Tire Fiasco

I feel like I'm asking the stupidest question ever, and I probably am... but the tire store told me rims that fit my truck are out of stock and they don't know when they are coming in again, but I'm going on a road trip in 2 weeks and now my spare tire is in the back of my truck bed with no rim.

Long story short, I bought my truck. It had bald tires. So I got new tires, matching the wheels that were already there. However, when the tire store went to put them on, they informed me that my spare was a different size and they can't get a rim for my new spare? But they installed the rest of the tires.

I bought Toyo Open Country M/T LT 265/70R17. I realize that is a slightly different size than supposed to be, but it's what the previous owner had on it and I didnt want to buy all new wheels and honestly didnt think much of it at the time. Did I screw myself over in a way that now I can't fit a spare under my truck? I don't understand how a rim could be so out of stock at the tire shop that they dont know when they will get it in? Like... can't I just buy a 17" rim and it'll be fine? It's just a spare, I really dont care what it is or if it matches the rest of them. It just is not computing in my brain that a national tire store that I bought tires from sent me home saying they can't get a rim that fits them.

 

Assuming your current stock spare is a 16 inch wheels

Yes just buy a used 17 inch wheel off facebook marketplace, craigslist, wherever that fits and have the tire shop throw it on. No biggie

 

Quick fb search for you
Set of 4 in south gate for $35

 

Ahhh this is amazing! I'll be close to LA this weekend.

 

Perfect, hope the seller gets back to you. Great deal, might even be able to sell the other 3 for a profit

 

He said if I zelle him, he'll hold them haha. You sure the bolt pattern is good? Says he took them off a 2003 and looks like the 7" width is fine for my toyos.

Alternatively, how bad is it if my spare is slightly different size? I know in that case it would be a just until I can get to a tire shop situation. I have brand new mud tires though and I'm not planning on doing anything crazy this trip and the spare is still good, I was just trying to have a matching set and ordered 5 of the same.

 

I wouldn't trust zelle. No chance of refund if he ghosts you. It's a common scammer tactic.

Paypal with refund possibility. As in deposit via PayPal then cash when picking up

 

And that would also jibe with the utterly low price, too. $35/ea, maybe. $35 for all four? I smell fishy. Deal in person, with cash.

 

Oh yeah I'm not sending him anything. If they're still there Sunday I think I'll try and grab them but I feel like its either fake or they'll be gone. I'm so annoyed at this whole thing.. I dont really have time to deal with finding a wheel before I leave town.

 

Call a junkyard. They will 100% have a replacement spare. You can use anything from a 2000-2006 Tundra *OR* Sequoia. In fact, anything from a 6-lug pre-2023 Tacoma and 4Runner will work too. And they may already have a 265/70r17 installed.

But if your spare tire under your truck is 6 lug and 17", there's no reason you can't install another 265/70r17 on it **UNLESS** you're dealing with a major chain tire store who refuses to install anything that's not the factory size (this is true of a couple of diff't chain stores).

If that's the case, then the solution is simple: Call another tire store.

 

It's got a 16" wheel under the truck. Whoever had it before me apparently put 17" wheels on the truck and left the spare 16" wheel. I just didnt think to check that the wheels matched before I ordered new tires haha.
I can call some junkyards this weekend too.. just pressed for time this week and I'm kinda out in the boonies.

 

Your truck wheels are hub-centric, not lug-centric. If you use a lug centric spare it will probably vibrate badly. This is probably why the tire shop doesn’t have the correct wheel for your spare. With the time you have before your trip you may not be able to find a Toyota wheel and have a tire mounted. Don’t buy any non Toyota wheel and expect it will serve you

 

I think what I'm hearing here is find a junkyard for the spare? I'm not entirely sure what wheels are on the truck, but the shop did put the new tires on them already so I'm hoping no issue.

 

A salvage yard is a good source, just make sure it’s a Toyota wheel that you’re getting.
I bought a single matching Toyota pro rim for my spare. The seller was a member here and I paid him to ship it out to me. The tire that I mounted on that spare rim doesn’t match my other 4, but it does stand at the same height. This allows me to run it without risk when I need to use it.
Does that make sense?

 

You have seen little shitboxes running around with the "donut" spare on, right? The answer is it doesn't matter. Spares are meant to be used temporarily.

