6.7L Cummins Forum

My Dually got new tire all the way around last Fall and I was wondering about the spare. In the manual it says my spare would need to be reversed if used for the outer rear wheels. Therefore my spare is for the front or inner two tires right now.
Questions 1 - 4: I have heard of folks in heavy snow areas actually removing the outer rear tire for the winter. Is this an option (empty truck bed of course)? does it require any special modifications or bolts? Does this mean if I am in the outback of Labrador and rip a hole in an outer rear tire I could just unbolt it and take it off? I would also guess that you should do both sides just to keep it equal?
Questions 5 - 8: Can I use the spare on a rear outside tire location even though it is mounted for front or inside rear wheels? If yes for how far, perhaps 300 miles on a dirt road? How about 1200 miles of equal dirt and pavement?
This is big because it could give me 3 spare tires when outback camping and no high overhead tire mounts etc. like the smaller trucks would need. Can not wait to hear! Thanks,
JB

talk to your local tire store. they know more than all of us on these questions.

This is actually quite interesting and I have to admit I've not thought about it. I'm going to have to go out and drop my spare to answer this. As for removing the two outside tires, I've seen them removed by farmers running flatbeds but never really knew why? In the snow I like the added traction of the 4 tires and don't know why someone would remove them?

__________________

2007.5 Dodge Ram 3500 HD,QC, 6.7L Cummins, 6speed Auto, 4X4, Bighorn Edition.
Click for installs: Carr Steps PML Diff Cover Edge Juice with Attitude Volant Intake Hankook ATM RF10

In the snow tires need to cut through and down to pavement, dually will float on top and thus spin on compressed snow/ice. snow tires generally are narrow and have deep tread. In 4x4 world, fat tires stay on top of mud, sand and loose dirt and can crawl over rocks. In the northeast we sometimes go with narrower tires for snow and to cut through mud because we know bedrock is inches away.
FYI about spare tires in manual: owners manual 2007.5 3500 p.347 'dual rear tires have only one approved direction of rotation... ...when replacing a flat, the spare may have to be remounted on the rim or installed at a different location to maintain the correct placement of the tire on the wheel realtive to the tire/wheel position on the truck."

You can forget about that quote from the owners manual. If I have a spare then I am using it where needed, That quote sounds like some bull crap (post ford rollover lawsuit) they put in to keep out of trouble.
The big question is: If needed could I remove my two outside rear wheels and with no other mods keep going on four tires instead of six??? I hear they do this in the far, far north when they put 4 snow tires on a dually for the 3 months of winter. Anyone know about this?

The rule of thumb is the 'New' Spare goes on the outside dual. The reason is road crowning, since the 'New' tire is most likely larger in diameter. If placed on the inside the idea is that the 'New' inside tire will take more weight than it is rated for. In my world in the trucking industry this was the common practice if tires were not replaced in pairs (They usually were). If your spare is worn, it would be good to see what tire has visibly more tread and put the one with the least on the inside. As far a rotation direction, I think this is Poop. I have run tires forwards/backwards, etc... and have seen no consistant magical advantage to the direction of rotation. I will however comment that if your left front does show some signs of feathering or odd wear, rotate it to the right rear position (outside)(Reverse rotation) and the odds are good that you will see the treads wear even out. Duallys, well replace in pairs is a recommendation. Of course all of this theory goes out the window when you run tires with the directional rotation arrow on them. Keep in mind the your "spare" will most likely only be used in the unlikely event of a catastrophic tire failure when you have no choice but to replace it and to get you to the nearest place for a replacement tire to be installed, not typically for the duration of the tires life, so position and rotation direction probably will not make any difference anyway.

__________________
07.5 3500 Quad, SRW, 4X4, Laramie, Leathered, Dark Metallic Gray, 6.7, 68RFE, 20K Reese, Ride Rite's, 2 Viair air compressors, Bully steps, Kleinn Locomotive air horns (5 in all), Billet polished locking fuel door, 'A' pillar mount Auto Meter Pryo, PML X-deep trans pan
06 Durango 285 RL 5'er Lifted by KZ

This is why I needed to drop my spare because the OEM General tires on my truck don't care which direction they are mounted and is why I always mount the tires with the black side out.

__________________

2007.5 Dodge Ram 3500 HD,QC, 6.7L Cummins, 6speed Auto, 4X4, Bighorn Edition.
Click for installs: Carr Steps PML Diff Cover Edge Juice with Attitude Volant Intake Hankook ATM RF10

Thanks for all the info. It is great to know that in a jam I have 3 spares.
*** I confirmed this with the service manager at my dealer ************