Another Spare Tire Question

[GlennSullivan]

Based on recent discussions I have had with some of you in other threads regarding spare tires. I'm going to replace the factory spare tire / wheel in my 2017 Limited with a F1Z1007F 20" wheel and Michelin tire matching the 4 wheels / tires on the truck. I am doing this because I am now regularly towing long distances (NY-FL) with a 6600lb trailer and don't want to have to install a mismatched spare and to run a long distance with it. Even if the OD / runout of the factory spare is close, the tire would not be the same.

I'm now thinking about the TPS. Should I leave this new spare setup without a TPS as the factory unit is, or should I install a new TPS in the new spare and leave it unprogrammed and then program it to the vehicle when I have to put it on. I have both the little square Ford TPS programmer as well as a larger multi-vendor unit that can do most vehicles. I would prolly leave the little Ford unit in the glove box if installing a TPS in the spare.

Since the flat tire / wheel will still be in the vehicle, will I be able to program the new unit to the vehicle and and remove the unit in the flat tire? I don't like the idea of trailering with the TPS light on and not knowing if I have an issue with another tire or not.

Your thoughts / experience?

 

[makenzie71]

I would treat the spare as a spare and not worry about the pressure sensor. My spare is intended to be a spare, if I'm running the spare it's only until I get the highway tire replaced. The hassle of reprogramming the TPS sensors is going to be greater than just dealing with the light. This should be a low-risk situation anyway unless you plan to have regular surprise blowouts.

 

[2020FordRaptor]

Based on recent discussions I have had with some of you in other threads regarding spare tires. I'm going to replace the factory spare tire / wheel in my 2017 Limited with a F1Z1007F 20" wheel and Michelin tire matching the 4 wheels / tires on the truck. I am doing this because I am now regularly towing long distances (NY-FL) with a 6600lb trailer and don't want to have to install a mismatched spare and to run a long distance with it. Even if the OD / runout of the factory spare is close, the tire would not be the same.

I'm now thinking about the TPS. Should I leave this new spare setup without a TPS as the factory unit is, or should I install a new TPS in the new spare and leave it unprogrammed and then program it to the vehicle when I have to put it on. I have both the little square Ford TPS programmer as well as a larger multi-vendor unit that can do most vehicles. I would prolly leave the little Ford unit in the glove box if installing a TPS in the spare.

Since the flat tire / wheel will still be in the vehicle, will I be able to program the new unit to the vehicle and and remove the unit in the flat tire? I don't like the idea of trailering with the TPS light on and not knowing if I have an issue with another tire or not.

Your thoughts / experience?

I wouldn't worry about TPS. I think you should replace the tire but don't worry about TPS.

 

[Gary Waugh]

But it sounds like in the event of a puncture he wants to replace the punctured wheel with the spare wheel and leave the spare in (ie the repaired wheel then becomes his spare), if that is the case then he is NOT using the spare wheel as a spare, but as a permanent wheel, so he should fit a gps and the reprogram the tasks when he changes the wheels. All the answers above seemed to assume the spare wheel was only going to be fitted temporarily, but that is not what he describes in his first message. I would fit a tps to the new wheel and then program it as you suggest, assuming you intend to leave the spare in for a long time, otherw I agree with the suggestions above, donut bother with the tps if you are only going to use the spare wheel as a temporary wheel to get you to the nearest tyre repair location.

 

[JasonH]

If you're running "C" load tires while towing, I suggest upgrading to a "D" or "E" load. Apart from the higher pressure and stiffer sidewall, they offer increased puncture resistance. Check out this spike test video. I have eight tires between the tow vehicle and camper. Having already experienced a flat while towing on the camper, upgrading provided additional peace of mind. I'll probably upgrade the camper tires as well eventually. The last time I replaced trailer tires, the shop didn't have any "D" or higher tires and I had an impending trip.

