Larger spare for lifted Tahoe/ Yukon?

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Bill 1960

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I searched through ten years of posts and didn’t find an answer, although it was asked a few times. So if no one out there has the answer, I’ll figure it out and post the answer later.

I’m lifting and going to 35’s, and I’d like the largest diameter spare I can carry in the OEM carrier. Not interested in the current popular method of hanging a big spare on a swing mount.

So, what is the biggest diameter tire that will fit under the rear?

Unfortunately I have no basis for comparison at the moment, as somewhere along the way my SSV had the spare, jack, and all the tire tools removed. So I can’t even operate the winch to crank one of my existing stock wheels up to measure clearance. I’ll be prowling the recycling yards looking for the winch/ jack crank.

I realize the chance of fitting a 35 is slim to none, but will anything bigger than the stock 31.x fit there?

Thanks for sharing anything you have on this topic!
 

Doubeleive

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you won't get anything much more larger than the stock spare wheel size under there and unless it's awd it won't matter anyway you can hobble it to a shop with a smaller spare on I have seen it done. You will want to be sure the lug wrench you carry will fit your upgraded wheel lug nuts and that the lug nuts will work with the spare, same for any jack the stock bottle jack only reaches so far.
 

Tozan

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To late now I tossed all the jack and tire hanger stuff that was in my rig a few years ago. If you are going with a lift high enough to get 35's under there a stock jack in it's highest position will be about 4 inches to short to even hit the frame... I use a 3 ton bottle jack and a highlift farm jack on mine.

What fits in the tire well:
A 35 will not fit unless you chop your frame.
At best you might fit a 33 in there. I started out with 34's after my lift and it would not fit...

It may be possible to fit one of the larger tires if it does not have any air in it..

If you do not have the third row seats you can put the spare back there and put a piece of plywood over it so you can have a deck back there.. I did this for a little while until I got a swing out... You could do a fancier version of my platform back there and have storage space around it.

20171218_104641.jpg

If I was determined to keep the spare inside I would consider using the steel shelving I have in mine and making it high enough so I could slide the spare under it and put the carpet on top so it would look nice and neat kind of like this only tall enough to fit the spare under it. I have two shelf panels with a hinge on mine so the rear section can lift up. Check out my build to see how this can be done if you have questions let me know.

Deck photo.jpg
 
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Bill 1960

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As a wrap I ended up deciding to do as @Doubeleive suggested and I’m using stock wheel and tire in the carrier. It’ll certainly suffice to get me to a tire store.

I’ve been wheeling it fairly aggressively all summer and I’m happy to have as much weight down low as possible. Being lifted 6” plus the 35’s can make side hills a bit puckery.
 

Tozan

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As a wrap I ended up deciding to do as @Doubeleive suggested and I’m using stock wheel and tire in the carrier. It’ll certainly suffice to get me to a tire store.

I’ve been wheeling it fairly aggressively all summer and I’m happy to have as much weight down low as possible. Being lifted 6” plus the 35’s can make side hills a bit puckery.
Good luck with that.. Anyone know what a stock tire and a 35 in the back will do with a limited slip?

If I remember correctly I was once told you can run different size tires up front but, not in the back. They said if the rear goes flat the solution is to swap it with a front tire so both rear tires are the same size...

I think the pucker factor is caused by the 6 inch lift more than 35 tires... lol I have found with my rig it will loose traction and slide sideways unless I have a deep groove on the lower side then it will still go to around 30+ degrees and stay uprightish...
 

Tozan

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Just get one of these heavy duty Wilcos.
I built the cooking table for it and added them to the back of the swing out tire mount. When not in use the wooden table slides in then it all folds up. I also added the gas/water basket too.
 

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Bill 1960

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@Tozan yes, the solution for different size spares is run it on the front if there’s a limited slip in the rear.
 

Doubeleive

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@Tozan yes, the solution for different size spares is run it on the front if there’s a limited slip in the rear.
ya I have experienced having to do that, flipped a vehicle in the mountains and ruined a wheel had to make a smaller spare go up front and it still had a little gallop (bent hub)
we hit a hole in the road and flipped end over end about 4 times and luckily it was a forward end over end, the other side of the road was a drop off of several hundred feet, that's what happens when you ride with a blind man. lol I was navigating and had told him about the hole going up but the road was washed out ahead so we had to turn around and go back and hit it on the way down I think I got the words "hey watch" out and it was too late.....
 

Dcamper

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I got a 35 in my spare tire carrier just had to air down a bit
Yo Albert, just wondering how your 35" spare tire holding up?...Thinking of doing the same on my Yukon XL...did you do any mods?
 

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