 

www.car-part.com will help you locate the nearest salvage yard to you, with a vehicle in-inventory. It includes even the small yards that won't normally show up otherwise.

 

Actually, you don't even need to do that.

Have them install a 265/75r16 tire on the spare. It will be the same circumference and with, and it'll work perfectly fine. Aim for used tire since you won't need it as much, it's fine (that's what I usually do). OR find ANY used tire shop around you that has this size in stock, and pay them to mount and balance it. I can't believe the tire store you went to didn't offer up this option, but w/e.

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Previous owner swapped 17" wheels on the truck, he already bought a new 17" tire for the spare with the other 4 tires, then discovered he has the stock 16" steel spare rim under the bed. That's why they couldn't mount it for him and he needs a new spare.

Check the local junkyards, craigslist, and marketplace for a 17" steel spare. Anyone local that's parting out a Toyota truck might have one too. I had a buddy with a 4Runner convert it to all steelies using junkyard spares. Other option is to return the 17" spare tire for a 16" in a comparable size. Pretty sure a lot of us on here still have stock sized spare tires with oversized on the rest of the wheels. Not ideal, but it'll get you to a tire shop to get the flat fixed.

 

Ah! I missed that point. Just looking for creative solutions. If the tire isn't mounted, I don't understand why the shop won't take it back for a refund, or swap it out for a same-circumference tire in 16", though?

 

OMG! I suggested this! I ordered 5 tires bc I figured why not just get them all the same if I was on a trip it wouldnt be as critical to get to a tire shop in the middle of nowhere and they took a few days to get here bc I live in a small town, but whatever, that's fine and totally expected. And then he came back saying the spare didnt fit and I said ok well thats annoying but how about I just have mismatched tires and you sell me a different one that fits the existing spare wheel and he said no, I had to have all 5 the same and he had no idea when he could get me the rim I "need". I left so mad. So yeah now I have 4 of them installed and definitely used, which is fine. But the "spare" is rolling around in the back of my truck with no rim and he said I couldnt return it. I dont really want to call out tire stores, but it was a national brand that I will not be using again after this. It's not even that big of a deal other than I just dont have time to deal with it.

My existing tire is a 265/70R16, is that close enough for one trip in an emergency to get to a tire store until I can sort out getting to a junkyard for a 17" wheel? I know Murphy's law dictates that if I dont have a spare, I'll need one haha.

Sidenote: That Ad that says "Is it ADHD or High IQ"

 

Yea I think for this trip I'm just gonna have mismatched and use the old spare thats on there if I need it until I can get this sorted out. He sent me back home with the 5th one saying I needed to keep it. I was pretty mad and figured I'd just buy a rim elsewhere so didn't really try and push returning it like I maybe should have just out of spite.

I'm def gonna be off pavement alone in BFN Nevada so thats why I'm a teeny bit stressed about a spare. I will have a portable compressor with me though and maybe I'll throw a tire repair kit in the truck too just for extra peace of mind.

 

Ah this is kinda quite a bit smaller... but it can't be that much worse than a donut most cars have, right?

 

My tires are 265/75/R16 and my spare is 265/70/16, so about the same difference. I wouldn't daily on that spare, but I do have road trips coming up where that will still be my spare. Not ideal, but it'll get you out of where you're at and to a tire shop. I'm holding off until I replace my current tires to replace my spare to match whatever size I go with next.

You could also check Tire Rack for a cheap steel rim in a 17" for your spare. More expensive than a junk yard, but less work.

 

I wouldn't do it, personally. Cheapest option is probably to find a 17" rim, honestly.

Story of my life, brother.
(I got a chuckle out of that too)

 

Pretty unlikely (famous last words) that with brand new (hopefully high quality??) tires that you're going to get a flat on a road trip. 99% of my flats on truck tires have been when they're worn to less than 50% and I'm driving a ton of dirt roads. The other 1% is one flat tire I got when some big piece of wire jammed way up into my tire somehow.

Bring whatever spare you have, only use it if necessary, for as short a time as necessary, don't use 4wd with it.

 

I got Toyo M/T... but yeah I'm def gonna be off road in BFN Nevada. Unlikely to get a flat for sure, but Murphy's law...

 

Should fit but idk for sure. Like the others have said, don't zelle never know. Perhaps you'll have better luck with a local junkyard or a part out.