Cooper Puncture Test

As seen in issue 217 of 4WD Action magazine Cooper Tires conducted a test to see how lowering your tyre pressures when driving off road increases puncture re...

www.youtube.com

 

[GlennSullivan]

For me it doesn't really matter if the spare I put on stays on permanently or for the rest of the trip, what I'm looking for out of this remains the same:

I'm trailering a 6600lb trailer load 1250 miles, with a decent load inside the vehicle.

If I get a flat (and this has happened) - no matter where I am in the trip, I want to be able to install the matching wheel and tire and complete the trip - whether it is 100 or 1000 miles without having to find a tire shop and purchase a replacement tire. My luck would be I get the flat on a Sunday afternoon with no local shops open and have to stay overnight. I also don't want to tow with a mismatched tire over a long distance, I already saw that movie.

After changing the tire and continuing the trip, I would like to have a functional TPS system because, as those of you that tow regularly know, it is MUCH BETTER to know you have a tire loosing air than to have one go flat at 70+ with a trailer in tow.
Granted, the odds of having 2 flats on a single trip are very, very remote, but if it is not too much of a PITA to have a functional TPS system after swapping the spare into place, then I'd like to do that.

My original question is this: If I get a flat and then install the matching wheel and tire spare with a TPS and then attempt to add the new TPS into the vehicles system, how will the system know which one to remove? Will it walk me through all 4 wheels on the vehicle and then remove the one that was not reprogrammed? That is how my Tahoe system works.

 

[GlennSullivan]

If you're running "C" load tires while towing, I suggest upgrading to a "D" or "E" load. Apart from the higher pressure and stiffer sidewall, they offer increased puncture resistance. Check out this spike test video. I have eight tires between the tow vehicle and camper. Having already experienced a flat while towing on the camper, upgrading provided additional peace of mind. I'll probably upgrade the camper tires as well eventually. The last time I replaced tires, the shop didn't have any "D" or higher tires and I had an impending trip.

Cooper Puncture Test

As seen in issue 217 of 4WD Action magazine Cooper Tires conducted a test to see how lowering your tyre pressures when driving off road increases puncture re...

www.youtube.com

Interesting Test

 

[Frank Wilson]

For me it doesn't really matter if the spare I put on stays on permanently or for the rest of the trip, what I'm looking for out of this remains the same:

I'm trailering a 6600lb trailer load 1250 miles, with a decent load inside the vehicle.

If I get a flat (and this has happened) - no matter where I am in the trip, I want to be able to install the matching wheel and tire and complete the trip - whether it is 100 or 1000 miles without having to find a tire shop and purchase a replacement tire. My luck would be I get the flat on a Sunday afternoon with no local shops open and have to stay overnight. I also don't want to tow with a mismatched tire over a long distance, I already saw that movie.

After changing the tire and continuing the trip, I would like to have a functional TPS system because, as those of you that tow regularly know, it is MUCH BETTER to know you have a tire loosing air than to have one go flat at 70+ with a trailer in tow.
Granted, the odds of having 2 flats on a single trip are very, very remote, but if it is not too much of a PITA to have a functional TPS system after swapping the spare into place, then I'd like to do that.

My original question is this: If I get a flat and then install the matching wheel and tire spare with a TPS and then attempt to add the new TPS into the vehicles system, how will the system know which one to remove? Will it walk me through all 4 wheels on the vehicle and then remove the one that was not reprogrammed? That is how my Tahoe system works.

I'm pretty sure you would need to "reprogram" from scratch. Drivers front then clockwise.
Now in forscan, there are more than 4 tpms locations/frequencies available. That could cause a tpms warning even with the spare being the one that's flat.

 

[GlennSullivan]

I'm pretty sure you would need to "reprogram" from scratch. Drivers front then clockwise.
Now in forscan, there are more than 4 tpms locations/frequencies available. That could cause a tpms warning even with the spare being the one that's flat.

Yeah, that's what I don't want to happen. I'll need to do a test to see, the last time I did this on an expedition I was swapping wheels from my 2011 to 2014 and 2014 to 2011. I did not have an issue with either truck retaining old TPMS, but they were over 10' away from each other when the swap / reprogram took place.