 years. it just doesnt happen like "yesterday"!
btw, hummer at 71000, no brake jobs yet! stuff lasts forever, on long trips.

 

Yeah, and as tires get bigger, it quickly becomes much more work. My 235's are easy enough to move around for me, but I'm only 31 years old, and I know that even now I wouldn't want to be lugging much bigger tires around.

I keep track of mine by storing them in the orientation they were in when removed from the Jeep. I rotate them from that as I install them. That's how I keep track of what was where and what goes where at least.