Spare tire with a slide-in camper

I’m getting ready to take delivery of a slide-in camper for my ‘22 Tundra and have concerns about the factory spare tire handling the increased load if I need to use it while loaded. I currently have 2 sets of wheels. One with OEM wheels and KO2s and the other with OEM wheels and factory Yokohama tires. As I see it, I have 3 options.

1. Use the factory spare. My concern is load capacity and a reduced ability to get home before having to go to a shop due to the spare not being full sized. I often find myself 100 to 200 miles from home.

2. Use one of the wheels from my second set as a spare. My concern is mainly with degradation to this tire, from being stored under the truck, leading to unbalanced wear on my second set of wheels. I could rotate the wheel out periodically but that seems like a hassle.

3. Buy another wheel and tire and use it to replace the factory spare. My only real concern is the cost.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

a 2022 does not have a full size spare with a tire of the same load/capacity as what is on the truck?

 

Not on the SR5 at least. I got a flat and the tire shop was fairly surprised. I’m not sure about the higher trimmed models.

I imagine having a lower profile (smaller width) spare tire makes a small difference in fuel economy and weight savings. It probably also costs less for Toyota.

 

Im quite surprised as well. Ive never heard of a half ton truck not having a full capacity spare of the same size and load rating as what is on the truck. Guess it is about Toyota saving a few bucks. Space saver spares are fine for cars, emergency use, but a truck that may be working, towing, hauling needs a full capacity spare. I mean, what if you got a flat while towing a 6000lb camper? That is a safety issue to me/

Id definitely get another SR or SR5 rim and another tire to match what you run. Will a real tire fit where the space saver spare sits?

 

I was able to get the factory wheel and tire in the spare tire space. I imagine people with 35” tires will need to do some modifications.

 

At the scale Toyota makes these decisions, I can see why they made the decision they did for a few reasons including cost.

• Improving fuel economy, even marginally, on a fleet of vehicles traveling millions of miles per year can make a big difference.
• Reducing cost, even marginally, can make a big difference at Toyota’s sales volume.
• Including a donut instead of a full-sized spare is unlikely to change the purchase decision for the majority of buyers.

I’m certainly frustrated with Toyota’s choice here but I understand it and I don’t regret my purchase because of it. I honestly didn’t factor this into my purchase decision when I got the truck and it wouldn’t now that I’m the position I find myself. With that said, I totally understand why people might feel differently.

 

I am thinking about picking up a set of SR steelies with tires for $300 and swapping out my spare with one of the those. It’s not the perfect solution but much cheaper than buying a new single wheel and tire.